Zeiss Opton lens - I need explanation.

[monopix]

Can someone fill me in on what exactly a Zeiss 'Opton' lens is. Googling it hasn't turned up a lot and what it has seems to conflict.

I'm looking at a possible purchase of a IIa which comes with an Opton Sonnar f/1.5 50mm and I guess I really need to know if it's any good but I would like an explanation of what Opton lenses are. I'm also wondering if the lens is of similar age to the camera - the camera is a CD version - serial number suggests 1956-57.

Any help appreciated.

 

[furcafe]

Zeiss-Opton" is a trademark used by the W. German 1/2 of the Carl Zeiss enterprise during the Cold War in the years immediately following WWII. As I wrote in this thread :

Lenses marked "Zeiss-Opton" predate the settlement/resolution of the trademark dispute between the W. German (Oberkochen) & E. German (Jena) halves of the Zeiss optical empire around 1953, IIRC. Lenses made before & during WWII are marked "Carl Zeiss Jena." After 1953 or so, the W. German lenses are marked simply "Carl Zeiss," whereas E. Germany continued w/the "Carl Zeiss Jena" marking.
Addendum, after the E. Germans eventually lost the trademark suit (but only in some countries), they marked their lenses "Jena" or "Aus Jena."

It should be good, though some of the very early Opton lenses suffered from poor quality control (the Oberkochen lens works had to be built from scratch). The later Zeiss lenses marked simply "Carl Zeiss" can suffer from separation because the factory switched to a new adhesive (Canadian balsam?) that turned out to be less durable than that used during the Opton years.

As far as your 3rd question, the lens pre-dates your camera by @ least 3 years.

 

[monopix]

Thanks Furcafe.

The serial of this particular lens is only 5 digits. Is this normal? Everything I've found about lens serial numbers quotes numbers of 7 digits.

 

[dexdog]

Thanks Furcafe.

The serial of this particular lens is only 5 digits. Is this normal? Everything I've found about lens serial numbers quotes numbers of 7 digits.

According to John Keesing's book Contax Rangefinder Lenses 1932-1962, the first 50/1.5 Sonnars made in Oberkochen had serial numbers starting with #47,000. Perhaps your lens is one of these examples.

 

[furcafe]

I'm not an expert on serial numbers, for that you should join & post your question to the Zeiss Ikon Collectors Group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZICG/). However, I would guess that it indicates very early production, as the oldest of my 50/1.5 Zeiss-Opton Sonnars (c.1950-51 w/a chrome front rim rather than black) has a 6-digit serial number.

Thanks Furcafe.

The serial of this particular lens is only 5 digits. Is this normal? Everything I've found about lens serial numbers quotes numbers of 7 digits.

 

[mhv]

The Opton 50/1.5 Sonnar is a gem of a lens. I got one from an RFF member, and it's the lens I love the most so far.

I have used mine on chrome film, and the slides just pop perfectly. I'll be next using it on Ektar 100 film.

The wide-open bokeh is very nice, but so is the stopped down performance: lots of fine detail, nothing too harsh, gorgeous colour rendition.

If you can get one around 250$, it will be the best bargain of your life.

 

[raid]

The Opton goes for $200+. The Contax IIa for $175-$275.

 

[monopix]

Thanks all. I think I'm starting to get the picture.

 

[dexdog]

I forgot to add that Keesing's book says that the earliest Opton lenses with the 5 digit serial numbers were produced in 1950.

 

[john_s]

Although not relevant to rangefinders or the lens in question, the East German Zeiss factory marked lenses for the Rolleiflex SL66 (120 film size SLR) as OPTON. The camera was released first in (around?) 1966, so the Zeiss Opton name was used for some years after that.