The Galleria, Photo of the Day

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

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

The Galleria, Photo of the Day

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

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

The Galleria, Photo of the Day

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

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

The Galleria, Photo of the Day

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

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

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

CCD Resurgence: Images with a vintage legacy Jupiter-37A 135mm f/3.5, acclaimed for its exceptional sharpness, 12-blade circular bokeh, and rugged all-metal build, a 202.5mm full-frame telephoto equivalent on the Pentax K-m.

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

The Jupiter-37A 135mm f/3.5, one of the highlights of the film photography era, is a highly regarded pre-set prime known for extreme sharpness, 12-blade creamy bokeh, and robust metal construction. The lens, originally based on a Zeiss Sonnar design, is a Soviet-era swappable T-mount (produced mainly by KMZ / Zenit) which typically comes with a M42 screw mount.

The lens, a long-time favorite with vintage enthusiasts for its compact size, metallic build, and pleasing rendering, especially for portraits and controlled telephoto work, was introduced in 1974.

The solid all-metal and glass compact (multi-coated if it comes with an MC designation) is a 4-element in 3 groups construction, has a minimum focusing distance of 0.12 meters, takes 52mm filters, weighs 410 grams, and enjoys a rating of Sharpness at 9.0, Aberrations at 8.7, Bokeh at 8.7, Handling at 8.1, and Value at 9.5 on PentaxForums.

The lens also carries the designation "-A" to denote that the lens has a removable shank and can be installed in other camera lens mount systems. Variants of the lens include a multi-coated "MC" version and a "K" version with a PK mount.

On the Pentax K-m, the Jupiter-37A 135mm f/3.5 is equivalent to a 202.5mm lens on a full-frame camera. The focal length, categorized as a medium telephoto, offers a balance between magnification and perspective compression, with a narrower field of view ideal for portraiture, street photography, and isolating subjects.

In use, pre-setting the lens to its designated aperture opening, and closing the aperture to the setting before taking the shot, whilst framing and focusing is done at full aperture, is the way forward.

To set, first turn the aperture ring to its smallest opening (f/22), press the aperture ring down towards the body of the camera, and turn it to the required aperture setting. Release the ring and turn it slightly to the right to click the lock into place, and you are ready to go.

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

In manual mode on the Pentax, you still have the advantage of using the green button (the Exposure Compensation button on the K-m) to quickly set the shutter speed and aperture for proper exposure. Do this by pressing the button before releasing the shutter.

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

Cameras and Lenses: Images with a legacy Jupiter-37A 135mm f/3.5, widely acclaimed as one of the finest Soviet-era telephoto lenses, praised for its exceptional sharpness, 12-blade circular bokeh, and compact metal build, a 270mm full-frame equivalent on the Olympus PEN E-P5.

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Acquired another copy of the Jupiter-37A 135mm f/3.5 lens recently, after the earlier copy went to a buyer; did my normal quick edit of the garden, and had the images edited on my desktop. As expected, images with the sturdy as-a-tank 37-A are very sharp, even when shot wide-open, with good micro-contrast, natural color rendition, and smooth bokeh.

Had the images been cropped to the square format, or the 1:1 aspect ratio as well, which in itself is an interesting way to present images. Unlike images in either the portrait or landscape format, where the eye is either drawn from top to bottom or from left to right, the square photo format draws the eye to the center of the composition and then lets the eye explore the entire frame without providing any implicit direction because of the frame.

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

Square format images are, of course, not new, as they were first introduced by Rollei in 1929, later by Holga and Hasselblad, and came back to focus with mobile photo apps like Instagram and Hipstamatic.