This time I will review the Jupiter-8 50mm F2.
The previous El-Nikkor Enlarger Lens taught me the existence of a Leica L (L39) mount vintage lens.
The Leica lens is expensive and I can’t buy it, but this Jupiter-8 50mm F2 was popular because it was reasonably priced and good.
This is a Russian M39 mount vintage lens.
Jupiter-8 50mm F2 is a Russian lens from Carl Zeiss Sonnar
Jupiter-8 50mm F2 is a Russian lens, a copy lens of Carl Zeiss Sonnar.
Knowing that this lens is popular on the internet and Instagram, I decided to buy it.
Carl Zeiss Sonnar was already released in the 1930s. It seems that Carl Zeiss Sonnar was used for filming at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
A copy of Carl Zeiss Sonnar’s Jupiter-8 50mm F2 was manufactured in Russia from the 1950s to the 1990s.
When I searched for Jupiter-8 50mm F2 on ebay, there were everything from pretty old shabby ones to pretty ones that seemed dead stock.
There are silver and black appearance colors for this lens.
Select a mount adapter (to use Jupiter-8 50mm F2 with a digital camera)
Jupiter-8 50mm F2 is an M39 mount lens.
A mirrorless camera is required to use L39 and M39 mount lenses (you cannot use lenses with this mount with SLR cameras).
The mount adapter you need depends on the manufacturer of the mirrorless camera you are using.
For Olympus, Panasonic: L39, M39-M4 / 3 adapter
For Fujifilm: L39, M39-FX adapter
For SONY: L39, M39-NEX adapter
For Canon: L39, M39-EOS M adapter
Use a mount adapter suitable for your digital camera.
Youtube Movie example: Jupiter-8 50mm F2 creates a rainbow flare
The Jupiter-8 50mm F2 is popular not only for its beauty, but also for creating rainbow flare.
In the above Youtube video, I used this lens for video shooting and tried out the rainbow flare. Sony Alpha 7II was used as the camera body.
Rainbow Flare Photo Sample
Photos that create rainbow flare with this lens are also popular on Instagram.
Photo samples by Jupiter-8 50mm F2
Here are some sample photos taken with the Jupiter-8 50mm F2.
with Jupiter-8 50mm F2 attached to Panasonic Lumix GF2
I took this lens when I went to Shibuya Hikarie in September 2017. The camera body is Panasonic Lumix GF2 mirrorless camera.
Shibuya Hikarie is a shopping building connected to Shibuya Station.
Shibuya hikarie location
Bokeh in the photo by Jupiter-8 50mm F2 is soft enough to drown. I was surprised that this lens configuration was completed a long time ago.
Jupiter-8 50mm F2 is an interchangeable lens for rangefinder. One characteristic of rangefinder cameras is that they are not good at macro photography.
The minimum forcus length of Jupiter-8 50mm F2 is 1m.
with Jupiter-8 50mm F2 attached to SONY NEX-5R
Next, I took a picture with this lens attached to the SONY NEX-5R.
There is a TV station in Akasaka. I visited there because the TV station sometimes has events.
Akasaka location
The photo by Jupiter-8 50mm F2 caused Bubble Bokeh.
The in-focus part of the photo is not too sharp and gives a soft impression.
Jupiter-8 50mm F2 Review Summary
This time, I reviewed Jupiter-8 50mm F2.
This is a copy lens from Carl Zeiss Sonnar, which generated a very soft Bokeh in the photo. I really liked this lens.
Because it is a lens for the rangefinder, it is a little difficult that you can only shoot at a minimum forcus length of 1m. However, it is a vintage lens that I would highly recommend.
Thank you for reading to the end.
