So what CZJ lenses do you have?

[Nando]

Me, mostly Pentacon-6 mount lenses. I have the 50 Flektogon MC, 80 Biometar MC and 180 Sonar MC and I use them on an Arax 88. I also have a 20f2.8 Flektogon in m42 mount for my Spotmatic II.

[ChrisL]

Same here on the glass, 50 flek, 80 biometar, 180 Sonar and a 300 sonar. I use all this glass on a Pentax 645 and a Kiev 88cm.

[Amin Sabet]

Welcome Nando and Chris! Aside from posting on a couple Flickr groups, I haven't put out the word yet on these forums but hope to "go live" within the next few days. Would love to see some of your photos with these lenses.

[Brian]

As of late, I'be been using pre-war Sonnars modified for Leica Mount.

Converted this one this morning. A 1937 CZJ 5cm F1.5, set in a 1961 J-3 mount, and collimated for the Leica.

[Amin Sabet]

Cool! Would love to see an example of a photo taken with any of your converted lenses! Do you do this only for personal use, or do you offer services converting them for others?

[wlewisiii]

Currently I have a 1937 50/2.8 collapsible Tessar, a 1942 T 50/2 collapsible Sonnar & a 1941 85/2 Sonnar; all are in Contax mount.

My goal is to get a pre-war Biogon & a pre-war 135/4 Sonnar as a basic Contax kit. If I get lucky or win the lotto, then I'll get a 21 & 180 to go with them :) I probably should get an actual 50/1.5 Sonnar as well but the J-3 I own is so good that I'm not in any hurry.

I'd like to start exploring the M42 lenses from CZJ as well.

William

[Brian]

I do the conversions mostly for my own use, but have converted other's lenses on request. The most time-consuming part is getting the Contax lens and J-3 to work with. This conversion took about 4 hours to rebuild the J-3 mount, disassemble and clean the Sonnar, collimate the lens, and re-tap the holes for the set screws.

1935 CZJ 5cm F1.5 Sonnar, wide-open on the Bessa R2:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3208/2965689112_90a2ed2936_o.jpg

The 1935 lens is very odd: has a coated front element, might have been polished and recoated. Or could be original done while Zeiss was experimenting with the process. The focus was way off in its original Contax mount. This is the first lens that I converted.

1939 "T" coated 5cm F1.5, on the Canon P, wide-open:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3151/3039774488_61a95b3615_o.jpg

1938 uncoated 5cm F1.5, wide-open on the Bessa R2.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3199/2852449798_378a02f13c_o.jpg

[back alley]

she is getting older brian.

[Amin Sabet]

she is getting older brian.

Remarkable how quickly kids do that! Brian, beautiful portraits with those lenses!

[Brian]

She'll be 11 in May.

After finding a $10 under her pillow replacing a tooth, I was told "There is no tooth fairy".

"Okay", I said- "Where did the $10 come from?"

Vulcan Logic wins out once again. I'm enjoying her growing up.

On the camera-side, she has an 8MPixel P&S with movie mode. She loves making movies. I don't think she'll be picking up the Contax II.

On the lenses- I'll do a thread on the conversion process. I've made several 5cm F2 CZJ Sonnars into LTM using a J-8 mount. BUT- the 5cm F1.5's steal the show. Right now Three Canon P's with three different 5cm F1.5 Sonnars on them.

[Amin Sabet]

She'll be 11 in May.

After finding a $10 under her pillow replacing a tooth, I was told "There is no tooth fairy".

I was in line yesterday at the mall, waiting for my 4 and 5yo boys to get a photo with Santa, and a girl behind us asked her mother if this was really Santa Claus. Her mom said no! I'm so glad my kids didn't hear that conversation, because they were besides themselves when they got to meet him :).

Have you converted any lenses at other focal lengths? I'm curious how the 8.5/2 CZJ Sonnars compare to the Nikon 8.5/2, for example.

[Brian]

Yes- we love the visits to Santa. Last night Nikki went to Santa's Village with her cousin. We asked if Santa was there, and got "No, He's at Manassas Mall." They have the GREAT Santa there that she's visited her whole life.

I have not converted the other lenses- but believe the same process is possible.

The CZJ 8.5cm F2 in Contax mount will "probably" fit into a J-9 LTM mount, and the 3.5cm F2.8 Biogon will "probably" go into a J-12 LTM mount.

I have the Nikkor 8.5cm F2 in S-Mount, Contax Mount, and LTM. I'll probably add the CZJ if one comes along at a good price.

For the 5cm lenses- the Sonnar is smoother than the Nikkor 5cm F1.4 for OOF areas and is lower contrast. Yet, it is just as sharp.

And to answer the original question on the thread,

I have a Contax mount Collapsible 5cm F2.8 Tessar 1931 vintage; 1936 uncoated 5cm f2 Sonnar converted to LTM; 1940 Sonnar "T" 5cm f2, converted to LTM; 1935 (coated front element) 5cm F1.5 converted to LTM; uncoated 1938 5cm F1.5 in LTM; 1939 "T" 5cm F1.5 converted to LTM; and post-war 5cm F2 in Contax mount. And the 1937 uncoated 5cm F1.5 in LTM converted yesterday, that I am testing.

[jedrek]

Let's see...

CZJ 135mm f/3.5 for M42
Biometar 80mm f/2.8 for Pentacon Six
Flektagon 50mm f/4 for Pentacon Six
250mm f/4.5 Tessar in a shutter
Shutterless 300mm f/4.5 Tessar

Some pics:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1299/1203498065_1dd75015cf_o.jpg
from the 135mm on a 5D

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3221/2879789515_4ca17fea27_o.jpg
Biometar with the Hartblei tilt adapter for EOS

[fotobiblios]

In Pentacon 6 mount: 50f4, 65f2.8(excellent),80f2.8,120f2.8(excellent),180f2. 8,300f4

In 42mm: 35mmf2.4, 50f2.8, 135f4, 135f3.5

[Alex]

First, hello to fellow Zeiss users and enthusiasts in this new forum.

Most of my Zeiss lenses are CZ T* in CY mount, but I have fairly recently acquired a few CZJ models in M42 : a couple of 135/3.5, a couple of 35/2.4, a couple of 50mm Tessars (it's a habit from my days in IT, building in duplicates for redundancy and backup purposes), and a 20/2.8 Flektogon. (Wide Fleks are harder to find and besides, my wife is starting to ask questions about my spend on yet another set of lenses.) I've not yet exercised them ; the intention is to attach them to my Contaxes via an adapter, but so far all I've had time to do is some basic cleaning, sorting out some sluggish diaphragms, and a preliminary play or two attaching them to a Canon dSLR just to make sure the light can get from the front end to the back in reasonable volumes.


Alex

[wlewisiii]

Beautiful shots of your daughter, Brian. Where does the time go? First is a J-3 at 1.5, second is a collapsible Sonnar at 2~2.8 or so IIRC.

William

[Brian]

The time flies. Nikki was thrilled to be 10, "Double-Digits".- never going to be "Single-Digits" again.

I remember that J-3! It was a very good one.

I've been "uncollapsing" Sonnars, making them into Rigid mount for the Leica. I keep the Tessar in Contax mount, and have the post-war Zeiss Jena 5cm F2 on the Contax II. It is up at Eddy's for a CLA.

Also have three 50/1.5 Carl Zeiss Opton's: 1 collimated for Contax, another for the Nikon, and one mated to a LTM adapter. I also have a 50/2 CZO collimated for the Nikon. Of the bunch- I favor the 1935 CZJ 5cm F1.5.

This is the 1940 CZJ 5cm F2 "T" , taken out of the collapsible mount and converted to LTM:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3094/2769489730_9bb4a4a941_o.jpg

Wide-open on the Canon P.

[wlewisiii]

Yes, that was a the nicest LTM J-3 I've seen. The one I've currently got in Contax mount is just as good though - if it wasn't dated 1960 I'd think it was a CZJ original. I've been mostly shooting the uncoated collapsible Tessar of late though. That 1937 50/2.8 with a Contax II of the same year has been a real delight for me. Lot's of landscapes lately...

William

[Lucispictor]

CZJ Flektogon 4/20
Pentacon 3.5/30
Carl Zeiss Tessar 2.8/50 (but this is Zeiss Oberkochen)
Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 2.8/50
"aus Jena DDR" (CZJ) T(essar) 2.8/50
Pentaflex Auto-Color 1.8/50
Pentacon auto 2.8/135
Carl Zeiss Super-Dynarex 4/135 (but this is Zeiss Oberkochen)
Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 4/135 1Q
Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 4/135 1Q (silver)
Pentacon 4/200

[Romeo]

Hello,

another Zeiss user discovering this forum. You have a 20mm f2.8 Flektogon too? Cool. I feel lukewarm about mine. It doesn't replace the 21mm Distagon f2.8 I surrendered :)

The Jena Sonnar 5cm f2.0 and f1.5 lenses are very nostalgic. I love these old lenses too. Sorry I don't know much about the rest of the Jena line up. Those two are all I have .

[fuwen]

I started photography with Praktica BC1 with Pentacon 28/2.8, 50/1.8 and 135/2.8.

http://www.fuwen.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=11&Itemid=123

The Carl Zeiss Jena series of PB mount lenses I have include 20/2.8, 35/2.4, 50/2.8 macro, 50/1.4, 80/1.8, 135/3.5 and 300/4. It is sad that East-West Germany unification killed these very good value for money Prakticar/Jena line of lenses.

[Arjay]

Here is my pair of Tessar 50 zebras. Both quite stiff to focus but have got better with use.

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n73/ArjayBee/Spottietessarssm.jpg

[jmkelly]

As of late, I'be been using pre-war Sonnars modified for Leica Mount. Converted this one this morning. A 1937 CZJ 5cm F1.5, set in a 1961 J-3 mount, and collimated for the Leica.
I have one of these from Brian: a 1936 (I think) set in a 1955 J-3 mount.
Also have a wartime Jena Sonnar 50/1.5 in LTM - maybe. MJ Small could not authenticate it, Barringer says "maybe" but has his doubts, Brian has had it open and seen nothing like it (and rescued it from mediocrity with some careful work - thanks!), Stephan Van den Zegel Has several that appear identical.

Here's a shot with the Contax lens conversion @ f1.5:
http://www.ziforums.com/picture.php?albumid=85&pictureid=683

Here's the same shot with the repaired LTM lens:
http://www.ziforums.com/picture.php?albumid=85&pictureid=684

The earlier lens is sharper across the entire frame. The lenses render OOF differently - I don't have a preference.

[Konrad]

Hello Zeiss friends,
I started photographing 40 years ago with my fathers Contaflex Super BC and got later on my own practica Nova ! PL with M42 TM.
My fyvorite lens then was a 75mm/1,5 Biotar what I got just some years ago. In the mean time I collected a lot of Praktina items and have this nice lens also in a Prakrina mount.
It has a very nice bokkeh and soft image on full aperture. The problem with these old aluminium barrels is sticky focusing and, what is more embarassing, growth of funghi. This is really obvious and can only be stopped by exposition to bright sunlight.

In Praktina mount I have the Flektogon 25mm/4; Flektogon 35mm/2,8; W-Tessar 40mm/4,5 (really nice to photograph into the sun because its only 4 lenses); Tessar 50mm/2,8; Flexon 50mm/2,0; Biotar 75mm/1,5; Biometar 80mm/2,8; Meyer Trioplan 100mm/2,8; Biometar 120mm/2,8; Sonnar 135mm/4 and Meyer 300mm/5,5.
All those are nice to use with the Praktina even if I miss a TTL viewfinder for this system.

In comparison to that I have some lenses for the Icarex TM system including the rare Distagon 25mm/4,0.

Hope I can share yome experioences with other Zeiss users.
Greetings from Germany
Konrad

[raid]

I have always favored Zeiss lenses in my "photography life". I started out with a Zeiss Contina with the 45mm Pantar. During my SLR life, I used Rolleiflex SL35 bodies with Zeiss lenses (28mm/35mm/50mm/85mm/135mm). The 85mm/1.4 is awesome. Then I pretended to be a wedding photographer for 2 years, and I used a Mamiya 645J with Zeiss Jena lenses. The 50mm and the 180mm lenses are great. With RF cameras, I am enjoying the Zeiss 5cm 1.5 and 2.0 in Contax and in LTM mounts.


edited: ... and most recently, I have added 3 Zeiss G lenses with a Contax G1.

[estudleon]

Hi, guys!! I'm new here and wanbt to share my lenses with you. Ok, here I go.

I have several M42 cams. >Lenses CZJ:

4/20 flektogon

2,4/35 flektogon electric

1,8/50 pancolar red mc aus jena

1,8/50 pancolar whiter MC

3,5/135 sonnar red MC

[like2fiddle]

I have but one CZJ lens at this point. It is a pre-war 50/2 sonar converted to ltm (j-8) mount. This is a project I took on last year with much help and encouragement from Brian. I love the lens and have uploaded a few pics to the gallery.

[Brian]

Gotta love those uncoated Sonnars. Wonderful color, like "Kodachrome 10".

And I need to add some Zeiss glass for my M-42 mount cameras. Those Zebra lenses say "60s German" all over them. I have an old optics kit with the same finish, German manufacture, about the same period.

[JerryMK]

Hi all,

I just got a (I think very rare) Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 2,5cm/1.4

Can't find many info on this lens, so if anyone knows more about it I am very intersted.

[estudleon]

Can we see any pics of the lens, perhaps that can help.

Thanks

[JerryMK]

Can we see any pics of the lens, perhaps that can help.

Thanks

I did in the first place but as I am new on this forum it was not allowed. You can see an example on (remove te {remove})

farm4.static.flickr.{remove}com/3566/3438610491_119f035e3e_b{remove}.jpg

Thanks, Jerry

[Seele]

Just a small selection for me:

M42 mount:
35/2.8 Flektogon (leather-grip and zebra)
50/2 Pancolar (leather-grip)
50/1.8 Pancolar (zebra, 6 elements in 4 groups)
50/2.8 Tessar (several versions)
58/2 Biotar (preset)

B-mount:
35/2.4
50/1.8
50/1.4
80/1.8
135/3.5
300/4

P6-mount:
80/2.8 Biometar

Large format:
11cm/18 Protar V
13cm/6.3 Tessar
15cm/6.3 Tessar
16.5cm/4.5 Tessar

25cm/6.3 Tele-Tessar
and a couple of Double-Protars

Something else:
Ernostar 10.5cm/1.8

[LeicaTom]

A verified "Wartime" German CZJ Sonnar T f1.5/50 in original Leica Thread Mount

Lens is from a Zeiss LTM production run for the German Wehrmacht on Jan. 29th 1943.

After a two year+ search, I finally found one, and Brian Sweeney did his magic on it, it`s amazing and a really surprisingly great condition, from going though use in WW2.

Tom

PS: I tried to post a photo of it here, mounted on my 1945 Leica IIIC K Grey, but it said I could`nt link any photos????? :(

[Brian]

I'll be putting up some pictures of the internals of that lens.

Tom- because of spammers, Amin limited features for posters with less than 5 posts.

Also- if you open a gallery, it is easy to cut and paste the [img] string into a thread. That way guests can see the image.

[Bumblelberrie]

I'm new to this forum; so perhaps nobody is interested in my answer.

Pentacon six mount:
Flektogon 50mm MC
Biometar 80mm MC
Biometar 120mm MC
Sonnar 180mm MC
All regularly used on my ARAX 60

M42
Flektogon 20mm
Flektogon 35mm
Pancolar 50mm
Sonnar 135mm
Regularly used on my Zeiss Ikon Icarex TM

[Brian]

welcome to the forum.

Some of us do check in, and i think you are one of the few Icarex users. The Gallery is very generous here, 1MByte per image with 1024 max resolution. feel free to upload some images, and thankyou.

[Brian]

Thankyou! That is a beautiful lens, and exceptionally rare.

[Brian]

For easy reference, I am including the link the the gallery here:

http://www.ziforums.com/album.php?albumid=284