From RF Contax to SLR - tricky/evil question...

[Roger Vadim]

so this is a bit tricky one here on this form...

evaluating my pictures I do really love the look of the Zeiss 2.0 50mm Sonnar on my Kiev RF in B/W.
But I have to admit I am very much a SLR type of person, the tiny viewfinder and imprecise meter of the Kiev doesn't fit my type of 35mm shooting.
But I do prefer the look of the old Zeiss lens much over my wide array of Nikon glass, the old German vs. Japanese lens dogma comes to mind (contrast over sharpness), the tones are richer, it has a mild vintage look and the oof areas are just lovely.

So my question is: are there similar lenses like the vintage Sonnar for an SLR system out there, any old SLR lenses resemble the look of a Contax Sonnar?

And second: (its a bit out of reach at the moment, though) does the new Sonnar comes any close to the RF one in terms of creamy vintageness?

Sorry RF guys for the herasy, I just like to look straight into the middle of a camera, being the control-freak I am😉

Thanks and cheers, Michael

 

[joachim]

...

So my question is: are there similar lenses like the vintage Sonnar for an SLR system out there, any old SLR lenses resemble the look of a Contax Sonnar?

And second: (its a bit out of reach at the moment, though) does the new Sonnar comes any close to the RF one in terms of creamy vintageness?

Sorry RF guys for the herasy, I just like to look straight into the middle of a camera, being the control-freak I am😉

A nice Rolleiflex or Rolleicord with a Tessar or Xenar might be worth exploring. These lenses definitely do not look to modern. In my view the TLR definitely behaves more like an SLR than a Ranger, unless you want close up.

 

[rover]

Well, there are of course a wealth of old M42 lenses, many from Zeiss and their FSU nephews, which will work on a number of systems via adaptors.

I have read a lot that the old Pentax Takumars were very similar to traditional German glass. I personally really enjoy Minolta MC/MD lenses with this same opinion. I think the more modern Contax C/Y mount lenses are more modern in character.

 

[shadowfox]

The Sonnar name is used more for medium-to-long telephoto in the SLR world. I don't think I've ever seen a 50mm Sonnar SLR lens, maybe it's out there in a collector's box somewhere 🙂

As far as old "creamy vintageness", you may try a 135mm/3.5 Carl Zeiss Jena, or the 50mm Pancolar, or the older 58mm Biotar. All East German Zeiss lenses as Rover alluded to above.

 

[Roger Vadim]

Thanks for the suggestions!
I am really looking for that "Sonnar look", and I've got a Rolleiflex with a Tessar. it's a nice Camera, but the Tessar IMHO looks different and the style of shooting with a TLR is different than with a 35mm SLR. So I'm going to have a look onto the Biogon and the Pancolar. Does anybody got a suggestion for a good M42 body? reliabla with a decent and bright finder?

Cheerio, Michael

 

[bmattock]

I don't think you're going to find the 'Sonnar look' in a 50mm SLR, apparently due to the design constraints of the lens itself:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonnar

M42 body, there is only one worthy - the Cosina-Voigtlander Bessaflex TM, now out of production, but worthy of hunting one down if you can. There are lots of cameras in the #2 slot, right below the Bessaflex TM.

As far as the look you are after, you might consider the early post-WWII German M42 lenses, such as the Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar and Biotar lenses (note, the silver Biotar 50mm f/2 won't work on a Bessaflex TM). Lots of creamy goodness there.