Zeiss Tele-Tessar 18cm F6.3 for Contax

[David Murphy]

I have a friend who wants to sell a Zeiss Tele-Tessar 18cm F6.3 for Contax with matching finder in fairly good condition. He has no idea what the value is, nor do I, and I've never seen one for sale. He may auction it off on eBay (I'm trying to convince him not to, but he still thinks eBay is a divine place to sell stuff). It's a pretty cool looking lens, actually rangefinder coupled. Anyone with experiences with this lens here? If possible I'll borrow it from him for some testing and study, before its gone.

 

[batterytypehah!]

Leicashop has one for sale at the moment, priced at 1,190 euros.

 

[Mudman]

http://www.antiquecameras.net/zeisscontaxrflens.html

 

[David Murphy]

yes I know that website, but it does not appraise the 18cm

 

[Crazy Fedya]

I have one of them. I tried to sell it for $1000 here on RFF, and it didn't sell. Going price should be between $800-$1200, according to my research from about a year ago.

 

[dexdog]

I have two of these purchased off eBay in the last 2 years. The black & nickel lens was about $800 in good condition, and the chrome one in excellent condition about $650. Have not seen one on eBay in the last year or so. The finder would probably sell for $200 to $400 by itself. I have used this lens a few times, and it is surprisingly sharp for such an old lens

 

[David Murphy]

Thanks for the above info. I just noticed that our esteemed member FurCafe has a few photos posted on flickr taken with one, and yes they are surprisingly sharp and contrasty, but so are most Zeiss Contax lenses in my experience, even the pre-war uncoated ones (their rep is well-earned).

 

[Mudman]

yes I know that website, but it does not appraise the 18cm

Yes it does.

Unless that's a different lens. Dunno.

 

[David Murphy]

OK of course, I missed that - thanks very much. Interesting optical layout.

My friend loaned me the lens and asked me to sell it for him, but I won't post an ad here since it's not allowed to post about and sell something at the same time. I will put it on my Contax IIa tomorrow and give a whirl - Some test shots for my blog! The thing is pretty cool, and if I had $1200 or so to spare, I'd buy it myself (but as much as I adore rare Contax gear I can't!).

 

[Mudman]

looking forward to the shots.

 

[David Murphy]

Here's what the set looks like.

 

[CameraQuest]

I have a friend who wants to sell a Zeiss Tele-Tessar 18cm F6.3 for Contax with matching finder in fairly good condition. He has no idea what the value is, nor do I, and I've never seen one for sale. He may auction it off on eBay (I'm trying to convince him not to, but he still thinks eBay is a divine place to sell stuff). It's a pretty cool looking lens, actually rangefinder coupled. Anyone with experiences with this lens here? If possible I'll borrow it from him for some testing and study, before its gone.

its hard to find, but not all that popular amongst Contax users
-- probably due to the slow speed.

I once carried one to camera shows for almost a year before finally selling it for $600

Stephen

 

[furcafe]

You are correct, I've had 1 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/furcafe/tags/carlzeissjena18cm63teletessarkc193435/) for many years. Mine is the chrome version, though I recently acquired a 18cm finder meant for the older black version (same model as in David Murphy's photo). I think I paid about $400 for the lens by itself (no caps or hood) in 2001. I don't use mine very often, mainly because I don't shoot many subjects requiring a long lens (longer than 135mm that is), hence only a few test-type shots in my flickr stream. IIRC, there is noticeable falloff when shooting in the f/6.3-8 range.

Thanks for the above info. I just noticed that our esteemed member FurCafe has a few photos posted on flickr taken with one, and yes they are surprisingly sharp and contrasty, but so are most Zeiss Contax lenses in my experience, even the pre-war uncoated ones (their rep is well-earned).