When the digital world expanded to cameras, film manufacturers announced their decision to stop producing film. It was the 1990s and for people like me, it became the golden decade for acquiring everything film photography very affordably.
Among dozens of professional 35mm and medium format cameras, I got interested in 1950s Soviet rangefinders. Since film was announced to disappear, sellers were enticing “anachronists” like me with package deals, including multiple lenses, darkroom tools, and tripods. So, a 1955 Zorki camera I got came with three lenses – an Industar-10 and two Jupiter-3. One of the Jupiter (made in 1983) was missing the focus ring, while the other (made in 1956) had very stiff focusing. I tried all three lenses but only the Industar was focusing correctly.
So, I use the Jupiter with no focusing ring as a loupe to inspect negatives, and stored the other one with other lenses I ended up collecting more than using.
.. A few weeks ago I was looking for a lens when I noticed the 1956 Jupiter-3 at the back of the shelf. Curiosity led me to try mounting it on my 1954 Leica IIIF. To my surprise the infinity mark stopped right at the center of the Leica’s infinity scale (all other Soviet lenses screw in further on German and Japanese cameras.)
So, I focused on infinity and it was spot on. Then I focused on an object at 1 meter, and it was spot on again! Could this lens actually calibrate well on my Leica?
Needless to say, I decided to try the lens during an upcoming bicycle race event and see what may come out on the negative.
But first, I needed to disassemble the lens and hope that a cleaning and lubrication may allow me to rotate the focusing ring.
As I have seen inside many Soviet vintage lenses, there was engraving inside the aluminum barrel. Usually these are lines indicating that someone had tried to adjust the focus of the lens by trying various shims and when successful, has made a scratch in the aluminum to indicate where to realign the parts if the lens was taken apart again. But this time there were engravings by someone very talented in engraving.
For example inside the aluminum barrel (housing) the handsome engraving showed
And on the lens/glass housing, it read
I have no idea what these mean. Clearly the shim had worked in adjusting the focus, as I often see 2 or more thinner shims indicating trial and error during the reassembly of a vintage lens.
No matter, I spent time cleaning the 65 years of residue and solidified lubricant. To my delight, now the focus was very smooth and with no hesitation.
I was ready to load a 100 ASA film and get ready for street photography on the weekend.
But first a few lines about the Jupiter-3 lens and how it fits in the WWII events.
In the late 1940s the Soviets moved the content of the German Zeiss factories in Jena to Krasnogorskij, near Moscow. And that gave a boost to the Soviet industry of photographic instruments and lenses. Among the lens components were blueprints and Shott glass of the venerable Zeiss Sonnar 50mm f1.5, the fastest lens for 35mm cameras. Using these materials, the first Soviet copy of the Sonnar was launched in the USSR in 1948, named Jupiter-3 and known as Zeiss Sonnar Krasnogorskij. When the Zeiss components were depleted in 1954, Jupiter-3 was manufactured in various Soviet factories with Russian lens and aluminum bodies. So all Jupiter-3 lenses produced before 1955 (approximatively) were in fact Sonnars assembled in Russian factories and are highly regarded.
My lens is from 1956, made at the ZOMZ factory, and has that lovely purple single coating.
Ok, now about the results, keeping in mind that this was the first roll I shot.
I was not interested in taking photos of the bicycle race – those with modern digital wonder cameras are the ones who can take hundreds of shots in a few seconds and then keep one or two good ones. I had rolled about 20 frame worth of film in my plastic canister and wanted to test the lens in as many light situations as possible. And I was especially looking to capture moments that would make this bicycle race one in a cowboy city’s identity.
The photo at the outset shows the start of the 30 km race. The signal was given by a man, in Western attire, shooting a shotgun with a blank load. Perfect for placing the race in the cowboy town context.
Of course I had one clicking opportunity to capture the shot and that would be by capturing the smoke out of the barrel. If not, it would look like a man holding up a shotgun. I used an aperture of f8 and a shutter speed of 1/200th second. Although the focus is slightly off, I am pleased with the contrast by this 65 year old lens. And it seems that my 65 year old Leica’s speeds are ballpark given that I have never had the camera serviced…
Before the race started, there was a lovely “local” moment when the cowboy placed his shotgun in front of the start line signaling that the start time was approaching
The contrast with the high tech gear of the cyclist and an old double barrel shotgun is pleasant. I took both of these photos with an aperture of f16 and shutter speed of 1/100th second.
Finally, I wanted to see how the depth of field was rendered. Focusing on spectators 10 feet away from me, the peloton as the foreground is still quite in focus. I did wait a few seconds to let the front runners run, and capture that one cyclist who maybe started a bit slow.
So, I am pleased with the first results – the Jupiter-3 has that vintage Sonnar character, and at the apertures I used, sharp enough to tell a story.
Next I will test the full aperture of f1.5 with portraiture shots.
May 4, 2023
© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2023
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