MC Jupiter-9 85mm f/2.0

catza.net photos: MC Jupiter-9 85mm f/2.0

• an all-manual medium telephoto lens
• estimated retail price 220 USD
• in my use from 2/2006 to 11/2008
• is said to be a stunning portrait lens and my findings confirm this

• soft wide open (should suit perfectly to portrait work if you like its unique dreamy softness)
• excellent bokeh probably due to the optical formula and due the fact that the lens has an iris of 15 blades
• very pleasing out-of-focus experience (objects a little bit out of focus have a mist or soft cast around them like it was a painting)
• around f/4 starts to get sharper and at f/8 is sharp
• all metal and glass
• has a very interesting historical background (It is based on an Carl Zeiss' optical formula created in 1930's and used on pre-WW2 Zeiss Sonnar 85mm f/2.0. The factories of Carl Zeiss where located in Germany and after the second world war they were left on the east side. The factories then got transferred to the Soviet Union and were rebuilt there.)

• soft wide open
• weights about a ton
• doesn't mix with words “modern” and “contemporary”