Overview of the lens Jupiter-37A.

Legend of the last century, the national lens - Jupiter 37A 3,5 / 135. He is called a small telephoto or a large portraiture, which is true. Jupiter 37-A takes first place in my vote on the best Soviet portrait lens in the range of 85-135mm.

Jupiter 37A Lens Overview

Jupiter 37A Lens Overview

Jupiter-37A has interchangeable shank, which is marked on the lens with the letter "A". Replaceable shank allows you to change the "rear" part of the lens, which attaches it to the camera mount. Regarding the replaceable shank, it is necessary to erect a monument to domestic manufacturers for this ingenious move. With the help of an interchangeable shank, this lens can also be attached to cameras under the M42 thread or "H" mount.

Changing the size of the lens Jupiter-37A 3.5 135 when focusing from infinity to MDF

Changing the size of the lens Jupiter-37A 3.5 135 when focusing from infinity to MDF

How to use with modern cameras?

'A' lenses with an interchangeable shank, such as the one in this review, are very easy to use on almost any modern digital camera (both DSLR and mirrorless), just select correct adapter. The replacement 'A' shank usually has an external M42 thread and an 'H' mount (similar to Nikon F). For use on modern cameras, the easiest way is to add the required adapter from M42 to the desired system or from Nikon F to the desired system to this shank.

Jupiter-37A on the ZK

Jupiter-37A on the ZK

In times of mass use, version with MS was twice as expensive as usual, which actually affects the quality of work. Nevertheless, a lens without an MC feels great with the hood installed. The lens hood can be worn backwards, the hood has special grooves that allow it to be screwed in the opposite state into the thread for the light filter. I know of only one Soviet lens that allows you to put on the hood backwards - and that is Jupiter-37A.

Enlightenment of the lens Jupiter-37A 3.5 135

Enlightenment of the lens Jupiter-37A 3.5 135

Most likely, Jupiter 37A became a copy Carl Zeiss Jena DDR MC Sonnar 3,5 / 135 (Sonnara / Zonnara). Both lenses are pretty good, but narrowly focused experts say that the Sonnars are nevertheless better assembled and give a slightly sharper image.

Enlightenment of the rear lens of the Jupiter-37A 3.5 135 lens and the view of the aperture blades

Enlightenment of the rear lens of the Jupiter-37A 3.5 135 lens and the view of the aperture blades

Positive aspects and their brief description:
1. Cheap. Of course, in our time it can be obtained at a fairly low price. This is due to its mass production. This allows novice photographer to get a great picture for low cost.

Interchangeable shank and lens Jupiter-37A

Interchangeable shank and lens Jupiter-37A

2. Normal enlightenment. But even such enlightenment avoids unnecessary glare, Zaitsev. Removes fear of back and side light. But nevertheless, Jupiter-37A is a little afraid of flare and gives a light veil in the generated image.

Hood on Jupiter-37A dressed back to front and in normal position

Hood on Jupiter-37A dressed back to front and in normal position

3. The lens came with a wonderful case with the emblem of the 80s Olympiad. The lens hood and lens hood are conveniently placed in the case. You can see how the lens cases look here и here.

The difference in the enlightenment of the MS and non-MS version of the lens Jupiter-37A 3.5 135

Difference in enlightenment MS and not the MC version of the lens Jupiter-37A 3.5 135

4. Lens hood in delivery. The metal hood is quite long. It sits very well on the lens. But here is one minus of the lens hood that it is metal, it adds extra weight and when screwing the metal into the metal, the lens hood wedges and then it takes a lot of effort to unscrew it back. So I do not advise tightening it up much.

5. With interchangeable shank. I wrote about this at the beginning of the article. Allows you to use photo systems with different working lengths.

6. As many as 12 aperture blades. Therefore, it can act as an excellent portrait lens with smooth circles to blur the background (it has good bokeh).

7. Non-fixed stroke of the iris ring. Let me explain - the ring does not have fixed aperture values ​​of type 4.5, 5.6, 8, but has a continuous stroke ring. This is very useful when shooting video, when you can smoothly close and open the aperture (and not jerkily at fixed values)

8. The large stroke of the diaphragm F3.5-F22. Pretty maneuverable lens. Jupiter-37A has a function of preset diaphragm... To use this function, you need to strangle the aperture ring towards the camera and release it at the desired aperture value. After that, the diaphragm will close only to the specified value. This is quite convenient when working with manual optics - to focus on a fully open aperture, quickly close to the desired value and shoot.

9. Metal case... As they say - give the people bread and circuses, and here - give glass and metal.

10. It works in minus 15 to plus 45 ° C, it is nice to read about it in the instructions before going on a winter photo walk.

Features and their brief descriptions:

  • The weight. Over 400 grams, makes you feel all the "power" of the telephoto. But still heavy.
  • The location of the diaphragm ring itself is rather inconvenient.
  • Close focusing from 1.2 meters, you can forget about macro. The focus ring rotates 270 degrees.
  • The thread of the filter is 52 mm, which is a fairly popular diameter.
  • The lens has 4 lenses in 3 groups

On the fully open F3.5 aperture, you get slightly soft excellent portraits, but if you close it, then the sharpness is enough with the head for almost all tasks. What does my copy without MS, 1980.

From personal experience using:

I shoot on Jupiter-37A, even when there is very little time to set the sharpness. The picture is excellent. I really like its contrast, although sometimes it seems dull, in the editor it can be made simply incredible. At aperture of 3.5, you can shoot portraits without fear for the soapiness of the glass. Impressions are pretty positive. Here's another interesting comparison of Jupiter-37A and Kaleinar-5N. Jupiter was slightly better.

But if you need to shoot at least slightly moving scenes, then I would prefer any autofocus telephoto, even if it is a zoom and even if it is very dark (does not have enough aperture) and even if from the manufacturer’s know-how, for example, similar to very cheap Quantaray 70-300mm 1: 4-5.6 D LDO MACRO.

Sample photos on crop (APS-C, Nikon DX)

All photos in the gallery below were shot on the APS-C Nikon DX, crop 1.5x. No processing. Reduced size to 2MP, imprinted data from EXIF.

Sample photos on crop (Canon APS-C)

All photos in the gallery below are shot on APS-C Canon 350D, crop 1.6x. No processing. Reduced size to 2MP, imprinted data from EXIF.

Full-frame sample photos (FF, Nikon FX)

All photos in the gallery below are shot on APS Nikon D700 FX Without processing, in JPEG L, VI mode, the size is reduced to 3MP, data from EXIF.

All photos in the gallery below, too, were shot on APS Nikon D700 FX Without processing, in JPEG L, VI mode, the size is reduced to 3 MP, data from EXIF.

UPDATED

Photographer shared examples of photos on Jupiter 37A 3,5 / 135 with readers of Radozhiva Lilia Nemykina:

UPDATE 2

Examples of photos on Jupiter 37A 3,5 / 135 (This one) and the camera Pentax K10D a photographer shared with readers of Radozhiva Yuri Leo.

UPDATE 3

More sample photos on Canon 600D and Jupiter 37A 3,5 / 135 for Radozhiva kindly provided Alexander Frolov.

There are several modifications of JUPITER-37, produced at different times:

  1. MS Jupiter-37AM 3,5 / 135, 1990-2002 (prefix 'MC' is placed before the lens name)
  2. Jupiter-37A 3,5 / 135 МС, 1983-1986 (the prefix 'MC' is placed after the lens name)
  3. MC Jupiter-37A 3,5 / 135, 1986-1989 (prefix 'MC' is placed before the lens name)
  4. Jupiter-37A MS-N-30 3.5 / 135, 1983-1984, very rare
  5. Jupiter-37A 3,5 / 135since 1978
  6. Юпитер-37AМ 3,5/135, 1990-2002
  7. MC Yu-37A 3,5 / 135, from about 1978
  8. U-37AM 3,5 / 135 MS

Catalog modern brand lenses 'Zenitar' и 'Helios' can look at this link.


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Hack and predictor Aviator

Jupiter 37A 3,5 / 135 - good lens. The lens has a pleasant background blur and excellent sharpness starting at its widest aperture. Jupiter-37A is one of the best Soviet portrait lensesIt is easy to install on modern DSLR cameras with an interchangeable shank system.

Material prepared Arkady Shapoval. Training/Consultations | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Telegram

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Comments: 1 297, on the topic: Review of the Jupiter 37A lens. Lens Jupiter 37 A.

  • Boris

    How does he behave on nikon 1 v1?

  • Vitaliy U

    Colleagues, what about the picture from Yu37, compared to 80-200 2.8 by 135mm? What is the difference in + or -? I have an idea to take the Yu37 in the case from Af a half-lens, with the possibility of autofocus, so I think.

    • Pastor

      And what is the 80-200 2.8? Canon or Nikon? If nikon, then it would also be nice to clarify, there are a lot of models. If it's just common interest, then as for me, the picture at 80-200 is 2.8 Nikon from 135mm to 3.5 sharper, but I like blur more on Jupiter. True 80-200 2.8 from Nikon used quite a bit. I can compare exactly with 70-200 2.8 from Canon. There, sharpness is even 2.8 much better than that of Jupiter. And overall the blur is quite interesting. But the fact that the background turns out better or worse I cannot say - it is beautiful on both glasses :) Still, the concept is subjective. In general, the advantages of the telezoom with 2.8 are clear - the aperture is larger, there is an opportunity to zoom, and washing the background at 200mm 2.8 is, of course, easier and more pleasant. But the price and weight of telezoom scares many, and a fix like Jupiter may well partially replace this zoom. Especially if it is possible to take an autofocus (if the price is adequate). If you forget about autofocus in your Jupiter, then from the manuals I personally really liked Zeiss 135 2.8, better than Pentacon 135 2.8 and in general not worse than autofocus Canon 135 2.0L. If I had a choice, either Jupiter or Zeiss, I would take Zeiss, but thank God I don't need to make such a choice and I use both with pleasure in different situations. For me, Zeiss is better for male portraits, and Jupiter for female portraits because of the lower sharpness and micro-contrast of domestic glass.

      • Vitaliy U

        I apologize for the incomplete information: Nikon 80-200 2.8 (2). There is also Nikkor 135 3,5 Q Non Ai, so his drawing is harsh and blur ... so-so. 80-200 is definitely better in everything (at 135mm). I offer Jupiter AF not expensive ($ 50 approximately). For Zeize I know, but I have a whole fleet of MF glasses and buying another one ... it makes no sense. In this situation, only AF and fix captivates (if it's worth it, of course).

      • zengarden

        Jupiter 37 is also too sharp for female portraits. Here Tair 11A in this regard is more pleasant :)

  • Igor

    Great lens. Yes, a manual, but if you exhale and do everything right, the pictures are simply excellent!

  • Igor

    He went ashore, and there is a pyramid !!!

  • Andrew

    A good lens, but I do not recommend for FF, suitable for crop. In ff, black sometimes turns to gray, which is why I don’t know, but who cares, I’ll look in the old archives.

  • Andrew

    in Soviet photo magazines they didn’t speak very well about the optical qualities of this lens.

  • Sergei

    I’ll insert my own 5. As this lens didn’t go with me, like all Soviet ones I chose from several pieces, but as a result I hardly removed it. Kaleinar was also selected, it turned out to be much nicer in the picture, plus a jump. Then Soligor 135 2.8 came across and I saw that even this calychny Saligor for $ 20 is sharper, it doesn’t give such a rough blur like Jupiter and is much better in color, nothing needs to be corrected painfully in the converter, I no longer understand what it is being praised on the network for. After buying Nikon's fixes with a similar focal point on this entire legacy, the Soviet Deputies put an end to the cross, as well as on soligors with vivitars. They were not very outstanding at one time, but now their time is completely gone

  • Victoria

    Please tell us how these 3 lenses differ: Jupiter 37 A 3.5 / 135, Jupiter 37 A 3.5 / 135 Olympic, MS Jupiter 37 A 3.5 / 135

    • Michael

      The second symbolism, the third presence of ms enlightenment. Look like that's it.

    • lynx

      in practice - nothing

  • Alexander

    Please tell me what filter size is needed for Jupiter 37?

    • Nikolay Fedorovich

      52mm

  • Ivan

    Hello everyone! Please tell the teapot) I own Jupiter 37 and Helios 44M-4, I used to use it on d7000 with great pleasure (I learned about them on this blog). Yesterday I bought 6d and I would like to leave these glasses, but everywhere they write that the mirror touches. At the beginning of this article it is written about adapters, but as I understand it on crop. How to be

    • KalekseyG

      Yu-37 will not hurt, nothing.

    • Oleg

      On Jupiter 37a, it will definitely not hurt anything, but on Helika, if only on focusing close to infinity. You yourself twist the focus ring and see how the rear lens protrudes behind the adapter. But I think nothing will chick up to 3-4m, and this, in principle, is enough to shoot a portrait or even a full-length person

      • Ivan

        Oleg, thanks! And the T2 adapter is needed, which is indicated by the link at the beginning of the article?

      • Ivan

        And I still don’t quite understand what is better to choose: just a T 2 adapter or a Kp A 42 + M 42 kit, and if you do it with a kit it will also hurt?

        • KalekseyG

          98% of this glass is already with M42, why do you need T2 and so on, just M42-eos

        • Oleg

          No T2 does not need m42-eos, you all wrote the penny adapter correctly

  • Eugene

    Who will tell you - if there is “AF-S 18-135G” is it worth buying Jupiter 37A? Jupiter, as it were, wins by 135 mm in aperture ratio.

    • Pastor

      Well, Nikon will have 135 aperture at 5.6mm, and 3.5 for Jupiter. There is a win, in some cases very useful. Plus, the blur is greater, and most importantly, the nature of the blur itself is more pleasant in the opinion of many. I had 8-135 for a long time, but as far as I remember, there is so-so bokeshka there. And Jupiter has excellent bokeh. Having zeiss 135 2.8 compared with Jupiter - quite comparable, if you tighten the sharpness of Jupiter on your computer, it will be quite difficult to distinguish.
      The verdict is that if 135mm is a convenient focal length for you, then take Jupiter in addition to the Nikon wagon. If 135 is far away and your plots are unlikely to fit in, then there is no point in taking it so that it gathers dust on a shelf.

      • Eugene

        Understood thanks.
        Now about the dandelion - I think that it is not really needed here for the KP-A \ N shank. After all, there is no jump rope. Except for metering. Well, you can probably also use the autofocus trap. But if on lenses with the letter H, the dandelion fully includes all auto modes (with the exception of autofocus), then it is better to take pictures calmly in M ​​mode. You can take test shots with subsequent correction.

        • KalekseyG

          The master is a master, but with a dandelion it is also convenient. When shooting, the TV set constantly and within sufficiently large limits changes the level of illumination of the frame, and when rearranging it is inconvenient to shoot constantly

        • Pastor

          I have only two or three adapters with a chip, and even then I hardly use them - for me it's easier to expose and do everything myself. So I shoot in m. If you need to shoot quickly, I just shoot in equal - then, if anything, I can pull out the shadows. But some people, on the contrary, are more comfortable with a dandelion, so here, until you try it, you won't understand :) Well, with life-view it is easier to aim for focus - especially on telephoto cameras.

          • Eugene

            Pastor, what can you say - if there is a Kaleinar 5H with a dandelion (2,8 100mm), will the purchase of this Jupiter bring anything? You can just buy it for little money, so I'm toiling to spend it on Jupiter or something else.

            • Pastor

              As for me, in the presence of this kaleinar, it is not necessary to take Jupiter, the focal and flu will be quite similar, the picture of the kaleinar also gives a very good one. Jupiter only makes sense if, using 100mm, they are not enough and you want something more authentic, that is, most likely in ff, because even 100mm on the crop is already 150mm.
              Well, or take Jupiter for fun, if you want to try more different old optics. For the sake of this, I buy old lenses - a purely amateur interest. In terms of applications, there is most often no need for a 135mm lens with a 100mm lens.

              • Eugene

                Thanks for the detailed answer - probably all the same I will take it for the collection and infrequent creativity.

  • Eugene

    I bought it. Impressions are only positive. It is pleasantly sharpened, the focusing ring is wide comfortable, the stroke is soft. I select shutter speed using trial shots. From the photo it blows some kind of journalism. Like even more Kaleinar 5N. And what enlightenment is a purple hue.

    • Eugene

      Sample photo.

  • Shurko67

    Became the proud owner of “this beast”. Got a copy of the 80th year of the Kazan plant, in a “new” state, no dust, no fungus, no scuffs of any kind, complete (tube, hood, passport), however, without Olympic symbols. For a person, he simply lay in a container on the mezzanine and was never used after several days immediately after purchase.
    Specially made a test picture “not comfortable” for very, very many lenses ... :)
    Camera and settings:
    Nikon D90, shutter speed 1/60, ISO-500, fully open hole, SD color balance.
    I shot it in RAW, converted it to JPEG with a native converter, reducing it to 1200 along the long side, there is no other processing.

  • Eugene

    I glued on the chip, I like everything. A sound indication of focus confirmation appeared (of course, the green light too). The focus does not miss - I checked it from a tripod. Data is written in EXIF. Of course, I set the aperture on the lens, and enter the corresponding number in modes A or M, in A the shutter speed is selected by itself, and in M ​​I wind the shutter speed on the scale - it is much more convenient than taking a bunch of test shots.

  • Victor

    Good day to all !!! Maybe someone will come in handy my solution to the problem of overexposure on closed diaphragms in the Jupiter-Nikon bunch. I ask you not to judge strictly (I AM LOVER). In the photo archive with explanations.

  • Victor

    The archive did not load, then the photo one by one.

  • Victor

    2 photo

  • Victor

    3 photo

  • Victor

    4 photo

  • Victor

    Here is what happened.

  • Victor

    As a result, a piece of glued plastic on the ring, if it is turned to the right, moves the diaphragm rheostat lever (it starts to change) informing the camera of its size. And the camera pretty accurately selects the expopair. I managed.

  • anonym

    Tell Jupiter 37A is better suited to Nikon d7100 or Eos 7d? Thank you in advance.

    • Dmitry

      To equally good, for Nikon you need to screw the shank KP \ AN, for Kenon leave the standard shank on M42 + buy an adapter from M42 to EOS.
      There is no jumping diaphragm on the subject, therefore, on any system, the diaphragm is manually closed by turning the ring.

    • Victor

      Dmitry is absolutely right, this lens through the adapters will sit perfectly on both the d7100 and 7d. In my case, the D7100. He has a diaphragm rheostat, which is why he made an additional ring to facilitate the work of metering the camera. On 7d in my opinion there is no this rheostat.

  • anonym

    Hello. Please tell me how to install it on olympus e pl7?

  • rminchev

    Hello! I shoot on Sony A6000 and which tail do I need?
    Thanks for the good article.

    • KalekseyG

      M42-nex

  • Dmitriy

    Hello! Tell me please. I bought a Jupiter 37 A lens. With an adapter for Nikon. When I switch to manual mode, it says: The memory card is locked. Switch the switch to record mode.

    • Shurko67

      Hello. What camera? If the carcass is with a “screwdriver”, sometimes there is such garbage when you forget to switch the autofocus lever to M. Also, as an option, try without turning off the camera to remove and reinsert the card. On the D90, during a long work with manual lenses, a couple of times something similar happened ...

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English-version of this article https://radojuva.com/en/2011/02/obzor-jupiter-37a-otzuvu-yupiter/comment-page-15/

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