For details on 7 more lenses that capture the vintage look, and the introduction, please go to Part 1 of this article.
50mm f/1.5 Serenar was labeled Canon after 1952. It's prized for its vintage rendition.
50mm f/1.5 Canon uses 7-element, 3-group design based in the Zeiss Sonnar.
50mm f/1.5 Canon: This was Canon’s first high speed normal lens in Leica/Canon screw mount was introduced around 1947 as a Serenar, labeled Canon after 1952, and superseded by the improved 50mm f/1.4 Canon in 1957. Like its arch-rival, the 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor-S.C it’s a 7-element, 3 group lens based on the legendary 50mm f/1.5 Zeiss Sonnar design. It provides good central definition, excellent contrast, and yields an attractive vintage look at its widest apertures, and though not as sharp as the contemporary 50mm f/1.8 Canon (a Planar design) the 50mm f/1.5 is prized for its luminous “soft glowy” rendition and its attractive bokeh. Other specs: 13-bladed diaphragm, minimum focusing distance: 1 meter, weight: 10.4 ounces, rare earth glass elements, single coating. $200-400 in chrome finish.
50mm f/1.2 Canon in screw mount looks great on a vintage Canon or Leica and delivers vintage look rendition.
50mm f/1.2 Canon: Introduced in 1956 with the audacious Canon VT, it was at the time the fastest 50mm M39 screw mount lens available, and it employed a new 7-element, 5-grpoup formula using the latest rare earth glass types available. One of the prettiest lenses to complement a screw-mount Canon it has a reputation for being soft wide open, but this is often due to slight focusing errors and it acquits itself quite well at f/1.2 when precisely focused on a digital camera. It does provide beautifully smooth classic rendition over its entire range, but sharpness and contrast improve noticeably at f/2, are optimal across the field by f/4, and are maintained down to f/11. This classic lens is acclaimed for its gorgeous bokeh which is enhanced by an 11-bladed diaphragm, and it weighs in at a manageable 11.4 ounces despite its “huge” appearance. $250-$500 in black and chrome, $1,000 in black.
19mm f/3.5 Canon, shown with optical viewfinder, was the widest-angle lens for 35mm cameras when it was released.
19mm f/3.5 Canon: Announced in August 1964 and said to be the last screw mount rangefinder lens Canon ever released, this superb 9-element, 7-group “pancake” lens designed by Mr. Koyanagi was then the widest-angle lens for any 35mm camera, beating out the Leica, Contax and Nikon, and covering a diagonal angle of view of 96.4 degrees on the full frame format. It stops down to f/16, rangefinder couples to 2.3 feet, scale focuses to focuses just under 20 inches, has a 6-bladed diaphragm, and weighs 7 ounces. It shows remarkably low distortion and modest vignetting for a super wide-angle of its era and delivers crisp imaging with a touch of vintage character not seen in modern lenses of this type. $750-$1,100. Note: A different version of this lens with similar characteristics was also produced in Canon FL mount for SLRs
35mm f/1.5 Canon is acclaimed for its speed, performance, and classic rendition, but it's hard to find and pricey.
35mm f/1.5 Canon: This rare high-speed wide-angle classic in Canon screw mount was designed by Mukai Jiro. Based on an 8-element, 4-group Double Gauss derivative formula it’s finished in black and silver. It has a 10-bladed diaphragm that enhances its creamy natural bokeh, stops down to f/22, focuses down to 1 meter, and weighs only 6-1/2 ounces despite its wide aperture. At the time of its introduction in August 1959 this lens was acclaimed by professional photographers worldwide because it performed quite well and was the fastest 35mm lens available at the time. Affectionately known as the “Japanese Summilux” its combination of creditable imaging performance and distinctive vintage rendition appeals to current film and digital shooters. $800-$1,200 and hard to find.
50mm f/1.5 Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar pre-WWII uncoated version set the standard for speed and performance, was widely copied.
50mm f/1.5 Zeiss Sonnar, Wartime version: This landmark lens was designed by the renowned Ludwig Bertele, went into production in 1932, and was the fastest lens for the elite Contax rangefinder line before, during, and immediately after WWII. An advanced 7-element, 3-group formula ultimately based on the humble triplet, it has only 6 air-glass surfaces, which enhances light transmission and minimizes flare—crucial factors in designing uncoated high-speed lens in the prewar era.
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50mm f/1.5 Zeiss Sonnar optical diagram shows its 7-element, 3-group construction designed to minimize internal reflections.
While the classic 50mm f/1.5 Sonnar has residual spherical aberration, it was well corrected for chromatic aberrations and yields sharp, high contrast images in the center of the field even wide open at f/1.5, and excellent imaging performance across the field by f/4. The original uncoated 50mm f/1.5 Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar is prized for its beautiful combination of softness and sharpness, gorgeous bokeh (it has a 13-bladed click-lessdiaphragm!), and its distinctive rendering of 3-dimensional space. It tends to have low resolution at the edges of the frame, especially at wide apertures, but it’s a favorite of portrait photographers. It focuses down to 1-meter, early versions stop down to f/11 (later ones to f/16 or f/22), and it weighs 5.6 ounces.
This timeless classic was made in Contax rangefinder bayonet mount and Leica screw (LTM) mount. It was also reinvented in countless Russky “give me the dollar” postwar real genuine official or not-so- official Zeiss counterfeit lenses – I’ll save that tale of intrigue for another day. Uncoated Carl Zeiss Jena versions in pristinecondition are hard to find, but coated examples have similar imaging characteristics. Early coated postwar versions made in W. Germany are marked Zeiss-Opton with a red T and are outstanding; postwar coated versions made in East Germany are marked Carl Zeiss Jena T and are optically excellent butusually have lightweight aluminum barrels. Leica screw mount examples are much less common, easier to adapt to digital, and command higher prices. $200-S1,000.
21mm f/4.5 Zeiss Biogon, late coated version of 1956 in Contax mount.
Original patent drawing of the Zeiss Biogon shows its distinctive 8-element, 5-group wide coverage design.
21 mm f/4.5 Zeiss Biogon: The first successful 21mm lens of its speed to cover the full frame 35mm format, this legendary lens was designed by the great Ludwig Bertele of Zeiss as a further iteration of his landmark 35mm f/2.8 Biogon of 1934. First released in 1954 in Contax rangefinder mountand compatible with Nikon rangefinder cameras it's 8-pelement, 5-group design, covers a 91.7-degree angle, has an 8-bladed diaphragm, and focuses to 1 meter. Due to its nearly symmetrical non-retrofocus design its rear element almost touches the film, so the Contarex-mount version of this lens must be used with the mirror locked up. It was produced and/or modified in limited quantities in Leica screw LTM and M-mount and many experts consider it superior to the 21mm f/3.4 Leitz Super-Angulon or the rare, much more expensive 21mm f/4 Nikkor in Nikon S mount. Nikon rangefinder fans shoot the 21mm Biogon because most can neither find nor afford the 21mm Nikkor rangefinder mount. The 21 mm f/ 4.5 Zeiss Biogon is famed for its sharpness, low linear distortion, and evenness of illumination across the field, and its gorgeous rendition a remarkable achievement for a relatively fast ultra-wide-angle lens of its era. $900-$1,200 in Contax mount with finder, about $1,500 in modified LTM or M-mount.
40mm f/2 Zeiss Jena Biotar uncoated in Contax bayonet mount.
40mm (4cm) f/2 Zeiss Biotar: This 6-element gem was made in uncoated form in Contax rangefinder mount prior to WWII and in T coated form using a different optical formula for 24 x24mm Robot cameras during the 50s. Some ultra-rare Contax mount versions are marked “4-1.4 cm” but there’s a good chance that the actual focal length was the same in all cases—an enduring mystery. Introduced in 1933 in black paint and nickel finish for the Contax I, it remained in the line, chromed over when the Contax II and III appeared in 1936. Based on scanty reviews this rare collector’s prize is said to provide beautiful rendition with some off-axis softness at the widest apertures and as you might expect it tends to flare in backlit situations. $400-500 in Robot mount. $2,000 and up in Contax mount but hard to find. Proudly, shuusssh, not so proudly, following Zeiss’s lead a mere 41 years later, Leica once again made the 40mm focal length proud and plentiful with the Leica CL’s 1973 40mm f/2 Summicron. No Virginia, the 1973 Leica CL was a real film camera, not one of those silly battery dependent electronic devices.
50mm f/1.5 Serenar was labeled Canon after 1952. It's prized for its vintage rendition.
50mm f/1.5 Canon uses 7-element, 3-group design based in the Zeiss Sonnar.
50mm f/1.5 Canon: This was Canon’s first high speed normal lens in Leica/Canon screw mount was introduced around 1947 as a Serenar, labeled Canon after 1952, and superseded by the improved 50mm f/1.4 Canon in 1957. Like its arch-rival, the 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor-S.C it’s a 7-element, 3 group lens based on the legendary 50mm f/1.5 Zeiss Sonnar design. It provides good central definition, excellent contrast, and yields an attractive vintage look at its widest apertures, and though not as sharp as the contemporary 50mm f/1.8 Canon (a Planar design) the 50mm f/1.5 is prized for its luminous “soft glowy” rendition and its attractive bokeh. Other specs: 13-bladed diaphragm, minimum focusing distance: 1 meter, weight: 10.4 ounces, rare earth glass elements, single coating. $200-400 in chrome finish.
50mm f/1.2 Canon in screw mount looks great on a vintage Canon or Leica and delivers vintage look rendition.
50mm f/1.2 Canon: Introduced in 1956 with the audacious Canon VT, it was at the time the fastest 50mm M39 screw mount lens available, and it employed a new 7-element, 5-grpoup formula using the latest rare earth glass types available. One of the prettiest lenses to complement a screw-mount Canon it has a reputation for being soft wide open, but this is often due to slight focusing errors and it acquits itself quite well at f/1.2 when precisely focused on a digital camera. It does provide beautifully smooth classic rendition over its entire range, but sharpness and contrast improve noticeably at f/2, are optimal across the field by f/4, and are maintained down to f/11. This classic lens is acclaimed for its gorgeous bokeh which is enhanced by an 11-bladed diaphragm, and it weighs in at a manageable 11.4 ounces despite its “huge” appearance. $250-$500 in black and chrome, $1,000 in black.
19mm f/3.5 Canon, shown with optical viewfinder, was the widest-angle lens for 35mm cameras when it was released.
19mm f/3.5 Canon: Announced in August 1964 and said to be the last screw mount rangefinder lens Canon ever released, this superb 9-element, 7-group “pancake” lens designed by Mr. Koyanagi was then the widest-angle lens for any 35mm camera, beating out the Leica, Contax and Nikon, and covering a diagonal angle of view of 96.4 degrees on the full frame format. It stops down to f/16, rangefinder couples to 2.3 feet, scale focuses to focuses just under 20 inches, has a 6-bladed diaphragm, and weighs 7 ounces. It shows remarkably low distortion and modest vignetting for a super wide-angle of its era and delivers crisp imaging with a touch of vintage character not seen in modern lenses of this type. $750-$1,100. Note: A different version of this lens with similar characteristics was also produced in Canon FL mount for SLRs
35mm f/1.5 Canon is acclaimed for its speed, performance, and classic rendition, but it's hard to find and pricey.
35mm f/1.5 Canon: This rare high-speed wide-angle classic in Canon screw mount was designed by Mukai Jiro. Based on an 8-element, 4-group Double Gauss derivative formula it’s finished in black and silver. It has a 10-bladed diaphragm that enhances its creamy natural bokeh, stops down to f/22, focuses down to 1 meter, and weighs only 6-1/2 ounces despite its wide aperture. At the time of its introduction in August 1959 this lens was acclaimed by professional photographers worldwide because it performed quite well and was the fastest 35mm lens available at the time. Affectionately known as the “Japanese Summilux” its combination of creditable imaging performance and distinctive vintage rendition appeals to current film and digital shooters. $800-$1,200 and hard to find.
50mm f/1.5 Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar pre-WWII uncoated version set the standard for speed and performance, was widely copied.
50mm f/1.5 Zeiss Sonnar, Wartime version: This landmark lens was designed by the renowned Ludwig Bertele, went into production in 1932, and was the fastest lens for the elite Contax rangefinder line before, during, and immediately after WWII. An advanced 7-element, 3-group formula ultimately based on the humble triplet, it has only 6 air-glass surfaces, which enhances light transmission and minimizes flare—crucial factors in designing uncoated high-speed lens in the prewar era.
50mm f/1.5 Zeiss Sonnar optical diagram shows its 7-element, 3-group construction designed to minimize internal reflections.
While the classic 50mm f/1.5 Sonnar has residual spherical aberration, it was well corrected for chromatic aberrations and yields sharp, high contrast images in the center of the field even wide open at f/1.5, and excellent imaging performance across the field by f/4. The original uncoated 50mm f/1.5 Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar is prized for its beautiful combination of softness and sharpness, gorgeous bokeh (it has a 13-bladed click-lessdiaphragm!), and its distinctive rendering of 3-dimensional space. It tends to have low resolution at the edges of the frame, especially at wide apertures, but it’s a favorite of portrait photographers. It focuses down to 1-meter, early versions stop down to f/11 (later ones to f/16 or f/22), and it weighs 5.6 ounces.
This timeless classic was made in Contax rangefinder bayonet mount and Leica screw (LTM) mount. It was also reinvented in countless Russky “give me the dollar” postwar real genuine official or not-so- official Zeiss counterfeit lenses – I’ll save that tale of intrigue for another day. Uncoated Carl Zeiss Jena versions in pristinecondition are hard to find, but coated examples have similar imaging characteristics. Early coated postwar versions made in W. Germany are marked Zeiss-Opton with a red T and are outstanding; postwar coated versions made in East Germany are marked Carl Zeiss Jena T and are optically excellent butusually have lightweight aluminum barrels. Leica screw mount examples are much less common, easier to adapt to digital, and command higher prices. $200-S1,000.
21mm f/4.5 Zeiss Biogon, late coated version of 1956 in Contax mount.
Original patent drawing of the Zeiss Biogon shows its distinctive 8-element, 5-group wide coverage design.
21 mm f/4.5 Zeiss Biogon: The first successful 21mm lens of its speed to cover the full frame 35mm format, this legendary lens was designed by the great Ludwig Bertele of Zeiss as a further iteration of his landmark 35mm f/2.8 Biogon of 1934. First released in 1954 in Contax rangefinder mountand compatible with Nikon rangefinder cameras it's 8-pelement, 5-group design, covers a 91.7-degree angle, has an 8-bladed diaphragm, and focuses to 1 meter. Due to its nearly symmetrical non-retrofocus design its rear element almost touches the film, so the Contarex-mount version of this lens must be used with the mirror locked up. It was produced and/or modified in limited quantities in Leica screw LTM and M-mount and many experts consider it superior to the 21mm f/3.4 Leitz Super-Angulon or the rare, much more expensive 21mm f/4 Nikkor in Nikon S mount. Nikon rangefinder fans shoot the 21mm Biogon because most can neither find nor afford the 21mm Nikkor rangefinder mount. The 21 mm f/ 4.5 Zeiss Biogon is famed for its sharpness, low linear distortion, and evenness of illumination across the field, and its gorgeous rendition a remarkable achievement for a relatively fast ultra-wide-angle lens of its era. $900-$1,200 in Contax mount with finder, about $1,500 in modified LTM or M-mount.
40mm f/2 Zeiss Jena Biotar uncoated in Contax bayonet mount.
40mm (4cm) f/2 Zeiss Biotar: This 6-element gem was made in uncoated form in Contax rangefinder mount prior to WWII and in T coated form using a different optical formula for 24 x24mm Robot cameras during the 50s. Some ultra-rare Contax mount versions are marked “4-1.4 cm” but there’s a good chance that the actual focal length was the same in all cases—an enduring mystery. Introduced in 1933 in black paint and nickel finish for the Contax I, it remained in the line, chromed over when the Contax II and III appeared in 1936. Based on scanty reviews this rare collector’s prize is said to provide beautiful rendition with some off-axis softness at the widest apertures and as you might expect it tends to flare in backlit situations. $400-500 in Robot mount. $2,000 and up in Contax mount but hard to find. Proudly, shuusssh, not so proudly, following Zeiss’s lead a mere 41 years later, Leica once again made the 40mm focal length proud and plentiful with the Leica CL’s 1973 40mm f/2 Summicron. No Virginia, the 1973 Leica CL was a real film camera, not one of those silly battery dependent electronic devices.
