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Carl Zeiss Jena lenses

Hi to all who have express a wish for a link for 300mm f4 tele tessa have been through the first 10 pages of a of Zeiss with out success and have given up for now, so anyboby looking start on page 11. I will continue to look, I will also go through my address book as the fellows email address should be in there. He is based in the far east but will ship he seems to have a stock of these and offer 1 a week for sale.
Hope my next post is of more use.
John
 
I have a Carl Zeiss Jena C/Y mount which I really like, it's a 28mm F2.8 and for a while was my only wide angle, I've absolutely no reason to replace it with a distagon though I do now use a 25mm distagon along side for wide angle stuff (and want a 21mm eventually).

I have seen a 35mm F2.8 Jena for sale in C/Y mount, this was a couple of years ago, but have not seen the longer zooms or for that matter any other Jena lens with C/Y mount. I must add that I have not been hunting for these, just casual observation when passing camera shop and browsing as one does!

Cheers,

Art

Craig wrote:

>Hi Lyn. The only place I've ever seen the Jena zoom lenses >is in England, usually in out-of-the-way second hand camera >stores. In Hong Kong, where I live, I often see Jena fixed >focal length lenses in the second hand shops. I saw a 35mm >F2.8 Jena lens for M42 screw mount a couple of weeks ago, >going for only US$80. I've never seen a Jena lens for C/Y >mount. Sorry.
 
Thanks everyone for the really good ideas and suggestions. I just discovered that there are adapters for the M42 mount lenses to nearly any camera system. Here's a list from B&H: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/links/418.html

I am debating over trying this out. At $15 for the adapter and whatever price for the Zeiss glass in an M42 mount, this sounds reasonably good. If I'm about to embark on a useless endeavor, please let me know. I guess one would have to stop down the aperature manually, but doesn't that just mean I would have to manually open up for focussing, then stop down for shooting, or am I missing something else? I'm going to think this over a few days before leaping in. Barring this, I'll look for a Tokina 400. I have a veritable zoo of songbirds in my garden that I can't identify in any of my bird books just begging to be photographed. This Sunday I went from window to window in the house with a pair of binoculars just wishing I had a lens of better focal length and glass to get them. (Watch them disapear when I have the right gear!)

-Lynn, a confirmed member of zeissaholics non-anonymous email: Lynn@turnkeydesign.net
 
Dear Lynn,
The main problem with non automatic aperture closing is remembering to stop down. I have found this often in the past when I had an excellent 135 Carl Zeiss Jena in M42 with a Y/C mount. You open up to focus, get it just right, take the picture and then remember oh heck- I didn't stop down. That works OK when it was at full aperture anyway...
In the UK M42 lenses are rarely found now whereas once they were plentiful and very reasonable.
John
 
You have a point John. Thanks. Maybe repurposing a long lens isn't the best idea for me. I can envision having the same problem you did now that you point that out. Well, I'll have to think about what I can use in either c/y or eos mount for these birds. Best, Lynn
 
While not exactly the on the same theme...but connected.

I used to have a 300mm f4 medium format Pentacon....Carl Zeiss Jena lens. Lovely construction! It had an M42 adapter to which I threaded on a 35mm C/Y adapter.

It was reasonably sharp but.....the contrast did not live up to my expectations. I was more impressed with my Tamron SP 80-200 f2.8 with a budget 1.4x converter!

I've recently acquired a s/h Tamron 300mm f2.8 LD IF....now we are talking impressive! It's a beaut!

OK... a pukka Contax 300/2.8 Zeiss lens will certainly show the Tamron's failings.....but I'd rather have a Tamron and splash out on a car, or 2,800 rolls of film than shell out all that loot on the Zeiss!

My 2p's worth.

Cheers, Bob.
 
Lynn,
I would not go out of my way to get a Zeiss Jena in M42 mount and then get an adapter for Y/C. However, I would keep my eyes open for a good bargain. For long teles you often use the maximum aperture anyway (if you are hand-holding, to get the fastest shutter speed), or you use a tripod and then the whole picture-taking is more elaborate and you have time to remember about stopping-down.

Regarding aperture and long teles, one can remember that mirror lenses have a fixed aperture. That does not prevent them from being extremely useful and economic for their specific purpose (a nice feature on cheap & light mirror lenses can be found in Keppler's SLR section on this month's Popular Photography & Imaging).

Good luck in your search for the 400mm Tokina (don't check Photodo's score!)

Juan
 
The prevalent problem is obviously the difficult compatibility between C/Y mount and lens screw mount. Bit off-topic, bought myself a 35mm 2.8 Flektogon several years ago and did some comparison shots between the Flektogon on my old screw mount body and 28mm Distagon on my Contax. I'm everything but a pro and didn't go down to single grain analysis, but for a hopeless CZ disciple the outcome was quite a surprise. Good sharpness, colors weren't as good on the Distagon, albeit the different and more modern metering on the Contax body must be taken into account - yet purchase price ratio between used Flektogon and used Distagon was about 1:8! As unplanned result the old M42 body wasn't sold and the Flektogon got company over time by a 50mm Tessar (once been nicknamed as eagle's eye) and 135mm Sonnar, all of CZ Jena. To make matters worse I've just read an article that Voigtlaender (OEM'ed by Cosina) supposedly plans to lauch a screw mount Bessaflex SLR soon. Thomas
 
Good afternoon everyone.
In view of the recent discussions about Carl Zeiss Jena lenses,I though that people might be intersted in an ostensible 24mm Carl Zeiss Jena lens which I found for a fairly reasonable price in a camera shop locally. I already have the Distagon 25mm lens so I know that I didn't need the new one but as it's part of the web of Zeiss history I couldn't resist it, also it will make a useful lightweight alternative lens to use in circumstances where I don't want to risk the expensive Distagon.
I have tried to research the lens on the internet but I cannot find much out about it. Perhaps it's just as well as I don't want to be too disappointed!
The lens is marked "lens made in Japan under licence from VEB Carl Zeiss Jena".
Interestingly it is an MM type but with the smallest aperture marked in yellow rather than the usual green. The aperture controlling lever is a fraction longer than that of Zeiss West lenses and Yashica lenses and it very slightly marks the matt black paint in the mount area where it apparently just touches. It's not sufficient of a problem to be of concern.
It appears from research on the www that the lens may have been made by Sigma and that CZ Jena did contract some lens making to the Japanese in the 70's. I would have thought however, that as my lens is an MM type,it must have been made at least as late as the mid 80's. It is pretty well in as new condition.
John
 
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