January 14, 2021

Юпитер-8 covid-19: day 287 | US: GA | info | act

OK, I got another one, and it’s really nice: a silver Jupiter-8 2/50. I was a bit concerned when I first opened the package: there are cleaning marks (i.e., scratches) all over the front element—something the seller did not disclose on the eBay ad; all it said was “In decent shape for its age.” Yeah. That said, the body is in great shape, so I tried it out.

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Look at the nice bokeh—almost like a Russian Summicron with its ability to render that three-dimensionality. It even works well with the close-focus adapter. I would say its only drawback is its softness wide-open, but that’s nothing a bit of sharpening in post won’t fix. It may have a slight vintage glow, too.

Here’s Henry after school, when the sun was just hitting that magic hour. The colors are excellent, and I tweaked them very little.

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I like the Industar 61 2.8/55, but this Jupiter-8 is even better. I really think f/2 is a pretty perfect aperture for me: fast enough to render the sweet bokeh, but not too fast that I miss the focus, like I often did with this lens’ faster brother, the Jupiter-3 1.5/50. And I’m happy to see the scratches on the front element do not seem to affect the image. This one is a win.