Another oddball Sonnar, of sorts

dexdog

dexdog

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This lens is a real oddball, not a Sonnar of course. Focus and aperture rings move backwards, i.e., left on aperture stops the lens down, and left on focus ring moves to close focus. Never seen a front element broken so badly. Would be fun to take it apart if one could buy it cheap. Never seen one like it, wonder if it is a one-off lens hack from a small machine shop.
www.ebay.com

Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm f1.5 Sonnar LTM | eBay

It focuses fine and the aperture works properly. Amazingly, (at least for people not that familiar with optics) it still makes a pretty nice image! This is an early uncoated lens with no fungus and only faint edge haze.
www.ebay.com
 
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I put a bid on it- not a lot, want to take it apart.

I've seen some similar to this, and some cannot be taken apart. The helical cannot be separated without breaking metal.
 
the seller says the lens will produce an image of some sort. i would never had believed that claim if not for the link that pixelated had in post#4
 
Nice to see some discussion on this Ebay offer 🤣

Sonnar 5cm fakes?

You can find interesting Sonnar lenses on Ebay and it is one of the greatest places to get a used Sonnars for photographers and collectors. There are a lot of other useful places for buying Sonnars too. Sometimes I find a Sonnar online that seem to be odd. The details do not match what they...
rangefinderforum.com rangefinderforum.com

Just to mention it. I bought a LTM Sonnar 1.5 Yesterday too.

www.ebay.de

CARL ZEISS Sonnar 1:1,5 f=50mm für Leica M39 Schraubgewinde - selten | eBay

Entdecken Sie CARL ZEISS Sonnar 1:1,5 f=50mm für Leica M39 Schraubgewinde - selten in der groÃen Auswahl bei eBay. Kostenlose Lieferung für viele Artikel!
www.ebay.de

Might need some help with it later.
 
Interested about that one too, it is a fake LTM, but am wondering what mount it is, and what problems come with it. I seen it too, but decided not to bid on it 🙂
 
I was very surprised that this broken knock-off "Sonnar" sold for $170!
www.ebay.com

Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm f1.5 Sonnar LTM | eBay

It focuses fine and the aperture works properly. Amazingly, (at least for people not that familiar with optics) it still makes a pretty nice image! This is an early uncoated lens with no fungus and only faint edge haze.
www.ebay.com
 
dexdog said:
I was very surprised that this broken knock-off "Sonnar" sold for $170!
www.ebay.com

Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm f1.5 Sonnar LTM | eBay

It focuses fine and the aperture works properly. Amazingly, (at least for people not that familiar with optics) it still makes a pretty nice image! This is an early uncoated lens with no fungus and only faint edge haze.
www.ebay.com
Click to expand...
I was also surprised- maybe someone has a front element for it.
 
I think it was mostly for the body, as it seems chromed brass, instead of cheap aluminium. Making something like this on the lathe from brass takes quite some time.
 
could be the case, but I would deem it risky without knowing whether the lens mount and helical worked properly. Maybe the buyer knows something I do not.
 
I have another odd Sonnar 5cm f/1,5 for you. I'm not sure if I have not already asked for it here.

www.ebay.de

Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 1:1.5 f=5cm Camera Lens Clean Optics | eBay

Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 1:1.5 f=5cm Camera Lens Clean Optics. Condition is Used. Shipped with USPS Priority Mail.
www.ebay.de

2269848a.jpeg2269848b.jpeg

It is only a lens block but it has a very strange feature that puzzles me. There is no filter thread and no knurling at the filter rim.

First I thought this might be a Contaflex TLR Sonnar stripped from the outer barrel but this would look differently. There is one online.

www.ebay.de

Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 1:1.5 f=5cm (1937) for Ikon Contaflex TLR (not Contax) | eBay

At a guess, only 2300 of these lenses were manufactured, thus they command high prices - the low price for this item is due to the missing barrel part. Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 50mm f/1.5 Lens. This is iconic lens was the world's first f/1.5 lens in 50mm focal length.
www.ebay.de

The serial is quite low so it is no transition lens and very likely not customized in any way. Any thoughts?
 
There's other strange things about it. The mounting thread is almost continuous with the thread for the aperture which seems too short (normally it goes past the opening for the aperture actuator. I don't think that's normal.

According to the Thiele it's a Contax Sonnar out of a batch of 2000. That said the naked brass showing on the front makes me believe that the thread might have been simply ground off. Perhaps it was totaled and beyond saving and this way they could at least get the name ring and thus the front element back out for repairs. Who knows...
 
I bought it. Someone probably used it in a Lab or some other special application. Somebody cut the front off. Similar to the 145xxxx Sonnar that I picked up. The rear surface of both lenses show some odd "bloom", heavy- but not etching. ANYWAY: I used the aperture ring from a J-3, and ground down a Contax mount as the spacing is different from the original. I have another lens in this same batch. Have not figured out how to attach a hood- yet...
 
Sonnar_j3_aperture_Ring1.jpgSonnar_NewFilter_Ring.jpgSonnar_46mmHood.jpg

The answer is 46, to the question of what size filter will fit onto the aperture ring of a Jupiter-3 for a Sonnar that someone has completely cut the front end off.

SO; Hoya filter, retaining ring and glass removed, fits on the aperture ring, and clears the barrel. SO- the filter and hood turn as you change aperture. My other lens in this batch is marked to F11, but like this one- turns well past it. This one turns to F22 on the J-3 ring.
 
Here is another oddball Sonnar 50mm f2.

www.ebay.de

Carl Zeiss 50mm 1:2 Objektiv Sonnar Alu Kamera Lens (Contax RF) Nebel! | eBay

Blenden defekt: Die Blenden des Objektivs sind defekt. Optisch befindet es sich in einem akzeptablen Zustand oder besser. Gut: Das Objektiv funktioniert einwandfrei. Es hat leichte Gebrauchsspuren, wie z.B. leichte Kratzer oder etwas Staub auf der Linse.
www.ebay.de

Ok, looks like a West German Sonnar 50mm f2 from 1953. But this one got tinkered a lot.

The front looks very strange. There is a thick metal ring inside the filter rim and it looks like the front glass element is screwed out a good margin. The name on the name ring does not match the serial. It says Carl Zeiss but during this production batch it should state Zeiss-Opton. The glass is faulty. It shows heavy separation and dirt. The locking pin looks to short. Maybe it was filled down. And than there is a small plate of metal welded to the aperture ring.

If you ask me this is not a fake but some kind of repair or special purpose customization. The wrong name on the name ring hints that this Sonnar lens was sent back for repair. But instead of fixing it properly they made a Frankenstein Sonnar out of it. A strange lens for sure.
 
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