Free Jupiter 9 85/2!!! Which RF?

[j-dogg]

And it's m39 LTM, so other than the obvious choice which Soviet rangefinder should I get for it?

Split-image is a plus
Not doing zone focusing, F that.

[Terry Christian]

Almost everywhere I read, folks seem to agree, more or less, that the FED-2 is the best Soviet rangefinder. They're somewhat a copy of the Leica IIIf, except that they load from the back and not from the bottom like a Leica. I haven't tried any others, but I have two FED-2 bodies, and love them.

[EASmithV]

SLR conversion adapter?

[mgb74]

I like the Fed-2 and the Zorki-4. But I think there is so much specimen-to-specimen variation in the soviet cameras that it's hard to make a definitive choice.

[polyglot]

M39 to M42 adapter would give you lots more options, maybe including a camera you already own.

[j-dogg]

M39 to M42 adapter would give you lots more options, maybe including a camera you already own.

The m39 I have is for rangefinders with a shorter distance to film plane

m39 for Zenit SLR's would work on my 5D, and I have an EOS adapter but it's great for macro work as I only have 1' of usuable distance.

[sr44]

How about a Voigtlander Bessa-R? A little bit more than the soviet options, but still pretty cheap. I bought mine for a little over $200.

[j-dogg]

For the price I've seen of the glorious Soviet Leica clones, I could get the Voigtlander and the Soviet together

[Xmas]

For the price I've seen of the glorious Soviet Leica clones, I could get the Voigtlander and the Soviet together

Well there is a big cost difference between a

M2 + LTM adapter
Canon 7xx
Canon P
Earlier Canon
Bessa LTM or M + LTM adapter
Zorki 6 to Zorki I
Fed...

The J9 may need recollimating or cleaning etc. the Bessas should be ok at f/2, but the rfdr is harder to use if effective baseline is small.

It depends what sort of shooting you want to do and how much money you want to spend.

Noel

[ntenny]

How about a Voigtlander Bessa-R? A little bit more than the soviet options, but still pretty cheap. I bought mine for a little over $200.

It's a good camera, but there's some reason to believe that there may be a slight difference in focusing standard between the "commie cameras" and the other M39 cameras. (I think Dante Stella experimented and found there was, Karen Nakamura experimented and found there wasn't, or maybe the other way round.) It would be a shame to have a nice lens and a nice body that didn't meet in the middle, especially with a lens like the Sonnar style that does such good work wide open.

Considering the prices, you might consider getting a Bessa-R *and* a CLA'd Fed-2 or Zorki-4. The fSU cameras have a certain charm all their own that's probably worth the price of admission by itself.

-NT