Post-War 1945 Carl Zeiss 35 f2.8 T for Contax Rangefinder Cameras.
The Lens details of a series of images taken by Steve Cushing on mirrorless camera.
Fitting is a duel bayonet Rangefinder (RF) mount with a 34.85mm Flange Distance - this lens will fit and achieve focus to infinity mirrorless cameras but not DSLRs.
Lens History
Carl Zeiss was born in Weimar on 11 September 1816. He built microscopes in Jena from 1846 onward.
The correct way to pronounce "Jenna" is to make it sound like "Yenna" in English.
This Contax version of Biogon 35mm f/2.8 was manufactured by both Carl Zeiss Oberkochen as well as Carl Zeiss Jena (although, while both East and West copies carried same name, designs were drastically different, with the Jena version having a large, protruding rear element This is the Jena version.
The lens was designed as an interchangeable lens for 35mm rangefinder cameras.
This version is quite a rare find as not many were produced as the lack of a viewfinder adapter on the Contax camera made the wide angle lens quite hard to use.
This is designated T as it is a coated lens.
Both Leitz and Zeiss brought out full lines of lenses, and totally dominated the market for 35mm format cameras prior to the DSLR camera evolution.
The philosophies of the two companies were very different.
The lens was designed by Ludwig Bertele. Ludwig Bertele worked first at Ernemann, and later Cal Zeiss from 1926.
In my opinion, Bertele is nothing short of a genius. He continued to design spectacular lenses like the Sonnar F1.5 and the Biogon, both which I think are not only lenses that perform beautifully, but also look beautiful. His lens designs were the leading technology of the time.
Sonnars render images differently due to their asymmetric design.
Lens In Use
This is not an easy lens to use on a digital camera as it is very compact and as such the rear element spreads the light at an angle onto the sensor as can be seen from the diagram (red lines). It has low geometric distortion but with lots of vignetting and colour casting it becomes a true creative enabler when shooting wide vistas, inspiring landscapes, cityscapes and architecture.
So technically whilst well built, the Sonnar “suffers” from issues with spherical aberration, coma, vignetting and field curvature.
Summary
Contax Rangefinder lenses use a double bayonet fitting. Converters for digital cameras can be very expensive. A cheaper solution is to make your own. Front sections of the Russian made Kiev Rangefinder can be purchased and after cutting off the excess brass can be fixed inside a cheap M39 adapter.
Fitting is a duel bayonet Rangefinder (RF) mount with a 34.85mm Flange Distance - this lens will fit and achieve focus to infinity mirrorless cameras but not DSLRs.
Lens History
Carl Zeiss was born in Weimar on 11 September 1816. He built microscopes in Jena from 1846 onward.
The correct way to pronounce "Jenna" is to make it sound like "Yenna" in English.
This Contax version of Biogon 35mm f/2.8 was manufactured by both Carl Zeiss Oberkochen as well as Carl Zeiss Jena (although, while both East and West copies carried same name, designs were drastically different, with the Jena version having a large, protruding rear element This is the Jena version.
The lens was designed as an interchangeable lens for 35mm rangefinder cameras.
This version is quite a rare find as not many were produced as the lack of a viewfinder adapter on the Contax camera made the wide angle lens quite hard to use.
This is designated T as it is a coated lens.
Both Leitz and Zeiss brought out full lines of lenses, and totally dominated the market for 35mm format cameras prior to the DSLR camera evolution.
The philosophies of the two companies were very different.
- Leitz designers believed that lenses should be highly corrected with small amounts of residual aberration.
- Zeiss designers placed more importance on producing a bright image with high contrast.
The lens was designed by Ludwig Bertele. Ludwig Bertele worked first at Ernemann, and later Cal Zeiss from 1926.
In my opinion, Bertele is nothing short of a genius. He continued to design spectacular lenses like the Sonnar F1.5 and the Biogon, both which I think are not only lenses that perform beautifully, but also look beautiful. His lens designs were the leading technology of the time.
Sonnars render images differently due to their asymmetric design.
Lens In Use
This is not an easy lens to use on a digital camera as it is very compact and as such the rear element spreads the light at an angle onto the sensor as can be seen from the diagram (red lines). It has low geometric distortion but with lots of vignetting and colour casting it becomes a true creative enabler when shooting wide vistas, inspiring landscapes, cityscapes and architecture.
- When used wide-open, field-curvature and spherical aberration spreads the depth-of-field across the frame, giving a “3-D” look.
- Open up to F4 and the image is sharp across the field but still suffers colour casting.
- Chromatic aberrations
- Flaring
- Slight sharpness falloff in the corners
- Not the prettiest bokeh
- Slight lack of contrast
- Not a forgiving lens
- Loads of character
- Built quality
- Sharp in the centre
- Good for black and white photography
- Distortion is not too bad
So technically whilst well built, the Sonnar “suffers” from issues with spherical aberration, coma, vignetting and field curvature.
Summary
Contax Rangefinder lenses use a double bayonet fitting. Converters for digital cameras can be very expensive. A cheaper solution is to make your own. Front sections of the Russian made Kiev Rangefinder can be purchased and after cutting off the excess brass can be fixed inside a cheap M39 adapter.
Please note the flange focal distance (FFD) (also known as the flange-to-film distance and flange focal depth) is 34.85mm, therefore these lenses will only focus to infinity on a non DSLR. They work fine on a Mirrorless digital camera.
Summary
In practice, these imperfections produce wonderful and quite unique imperfections that as a creative photographer I personally love. There is some falloff and vignetting in the corners but this gives images from the lens an interesting look, almost a film like look. This can be pretty handy for landscape shots for example. If you enjoy landscape photography and want to have some natural vignetting this lens is a lot of fun. On a beautiful, sunny day you will be able to take pretty shots with a lot of character. If you like slight vignetting and softer corners for a distinct vintage look, this lens is for you.
For images using this lens click HERE
For general information on lens design and lens elements go to the homepage HERE