Sonnar 5cm/2 on a Contax IIa

raid

raid

Dad Photographer
Local time
4:38 PM
Joined
Nov 2, 2005
Messages
36,567
I am getting addicted to my old Zeiss Sonnar 5cm/2 and the Contax IIa. I just love the rendition from this old Sonnar. The bokeh is smooth, but it cannot handle well direct light.
 

Attachments

  • 481841-R1-00-0 small.JPG
    481841-R1-00-0 small.JPG
    156.7 KB · Views: 0
  • 481841-R1-01-1 small.JPG
    481841-R1-01-1 small.JPG
    139 KB · Views: 0
  • 481841-R1-02-2 small.JPG
    481841-R1-02-2 small.JPG
    141.2 KB · Views: 0
Last edited:
I used Kodak C41 B&W film, and I had the film commercially developed and scanned.
 

Attachments

  • 481841-R1-05-5 small.JPG
    481841-R1-05-5 small.JPG
    171.6 KB · Views: 0
  • 481841-R1-06-6 small.JPG
    481841-R1-06-6 small.JPG
    250.8 KB · Views: 0
  • 481841-R1-22-22 small.JPG
    481841-R1-22-22 small.JPG
    104.1 KB · Views: 0
There's something magical about that uncoated Sonnar, especially in low-light.

Use the Zeiss-Opton 50mm F1.5 Sonnar for the bright lights!
 
Brian Sweeney said:
There's something magical about that uncoated Sonnar, especially in low-light.

Use the Zeiss-Opton 50mm F1.5 Sonnar for the bright lights!
Click to expand...

Hi Brian,

Is the Opton a very different lens at 2.0 than the 5cm/2.0 non-Opton lens?
Is sounds strange to reommend using the faster lens for bright lights.
 
I used to own a prewar Contax with an uncoated Tessar lens and it too was lovely to use. I was surprised at how nice a signature it had for such a simple formula. I later found that the simple forumula is why it took such nice pictures - not a lott of air to glass surfaces to stuff things up.

I will try to find some pictures I took with it as it shows how another of Contax's lenses performed.

EDIT:

Ok here is a shot. Not a very good scan I am afraid but I like how these old uncoated lenses handle the middle tones.

Picture32xv.jpg
 
Last edited:
If your f/2 Sonnar is the prewar collapsible one (which makes a really nice combination with the compact IIa body), then yes, the f/1.5 Opton Sonnar is much better in bright light. As far as the bright light issue is concerned, this is a function of the antireflection coating on the Opton lens, but in addition, the f/1.5 Opton seems (in my experience) to be a remarkably crisp lens, more so than even the postwar f/2.
 
rick oleson said:
If your f/2 Sonnar is the prewar collapsible one (which makes a really nice combination with the compact IIa body), then yes, the f/1.5 Opton Sonnar is much better in bright light. As far as the bright light issue is concerned, this is a function of the antireflection coating on the Opton lens, but in addition, the f/1.5 Opton seems (in my experience) to be a remarkably crisp lens, more so than even the postwar f/2.
Click to expand...

Rick,

My 50/2 Sonnar is the rigid version and not collapsible. Does this make it a later version of the 50/2? There are comments online that state the opinion that the 50/1.5 is the sharper lens.
 
Yes, that would be the postwar model... all prewar f/2 Sonnars were collapsible, all postwar were rigid (there were also some wartime rigid Carl Zeiss Jena sonnars, I assume yours is not one of those). The earlier ones (around 1950-53) are marked Opton-Sonnar, later ones are marked "Carl Zeiss". I don't have the postwar f/2 at the moment, I have had the later version in the past. My f/1.5 Opton is a more crisp and contrasty lens than my f/2 was. It doesn't seem to make sense, especially in that time period, but that was how they looked to me.
 
Raid, does your lens have the "T" on it?

The CZJ Post-war 5cm f2 is a different formula from the Pre-War CZJ 5cm f2.

The Post War Zeiss Opton 50/1.5 is a different formula than the pre-war 5cm F1.5.

The F1.5 lenses are sharper, in my experience.
 
I'm not sure if they were sold that way, but some of the earliest Black Dial IIa's may have come with rigid CZJ lenses: in the instruction manual, the lenses on the cameras in all of the photos are Carl Zeiss Jena. This was before the facility in Oberkochen was ready, and before the Zeiss folks fully realized that they were supposed to hate each other like good Cold Warriors. My 1950 Rolleiflex also has a Carl Zeiss Jena lens, there was a brief window of cooperation before things fell apart.
 
Raid, a serial number over 3 million would indicate that your rigid 50/2 sonnar is a postwar lens. The post WW2 lenses from CZJ usually had aluminum alloy bodies (rarely chrome), and were "T" coated. I used to have a post-war CZJ 50/2, but sold it because I preferred the fit and finish of the Opton and Carl Zeiss lenses. Also, I think that the later West German Opton and CZ lenses were better performers than the early 1946 to 1950 vintage CZJ lenses.

Oh, I forgot to add that I too like the rendition of the old Sonnars for B & W film, especially the pre-war uncoated versions. Have to be careful about flare with the uncoated lenses, though. Nice pics of the family.
 
Last edited:
Raid

Nice set of photos. I have not tried my collapsible pre war uncoated 50/2 yet but I have used my pre war uncoated 50/1.5 and found sharp as I could want even wide open. The only downside is that it flares but a hood helps. A post war coated lens might go a long way to solving the flare issue with these old uncoated lenses.

Bob
 
Yes, many black dial IIa's were sold w/rigid "E. German" CZJ 5cm/2 Sonnars, especially in the U.S. market. My understanding is that these lenses were optically identical to the prewar & WWII-era 5cm/2 Sonnars, w/"T" coating.

rick oleson said:
I'm not sure if they were sold that way, but some of the earliest Black Dial IIa's may have come with rigid CZJ lenses: in the instruction manual, the lenses on the cameras in all of the photos are Carl Zeiss Jena. This was before the facility in Oberkochen was ready, and before the Zeiss folks fully realized that they were supposed to hate each other like good Cold Warriors. My 1950 Rolleiflex also has a Carl Zeiss Jena lens, there was a brief window of cooperation before things fell apart.
Click to expand...
 
I took a post war Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm F2 "T" apart once- I think they tweeked it. I'll double check and get some pictures. I was going to make a Coated Collapsible out of it...
 
Nice pictures Raid. I have only one Contax lens and that's a 50mm f1.5 T coated sonnar (attached to a IIIa). I have also read in several places that the f1.5 is a sharper lens than the f2 which is the opposite to what you would expect. There are some interesting historic facts at...

http://johnlind.tripod.com/zi/zeissikontext.html

All the best.

--
Monz
 
Nikon Bob said:
Raid

Nice set of photos. I have not tried my collapsible pre war uncoated 50/2 yet but I have used my pre war uncoated 50/1.5 and found sharp as I could want even wide open. The only downside is that it flares but a hood helps. A post war coated lens might go a long way to solving the flare issue with these old uncoated lenses.

Bob
Click to expand...

Bob,

I will check my 5cm/2 out when I get home from work. Brian sold me his 50/1.5 last week, so I will soon be able to make comparisons. Dante Stella mentions that the 50/1.5 is sharper than the 50/2.
 
dexdog said:
Raid, a serial number over 3 million would indicate that your rigid 50/2 sonnar is a postwar lens. The post WW2 lenses from CZJ usually had aluminum alloy bodies (rarely chrome), and were "T" coated. I used to have a post-war CZJ 50/2, but sold it because I preferred the fit and finish of the Opton and Carl Zeiss lenses. Also, I think that the later West German Opton and CZ lenses were better performers than the early 1946 to 1950 vintage CZJ lenses.

Oh, I forgot to add that I too like the rendition of the old Sonnars for B & W film, especially the pre-war uncoated versions. Have to be careful about flare with the uncoated lenses, though. Nice pics of the family.
Click to expand...

Mark,
My Sonnar 5cm/2 in LTM is uncoated and looks very old and "basic". If my Contax mount 50/2 turns out to be a post-War lens, then this woudl be fine with me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom