Exclusive review of JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm P with Contax-Kiev RF mount

JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm P - the legendary Soviet fifty-kopeck piece (lens with a fixed focal length equal to 50 mm), with a maximum aperture of F / 2.0 and with a 'Contax-Kiev RF' mount, designed for installation on rangefinder cameras 'Kiev' ... Lenses of the JUPITER-8 brand are considered one of the best mass Soviet lenses for rangefinder cameras. This review presents the JUPITER-8 lens, serial number 5622104, in a metal 'white' (or 'silver') body frame, factory-made 'Arsenal' (Kiev, Ukraine, judging by the logo).

JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm P with Contax-Kiev RF bayonet on the Kiev camera

JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm P has an internal Contax-Kiev RF mount and, unlike lenses with an external Contax-Kiev RF mount, does not have a focus ring, depth of field zoom, or focus distance scale. You can find a lot of useful information about the unusual Contax-Kiev RF mount lens in the review JUPITER-11 1: 4 F = 13,5cm P with external mount Contax-Kiev RF.

When such a lens is mounted on a Kiev camera, a part of the camera mount acts as a focusing ring. The mount also has a focusing distance scale from infinity to 90 cm and a depth of field scale for F / 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22. Due to the fact that JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm P with an internal mount Contax-Kiev RF does not have a focusing ring; it is difficult to make an adapter for modern digital cameras for it. In addition, JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm P is a rangefinder lens, and therefore its use as a classic photographic lens is available only on rangefinder or modern mirrorless cameras. On SLR cameras JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm P with Contax-Kiev RF mount can be used only as a macro lens.

I used JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm P using a homemade Contax-Kiev RF to Sony E mount adapter on a Sony a7 full frame mirrorless system camera. My homemade adapter is made from a piece of a Kiev camera mount and an M39 to Sony E adapter. The used adapter has a reduced MDF, which allows the JUPITER-8 to be focused only 45 cm from the subject. In this case, the focusing ring rotates 720 degrees (two full turns).

Overview of JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm P with Contax-Kiev RF mount

JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm P was copied from the German Sonnar 1: 2 f = 5cm Carl Zeiss Jena lens. There are at least six Soviet modifications of JUPITER-8 with Contax-Kiev RF mount, produced at different times and at different factories:

1. ZORKY ZK 1: 2 F = 5cm P
2. ЗК 1: 2 F = 5cm П, without the prefix 'ZORKY'
3. JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm P of the Arsenal plant (from this review)
4. JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm P plant KMZ
5. JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm P of the Arsenal plant, the name is written in Ukrainian
6. JUPITER 1: 2 F = 5cm of the Arsenal plant, the name is written in Latin letters and without the number '8'
7. JUPITER-8M 2/50
8. JUPITER-8M 2/53, exists in two versions of the case frame - classic metal and black, similar to HELIOS-103 1.8 / 53
9. JUPITER-8M 1: 2 F = 5cm P
10. JUPITER-8 NB 2/50 and JUPITER-8 N 2/50 are suitable only for the Kiev-5 camera, which has only the outer part of the Contax-Kiev RF mount

Lenses are named according to their writing on the body. The actual focal length of the lenses is approximately 52 mm, which accounts for the spread in the focal length markings from 50 to 53 mm. It is noteworthy that the first copies of Sonnar 1: 2 f = 5cm Carl Zeiss Jena were called 'ZORKIY ZK 1: 2 F = 5cm P', where the abbreviation 'ZK' stands for 'Zonnar Krasnogorskiy', since the release of the first batches was established at Krasnogorsk Mechanical Factory (KMZ). Rumor has it that the 'Zonnar Krasnogorskiy' was made from German prepared lens blocks. The first lenses of this kind were produced since 1947. A complete list of all modifications can be found here.

In general, modifications of JUPITER-8 exist simply darkness. Basically, the lens is well known in the version for rangefinder cameras with M39 mounting thread. In the optical scheme of JUPITER-8, there are 6 elements in 3 groups, if someone knows about the difference in the optical scheme for versions with M39 and with Contax-Kiev RF, please unsubscribe in the comments.

JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm P with mount Contax-Kiev RF

JUPITER-8 is small, weighs about 130 grams, uses light filters with a diameter of 40.5 mm. The native front cover has no snaps and just fits snugly against the lens barrel. The lens is well made, with a metal body that extends its lifespan indefinitely. The sample I reviewed has clean lenses with no scratches, mold or mildew.

Sizes of JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm P with Contax-Kiev RF mount

It is very good that JUPITER-8 has a nine-blade diaphragm. The petals are dull, when they are closed, a rather round hole is formed, but still, if you look closely, you can distinguish the edges of the polyhedra (example on f / 4) The lens has only one aperture control ring, with which you can set any value of the F number: from F / 2 to F / 22. The ring has no fixed intermediate values ​​and rotates smoothly. On the case there are marks for F / 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 22.

JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm P with mount Contax-Kiev RF

The red letter 'P' in the name of the lens 'JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm P' indicates the presence of a special 'P' coating, which covers the objective lenses. In later versions of the lens, the letter 'P' was not written, and all lenses have coated optics by default. At flea markets, I often see that lenses with the letter 'P' sell more expensive than other similar lenses, justifying this by the presence of enlightenment. In fact, there is not much difference between Jupiter-8 lenses with and without the letter 'P'.

Enlightenment of lenses of lenses Jupiter-8 2/50 from the 'Electronics L-50' TV camera and JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm P with a Contax-Kiev RF mount

During focusing, the front lens rotates, to be precise, the entire lens rotates. Due to the small diameter of the front lens and its rotation, it was extremely inconvenient for me to use a polarizing filter. During focusing, a rather strong 'Focus Breathing' effect is noticeable (see video for example).

On Jupiter-8, I first noticed another negative moment from the rotation of the lens unit of the lens during focusing - when shooting a video 'asterisks', which are formed by bright light sources and aperture blades, begin to rotate in the frame (an example of this behavior is shown in the video review). Such rotation can distract attention from the main subject in the frame.

Enlightenment of lenses of lenses Jupiter-8 2/50 from the 'Electronics L-50' TV camera and JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm P with a Contax-Kiev RF mount

The lens is very moody towards side and back light. With my JUPITER-8, it's easier than ever to get a flare or flare in the frame. The contrast of the lens is also rather weak.

Enlightenment of the front lens JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm P with a Contax-Kiev RF mount and HELIOS-103 1.8 / 53 with mount Contax-Kiev RF

If you 'drown' the lens into the mount of a DSLR camera and look in JVI, it will be noticeable that the picture slightly casts a yellow-green tint. Auto white balance modern cameras can correct color reproduction well, but in the case of using a preset value BB problems begin.

I am increasingly coming to the conclusion that the presence of such 'greenery' in any case negatively affects the color, even with automatic BBor with post-editing RAW files. After modern optics with normal coating, such 'green' oldies look very bad. Perhaps, in the era of black and white and color film, there were no such serious nagging about color.

Petals of the diaphragm of the lens JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm P with a Contax-Kiev RF mount

JUPITER-8 has weak sharpness in the range of F / 2-F / 2.8, but the lens creates an 'airy', 'three-dimensional' image that many amateur photographers like :). Also, at open apertures, the image angles are very, very weak. On closed apertures, the sharpness returns to normal.

Sources in RAW format (.ARW) can download from this link (48 files, 1 GB). For most of the photos I used an Extradigital CPL 40.5mm polarizing filter, which helped a little to enhance the contrast. In the photo with blue bikes specks caused raindrops on the lens of the lens. Some photos were taken with APS-C on.

JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm P with a Contax-Kiev RF mount on a Sony A7 camera

Video review can be viewed at my youtube channel:

JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm P with Contax-Kiev RF mount with a homemade RF adapter -> Sony E

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

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Results

The technical aspect of the image quality of my JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm P is not very good. But, if you make friends with the lens, then it will be a wonderful high-speed fifty with a certain 'soul'. Nowadays JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm P with Contax-Kiev RF mount is perfect for the role of an unusual vintage lens for a variety of creative research :).

Reviews of the lenses of the Jupiter-8 series:

1. JUPITER-8 1: 2 F = 5cm П | Arsenal | Contax-Kiev | 1956
2. JUPITER-8М 1: 2 F = 5 cm | Arsenal | Contax-Kiev | 1961 | reader's review
3. JUPITER-8М 1: 2 F = 5cm П | Arsenal | Contax-Kiev | 1963
4. JUPITER-8М 2/50 | Arsenal | Contax-Kiev | 1977
5. JUPITER-8М 2/53 | Arsenal | Contax-Kiev | 1978
6. Jupiter-8 1: 2 F = 5cm П | KMZ | M39 | 1958 | white
7. Jupiter-8 2/50 | KMZ | M39 | 1962 | white
8. Jupiter-8 2/50 | KMZ | from the TV camera 'Electronics L-50' | 1965
9. Jupiter-8 2/50 | KMZ | M39 | 1974 | black | review from Rodion Eshmakov
10. Examples on JUPITER-8 2/50 (black, M39)
11. 500PX Gallery
12. Video about Jupiter-8

Jupiter-8 also exists in early versions under the names:

1. ZK 1: 2 F = 5cm P | KMZ | folding frame | ~ 1948 | M39
2. Vigilant ZK 1: 2 F = 5cm P | KMZ | white with ears | ~ 1949 | M39

Material prepared Arkady Shapoval.