Zeiss Contax 28mm f/8

wjlapier

wjlapier

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Any feedback on this lens? I shoot a lot of wide f/11 or f/16 point and shoot style with my M7. I just saw this lens somewhere and it caught my eye.
 
Pros: It's relatively small & low-profile. Cons: low-contrast, prone to flare, scale focus only.

Personally, I think something like the MS-Optical 28/4 would be a better choice.
 
it works fine for a vintage look - have it cleaned.
Tom A likes the lens.
Two versions - chrome and the much rarer black for the Contax I.

Stephen
 
I have owned and used this lens. This lens was probably a technological wonder in the 1930's really, years ahead of most competition except perhaps that from Leitz. The lens is not coated, thus it has a real flare and contrast problems by modern standards, so avoid backlit scenes entirely (not a bad idea in general IMO). I shot only color with it, but it may be a better candidate for use with black and white film.

It is quite collectible and fun to use, but not practical if you really need a sharp, contrasty modern look. It is a beautiful collectible however and if you appreciate vintage Zeiss optics you will like it. It is also a very small lens for a 28 mm lens - pancake-like - and very well made - actually exceptionally well made really by any modern standard.
 
I wonder if anyone here bought the Contax 28/8 lenses on ebay after reading this thread. There was a nice black one I was thinking about and now it's gone. I should have jumped on it.
 
The 28f8 Zeiss is quite good. Yes it is slow, but you can safely shoot it at f8 and get some nice stuff. I like the size of it and the fact that hyper focal is natural! Times were tough in the 30's/40's and early 50's. You had the Zeiss at f8, the Leica Hektor at 6.3 and the Orion 28f6. Things improved with the Nikkor 28f3.5, canons 3.5 and later 2.8. Leica jumped into the game with the Summaron 28f5.6. Consider also that film was slow - 40 iso, some 100 iso. A steady hand was needed (or tripod). From a user point, I would look at something a bit faster though.
There are some "Zeiss Tessar 28mm f8" shots on Flickr which will give you an idea of image quality.
 
Depending on which version you have, it is a 40.5 mm thread. Mine is the later chrome version and 40.5 works with it. I don't know if the black version had threads or not. Be aware that with a filter in place that you can't change the f/stop setting. A 42 mm slip on might be more convenient for that reason.
 
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