asking about contax lens

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monster

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Hello

I'm new contax user😉

I use contax s2 and it come with contax plannar 50 mm f/1.7 it's very good camera, i like it😎


i want to buy some lens to fit my usage but i found contax have an MM , AE type.

what's mean MM type or AM type

some seller say lens is a MMJ type that's make me confuse:bang:

how i can identify type of contax lens?



other question is

i looking for new 50 mm f/1.4 lens to use instead my 50 mm f/1.7 because i want more close focusing from 60 cm to 45 cm and f/1.4 help me in many situation in low light.

how much diffrent of picture quality on these two lens? compare to money i must pay?



Thanks you
 
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The C/Y mount Contax Zeiss T* lenses are among the best bang for the buck you can get out there these days. It's Zeiss with T* coating, what more can you ask? 🙂

AE lenses are older, MM lenses are newer. In theory (or internet-lore), there are optical quality differences between them, but I've yet encounter a picture-to-picture comparison proving this. Price-wise, MM went for more.

And of course there are some that are actually manufactured in Germany, that is even more expensive (collectors eat them up).

Your 50/1.7 is one of the best 50mm lenses out there, in my eyes, it's sharper than the 1.4. However the 50/1.4 is quite a bargain these days, if you're patient, you can get one between $150-200.

If you like 35mm, look out for the Distagon 35/2.8. This one is my favorite C/Y mount lens.
 
BTW the difference between MM and AE type is that Ae lenses are aperture priority and MM lenses are "multi mode" and can use the Program setting on the camera. This is really the only difference and I don't think the S2 has "Program" mode, so the AE lenses will probably be good enough (and will save you money).

MMJ means MM- Japan - the lens was made in Japan.

For close focusing, the distagon 28 is great! That lens is the reason I am selling Distagon 35mm AE.

I also have the sonnar 85 2.8, another good, underrated lens.

There is no difference between lenses made in Germany and Japan except price.

Check out these sites: http://www.cdegroot.com/cgi-bin/photowiki/ContaxLenses

And this site has some Carl Zeiss lenses he uses with his Canons. He has great reviews:

http://slrlensreview.com/content/section/17/51/
 
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shadowfox said:
The C/Y mount Contax Zeiss T* lenses are among the best bang for the buck you can get out there these days. It's Zeiss with T* coating, what more can you ask? 🙂

AE lenses are older, MM lenses are newer. In theory (or internet-lore), there are optical quality differences between them, but I've yet encounter a picture-to-picture comparison proving this. Price-wise, MM went for more.

And of course there are some that are actually manufactured in Germany, that is even more expensive (collectors eat them up).

Your 50/1.7 is one of the best 50mm lenses out there, in my eyes, it's sharper than the 1.4. However the 50/1.4 is quite a bargain these days, if you're patient, you can get one between $150-200.

If you like 35mm, look out for the Distagon 35/2.8. This one is my favorite C/Y mount lens.
Click to expand...

There are no optical quality differences between AE and MM lenses, especially "in theory", as they are optically identical (unless there is an odd lens in the line-up, which I am not aware of, in which there was an optical change coincident with the change to MM).

There is a functional difference between AE and MM lenses, though, in that MM lenses allow for shutter-priority and program mode operation on those cameras that support them. On cameras that do not support these modes, AE and MM lenses work the same (i.e., manual mode or aperture-priority). On cameras that do support the MM features, an AE lenses will only work in manual or aperture-priority mode.

If I remember correctly, the S2 does not support shutter-priority or program mode, but if you ever get an RX, ST, or other camera that does, it may pay to get MM lenses now.

By the way, an MM lens can be identified by a yellow- (green?) colored minimum aperture; on AE lenses, all aperture numbers are white.


Cheers,

David
 
As already mentioned in the replies above, MM lenses are for the automatic modes. Since you have a Contax S2, which is fully manual, the AE lenses are fine and you don't need to pay more for the MM lenses (unless you want to). I also have the S2 and mainly use either the Distagon 28/2.8 or Planar 50/1.4. Both are great lenses.

p.s. I also replied to your other post about a half-case for the S2.
 
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