Differences in Sonnar 50 1.5?

[Ccoppola82]

I've gotten lucky at local thrift stores lately and grabbed a contax I with the uncoated nickel/enamel sonnar 50 1.5 the other day (1934 I think) I've been reading up and it seems most reviews and sample photos are from postwar versions. I bought it mostly for the lens and the history, as the Shutter is stuck. Is there any optical difference other than coating between the old nickel/enamels, or are they just more sought after for rarity rather than performance. I'm just wondering before I drop the $ on an Amedeo adapter to use as a fast 50mm on my m2


Chris

 

[Corran]

Contrast is definitely lower on the older nickel one. I have one as well as a post-war coated one and my nickel one seems slightly sharper at f/1.5 than the post-war one. Probably more to do with sample variation I would guess. My comparison was with an M9, not film. I doubt you'd see a difference on film.

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

I've gotten lucky at local thrift stores lately and grabbed a contax I with the uncoated nickel/enamel sonnar 50 1.5 the other day (1934 I think) I've been reading up and it seems most reviews and sample photos are from postwar versions. I bought it mostly for the lens and the history, as the Shutter is stuck. Is there any optical difference other than coating between the old nickel/enamels, or are they just more sought after for rarity rather than performance. I'm just wondering before I drop the $ on an Amedeo adapter to use as a fast 50mm on my m2


Chris

Can you change a set of shutter ribbons? A better option would be to acquire a Contax II or III for the same money, or less, as an adapter, and use it on a camera with its native lens mount, that has a superior rangefinder, to boot.

 

[Mr_Flibble]

There is an entire thread dedicated to replacing the shutter ribbons on the Contax I, but we've not worked out a solid solution yet.
Problem is getting the correct materials. Replacing them with Aki-Asahi ribbons seems to work okay for most shutter speeds except the top ones.

 

[mcfingon]

I bought an Amadeo adapter to use on my Sony A7S. One problem is that you then have a large, heavy lens and adapter combo as the adapter is chromed brass. Not very wieldy.

 

[Dralowid]

That black and nickel lens has a significant value for Contax collectors. I'd suggest selling it, the proceeds will probably get you a functioning Contax II and a lens.

The Contax I body? See other threads...

 

[Ccoppola82]

That black and nickel lens has a significant value for Contax collectors. I'd suggest selling it, the proceeds will probably get you a functioning Contax II and a lens.

The Contax I body? See other threads...

I haven't seen any nickel/black ones on eBay. What do they generally go for?

 

[raid]

My guess: $350-$450 depending on the condition.

 

[Valkir1987]

Replacing them with Aki-Asahi ribbons seems to work okay for most shutter speeds except the top ones.

In the past I have used a lot of the Aki Asahi ribbons, but they are praktically too thin to replace the original. Some people opted to pinch the slots. But when you do this, you run into a lot of trouble which is very hard to undo.

They work like belt buckles, they hold the curtains when the ribbons are tensioned. When the curtain is down, they tilt a little and the ribbon can run through freely.

Micro tools offered a 3,5mm 0.35mm JHT silk ribbon that worked best. But they don't sell it anymore 🙁

And now I'm on the quest for a good substitute.

 

[Dralowid]

To Chris, the OP, read all this thread before tackling the Contax I shutter...

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157639

 

[furcafe]

Heavy, perhaps, but large? Even if you combined the older Amedeo Contax RF-to-Leica & a separate Leica-to-Sony adapter, the entire combo is much smaller than even the smallest native E-mount lens.

I bought an Amadeo adapter to use on my Sony A7S. One problem is that you then have a large, heavy lens and adapter combo as the adapter is chromed brass. Not very wieldy.

 

[furcafe]

My understanding is that coating is the only significant difference between the pre-WWII 5cm/1.5 Sonnars, w/coating starting to appear around 1938. Also, the same optical design was used for the coated Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnars made in what became East Germany (DDR) after WWII. The resurrected Zeiss Ikon, based in what became West Germany (BRD), often paired lenses made in Jena on the other side of the new border to go w/the Contax IIa & IIIa when they were 1st introduced in 1950. Around the same time period, Carl Zeiss started producing their own lenses in Oberkochen (it took a while to ramp up production, which is why they were still also using lenses from Jena), & they also tweaked the design of the 50/1.5 & 50/2 Sonnars, initially labelled "Zeiss-Opton" & later just "Carl Zeiss". I'm not enough of a lens nerd to know the details of what changed optically, but the "West German" 50/1.5 Sonnars appear to be slightly smaller than the Jena version in addition to having different barrel design/materials & chrome. The f/2 Sonnars, Jena or Oberkochen, appear to be the same size.

I can't really help you w/a comparison between the original black & nickel Sonnars & later pre-WWII Sonnars, as I only have the later, 1936-1945 chrome Sonnars. I was lucky enough to borrow an RFF member's super-rare black & nickel experimental Leica thread mount 50/1.5 Sonnar (c.1933) one time, & while it was a cool lens, it wasn't noticeably different from a chrome 1936 Sonnar on an Amedeo adapter when I did a comparison. As far as post-WWII lenses, I don't have any CZJ 5cm/1.5 Sonnars that are later than c.1948, so while they have a slightly lower-contrast look than my Zeiss-Opton & CZ 50/1.5 Sonnars, that could easily be due to the differences in glass & coatings or sample variation rather than any changes in the optical design.

I've gotten lucky at local thrift stores lately and grabbed a contax I with the uncoated nickel/enamel sonnar 50 1.5 the other day (1934 I think) I've been reading up and it seems most reviews and sample photos are from postwar versions. I bought it mostly for the lens and the history, as the Shutter is stuck. Is there any optical difference other than coating between the old nickel/enamels, or are they just more sought after for rarity rather than performance. I'm just wondering before I drop the $ on an Amedeo adapter to use as a fast 50mm on my m2


Chris