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The Jupiter-8 is a very old 50mm f/2 lens with a 40.5mm filter size manufactured from 1950-1974 in the Soviet Union. This model was made in the mid to late 1950's; for some reason there is something special about using a lens that was manufactured over 60 years ago. These lenses are very plentiful on the used market, and there are various different models and manufacture years. If you are looking for a newer model from the 70's choose one of the black models. Being a lens manufactured in the Soviet Union these lenses are extremely affordable typically found under $60 even in mint condition. I picked up my model for only $50 from eBay. I have heard there are some defective versions out there and being from the Soviet Union I wouldn't doubt it, but personally I received a perfect version with very minimal blemishes. Considering that there is a good chance this lens managed to outlive it's manufacturer, this lens is tremendously great condition. I would advise spending more for the better version like I did to insure you receive a good model. The Jupiter-8 carries a classic LTM or Leica thread mount; this means that you can adapt this to new and old Leica or M-mount cameras as well as any mirrorless cameras. I have a M-mount adapter on mine because I frequently use it on my Bessa R2.
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Build Quality
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The Jupiter-8 is constructed of all metal and glass and it comes in a very small package. The outside is made of a polished aluminum which looks great and adds to the vintage aesthetic. The Jupiter has an unusually long focus throw for a rangefinder which is great for precise focusing, but it makes quick focusing more difficult. The focus ring is very smooth and there is a textured portion on the focus ring that helps to prevent slipping while focusing. The aperture ring is clickless which means you have to look at the lens to know when your aperture stops are. This is great for shooting video, but it makes for a bit slower shooting when changing apertures. These lenses are only single coated with a very soft glass; this means that the front element of this lens will be scratched very easily. Even this model in near mint condition has quite a few scratches on the front element, but this does not effect image quality. Scratches will create more flare in images which can make shooting on sunny days difficult.
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Aperture/Focus
The Jupiter-8 aperture stops from f/2-f/22 and focuses from 1m - infinity. It has 9 rounded aperture blades which should make for very smooth out of focus areas at all apertures. Surprisingly rangefinder lenses from over 60 years ago have better aperture irises than many of modern SLR lenses. For some reason most SLR lenses had 7-8 non-circular blades on their apertures until recent years. This seems like an obvious desirable feature as it really helps with smoother bokeh. The minimum focus distance of this lens is 1 meter; this is a little long compared to modern rangefinder lenses but pretty typical for older ones. You certainly won't be able to do any close up work with this lens, but 1m is more than adequate for things like portraits.
Image Quality/Sharpness
The image quality on the Jupiter-8 is what you can expect from a 60 year old lens, soft and glowing at f/2 with extremely poor edge sharpness. The degradation of corner sharpness when shooting at the wider apertures seems quite poor, but you have to realize that this lens was never meant for a digital sensor. When shooting 35mm film you would never do such a heavy crop, so you probably wouldn't really notice the dramatically soft corners. Corner sharpness is extremely poor wide open and remains quite poor all the way until f/5.6-f/8. Center sharpness is also fairly poor at f/2 but sharpens up around f/4. You can see some abberation and fringing when shooting wide open; it presents itself as a soft glow that surrounds the entire image. This actually can be quite desirable especially for portraits. Overall the sharpness of this lens is nothing astounding, but when you take into account the price it is a quite good.
Vignetting
The Jupiter-8 controls vignetting quite well for a lens from the 50s. There is visible vignetting when shooting wide open, but it is not overwhelming and in normal situations it is subtle. Vignetting improves a lot when stopped down to f/2.8, and it virtually disappears at f/4. In normal images shot at f/2.8 you will most likely not even notice it which is quite impressive with a lens this old. Personally, I have never found vignetting to be an issue and actually sometimes I quite enjoy it, but it is known to be an undesirable quality of a lens.
Flare
The Jupiter-8 is from a time when lens coatings was a relatively new concept, and for this reason this lens is obviously single coated. The lens coating on the Jupiter-8 is light and does not do a great job of protection like modern lenses. Many Jupiter lenses scratch very easily, and this will add to the flare issue. This lens tends to flare quite bad, and this is to be expected. The lack of coatings on the lens will mean that you won't see any color from the flare, but you can definitely see the lower contrast through the entire frame. If you are not careful this could potentially render your image unusable. I'm certain you can find screw on filter hoods for this lens which will assist in preventing some stray light from entering the lens, but pointing directly at the sun will certainly give you problems.
Bokeh
The bokeh on the Jupiter-8 is actually quite pleasing. I find it beautifully smooth and soft; it also keeps this nice bokeh even when stopping down thanks to the rounded aperture blades. The pleseant bokeh combined with the overall softness wide open makes for a spectacular portrait lens.
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Conclusion
The Jupiter-8 is a unique lens from a country that no longer exists. I have found that this lens brings many great conversations with fellow photographers. I enjoy the feeling of using this lens even with its flaws; it has an extensive unknown history. I frequently think of the journey this lens has made, and how many owners it’s found itself under. This is simply not a quality of modern lenses, which is partially why I've developed such an attraction to vintage optics. These lenses are quite affordable, and this is a refreshing change from the usual premium that comes with rangefinder lenses. The price of this lens alone makes up for any quality issues it has. If you are on a budget using an m-mount system this is a fantastic choice (although if you have a M-mount camera you can most likely afford a moderately priced lens). This is also a great lens to play with on a mirrorless system for little cost. If you are looking at this lens for performance you will be disappointed, it has quite poor image quality from today's standards, poor vignetting wide open, strong flare potential, and potential for defect. With this being said it does have quite desirable bokeh, good build quality, clickless aperture, very plentiful, and of course extremely affordable. I would recommend this lens to anyone who wishes to use a very old lens or just wants to try something new. This lens is a great start to a passion for vintage optics that I have found myself consumed with.
