1950 Jupiter 8

[Teemō]

There are a few of these for sale but they don't have the 'ears' on the aperture control ring. Does this mean they are serial fakes?
According to Sovietcams, this lens (1949 to 1950 serial) should be the last to use Zeiss optical glass. Is this correct?

[sergtum]

it's hard to say for sure about your question.

I have reverse. I have Jupiter-8 with "ears" with serial number # 59xxxxx.

DSC03385 by Mr TTT, on Flickr

but it does not confuse me, because this lens is bought very cheaply.

[fiftyonepointsix]

KMZ lenses made through ~1954 have Schott glass, many have Zeiss serial numbers in the optical fixtures and have Zeiss optical groups in them.

There are also a lot of re-engraved namerings for later J-8's to look like they are earlier. If the lens barrel is collapsible, it is very early. If the back of the non-collapsible J-8 mount does not have screws in it- also very early, 1954 or before.

If you have a specific lens in question, post a link to it. I have a 1952 J-8 heading my way, will disassemble it when received. No screws in the rear of the lens- I believe it is genuine. I paid about the same as any other J-8 for it.

My 1952 J-12 is Zeiss glass and optical fixtures, complete with inner SN's in Thiele. Both my 1950 J-3's have "ears", and both have inner SN's that are in Thiele.

Posted at the same time as the above: It is possible to transplant a wartime Sonnar aperture ring to a J-8. The pre-war aperture rings are too thick. The J-8 aperture rings fit the pre-war Sonnar and wartime Sonnar perfectly. I've interchanged both. Been there, done that a lot.

[fiftyonepointsix]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1950-made-Jupiter-8-2-50mm-RED-P-Silver-Sonnar-copy-Zorki-Leica-M39/143046659831?hash=item214e3ecef7:g:VuQAAOSwUqVb89li:rk:1:pf:0

This one might be re-mounted into the focus mount and the aperture mechanism of the later lens used on the 1950 module.

[Teemō]

Thanks fiftyonepointsix. I guess that might be the case, but I saw another lens with a similar serial and also lacking the ears - but didn't see the mount.
Do the ones with Schott glass perform much differently?

Also, are the Jupiter 3's the same with regards to using the Schott glass?

[sergtum]

[fiftyonepointsix]

By 1950 the Jupiter-8 and Jupiter-3 designation replaced the older ZK designation. The optics and optics barrel were the same, the focus mount was improved. The Jupiter-3 used Schott glass up until~1954 or so, I am sure there is overlap. I believe that the rear triplets were Zeiss manufactured up until the last batch of KMZ lenses in 1956. My 1950 J-3's have inner Zeiss SN's, the late 1956 KMZ uses the same shape elements, but Russian glass. The groups are interchangeable with the Zeiss lenses. The ZOMZ lenses have a different shape to the rear triplet and fixture.

These days: Leica mount lenses are more valuable to photographers than Contax/Kiev mount lenses. Remounting a 1950 J-8 into a Leica mount increases the selling price.

[Lightshow]

IMO, the better ones have the red Π.

[fiftyonepointsix]

The mark means that the lens is coated- and is used for earlier lenses. The early lenses tend to be better, but I have seen major flaws in them. Both of my 1950 KMZ J-3's were unusable when received, explaining why they had perfect glass. After changing the spacing between the two triplets, the focal length was brought in range to use. Before- they would not work on a Contax or Leica.

[Teemō]

Thanks again for all of the information!

[frenched]

The Russians took over the Zeiss factories after WWII and for a time the lenses were excellent quality. But don’t discount the later variants. Here’s an example from from my 1950’s Jupiter-9 85/2.0