Looking for an excellent portrait lens for your rangefinder or SLR camera?  Like to gamble? Look no further.

The Jupiter 9 85mm f2.0 lens is available in a variety of mounts: LTM (Leica Thread Mount), Kiev (Contax), M42, and is a very very nice lens that is also a bit of a gamble. A lot of later versions made in the former Soviet Union were either not well assembled or have been repaired (read ruined) and misassembled.

Earlier date of manufacture (see serial number) is better than later.

Lens mounted on  a Cosina Voigtlander Bessa R (LTM mount):


Two test photos made with the Jupiter 9 on the Bessa R:



Above photo shows good focus at 2-2.5 meters.



The second shot of Sylvester shows that at minimum focus distance, about 1 meter, although the rangefinder/viewfinder of the Bessa R shows focus on the cat's eyes, but the truth is the lens is a little further out.  This is about as good as the Jupiter 9 gets. Some examples are way off and need repair or junking.  But if you get a good one, you have a great lens.

(These photos are stored on my account on flickr, try flickr it is the best photo sharing site on the web)

I own an Epson Perfection 2350 flat bed scanner which came with several negative frame holders. These are flat black plastic  "sheets" that  can hold 35mm  negatives,  35mm slides, and 4x5  negatives or  120 size  film  negatives or uncut  transparency film strips.

In my never-ending battle against clutter and in pursuit of the perfect physical organization of my computer workstation and camera related  gadgetry, I move things around.  Over a year ago I was unable to  find the "sheet" for 4x5 and 120 film negatives. This was a drag since there is no local  lab that can handle 6x9 cm negatives  to make prints. I would have to send film to Toronto for that.  I  own an old folding medium format camera, an Agfa Record III Billy with a 105mm Apotar lens, which produces 6x9 cm images on 120 roll film.  The advantage of this camera is that it folds up and is easy to carry and the large negative can produce very detailed photographs.

So no scanner "sheet"  no scans.  Until last week when as I moved a pile of photographic magazines from one spot to another, I happened to "cut the deck" and lo and behold the 120 frame "sheet" emerged.  Great joy.

I can now put film back into the Agfa Record III and be able to scan the negatives once again.

The moral of the story is try to put stuff where you won't lose it, and if you don't do that, keep moving stuff around and eventually the "lost" stuff will surface.


Agfa Record III opened


Agfa Record III with the lens collapsed and the "front door" closed.

David Keenan - Contemporary colour, black and white, and infrared fine art photography.

Photographs made in Czech Republic, Italy and Texas. Beautiful work

Nikon F2 professional level systems camera body was introduced in 1971. "Photomic" refers to the metering viewfinder head which this example is shown with. The Nikkor 85mm lens, perfect length for portraits, is in the old Nikon lens mount, the non-AI mount. While this means it cannot be mounted without damaging almost all more recent Nikon bodies (the FM is one exception that permits non-AI as well as AI mount lenses) it has superb quality and can be bought used for a very reasonable price.

Photography in Malaysia is a website that has a lot of information about Nikon cameras and lenses, the link below will bring you to the page with everything you want to know about the Nikon F2 Photomic.

Pentax S1a 35mm SLR camera with Super Takumar 55mm f2.0 lens - meterless camera body
  Pentax Spotmatic with Super Takumar 50mm f1.4 lens - built in light meter

Digital cameras are taking over but for a small investment perhaps $75 you can purchase a Pentax SLR and lens and take some wonderful photographs. eBay is the place to look for current prices. Pentax lenses for these models are referred to as "screwmount" or "M42".  A 200mm f4 lens can be had for around $100. There are many bargains to be had. These lenses are of equal optical quality to the lenses of today and may surpass some of the "kit" lenses sold today. With an adapter, you can use these lenses on Pentax DSLR cameras with some reduced functionality. These metal constructed optical wonders are still very useful.

I met Al Kaplan online at the Photonet Leica forum, heck, I even have a t-shirt with his face on it. He is a master photographer and has used a variety of camera gear over the years but mostly he is a black and white Leica kind of guy.  Very knowledgeable, opinionated and helpful.  His photoblog got some special recognition by Yahoo. Al is a Floridian and has begun posting his life's work of photos and stories on his blog, great viewing and reading. Lots of famous people going back to the 60s. He calls his blog The Price of Silver. For the past year or so he has been experimenting with a modern Leica thread mount Cosina Voigtlander 15mm lens and making a series of self-portraits where he holds the camera out at arm's length and fires the shutter. The extreme wide angle view of the 15mm lens makes for some fascinating shots. But equally interesting is the photographs showing the history of Miami area since the 60s. Highly recommended.

the link below will get you to Al's blog

Gene M has been buying old cameras for several years and often finds unfinished rolls of film inside. He has mastered the art and science of using current film chemistry to develop old film. But more importantly he opens these "time capsules" and we are then able to see the past.

here is a recent page showing an old Brownie camera that used the old 620 film format  http://westfordcomp.com/classics/brownieflash620/june06/index.htm

The link below is the main photographic page for the site. Click on Films Found in Old Cameras and marvel at what Gene has accomplished in his photographic archaeology.

I first encountered the exceptionally fine photography of Ian MacEacheran over on photo.net. His photos of industrial workers and of New Brunswick life (1960s) as well as other subjects are outstanding. His photos of an asylum are especially moving.

His skill, his attention to composition and in conveying story through his images is second to none. If you want a treat for your eye and soul, check out his work.

MacEacheran was born in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, in 1942.

He has used Leica rangefinder cameras and the Nikon F SLR. His work is mainly in black and white.

At photo.net, MacEacheran has photos at : http://www.photo.net/photos/iwmac