Post-War Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnars: Any Mount

Sonnar Brian

Sonnar Brian

Product of the Fifties
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The Post-War Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnars do not get as much attention as their West German counterparts, and their wartime and pre-war predecessors.

This lens is rare in Leica Thread Mount. There seem to be less in Contax mount than their West German counterparts.

I recently picked up a Contax mount 5cm F1.5 lens, and cleaned and adjusted one in LTM. The optics and mechanical construction of this lens is different from the wartime and prewar lenses. Larger diameter optics, rear triplet is bare glass than is held in the main optics fixture with a retaining ring.

5cm F1.5 CZJ Sonnar "T", close-up and wide-open. Focus is on the branch.

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This lens seems "warmer" to me than its West German counterpart.

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"Boring Fence Slat Shot", also wide-open.
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Distance shot F2.8, I forget the exact setting.

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This lens came to me for shimming. I ended up cleaning some haze out of it, and putting back together. It was being used with an M-Mount adapter on a Leica, and would not focus properly at distance. It checked out with my TTL viewer, and certainly checked out on the Contax. The rear of the mount is wider than the other 5cm Sonnars that I have seen, and it was probably interfering with the RF pickup of the Leica. Looking at it on a few different Leica mount cameras, certainly seems possible.
 
I also owned the Postwar CZJ Sonnar 5cm F2. Again- different optics and mechanical design compared with the Wartime and pre-war lens. Larger diameter optics. Cleaned some haze out of the inner surfaces.

Wide-Open on the Contax II

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This lens did not present a problem when used with an M-Mount adapter on my Leica M3.

I need to shoot more with the F1.5 lens, but this CZJ 5cm F2 is hard to beat. I have two of the West German 50/2 Sonnars. Have not shot with the second one yet. After turning the rear optic around, the one that I used did much better. It's a tossup between the CZO and the CZJ.
 
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I have not found an easy way to convert these post-war lenses to Leica Mount, ie not using an adapter. The optical fixture is too big for a J-3/J-8 mount. The Shape of the optical fixture prevents it from going into a Summarit focus mount. The 5cm F2 Zeiss Opton will not easily go into a Nikkor focus mount.

But the wartime and pre-war 5cm F1.5 screws into a J-3, and the collapsible 5cm f2 goes into any J-8 mount. "easy Peasy"
 
Post War Carl Zeiss Jena lenses did away with the "Ears" on the aperture rings. The SN seems to start at ~3Million.

The 5cm f2 lenses are Rigid bodies, no longer collapsible. The diameter of the optics is "ever so slightly larger", meaning that vignetting is less.

I need to shoot more with the 5cm F1.5. I also have a Wartime coated 5cm/1.5 and pre-war uncoated 5cm/1.5 in Contax mount, so should do a comparison of the three.
 
ItsReallyDarren said:
I didn't know post war Contax mount Sonnars didn't adapt well in Jupiter bodies.
Click to expand...

Neither did I until I bought one and tried to convert it!

And it's also why I put this thread in the "Optics and Lenses" forum, information on lens construction and potential conversion seems technical enough.
 
There's one on sale in my local photography forum, from the photo it seems that it is not coated. Too bad that it is priced on the high side..

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Pricing on the pre-war lenses- I picked up a near mint example for $150.

The Post-War Carl Zeiss Jena Lenses are coated, and have not skyrocketed in prce as the West German lenses have done. The Contax mount lenses are about the same price as the pre-war lenses.

The LTM version is rare, and more expensive!
 
I really like the effect shown in the fence photo. I can't describe it, but it has that sense of depth like an old Viewgraph.

(Also, the school bus shots suggests we used to be neighbors.)
 
Thankyou!

The pre-war lens should work fine with the Contax IIa.

$390 is very high for a Contax mount lens. I paid $155 inclusive of shipping for one on Ebay in near mint condition. Cleaned a bit of haze from it, very common in these old lenses. I've paid a low of $85 and a high of $400 for a Wartime 5cm F1.5 "T" in Leica Thread Mount.
 
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