pics with 21mm biogon?

M

motosacto

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Anyone here actually shoot with the 21mm/4.5 Biogon on a Contax ii, iia, iii, or iiia? What do you think? Have any pics available on the web?
 
I've used one of these for about 15 years in Contax mount but mounted on Nikon RF cameras. I'm not that fond of the 20/21mm focal length, preferring 28mm and 24/25mm.

It's incredibly sharp, perhaps too contrasty (if that's possible) and has noticeable light falloff on the corners. Minimum focus distance: 3 feet. F-stops from 4.5 to f/22 with no clickstops. I don't know much about Zeiss serial numbers, so I don't know what year my example is from. It's a very heavy lens -- heavy chrome and brass -- so I don't carry it with me all that often.

Below are a few examples from last year before I got my CV 25mm lens.
 

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VinceC said:
I've used one of these for about 15 years in Contax mount but mounted on Nikon RF cameras. I'm not that fond of the 20/21mm focal length, preferring 28mm and 24/25mm.

It's incredibly sharp, perhaps too contrasty (if that's possible) and has noticeable light falloff on the corners. Minimum focus distance: 3 feet. F-stops from 4.5 to f/22 with no clickstops. I don't know much about Zeiss serial numbers, so I don't know what year my example is from. It's a very heavy lens -- heavy chrome and brass -- so I don't carry it with me all that often.

Below are a few examples from last year before I got my CV 25mm lens.
Click to expand...

Vince,

Thanks for the info! Can you tell me what viewfinder(s) you use for the 21 and 25?

--Mark
 
These are all postwar lenses -- mid- to late-1950s. All are made in West Germany.

This lens did not exist before World War II.

The version for the Contarex is more or less the same lens in a Contarex mount and is to be used with an external viewfinder and with the Contarex mirror locked up.
 
With the 21mm Biogon, I use a fairly recent Leica/Leitz 21mm brightline viewfinder that I bought about 12 years ago. My CV 25mm/4 (Nikon/Contax version) came with an excellent brightline 25mm finder.
 
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Wayne R. Scott said:
My avatar was shot with a 21mm f4.5 Biogon on a Contax IIa.
Click to expand...

And well-shot it was. Somehow seems a little more "there" than the usual "Hey, here's a bolt of lightning" pictures. Though a rendition that small will change one's perception of it, of course.
 
Mauna Kea volcano, Hawaii, at approximately 12,000 ft MSL. Nice clear day above the clouds. Contax II, 21mm Biogon, Velvia 50. Oh, I forgot to add that the mountain in the distance that is partially shrouded in clouds is Mauna Loa volcano.
 
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Cool shots--what about viewfinders?

Cool shots--what about viewfinders?

So what viewfinders did you use for the various posted shots?
 
I prefer to use the 21mm ZI finder for the Contax, although I have also used the Contax 440 finder that has framelines for the 21, 35, 50, 85 and 135 focal lengths.
 
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