Please give advises for Russian lenses

[erdem]

Hi everybody,
First of all I must mention that this is my first post at this forum. I think this is a great site.
One of my friends is going to Ukraine next week. I'm thinking of ordering him some manual lenses. I'm not well experienced about manual lenses so I decided to get some advice from you.
I'm using a canon 40d. So I think the lenses I buy should be m42 mount (aka screw mount). Is that right?
I have made some search and found some lenses. I want to ask if the below lenses are good or not.

helios 44-2 58/2
jupiter-9 85/2
Jupiter-37A 135/3.5
Jupiter 21M 200/4
Volna-9 (I don't even know if this is a Russian lens but heard it's a good lens)

Are the lenses worth buying? And if possible do you have any other recommendations?

[martinsmith99]

Hello - Welcome to MFlenses!!

Do I take it that you have an interest in only Russian lenses, or do you just want some manual lenses?

There are many lenses that will fit on a 40D. I use M42, K-mount, Nikon & Olympus OM. But there are many more that will fit just fine.

The lenses you list are certainly not bad lenses. Some of them are so cheap, there is little point in bringing them back from the Ukraine.

Are those the focal lengths that you are interested in? if so I expect there will be many suggestions from members here about which ones to look for.

[erdem]

Of course I'm not only interested in Russian lenses. But I don't have much knowledge about manual lenses at all.
The reason I'm asking advice for russian lenses is because my friend can bring them with him so I won't pay shipping costs as 30 usd and ebay commision for each lens. I thought that there might be many copies of lenses where they are produced and maybe cheaper. So my friend can bring some good copies for cheaper prices.

[hk300]

Welcome to the forum! There will be someone answering your question shortly

[martinsmith99]

[erdem]

I'm sorry for my weak Language.
I didn't mean to be rude. Your comments are precious for me. I was just trying to be clear.

I have checked the reviews and the gallery of the site. But most of the photos are taken with takumars or carl zeiss lenses. So I couldn't see much examples of jupiters or others.

By the way, I'm intrested in 200 mm, 85 mm and 50-58 mm especially.

[Helios]

I have the whole list . The j-37 is in my top 5 135mm lens, J-9 becomes excellent at f/4 , I use it since 1970 ..., helios 44 is a legend (I have all the versions , 44-6 seems to be the best) , J-21 is perhaps my best 200mm (among twenty) ... Volna-9 is a "half-macro" lens (1/2 ratio) , which is near perfect ...(Industar 61-l/z too...)
To complete , don't forget the Mir-20 (20mm) or 47, Mir-10 (28mm) and Mir-1 (37mm)
You'd never be disappointed with these optics, regarding the price .... Helios-44 can be found for next to nothing ($10) , the other are beetween $50 and $100 ... (French Ebay prices)

[martinsmith99]

[erdem]

I have sigma 10-20 ex, tamron 28-75 and tamron 90 mm 2.8 macro lenses already (digital). I'm looking for fast 50 mm and 85 mm lenses. And also a tele lens around 180-200 mm. I can pay around 50-60 usd (although I'm not really familiar with the average prices of them) for each lens.
As far as I know I can get:
helios-44 around 20-30 usd
Jupiter 37A around 40-50 usd
Jupiter 21 around 50 usd?

My aim is to prevent paying for shipping and ebay comission fees as my friend is going to Ukraine. I think that the lenses above are cheaper in Ukraine.

I looked at the galleries. I'm satisfied with the results of jupiter 37-a and the helios 44-m. But I'm not sure if the jupiter 21 is a good choise amongst smc takumar 200 or jenna 200/4.
My priority about the lenses is true colours and sharpness.

I think that Pentacons and takumars are not Russian lenses so I need to buy them through ebay or local market later. So I will search them later. At the moment I should order some Russian lenses to my friend.
Thanks for all your comments.
I'm sorry for any misunderstanding. I'm paying special attention

[Helios]

J-21 is better than Pentacon 200mm (less contrast) or Smc-Takumar 4/200 (lots of chromatic aberrations, I have two version , smc and not smc) ... Jena Sonnar 2,8/200 is not so good as the older one , 2,8/180 , which can be better than the j-21 . You can to consider Jupiter-6 (180mm) , or Sonnar 2,8/180 if you want the top class in M42 . But prices are near $300 for these lenses . J-21 is on $60-70 range.
Japanese M-42 200mm from the seventies can be very good , too . I found an Eyemik 3,5/200 (Mitake Optical) which is excellent , for $15 ...
However , Pentacon 4/200 is a good choice ...(Lighter)
Beware of your Ukrainian "connection" . A friend of mine bought a MTO-500 Mirror lens in this kind of "organization" , and the lens was a pure dog . I spared $100, he said to me ... Sure, one can found "never-passed-any-quality-control" lenses , for low prices ...Export lenses passed Q.C.


Eyemik 3,5/200 :



http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3269/2449791204_bf0eb645ba_b.jpg

[no-X]

[Poolhall]

I would agree with everything no-x has said except to add Jupiter 21 is also well worth buying but it is heavy and a bit awkward, I have it and a Pentacon 200/4, I prefer the Jupiter slightly, but use the Pentacon more because its lighter and handier. Dont forget Industar 61 50/2.8 either, good solid sharp lens and not expensive, it will work as a standard lens and a close up, just not as good a close up as Volna 9. Also Jupiter 11 135mm, not quite as good as Jupiter 37 ,which is excellent, but worth having. Hope you get some good ones!

[hk300]

Erdem

by the way, where are you located?

[erdem]

Wow...
Thanks for the answers.
I'm in Çanakkale-Turkey.
I will tell him to look for
helios-44
Jupiter-9
Jupiter-37A
Jupiter 21
Industar 61 50/2.8 lenses.
I will also give average and max. prices for each lens and tell him to check the clearliness of blades and the optics of the lenses. I hope he can do fine.
He's not an expert for lenses but he's not a total stranger too.

[hk300]

perhaps you can contact yalcinaydin ... he is in turkey too.

[erdem]

Thanks. I know him through Turkish forums. He and some other friends are really helpful.

[erdem]

[no-X]

[no-X]

I have personal experience with about 8 135mm lenses including J37 and TAIR. The TAIR is different - its DOF is slighlty narrower at the same f-number than on other lenses. But the only reason for this I can imagine is inaccuracy of the particular f-values. All other lenses had the same DOF at the same f-numbers.

This is the reason, why TAIR have a bit smoother bokeh in direct comparision to other lenses under the same conditions.

TAIR and Jupiter have the best bokeh from the 8 135mm lenses I had. TAIR is more like oil-paint, Jupiter is very soft, according to my experience.

[erdem]

[sichko]

@Relayer : You describe the "Mir 1B black" as "not recommended". Can you say more ?

[sichko]

OK thanks. I've only ever used mine stopped-down - when I quite like it.

[Attila]