Uncommon, Rare, and Collector's Delights.

[Sonnar Brian]

7 Different "Form Factors" of the Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm F2.
First version uses 37mm push-on, then 40.5mm push-on, then 40.5mm screw-in.

 

[p.giannakis]

A rather uncommon version of the Zeiss Pancolar. Eight aperture blades and 4 elements of Schwerstkron SSK11 thoriated glass.



I have de-yellowed it now and is on my waiting list to be sent for service (Luton Cameras if they accept it).

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Four versions of the CZJ 5cm F1.5 Sonnar.

 

[Miles.]

Somewhere here should buy this lens so I can live vicariously through you!

Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm f1.4 Biotar | eBay

The Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm f/1.4 Biotar is a vintage lens that's been thoroughly tested and proven to perform exceptionally well. This classic lens offers a bright f/1.4 aperture, which means it delivers excellent low-light performance and beautifully soft, natural bokeh—perfect for portrait...

www.ebay.com

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Zero Feedback and looks like boilerplate description. If I were advertising this lens for that price- I would fill in some of the history.

I gave a 4cm F1.4 Biotar (~1928 or so) to Chris at Skyllaney. I got it for doing lens repairs and conversions. Chris told me he was making the Bertele for me, as a gift. I sent him the Biotar and a Wollensak Raptar in Fastax mount 35/2 during Covid to help him raise funds. Tough times. The two lenses were "free to me", so no cost. He made a custom RF coupled mount for both lenses, sold them. The Wollensak 35/2 is nice, I kept one and converted to Contax Mount using a J-12 focus mount. It mounts on the Contax IIIa and IIa. and it's an F2 lens.

 

[boojum]

Zero Feedback and looks like boilerplate description. If I were advertising this lens for that price- I would fill in some of the history.

I gave a 4cm F1.4 Biotar (~1928 or so) to Chris at Skyllaney. I got it for doing lens repairs and conversions. Chris told me he was making the Bertele for me, as a gift. I sent him the Biotar and a Wollensak Raptar in Fastax mount 35/2 during Covid to help him raise funds. Tough times. The two lenses were "free to me", so no cost. He made a custom RF coupled mount for both lenses, sold them. The Wollensak 35/2 is nice, I kept one and converted to Contax Mount using a J-12 focus mount. It mounts on the Contax IIIa and IIa. and it's an F2 lens.

Look out for that damned Miles. He is playing Mephisto to our Faust. He is teasing lens junkies. It looks like a good deal on an interesting lens. However it is a Contax mount and I am avoiding that rabbit hole. At least as much as I can.

 

[Coldkennels]

However it is a Contax mount and I am avoiding that rabbit hole. At least as much as I can.

...I hate to break it to you, but if you're talking about the lens Miles linked to in post #651, that looks like an LTM lens to me.

Time to dust off the ol' credit card, Boojum..

 

[boojum]

...I hate to break it to you, but if you're talking about the lens Miles linked to in post #651, that looks like an LTM lens to me.

Time to dust off the ol' credit card, Boojum..

Regardless of the mount I have as much use for it as a hog does for roller skates. I just bought a Viltrox 50 for the A7. It has very good reviews and is cheap, like US$170 for 50mm 2.0 autofocus. That makes a total of three lenses for that camera and two more than I need. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1883306-REG/viltrox_af_50_2_0_fe_af_50mm_f_2_0_lens.html

 

[TenEleven]

Also the seller has no other items listed and yeah ... I mean maybe you will get it - maybe not. Maybe it will not work correctly or it will be one of these Biotars that don't fully cover 35mm. For example, Kevin Li of Kevincameras had a couple of those but he of course, while he is expensive, he correctly calls such things out in the description.

Just recently I got burned by something similar. I bid, won and paid. The item looked legit and was a newly produced item, so it was reasonable to assume they would have it. They had good evaluations and other varied items on sale.

Then, the seller .... did nothing. No message no reply - no shipment - nothing! Two weeks passed. Nothing. Not a single line of message - no out of office notification. Nothing!
And I called eBay, wrote them, mailed them, posted on their helpline forum, asked friends who worked there for advice and despite all that --- they hung me out to dry!

And then they together with the seller, who still has not said a single peep cancelled my cancellation request.
Luckily PayPal came through and literally saved my hide. It was however now so late into the game that I will have to front the money to my credit card company before getting it back next month....

It's now been two months the item is still on there in "My eBay" showing as "Shipping Soon" in a sort of special farcical dystopia that the modern internet has created.

But yeah eBay of 2025 is not the eBay of the "before times" you really have to be super super careful.

 

[Miles.]

I’ll never own one but I’d love to see an original LTM example one day!

 

[TenEleven]

I’ll never own one but I’d love to see an original LTM example one day!

View attachment 4860457

I have seen one of these complete with its hood sold at some HK shop. I think it may have been Brequet Camera. It looked impressive with its slightly worn black on brass finish.
However the price was very impressive - too - north of 10,000US dollars.

Sadly I have no images saved.

Personally I have the Biotar 40mm black and nickel (original) and 58mm (likely converted by the Sturzvisier crew) black, both finished in LTM ... but sadly for me I can't really warm up to the look. I guess I will have to keep trying for a while longer.

 

[Räuber]

3 Nickel and black Sonnar 5cm f1,5
left f8, middle f8+, right f11

 

[Räuber]

Question to the our CLA experts here. As you can see the f8 (left) Sonnar has a misallocated locking pin. It should be located between the f2 and f4 mark (if the lens is opened up to f1,5). The pin is located shorty after the f8 mark. So it is not completely out of place but not in the expected. Is this a sign that someone fiddled with the lens? Maybe a CLA and it was not assembled correctly?

 

[Sonnar Brian]

@rauber- My F8 Sonnar is same batch as yours. It was sent to Henry for a CLA before I owned it. The barrel had been moved in the mount, Henry put it back to the original position. My lens now in the original factory setting front-focuses at F1.5, and is optimized for F2.8. I suspect this is intentional, to optimize the lens for being stopped-down.
On your lens- there would be an indication that the set screw had changed positions, or that an original set of taps for the set screw were now misaligned.

 

[je2a3]

Shown before, my Sankyo Koki Komura lens collection in LTM. The rarest of the group is the 36mm/F1.8, produced only for about a year. Looked for many years for it and purchased it mounted on a Canon P. It wasn't cheap but no where near the price I have seen a couple go for. I know someone else on RFF also has this lens as I remember a photo from a number of years ago.
View attachment 4768752

Nice to see another W-Komura 36mm f1.8 owner! 👍😊

Here's mine + pictures taken by this lens on my Flickr. Cheers!🍻

 

[hilltime]

Nice to see another W-Komura 36mm f1.8 owner! 👍😊

Here's mine + pictures taken by this lens on my Flickr. Cheers!🍻

Your photos are wonderful. Wish I had used mine as much, but I guess there’s still time, as this lens is one of the prizes of my collection. I have never seen more than 3 or 4 ever available. They are certainly rare.😉

 

[je2a3]

Your photos are wonderful. Wish I had used mine as much, but I guess there’s still time, as this lens is one of the prizes of my collection. I have never seen more than 3 or 4 ever available. They are certainly rare.😉

Thank you! Since I joined this forum two decades ago, you're the second person I encountered who has this lens. Looking forward to seeing some images from your sample.

 

[peterm1]

A while back I found a Dallmeyer Dalrac 135mm f4.5 lens originally sold for use with the Reid camera with an LTM mount by Skyllaney Optical which still seems to be in business (though I really know nothing of it other than that its business focus is now on conversion, repair etc. of lenses). It's an excellently made lens and seems to be pretty much a copy of the Leitz Hector 135mm of that era at least in its exterior appearance and interior mechanical design (though I am not sure of its optical design). I have shot it a few times on a mirrorless camera and found it produces excellent images. (I have however, read one report of it vignetting heavily - see article linked below - but I do not recall this being experienced by me when I used it - it's been a year or so and I think I need to dust it off once more in the near future). I guess due to its high build quality and relative rarity it does seem to attract quite a high price if in excellent condition. (I have seen them priced at $500USD up to around double that.) I recall I paid $150 AUD or there-abouts so I got a bargain. especially as mine is in excellent condition.

Shooting Vintage with Vintage - Classic Cars through Leitz Thambar and Dallmeyer Dalrac

 

[boojum]

This lens is cheaper now on eBay, less than USD1000.

I follow Skyllaney somewhat. I have two of their Bertele Sonnars, remakes of a '34 Bertele 5cm f/2.0 Sonnar. The first is a sort of "proof of concept" and a really great Sonnar. The second is their upgraded current offering, the same lens but now with a floating lens block that corrects for focus shift.

Besides making the FLB with Omnar lenses they still work on/repair lenses. Skyllaney.com.

 

[phofseth]

The first Novoflex mirror box (to serve instead of a Visoflex)- Release arm is missing