Nikkor 85mm f/2 in Contax mt.

naren

naren

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I am in the market for one of these... wanted to ask a few questions, first how do you tell if it is one designed for Contax or Nikon cameras? What is a fair price for a nice user? I'm guessing they are cheaper than the Nikon rangefinder 85's? Thanks. -Naren
 
naren said:
I am in the market for one of these... wanted to ask a few questions, first how do you tell if it is one designed for Contax or Nikon cameras? What is a fair price for a nice user? I'm guessing they are cheaper than the Nikon rangefinder 85's? Thanks. -Naren
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The Nikkor 85/2 lenses designed for Contax cameras have a 'C' engraved on the focusing ring. Most are chrome, but the later versions are black with chrome trim. Based on what I have seen on eBay in the last couple of years, I would estimate the range in price to be about $225 to $300, which may or may not include caps and lens shade. The chrome ones are much more common than the black ones.

Nice lenses, equal in image quality to the Zeiss 85/2 for the Contax. About the same weight, but the Nikkor is a bit more compact (about 1/2 inch shorter and slightly smaller diameter) than the Zeiss.
 
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dexdog said:
The Nikkor 85/2 lenses designed for Contax cameras have a 'C' engraved on the focusing ring.
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... are you sure about this? I haven't shopped them seriously but it has seemed to me that most of the 85 Nikkor's around have that "C" on the front, so I was thinking it just means coated...
 
Don't confuse the Contax "C" with the red "C" in Nikkor-PC indicating that the lens is coated. The Contax "C" dexdog is referring to is the one circled below.

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If you are looking on EvilBay keep an eye open for both Nikon and Contax version. Some times the folks selling a Nikon have a Contax mount by mistake.

B2 (;->
 
Can someone tell me the thread diameter of this lens?

Also those of you with experience with Jupiter lenses... I'm trying to decide if I should get a bargain KEH Jupiter 85mm or hold out for the NIkkor. Thanks.
 
I've got one for Contax and they're fun, but it's dubious they're any better than a modern SLR lens of similar focal length that can be had for about four times less money. I paid about $100 or so for mine on eBay -- just an extremely lucky find -- it has some minor scratches on the rear element. I think $300 or so is more typical. Here's some Kodachrome 64 shots from last summer taken with it on a Contax II.

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I agree that the lens has pleasing ergonomics (as we now call it). It also looks good. These facts are also a characteristic of Japanese manufacturing and a factor in their success in the realm of consumer products like photo goods.


Floyd Takeuchi said:
I picked up a Nikkor 85/2 in a Contax mount in Tokyo last fall. It is an earlier model, in pristine condition, and included a hood with a built-in skylight-type filter. It also had a rear cap. The price, in US dollars, was about $400 at the exchange rate at the time. I haven't done as much shooting with it as I would like but did recently get back about five rolls, which included a number of shots with this lens. I like it a lot -- it easily holds its own with the Zeiss lenses that I have for my Contax IIa (35 Biogon; 50 Sonnar; 135 Sonnar), and in some ways is easier to shoot. The aperature and focus rings are about where I expect them to be, which isn't the case with some of the Zeiss glass.

There's a bit of history with this lens, as you may know. It was the lens that got David Douglas Duncan in 1950 interested in Nikkor lenses when he was in Tokyo. And as the often told story goes, he eventually switched from Leica to Nikkor lenses, just in time for the outbreak of the Korean War. A few other Life Magazine shooters also switched to Nikkors, which resulted in a story in the NY Times. The growth of Nikon and other Japanese camera manufacturers in the US, is attributed in part to David Douglas Duncan and that NY Times article.
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Thanks for the info guys... I had heard a bit of that David Douglas story. It's amazing how much there is to learn about photography.

As far as my purposes for this lens... it is to shoot on my Kiev 4A along with a CV 25mm down the road, and the 50 "sm" that it came with. This is the 2nd body I'm shooting with for a particular project, the other camera being my F3 and a series of prime lenses. I'm doing documentary and concert photography of artists, so I use a normal shoulder bag as opposed to a backpack. I can't really handle using my F as the 2nd body. My back kills me and my bag will come apart at the seams sooner rather than later. I had heard real good things about this lens, and I figured I could get the Contax mount cheaper than the regular Nikon rangefinder mount. If I'd come across an F mount 85mm f1.8 Nikkor I would probably be going for the CV 25mm first, but right now I'm really missing that 85mm focal length. That's why I'm considering the Jupiter. Btw I scored a really sweet 24mm f/2.8 Nikkor on eBay for $70. It has the factory Ai and it's a minty old-style hill and dale focusing collar that I love best. I had heard it's not the sharpest lens in the line-up and so I was thinking maybe the one Zeiss ZF lens I'd get would be the 25mm f/2.8, but that was a pipe dream anyway. The Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 is of course still I high quality professional and I realize would only benefit from the Zeiss in certain circumstances. I do wonder how that CV lens stack up against the other two... I'm sure it has an edge on both as far as distortion.
 
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Concernning buying a J-9 versus a Nikkor: Buying Russian lenses is always a bit of a crapshoot, as you know, where buying a Nikkor is less risky, all things considered. I used to own a J-9 manufactured in 1951, and it was a great lens- performance was every bit as good a my Zeiss-Opton 85/2. I sold the Jupiter and kept the Zeiss because the build quality and smooth function of the latter was much better than the former.
 
the cap on my black 85/2 in Nikon S-mount looks like this. Don't know if all versions of the black lenses have the same cap, though.
 
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I think that might be a replacement (more recent) lens cap, Mark. Does if have any patent numbers marked on the inside surface?

Hacker, the final version black lens pictured below only comes in Nikon S-mount and Contax C-mount, and has a very similar hood and cap to the 10.5cm f2.5 lens you recently got from me. Except with a 48mm filter diameter of course.
nrf852b5.jpg


The earlier version black lens pictured below (notice the finer knurling on the lens barrel) comes in LTM, Nikon S-mount, and Contax C-mount, and has a reversible hood into which the "lens cap" screws into. I put "lens cap" in inverted commas because its not really a lens cap, because it won't screw onto the lens itself. It only screws into the hood.

nrf852b4.jpg


More info here (link).
 
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Thanks Jon, but I do not see the cap on the link you provided. Also, there is no sighting of the cap here either:

http://akiroom.com/redbook-e/kenkyukai/kenkyukai200408.html

According to S Gandy's article, the later hood works fine for both versions of the 85 f2. If I have the later hood for the first version of the black lens (LTM), would I need a snap on cap or the screw on? Or both will work?
 
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Hacker said:
Thanks Jon, but I do not see the cap on the link you provided. Also, there is no sighting of the cap here either:

http://akiroom.com/redbook-e/kenkyukai/kenkyukai200408.html

According to S Gandy's article, the later hood works fine for both versions of the 85 f2. If I have the later hood for the first version of the black lens (LTM), would I need a snap on cap or the screw on? Or both will work?
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A picture is worth a thousand words! The snap-on hood and 48mm lens cap will work on either type, but its only correct for the 2nd black version.

The earlier screw-in cap does NOT fit on the later hood, or visa-versa.
 
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jonmanjiro said:
A picture is worth a thousand words! The snap-on hood and 48mm lens cap will work on either type, but its only correct for the 2nd black version.

The earlier screw-in cap does NOT fit on the later hood, or visa-versa.
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OK, so a first version lens will work well with a later lens hood and a later lens cap fine. The (snap on) lens cap will be very similiar to the one which I got from you but in 48mm diameter.

Is this therefore correct? :confused:
 
Hacker said:
OK, so a first version lens will work well with a later lens hood and a later lens cap fine. The (snap on) lens cap will be very similiar to the one which I got from you but in 48mm diameter.

Is this therefore correct? :confused:
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Correct! Although the later lens cap and hood were never sold with the earlier type lens, they will fit and work just fine.
 
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