The Jupiter 38 is a rare Soviet lens that stands out for its unique design and impressive performance. Originally created for the Selena police camera (used by the Soviet traffic police in the early 90s), this lens was intended to capture photos of number plates. The Jupiter 38 has some distinctive design characteristics, such as its double ‘diaphragm’. This feature was probably designed to make the lens more resistant to backlight, ensuring that the lens does not lose all contrast when there is backlight in the frame. The lens was made in the Belomo plant, and its serial number indicates that it wasn’t produced in a very high quantity.
The Jupiter 38 has five glass elements in a Sonnar design, a well-regarded optical scheme known for producing sharp images. The Jupiter 38’s aperture ranges from F4 to F22 and it has a minimum focusing distance of one meter. The lens also boasts an aperture with 12 blades, promising circular bokeh at any aperture. The Jupiter 38 has an M42 mount, but it’s not a standard one since it was made for the Selena police camera. As a result, when adapting it to a regular M42 adapter, the flange of the adapter may catch on the edge of the lens.
The Jupiter 38 delivers impressively sharp images, particularly at F/5.6. The lens has excellent contrast throughout the frame and does not suffer much from chromatic aberration. The bokeh it produces ranks highly among the best Soviet lenses, providing a beautiful separation between the foreground and background. The colours it produces are modern and impressive, maybe a touch on the warm side. The lens also has a wide depth of field, making it a good choice for videographers looking for a lens with character, beautiful bokeh, and good depth of field.
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