Which collapsible lens for a Contax/Kiev?

[wlewisiii]

Darn, I shouldn't have dithered. The ding in the mount is why I did, but I should have just gone for it. Oh, well, live and learn.

William

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Wasn't ME!

That ding in the mount can be fixed!

 

[furcafe]

This is what John Keesing, author of "Contax RF Lenses 1932-1962" has to say about the f/3.5 Tessar:

The 5cm Tessars were redesigned to suit the 35mm format . . . During the 30 year life span of the Contax, the f3.5 Tessar received minor optical formula updates as new glass types were developed.

And this is what he writes about the f/2.8:

The 5cm f2.8 Tessar could be described as a stretched version of the 5cm f3.5 Tessar, and was offered for sale a few months after that lens came on the market. The enlarged aperture caused a slight decrease in resolution and an equally slight increase in edge illumination.

BTW, I highly recommend Keesing's book for anyone interested in Contax lenses.

I voted to wait. Go all the way with your Tessar fancy!

I did check ahead in the Hans-Jurgen Kuc book, On the Trail of the Contax (vol. 1). He does not directly compare the performance of the 3.5 and 2.8 Tessars. My reading is that the 3.5 was very highly regarded, and seemingly the better lens. The 2.8 was a higher speed alternative to the 3.5.

Note too that there were two versions of the collapsable Tessars made, one before and one after 1936. You want to be sure to find one made after 1936 as it will collapse fully into your camera. Those made before have a longer tube and were made for the Contax I.

 

[wlewisiii]

So according to this gentlebeing, what I'm going to want is a late model fixed mount 3.5 with my Tessar fixation (iow, the improved glass and overall better mount)? Actually that kind of makes sense.

I have a copy of "The Contax Way" by Freytag (7th? edition of 1956) that lists three levels of lenses - current, interesting and obsolete. The 2.8 is listed in the obsolete category.

If finances hold up (always an if this time of year), I'll get the Sonnar and wait for a fixed mount and coated 3.5 Tessar to fit my budget.

Thank you all for this conversation.

William

 

[Sonnar Brian]

The version of the Tessar depends on the look that you want. The Gentleman who bought the uncoated 5cm f3.5 collapsible Tessar from me Modified it to operate on his Nikon F3. He wanted "the Look" of the classic lens, "warts and all". It went for just under $250. Really is making me think to mount the Housing of the shutter/lens of the "Damaged Dollina" onto the Leica Helical that I have.

Newcombe, in "35mm Technique", 1946, would have easily been talking about the edge illumination for color film. I would still be interested in finding out if the Designers of the F3.5 Tessar either "hit" on a 3-color correction, designed it that way, or that the color aberration is just so low that there is no practical difference.