Zeiss Jena 5cm/1.5: How much to pay?

[enasniearth]

sonnar 1.5 in leica mount

sonnar 1.5 in leica mount

i recently purchased a 5cm 1,5 sonnar in leica mount in the 2724*** series .
the aluminum is tarnished as is often found . most have mars in the coatings (early coatings were not as durable as modern ones ).
still the build quality is nice considering wartime conditions and materials shortages .
aluminum mounts hold up less well than brass .
the lens is amazeingly light . the focus is zeiss smooth , the aperature blades form a nice circle--- although the blades are of different material (not brass )
if you were to look at the aluminum mount -- the first thought is not the highest in quality .
still 65 years old and still a challenge for the lifeless computer designed ultra sharp, ultra contrast , modern designs .

in the end if you are familiar with your camera and lens ---know exposure -- are able to pull a decent print , the results are what you are looking for .
there is a lot of talk about the lens haveing a special quality .
this i will find out over the next 6 months .

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I had forgotten about this thread! Raid now has a pre-war 5cm F1.5 Sonnar that I converted for him using a J-3 mount. I've rebuilt several wartime Sonnar's and converted a total of 8 F1.5 Sonnars and 8 5cm F2 Sonnars. I'm guessing in 10 years they will be mystery lenses.

They do have a special quality to them, that much is sure.

 

[raid]

Yes, they do. It is also a type of a lens that can be habit building since it combines mystery with history, high performance and low cost. Few other lenses have such a combination of qualities for a RF user and collector. Brian's work makes such a lens even more valuable to me. The optics swapping can leave you sometimes "in the wrong corner" as I now have two J-3's in Contax mount [Brain needed the J-3 shells for my converted lenses] and no J-3 LTM.

The solution is to use my Contax IIa with the J-3.

 

[raid]

I have several CZJ 50mm lenses, and I like them all. One 5cm 2.0 could be a LTM made by Zeiss, and it would be a very rare lens in that case. It is of remarkable condition, as DAG also told me. It is a very sharp lens that has warm color rendition. There were fewer 5cm 2.0 LTM made than 5cm 1.5.

Just enjoy such lenses.

 

[Bill58]

I had forgotten about this thread! Raid now has a pre-war 5cm F1.5 Sonnar that I converted for him using a J-3 mount. I've rebuilt several wartime Sonnar's and converted a total of 8 F1.5 Sonnars and 8 5cm F2 Sonnars. I'm guessing in 10 years they will be mystery lenses.

They do have a special quality to them, that much is sure.

I have one Brian's "Franken" Sonnar lenses and I love it! They ARE special and of high quality.