RADOJUVA

JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P is a telephoto lens with a fixed focal length equal to 135 mm and a maximum aperture of F / 4, with a 'Contax-Kiev RF' bayonet, designed for installation on rangefinder cameras 'Kiev'. This review presents the Jupiter-11 lens, serial number 6111713, in a metal 'white' frame, factory-made KOMZ (Kazan Optical and Mechanical Plant, judging by the logo).

JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P with Contax-Kiev RF bayonet on the Kiev camera

I purchased this lens for only $ 12, plus the seller equipped it with a 'Kiev' camera for free. The appearance of the lens is poor, but the lenses are clean, without scuffs, mildew and peeled off coating. If we proceed from the premise that the first two digits of the serial number of most Soviet lenses are responsible for the year of its production, then we can determine that this lens was made back in 1961 and, at the time of writing the review, its age was 54 years.

Lens JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P with Contax-Kiev RF mount during focusing at infinity with two 'native' covers.

JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P uses a 'Contax-Kiev' bayonet mount, which was copied from the original Contax rangefinder cameras. I have seen other spellings of the name of this mount: 'Contax-Kiev", "Contact-Kiev','Contacts-Kiev", "Contax-Kiev RF','Contacts-Kiev RF' or simply - 'Contact RF'. 'RF' is short for 'Range Finder'. This bayonet was introduced back in 1932 and was first used on the Zeiss Ikon Contax I camera; later, the Contax II, IIa, III, IIIa rangefinder cameras were equipped with the same bayonet. Contax cameras with 'RF mount' were discontinued in 1962.

The size of the lens JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P with mount Contax-Kiev RF

Soviet cameras using the 'Contax RF' mount were produced under the brand name 'Kiev' from 1947 to 1985, these include the Kiev-2, -2A, -3, -3A, -4, 4A, -4M and -4AM cameras. The Kiev-5 camera had only an external Contax-Kiev RF bayonet, and the VTSVS / TSVVS only had an internal one, which will be discussed below. Rangefinder cameras 'Kiev' are almost completely lapped from the original Zeiss Ikon. It is said that the first such cameras were even made from German parts that were removed from Germany through reparations.

By the way, not only Soviet cameras copied the 'Contax RF' mount. In 1948 Nikon (then the company was called 'Nippon Kōgaku Kōgyō KK') released its rangefinder cameras with a modified 'Contax RF' mount, the first of which was the 'Nikon I'. The modified Nikon bayonet is called 'Nikon S'. Later, Nikon M, Nikon S, S2, SP, S3 and S4 cameras came with this mount. Due to these few changes in the mount, only wide-angle lenses are interchangeable for Nikon and Contax rangefinder cameras. There are a lot of different rumors about why Nikon copied the mount from Contax cameras 'not quite right'. If a rummage around, then you can find many features regarding compatibility.

In addition, 2002 saw the resurrection of this mount when the Bessa R2S (copies 'Nikon S' mount) and Bessa R2C (copies the original 'Contax RF' mount) were released. The cameras were produced under the Voigtländer brand (which was bought by Cosina). However, in 2005 Voigtländer Bessa R2S / C was discontinued again :(.

If you rummage through the history of camera building, you can find a lot intimate interesting links between different brands, patents and companies. You can start the search from here.

JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P with mount Contax-Kiev RF

The Contax-Kiev RF mount is quite unusual; it consists of an internal and external part. For this mount, there are two types of lenses: with internal and external mount (do not confuse the mount of the camera and lens).

Lenses with an internal bayonet mount do not have a focus ring and focus due to the bayonet ring, which is located directly on the camera itself. Such lenses have only aperture control ring. The focus distance and depth of field scale is on the camera mount. The Soviet lenses with an internal mount Contax-Kiev RF include:

1. ZORKIY ZK 1: 2 F = 5cm P, later renamed to 'JUPITER-8'
2. JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm P (plant 'Arsenal' and KMZ)
3. JUPITER-8M 2/50, aka JUPITER-8M 2/53 и JUPITER-8M 1: 2 F = 5cm P (there are actually other subversions)
4. JUPITER-3 1: 1,5 F = 5cm P, aka JUPITER-3 1,5 / 50 and aka JUPITER-3 1,5 / 50 (ZOMZ)
5. ZORKIY ZK 1: 1,5 F = 5cm P, later renamed to 'JUPITER-3'
6. HELIOS-103 1.8 / 53 (Arsenal plant)aka Helios-103 1.5 / 50 and aka Menopta 1.8 / 53
7. ORCHID-3 F = 5,2cm 1: 1,5 (GOI, prototype)
8. RUSSAR MR-2 5,6 / 20 (prototype)

External lenses have their own focus ring, distance scale, and depth of field zoom. Such lenses are no different from conventional bayonet lenses. For them, the focus ring located on the camera is not used. Soviet lenses with an external mount Contax-Kiev RF include:

1. JUPITER-8 NB 2/50 (only suitable for Kiev-5)
2. HELIOS-94 1,8 / 53 (only suitable for Kiev-5)
3. ORION-15 6/28
4. JUPITER-12 1: 2.8 F = 3.5cm P, aka JUPITER-12 2,8 / 35he is BK 1: 2.8 F = 3.5cm and he is the Sharp BK 1: 2.8 F = 3.5cm
5. JUPITER-9 1: 2 F = 8.5cm P (Plant 'Arsenal'), aka JUPITER-9 2/85 (LZOS)
6. JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P (KOMZ, from this review), he JUPITER-11 4/135 (there are two identical options: KOMZ and KMZ)
7. GOI SATELLITE-4 F = 2cm 1: 4.5 P (GOI, prototype)
8. RECORD-4 0,9 / 52 (prototype, suitable only for Kiev-5)
9. URANIUM F = 3,5cm 1: 2.5 (prototype)
10. RECORD 1,8 / 50 (prototype)
11. HELIOS-40 F = 8,5cm 1: 1.5 (prototypesuddenly!)
12. RECORD-9 2.0 / 85 (prototype, later renamed JUPITER-9)

The lenses indicated in the lists have several modifications, and their names may be written differently, nevertheless, I tried to compile a complete list of lenses with Contax-Kiev RF mount. All rangefinder lenses with Contax-Kiev RF mount do not have a pre-set aperture ring. Usually all lenses were originally manufactured in metal bodies without paint coating, later the so-called 'black' versions of some lenses appeared.

JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P with a Contax-Kiev RF mount while focusing on MDF

What interests me most is the use of such lenses on digital cameras. For lenses with an internal lens mount Contax-Kiev RF it is quite difficult to find an adapter. Such an adapter must have a focus ring, which complicates its manufacture (this is not just a piece of pipe for you). Although, for lenses with an external Contax-Kiev RF mount, finding an adapter is not so simple.

At flea markets, the easiest way to find an adapter is 'Nikon S - the right system' or 'Contax - the right system'. Sometimes these adapters sell for several hundred dollars (example) Due to the fact that the Contax-Kiev RF mount is designed for rangefinder cameras, the normal use of lenses with this mount is possible only on mirrorless digital cameras (cameras that have a short working distance).

In the case of long-focus lenses with Contax-Kiev RF mount, they can be converted for use on SLR cameras. I even had one - converted Jupiter-9 1: 2 F = 8.5cm P for Nikon F mount. But the conversion requires a lot of effort and knowledge of the matter, moreover, if you think about it, among the lenses with the Contax-Kiev RF mount, only Jupiter-9 and Jupiter-11 are suitable for alteration.

JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P with a Contax-Kiev RF mount on Sony A7 (ILCE-7)

To review JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P with Contax-Kiev RF mount, I used a homemade 'Contax RF - Sony E' adapter on the Sony ILCE-7 camera. The adapter cost me $ 30, our craftsmen made it from the mount of a 'Kiev' camera and an adapter 'M39 - Sony E'. The adapter allows you to use both internal and external mount lenses.

Using JUPITER-11 on Sony ILCE-7 is easy: the camera itself measures exposure, you can shoot very simply in 'A' (aperture priority) as well as 'M' (manual exposure control). Auto ISO sensitivity control is available in all photo and video modes. It's just a pity that the Sony ILCE-7 does not support the longest jobs excerpts for automatic ISO, the default is excerpt is 1/60 s, which is quite a lot for a 135 mm lens. For accurate and fast focusing, the Sony ILCE-7 has a wonderful picking function that highlights the area of ​​sharpness with a colored outline (you can choose red, yellow or white backlight). Pickering becomes unusable only in very poor lighting conditions. You can also use the enlargement of the selected image area, for jewelry accurate focus. In general, the Sony ILCE-7 is quite convenient for working with manual optics.

IPIG scale on the lens housing JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P with a Contax-Kiev RF mount

As far as I know, JUPITER-11 with a Contax-Kiev RF mount was produced only under two names: JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P and JUPITER-11 4/135. KMZ (Krasnogorsk Mechanical Plant) and KOMZ (Kazan Optical and Mechanical Plant) were engaged in graduation. The difference between JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P and JUPITER-11 4/135 you can see here. Perhaps there are also JUPITER-11 lenses with a Contax-Kiev RF mount, produced by the Arsenal factory in Kiev, but so far I have not seen such.

Like most Soviet lenses with a Contax-Kiev RF mount, the JUPITER-11 4/135 was copied from Carl Zeiss JENA Sonnar 1: 4 f = 13.5cm. Externally, these lenses are similar to each other like two drops of water. You can look at the German ancestor here... The first Carl Zeiss JENA Sonnar 1: 4 f = 13.5cm version was introduced back in 1932, and the 'Sonnar' optical design itself started to be created back in 1929. The name 'Sonnar' comes from the German 'Sonne' which means 'Sun' (a very pleasant and symbolic name for a lens). In the USSR, lenses with the optical design 'Sonnar' ('Zonnar' or 'Sonnar') were produced under the brand name 'Jupiter' (the fifth planet of the solar system).

The first clones of Carl Zeiss JENA Sonnar 1: 4 f = 13.5cm were produced for rangefinder cameras with M39 landing thread and had the name 'ZK 1: 4 F = 13,5cm 1948', where the letters' ZK 'just meant that it was' Sonnar Krasnogorskiy ':).

The Jupiter 11 optical design consists of only four elements in three groups. Only 4 elements! This optical design is very popular and its modifications such as 'Ernostar' are used even by modern lenses such as Carl Zeiss Sonnar 2.8 / 135 T * (C / Y)... A myriad of lenses have been produced based on the 'Sonnar' optical design (interesting reading on this subject).

View of JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P with a Contax-Kiev RF mount from the mount (it really is so scary)

In general, during the Soviet era, many different modifications of the 'Jupiter-11' were produced with different spellings of the name, with different bayonets, and they were produced at different factories. There are at least eight distinguishable 'Jupiter-11', the main of which I pointed out in the review Jupiter-11A 4 / 135.

Jupiter 11 has an older brother, Jupiter 37 (for example, the MS Jupiter-37AM 3,5 / 135 and its modifications). 'Jupiter-11' and 'Jupiter-37' are considered to be among the most widespread Soviet telephoto lenses and from the best Soviet portrait lenses.

The scale of the distance of focusing on the focus ring of the lens JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5 cm P with a Contax-Kiev RF mount

The red letter 'P' in the name of the lens 'JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P' indicates the presence of a special 'P' coating, which covers the objective lenses. Most likely, unfortunately, this is not the multi-layer coating that is inherent in newer lenses. The coating of the front lens casts a characteristic yellow-orange color, and the back - lilac. Despite the age and strong wear of my lens, the enlightenment has no obvious defects. It is generally accepted that the enlightenment of Soviet optics may eventually peel off.

If you lean the lens against a DSLR and look through the optical viewfinder, you will notice a noticeable coloration of the image with a green tint. I call this shade 'green bottle glass'. I did an experiment with a camera Canon EOS 5D. If you lean the lens against a camera with a Canon EOS mount, then the maximum focusing distance will be about two meters.

Enlightenment of the front lens of the JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P lens with a Contax-Kiev RF mount

The highlight of the lens can be considered the aperture device, consisting of as many as twelve blades. The large number of diaphragm blades is common to all Jupiter brand telephoto lenses. The diaphragm blades form a perfectly round aperture, which allows you to get rid of uneven glowing circles in the out-of-focus area and create pleasant bokeh, even at closed apertures. By the way, modern autofocus lenses use a maximum of nine aperture blades. Older lenses could afford any number of petals, since they did not require huge loads to shoot at a speed of 10-14 frames per second. If you recall the Soviet Tair-11A 2,8 / 135, then it has as many as twenty aperture blades :).

Enlightenment of the rear lens JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P with a Contax-Kiev RF mount

It’s just a pity that the petals are not covered with black light-absorbing material, and therefore strongly reflect and reflect light, which can negatively affect the contrast and glare of the lens. The bare metal aperture blades are common to many Soviet lenses. But the chamfers of the lenses in this lens are blacked out.

Due to the rounded petals with this lens, it’s difficult to achieve star ray effect.

Petals of the diaphragm of the lens JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P with a Contax-Kiev RF mount

Jupiter-11 has an aperture control ring, which is located in front of the lens. Confusing the focus ring and aperture is difficult. The aperture is adjustable smoothly, without fixed values. On the ring there are marks for F / 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22. Smooth adjustment is very useful for shooting video. It’s just a pity that Jupiter-11 does not have a diaphragm preset ring.

The removed back of the lens unit JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P with a Contax-Kiev RF mount

As for a fixed lens, the maximum aperture of F / 4.0 is small. Generally, fixed focal length lenses are much larger aperture. The standard for aperture 135 mm fixed lenses is considered to be the value of F / 2.8. The difference between F / 4.0 and F / 2.8 is one stop (i.e. two times). If you use JUPITER-11 on the street during the day, there will be no problems due to a lack of lens aperture. And for working indoors, this lens is still of little use, due to the narrow viewing angle.

JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P with mount Contax-Kiev RF. But the lens is equipped with an Extradigital CPL 40.5mm polarizing filter. That awkward feeling when the filter costs more than the lens :)

The diameter of the front light filter is small - 40.5 mm; this diameter is used by all common lenses with the Contax-Kiev RF mount. The lens cap is made of metal, fits snugly to the body frame, but has no latches, it is very easy to lose such a cap. Front covers from mine Jupiter 8 and Jupiter-11 turned out to be exactly the same. Another very serious drawback of such a cover is the fact that it does not fit over the installed light filter. So when I used polarizing filter Extradigital CPL 40.5mm, to install the cover had to unscrew the filter and only then close the lens with a cap :(.

The lens can only use a threaded hood that is screwed into the thread of the filter.

From left to right: JUPITER-12 1: 2 F = 3.5cm P, JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm P and JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P, all with Contax-Kiev RF mount

The focus ring rotates 135 degrees. During focusing, the front lens rotates and the trunk of the lens lengthens. I have to constantly adjust the ring polarizing light filter after each refocusing. It is also bad that during the rotation of the focusing ring, it also moves forward and backward relative to the camera. In addition, the focus ring on my lens does not rotate smoothly, but with different forces at different focusing distances. Focusing is done by moving the entire lens unit. During focusing, the 'focus breathing' (changes in viewing angle depending on the focusing distance).

Jupiter-11 has a focusing distance marking only in meters for values: ∞, 100, 50, 25, 15, 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3.5, 3, 2.5, 2, 1.7, 1.5. The depth of field scale is indicated for the values ​​of F / 4, 8, 11, 16, 22 (if compared with the marking of the aperture ring, the F / 5.6 value is missing). If you try to calculate the maximum ratio for macro photography, it will be 1: 9, which is not a lot.

JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P with 'Contax-Kiev RF' bayonet and an adapter from this bayonet to 'Sony E' bayonet

JUPITER-11 is a very ancient lens, you should not expect fabulous image quality from it. Of the strengths I want to highlight the lack of distortion, good sharpness at F / 4 and pleasant bokeh, even at closed apertures (Das Objektiv nutzt das gute alte optische Schema 'Sonnar'!). In all other respects, the lens is very weak, primarily in backlight and sidelight, in which the lens almost completely "fades". Even in scenes without a strong light source, the edges of the photo are covered with a white veil. At F / 4, there is a strong influence of aberrations, which color contrast elements in the out-of-focus area in green and purple. There is also some vignetting on F / 4. The lens has very weak contrast, even at closed apertures. Everything else, the lens is pretty 'yellow'. When working with automatic white balance, the color returns to normal, but it is worth turning on any preset BBhow immediately the 'bottle' glass makes itself felt.

Ultimately, the image from JUPITER 11 comes out with an admixture of some kind of antiquity (hipster - 'vintage'). Black and white photos from this lens look especially impressive (try to twist the RAWs yourself). Perhaps someone in the comments will answer me, but was JUPITER-11 intended at all for shooting on color film?

Original photos in RAW format (Sony ARW) can be download from this link (size 962 MB, 40 photos). All photos were shot in mode 'M', 5 photos using a cheap extradigital CPL 40.5mm polarizing filter.

If you use the strengths of the lens, then JUPITER-11 can be a creative find for a amateur photographer, you can even try to squeeze good shots out of him in portrait shooting. But in general, I do not recommend this lens, since there are a huge number of other similar lenses with better image quality for taking pictures on digital cameras. The same review can be considered nothing more than an excursion into the history of lens construction.

Overview of JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P with Contax-Kiev RF mount

Old Soviet lenses sometimes they are very confused by their shabby appearance, JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P from this review is a reference sample of such a wretched appearance. The white metal body of the lens attracts unnecessary attention of passers-by and can deceive the built-in exposure meter with its reflective surface (not critical for digital cameras). My JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P stinks of fuel oil, it feels like this is not a lens, but a spare part from the Soviet 'penny'from grandfather's old garage. When I decided to wipe the rear lens of the lens with a special expensive cloth for cleaning the optics, I seriously stained it with some green liquid that was on the insides of the helicoid.

JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P with the Contax-Kiev RF mount unassembled

In addition, most Soviet rangefinder optics, which can later be seen on the pages of Radozhiva, have dents on their bodies, bent or hammered thread for light filters, heavily frayed lenses, etc. The question constantly revolves in my head 'what kind of monster do you need to be to bring your lens to this?' Moreover, optics is a fragile creation that requires careful maintenance. The shabby appearance of Soviet lenses sometimes gives the impression that they were created only for driving nails :(.

Video review can be viewed at my youtube channel:

Nowadays, JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P with a Contax-Kiev RF mount is interesting only as a collection lens. If not seriously, then to JUPITER-11 enough to buy some Leica M Type 240 and 'bomb weddings', and in the evenings discuss with friends the unsurpassed mental picture of the Soviet Zonnar :).

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

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