Jupiter 37-A 135mm f/3.5, An Album Page

Album images with a Jupiter 37-A 135mm f/3.5, widely considered one of the best Soviet-era lenses, with images shot on an Olympus Pen E-P5 and a Pentax K-m.

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The Jupiter-37A 135mm f/3.5, introduced in the late 1970s (specifically around 1978) by the Kazan Optical-Mechanical Factory (KOMZ) in the Soviet Union, is a highly regarded, fully manual Soviet-era telephoto prime lens, with a modular rear shank. The lens is known for its exceptional sharpness, beautiful bokeh, and rich color rendering.

It is a 4-element, 3-group construction (based on the Carl Zeiss Sonnar design), featuring 12 or 11 aperture blades, a dual-ring preset stepless aperture ring, a minimum focusing distance of 1.2 meters, and accepts 52mm filters. It weighs between 370 and 410 grams, depending on the version.

The 'A' designation in the lens name indicates that the lens has a modular rear shank. This means that, while the lens is natively a standard M42 screw mount, the rear piece can be swapped, for example, to a native Nikon F mount (KP-A/N adapter) to achieve infinity focus on vintage Nikon DSLRs without the need for corrective glass.

The lens also appears in versions that include an MC model, which offers multi-coating for improved flare control and contrast, along with a rare 'Olympics' edition celebrating the 1980 Moscow Olympics. This version features the official emblem of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games and is considered a collector's item.

Album Images

Images posted are shot with the lens mounted on a 16MP Live MOS Olympus Pen E-P5 (2013), which shares the same DNA with the acclaimed OM-D E-M5, and a 10.2MP APS-C CCD Pentax K-m (2008).

On the Olympus E-P5, the Jupiter-37A 135mm f/3.5 is equivalent to a 270mm telephoto prime on a full-frame camera, a focal length ideal for portraiture, as it provides excellent subject separation between the subject and the smooth and creamy bokeh background; street photography, for compressing distances and capturing candid moments from a distance; or for focusing on architectural detailing and associated decor elements.

Olympus Pen E-P5, Jupiter 37-A 135mm f/3.5

Using the lens mounted on the camera, however, may require the camera to be supported on a tripod or other hard surfaces, aside from utilizing the E-P5's IBIS (In-Body Stabilization) system to get sharp handheld shots at this focal length.

On the Pentax K-m, the lens is equivalent to a 202.2mm telephoto prime lens on a full-frame camera, making it an excellent choice for head-and-shoulder portraits, street photography, and compressing distant landscapes. The lens allows you to stay back and capture subjects without intruding on their space, whilst the background blur, with the lens's multiple aperture blades, remains perfectly round and smooth even when stopped down.

Pentax K-m, Jupiter 37-A 135mm f/3.5

With the Jupiter-37A 135mm f/3.5 mounted on the Pentax K-m (K2000), in manual mode, press the Exposure Compensation button just before the mode dial to set the shutter speed for the correct exposure, and have a perfectly exposed image as you release the shutter.