[Leica] russian lenses

["Rod Fleming" <rodfleming@sol.co.uk>]

Hi

Mark Rutledge wrote




> Any comments on the Russian Jupiter 85/2 for SM? Looking at one for sale.
>


This is a copy of a pre-War Zeiss Sonnar, as are the 50mm f2 and 50mm f1.5.
The Zeiss Sonnar is a great design, comparing well to much more modern
optics, and these are no exception- a good Russian is a very fine lens.

However, there ain't no such thing as a free lunch. The Russians have
problems, the principal ones being to do not so much with the glass but the
mounts. They are:

1 The Russians used aluminium for their mounts. This is light, but is less
stable in terms of thermal expansion than brass, and is also much softer.
Never buy a Russian that looks like it might have been dropped- if the
barrel is deformed you'll never get it to work.

2 The Russians used a lube which turns to glue after a few years, and
renders the focus mechanism stiff.

3 Poor internal finishing and assembly faults can make the lenses prone to
flare and other defects.

4 Consider for a moment how a rangefinder works. The actuating lever does
not know nor does it care which focal length of lens is attached. The same
amount of deflection will cause the images to coincide at say 15 feet, as
compared to infinity, whether a 28mm or a 135mm is fitted. However the
actual lens extension required to achieve this focus varies with focal
length. RF cameras are designed such that the rangefinder follows the lens
extension of a 50mm lens (well at least 35mm ones are) and lenses of all
other focal lengths have to be engineered such that the extension of their
focus cams matches that of a 50mm, regardless of the extension of the lens.
Simple, really, but a very precise piece of engineering.

Problems arise because the Russians were sloppy about quality control and
used machines until they died of old age. Any machinist will tell you that
using old machines makes working to tolerance a nightmare, and combine that
with poor quality control= problems. (Owners of older Jaguar cars will
sympathise with this, I am certain.) This I believe can also cause problems
with the accuracy of the mounting thread, although I have not found this
problem myself. (BTW if the lens has been dropped on the thread it may be a
write-off- see above.)


However, the good news is that faults 2, 3, and 4 are nearly all repairable.
A skilled repairman can usually get the lenses back within tolerance fairly
easily and without breaking the bank. There are a couple of good guys in the
UK, and I will happily give phone numbers to anyone who contacts me
off-list; you'll forgive me for not making the numbers public, but these
guys are the type who have to stop working on cameras in order to answer the
phone, so we don't want them inundated, do we.....?

I know that some people say that if you buy a Russian that's no good, then
bin it and buy another. My point is that if you do that you might well get
another duffer!

I think it is a better solution to budget for a thorough overhaul and
rebuild, including adjusting to within tolerances, every time you buy a
Russian. The work willl probably cost twice what the lens cost- but then
you'll still be getting a really fine optic for under £100 GBP. This really
is bargain basement territory. And you won't always need to spend the money-
there are plenty of good ones about, and frankly, if you stop down to f8,
they're most all fine.

Finally, Mark- I'm looking for an 85mm f2 in LTM myself.  The one I have is
Contax bayonet and is very good but won't fit a Leica- if you decide against
the one you're looking at can you pass the details on to me please?


Best


Rod