Wonderful comparison between two stellar lenses. I favour the Jupiter for its softness and colour rendering. Being a user of M4/3 cameras, both of these are a bit long for comfortable portrait shooting distances, but I have the Helios 44 (13 blade) and Jupiter 8 to fall to, and love them as well. Thanks for all your delightful commentary on so many of these wonderful lenses, and for sharing your excellent photos with the world. It was thanks to you that I "discovered" the OM Zuiko 50mm/1.4. What a wonderful bit of kit that has turned out to be! Happy New Year.
Glad you're enjoying the Zuiko, and the other lenses, they're all fantastic in their own ways. Glad you're enjoying the videos, and happy new year to you!
I so so want this lens!! maybe one day I will come across a good deal on a Helios! I love the Look of the Jupiter but the colors of the Helios makes me choose it!!! thanks for another great review
If you're still interested, you should give a look at the Cyclop 85mm 1.5, it's basically the same lens (M42 mount) same optical scheme, but without aperture blades, so it's constantly at f1.5 I have one, and it's unbelievably sharp in the middle, it also presents the beautiful Helios 40 bokeh! I've paid just 40€ for my copy
I bought a Jupiter-9. I was lucky for I got a beautiful clean lens that works properly. I made a mistake and bought a contax-nex adapter which doesn't work. What should I buy? It has a Kiev Contax mount Thank you and sorry to bother you again! Alexander
Great video once again. I like the Jupiter 9 so much, I have three, all superb. I like the slight softness wide open, and stopped down they are very sharp, at least mine are. The Helios looks wonderful, but I dislike large lenses and don't do enough portraits to lug something like that around. The results look at least as good as the Biotar, one has to respect the Soviet optics industry.
Nothing against the russian optics industry, but the optical design comes from Zeiss as stated in the video :-) The soviets have seized the firm as war damage indemnification.
@@thierrygillard6896 Nobody seized anything. Germans from both the west and the east paid reparations to the Allied forces, which the USSR was also a part of. France received $2.7 Billion in 1946 from Germany as part of reparations, and most of those reparations were paid in industrial equipment, so mainly assets. Nobody claims France seized machinery from Germany, so the claim that the USSR “seized” designs is misleading and dishonest. The Germans handed them over as a reparations, just like they handed over things to the other Allied powers. This information was discussed at the Yalta Conference and is freely available.
Good review,Thank you! I personally very courious when people on youtube describe for example new Nikon 85 1.8 Z portrait lens as "razor sharp". Such people imho have limited understanding of portrait photography! Portrait lens must show as much as it can volume & dimension ,but not every bit of human face magnified or hyper detailed! Portrait lens is not macro lens to be "razor sharp".Nice ,there is other people who think same way.
I've used both but currently own neither. I personally prefer the Jupiter for B/W, general walk around, and fine art architecture (for serious architecture, buy a modern lens). For color portraits, the Helios is the no-brainer but I find it difficult to justify outside of portraiture.
I don't think so - the main differences are the mount. M42 versions focus more closely than L39 versions. Coatings may have changed over the years too, but I don't think there's much between them.
I remember being encouraged to breathe on the skylight filter just before taking a portrait shot, or even to sometimes smear vaseline over the filter- a bit extreme perhaps? It was put forward by some that softer portraits was for females and more contrast for men. Its all starting to flood back. Thanks.
Thanks Baruch! I was refering specifically to the Helios 40 cause I really like its extreme swirl. I also use my Fujis with other vintage lenses and also love it. 😉
It's going to be an expensive lens for me, then. I'll have to look for a old Nikon digital FF somewhere cause I really want that lens effect. Any ideas of a good bargain FF Nikon model?
@@ovejorro5428 An older Sony is the best bet IMO. I have a FF Nikon DSLR but adapting M42 style lenses is a mess. Very narrow focus range and such. I would not mind picking up an old A7 myself in the next year or two.
Great comparison. I own two versions of the Helios 85 (silver & black). They are huge but so bokeh-licious. I'm interested in getting the Jupiter 9. I own the Jupiter 11 135mm "Rocket ship". That lens renders black & white so good. I imagine have two different flavors of 85mm & 50mm with the Jupiter 9,8, or 3. Love the channel. Any way to get you to do a comparison or line up of the Jupiters? Or the Helios line up? 35, 58, 85, Thanks for bringing us the goods.
Had a choice between Helios 40 and Jupiter 6. Went for Jupiter 6 it`s big, heavy, unnecessary and wonderful. Highly recommend to try if you get the chance :)
Another excellent video for getting my soviet optics fix. I'm curious what you think of the Helios-40-2 that KMZ has started producing again? They look promising for a Nikon user like me who has a bit of difficulty adapting m42 lenses but $500 seems a bit steep for a 70+ year old design.
As far as I can tell they're exactly the same as the older versions, certainly optically, although the coatings may be different. 500 dollars does seem a little steep, although my 60 year old version wasn't far short of that! I guess you could find one more cheaply if you look around? I do love this lens, I'd say if you can afford it, go for it - you can always sell it on if you don't like it!
I own the new version and it is what it is ... but with high contrast coatings. As far as price goes, that's in the eye of the beholder but the price seems fair for a 85mm f1.5 lens of legendary status. The updated coating reinforce the len's design inherent strengths. Weights a ton, of course (but so does the original). Overall, an awesome piece of glass if for those of us who prefer legacy designs.
That little Industar is a very nice lens, you could use it on a Leica LTM body, or one of the Russian rangefinders? It also works very well when adapted to digital.
Hello sir! First of all let me thank you for your channel! So much info and in a such calm aristocratic manner! What a pleasure to watch! From all your vast experience could you please recommend me one or two vintage 30-85mm (around 50mm) lenses with the lowest contrast for my SLR camera? I'd kindly appreciate! Thanks a lot! From Russia with love, Roddy
Very glad you enjoyed the episode! Uncoated lenses give the lowest contrast - they were made up until around 1945 - a good choice is the uncoated Fed 10 (Russian) - they pop up on ebay from time to time. Cheaper alternatives would be the Industar 26 or 61 - both coated, but low contrast (26 is lower). Hope that helps!
When talking Soviet lenses it is important to discuss which version of the lens you are testing. In the case of your J9 it looks like popular version made for export but during this period productions costs were slashed and optics were decidedly low quality and single-coated. The first version is much better optically and the last version produced in the 1980s had multi-coated optics and better sharpness. Your flare problem is easily remedied with the use of a hood.
Happy New Year...I enjoyed this video and narration very much. Do you ever appear on camera? I'm thinking about creating a lens repair video but not sure I want to show more than my hands. 😁 Your thoughts would be appreciated. Also I didn't catch what camera you used , ff or apsc? I'd guess ff. How do you think the other sensor would hold up? Thanks!
Hi there, glad you enjoyed the video! I do sometimes appear on camera but not too often; most of my recent videos have been on lenses and I think it's better to show those to the viewers up close rather than shooting me talking about them. If you're doing a lens repair video it might be best to take the same approach? And if you're not comfortable appearing on camera it's perhaps better not to. As you guessed, all shots on this channel are all shot on ff, unless otherwise stated. Good luck with your video!
@@zenography7923 Concur with the OP. Unless you are shooting children, fashion models or people so weathered that you actually lean into the wrinkles, etc. -- edge-to-edge, hyper-sharp, modern lenses can be incredibly unflattering and typically need to have their micro-contrast softened in post to produce pleasing portraits. Far easier to just shoot with a gracious vintage lens such a the J3, J9, J37a (or almost any sonnar for that matter), Helios-40, canon ltm 50mm (either 1.2 or 1.4), etc. ps-great youTube channel.
This sounds weird I have black jupiter 9 pre set... Now if you sniff it yeah go ahead and it smells of rancid motor oil the grease is breaking down probs old tank grease and it requires new helicoid grease of a modern lithium type... just saying... enjoy all your videos Nigel and a big thank you...from us all 🏡
Hello everyone, Jupiter 9 that you have in the video is not the best (I had the old white KMZ mirror version, good sharpness, reminiscent of Tair 11, you can do a crop. The black M42 Valdai had significantly worse sharpness (And this was annoying
Nah, for me it's definitely the Jupiter-9. Shadows look to dark and saturation looks overwhelming on this Helios. I'd take a Jupiter 9 lens 85mm and a Helios 44-3 58mm for the price of this Helios.
What do you know about the the Red P version. The P is in cyrillic which looks like this " П " and will be on the inside of the lens ring. i.etsystatic.com/25183328/r/il/154783/2683814961/il_1140xN.2683814961_qb8v.jpg You should be able to see it here. Can you see the " П "? This type seems to have a cult following for some reason which I am trying to identify. Jim
Thanks for the comparison, I particularly liked the Zola/ Dali metaphor 🙂
Many thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
Wonderful comparison between two stellar lenses. I favour the Jupiter for its softness and colour rendering. Being a user of M4/3 cameras, both of these are a bit long for comfortable portrait shooting distances, but I have the Helios 44 (13 blade) and Jupiter 8 to fall to, and love them as well. Thanks for all your delightful commentary on so many of these wonderful lenses, and for sharing your excellent photos with the world. It was thanks to you that I "discovered" the OM Zuiko 50mm/1.4. What a wonderful bit of kit that has turned out to be! Happy New Year.
Glad you're enjoying the Zuiko, and the other lenses, they're all fantastic in their own ways. Glad you're enjoying the videos, and happy new year to you!
Great review thanks, and such a good metaphor to use as a conclusion 😄
I'm gonna subscribe just because you compared them poetically with Dali and Zola!
Just got a Jupiter 37A f3.5 135mm lens. Very sharp and lovely bokeh from the 12 aperture blades. Using it on my Sony A7 bodies.
I've heard very good things about that lens - enjoy!
Oh man, I absolutely love the look of the Helios 40 85!
Is it not a thing of beauty?
I so so want this lens!! maybe one day I will come across a good deal on a Helios! I love the Look of the Jupiter but the colors of the Helios makes me choose it!!! thanks for another great review
Last time I've checked, buying a brand new one (they are still making those) was actually a good deal, compared to buying an old second hand copy.
If you're still interested, you should give a look at the Cyclop 85mm 1.5, it's basically the same lens (M42 mount) same optical scheme, but without aperture blades, so it's constantly at f1.5
I have one, and it's unbelievably sharp in the middle, it also presents the beautiful Helios 40 bokeh!
I've paid just 40€ for my copy
As always - a stunning video! /Ulf
I bought a Jupiter-9. I was lucky for I got a beautiful clean lens that works properly. I made a mistake and bought a contax-nex adapter which doesn't work. What should I buy? It has a Kiev Contax mount
Thank you and sorry to bother you again!
Alexander
I have both, because they are each the perfect lens for what I need at the time.
The one complements the other, for sure!
Great video once again. I like the Jupiter 9 so much, I have three, all superb. I like the slight softness wide open, and stopped down they are very sharp, at least mine are. The Helios looks wonderful, but I dislike large lenses and don't do enough portraits to lug something like that around. The results look at least as good as the Biotar, one has to respect the Soviet optics industry.
That Helios is quite a beast, but I can forgive that in a lens as wacky as this one!
Nothing against the russian optics industry, but the optical design comes from Zeiss as stated in the video :-) The soviets have seized the firm as war damage indemnification.
@@thierrygillard6896 Nobody seized anything. Germans from both the west and the east paid reparations to the Allied forces, which the USSR was also a part of.
France received $2.7 Billion in 1946 from Germany as part of reparations, and most of those reparations were paid in industrial equipment, so mainly assets.
Nobody claims France seized machinery from Germany, so the claim that the USSR “seized” designs is misleading and dishonest. The Germans handed them over as a reparations, just like they handed over things to the other Allied powers.
This information was discussed at the Yalta Conference and is freely available.
Good review,Thank you! I personally very courious when people on youtube describe for example new Nikon 85 1.8 Z portrait lens as "razor sharp". Such people imho have limited understanding of portrait photography! Portrait lens must show as much as it can volume & dimension ,but not every bit of human face magnified or hyper detailed! Portrait lens is not macro lens to be "razor sharp".Nice ,there is other people who think same way.
Sharpness can help to make a really good image, but it isn't suited to every occasion. Sometimes, softness is a good thing too!
I've used both but currently own neither.
I personally prefer the Jupiter for B/W, general walk around, and fine art architecture (for serious architecture, buy a modern lens).
For color portraits, the Helios is the no-brainer but I find it difficult to justify outside of portraiture.
You're right, it's big, heavy, expensive and impractical - but it's just such fun!
"...render the mundane beautiful. " Excellent...
Thanks!
There are major differences between Jupiter (black version) and silver version?
I don't think so - the main differences are the mount. M42 versions focus more closely than L39 versions. Coatings may have changed over the years too, but I don't think there's much between them.
Excelent comparison
Thanks!
I remember being encouraged to breathe on the skylight filter just before taking a portrait shot, or even to sometimes smear vaseline over the filter- a bit extreme perhaps? It was put forward by some that softer portraits was for females and more contrast for men. Its all starting to flood back. Thanks.
Great reviews. Thanks for posting.
Any chance of getting swirl out of the Helios with an APS-C sensor?
I'd use It adapted to a Fuji
No cause the swirl is in the exterior part
You can get a bit, but it won't be the full effect of course. I still love using my Helios 44-2 and other vintage lenses on my Fuji though.
Thanks Baruch! I was refering specifically to the Helios 40 cause I really like its extreme swirl. I also use my Fujis with other vintage lenses and also love it. 😉
It's going to be an expensive lens for me, then. I'll have to look for a old Nikon digital FF somewhere cause I really want that lens effect. Any ideas of a good bargain FF Nikon model?
@@ovejorro5428 An older Sony is the best bet IMO. I have a FF Nikon DSLR but adapting M42 style lenses is a mess. Very narrow focus range and such. I would not mind picking up an old A7 myself in the next year or two.
Great comparison. I own two versions of the Helios 85 (silver & black). They are huge but so bokeh-licious. I'm interested in getting the Jupiter 9. I own the Jupiter 11 135mm "Rocket ship". That lens renders black & white so good. I imagine have two different flavors of 85mm & 50mm with the Jupiter 9,8, or 3. Love the channel. Any way to get you to do a comparison or line up of the Jupiters? Or the Helios line up? 35, 58, 85, Thanks for bringing us the goods.
I have five or so 135mm f/2.8 and f/2.5. Every single one of them is great of portrait, even the cheapest.
Had a choice between Helios 40 and Jupiter 6. Went for Jupiter 6 it`s big, heavy, unnecessary and wonderful. Highly recommend to try if you get the chance :)
Good choice! That Jupiter (9) is a great little lens!
@@zenography7923 Yeah I already own Jupiter 9 for my Zorki 4 I bought thanks to your video. Fantastic camera.
thank you
You're welcome, thanks for looking in.
Another excellent video for getting my soviet optics fix. I'm curious what you think of the Helios-40-2 that KMZ has started producing again? They look promising for a Nikon user like me who has a bit of difficulty adapting m42 lenses but $500 seems a bit steep for a 70+ year old design.
As far as I can tell they're exactly the same as the older versions, certainly optically, although the coatings may be different. 500 dollars does seem a little steep, although my 60 year old version wasn't far short of that! I guess you could find one more cheaply if you look around? I do love this lens, I'd say if you can afford it, go for it - you can always sell it on if you don't like it!
I own the new version and it is what it is ... but with high contrast coatings. As far as price goes, that's in the eye of the beholder but the price seems fair for a 85mm f1.5 lens of legendary status. The updated coating reinforce the len's design inherent strengths. Weights a ton, of course (but so does the original). Overall, an awesome piece of glass if for those of us who prefer legacy designs.
TAIR 11A 135mm f2.8 - 👍
Very interesting. Great comparison!
35/50 industar-50 lens what use would be best for this lens. Photography. On a leica. Body.?
That little Industar is a very nice lens, you could use it on a Leica LTM body, or one of the Russian rangefinders? It also works very well when adapted to digital.
Both are good, but I prefer Jupiter 9. :)
Hello sir!
First of all let me thank you for your channel! So much info and in a such calm aristocratic manner! What a pleasure to watch!
From all your vast experience could you please recommend me one or two vintage 30-85mm (around 50mm) lenses with the lowest contrast for my SLR camera?
I'd kindly appreciate!
Thanks a lot!
From Russia with love,
Roddy
Very glad you enjoyed the episode! Uncoated lenses give the lowest contrast - they were made up until around 1945 - a good choice is the uncoated Fed 10 (Russian) - they pop up on ebay from time to time. Cheaper alternatives would be the Industar 26 or 61 - both coated, but low contrast (26 is lower). Hope that helps!
@@zenography7923 Thanks so much for taking your time and your reply sir! Kindly appreciate!
Man o man.. Hehehe this video is an art by itself.. Thx
Thank you so much, glad you enjoyed it!
Helios, yyyyeeessss !
What about the Biotar 1,5/75?
I'd certainly like to try one!
@@zenography7923 A real challenge nowadays considering the prices,last ebay auctions call up about 1500 euros.
When talking Soviet lenses it is important to discuss which version of the lens you are testing. In the case of your J9 it looks like popular version made for export but during this period productions costs were slashed and optics were decidedly low quality and single-coated. The first version is much better optically and the last version produced in the 1980s had multi-coated optics and better sharpness. Your flare problem is easily remedied with the use of a hood.
Thanks for the tip - it does seem to flare rather easily!
Happy New Year...I enjoyed this video and narration very much. Do you ever appear on camera? I'm thinking about creating a lens repair video but not sure I want to show more than my hands. 😁 Your thoughts would be appreciated. Also I didn't catch what camera you used , ff or apsc? I'd guess ff. How do you think the other sensor would hold up? Thanks!
Hi there, glad you enjoyed the video! I do sometimes appear on camera but not too often; most of my recent videos have been on lenses and I think it's better to show those to the viewers up close rather than shooting me talking about them. If you're doing a lens repair video it might be best to take the same approach? And if you're not comfortable appearing on camera it's perhaps better not to. As you guessed, all shots on this channel are all shot on ff, unless otherwise stated. Good luck with your video!
I love the softer effects for portraits. Most modern portrait lenses showcase every blemish, pimple, skin pore, makeup detail, etc... Sad.
It depends what you want to achieve I guess - modern lenses can produce stunning results, but somehow with less character than older ones!
@@zenography7923 Concur with the OP. Unless you are shooting children, fashion models or people so weathered that you actually lean into the wrinkles, etc. -- edge-to-edge, hyper-sharp, modern lenses can be incredibly unflattering and typically need to have their micro-contrast softened in post to produce pleasing portraits. Far easier to just shoot with a gracious vintage lens such a the J3, J9, J37a (or almost any sonnar for that matter), Helios-40, canon ltm 50mm (either 1.2 or 1.4), etc. ps-great youTube channel.
This sounds weird I have black jupiter 9 pre set... Now if you sniff it yeah go ahead and it smells of rancid motor oil the grease is breaking down probs old tank grease and it requires new helicoid grease of a modern lithium type... just saying... enjoy all your videos Nigel and a big thank you...from us all 🏡
Hello everyone, Jupiter 9 that you have in the video is not the best (I had the old white KMZ mirror version, good sharpness, reminiscent of Tair 11, you can do a crop.
The black M42 Valdai had significantly worse sharpness (And this was annoying
Nah, for me it's definitely the Jupiter-9. Shadows look to dark and saturation looks overwhelming on this Helios. I'd take a Jupiter 9 lens 85mm and a Helios 44-3 58mm for the price of this Helios.
The Jupiter is nice for sure, but I can't help liking that wacky Helios!
04:20 mins So that means... you should have both !
Maybe!
he sounds like the shame wizard
:)
What do you know about the the Red P version. The P is in cyrillic which looks like this " П " and will be on the inside of the lens ring.
i.etsystatic.com/25183328/r/il/154783/2683814961/il_1140xN.2683814961_qb8v.jpg
You should be able to see it here. Can you see the " П "?
This type seems to have a cult following for some reason which I am trying to identify.
Jim
Lens quality = Cul de Bouteille...