Zorki-4K Jupiter 12 FP4+

This the test film of a Jupiter-12 1:2.8 f=35mm lens received among a set of Russian opticals including as well a Jupiter-11 telelens 1:4 f=135mm, a KMZ Universal multi-focal finder, and 3 Hoya filter in the 40.5mm screw mount.

 

The Jupiter-12 is a copy of the pre-war Carl Zeiss Biogon 3.5cm f/2.8 for the Contax that Russia produced since 1948 to around 1980. Biogon is of course a non-retro focus lens that penetrate deeply in the camera body with a protruding last glass element that should be protected with the special rear lens cap that came with. The lens was manufactured in 1975 by theKMZ sister company LZOS company (Lytkarinski Zavod Opticheskogo Strekla) in Lytkarino (Moscow region).

 

I equipped my Zorki-4K body with the lens plus the Hoya Yellow filter, and the universal KMZ finder. There ange finder is coupled to the lens and gives correct distance measurements.

 

The camera was loaded with an Ilford FP4+ 24-exposure film. It was exposed for 80 ISO instead of 125 ISO to compensate the yellow filter absorption; I used my Autometer III Minolta lightmeter fitted with a 10° finder for selective measurements privileging the shadow areas.

 

Parc de la Cerisaie - Villa Gillet, June 3, 2023

69004 Lyon

France

 

(Parc de la Cerisaie and the Villa Gillet were the domain of the Gillet dynasty founded by François Gillet (1813-1895) owner of the chemistry empire "Progil" (chemistry, polymers and textiles) that merged then to "Rhône-Poulenc" in the seventies, then (after several successive others merging) to SANOFI)

 

After exposure, the film was processed using Adox Adonal (Agfa Rodinal) developper at dilution 1+25 and 20°C for 9min. The film was then digitalized using a Sony A7 body fitted to a Minolta Slide Duplicator installed on a Minolta Auto Bellows III with a lens Minolta Bellow Macro Rokkor 50mm f/3.5. The RAW files obtained were processed without intermediate files in LR and edited to the final jpeg pictures.

 

All views of the film are presented in the dedicated album either in the printed framed versions and unframed full-size jpeg accompanied by some documentary smartphone Vivio Y76 color pictures.

 

About the camera :

 

This Zorki-4K camera was manufactured in 1977 by KMZ company ( Красногорский механический завод, Krasnogorskiy Mechanicheskiy Zavod) located in the Moscow region. KMZ also manufactured the ZENIT SLR's among many other productions. Zorki 4K was produced between 1972 to 1978 and the previous Zorki models were inspired by the Leica II since 1949. This model 'Made in USSR" is branded in roman characters, intentionally for exportation. Other Zorki 4K were also branded in Cyrillic as "Зоркий". Zorki 4K was sold basically either with this Jupiter-8 lens 1:2 f=50mm or the Industar lens1:3.5 f=50mm. The Jupiter-8 is a Sonnar Zeiss optical formula and fits to the Zorki body using the screwing 39mm Leica mount.

 

Its was sold to me in August 2022 with its original ever-ready leather bag, a front lens cap and a small shade hood accessory Minolta D42KA. The shade hood and filter of my Focaflex also fit to the Jupiter lens (Leica standard 42 mm filter)

Done