Inexpensive SLR with Carl Zeiss Lens

[raytoei]

Q: Do you know of an inexpensive film SLR with Carl Zeiss Lens ?

A: Yes! I spent the last 2 days reading and learning about this East German camera called Praktica from a company called Pentacon.

The roots of this company was Carl Zeiss Jena / Dresden. During and shortly after the war, the company was split into 3: East Germany "Jena", West Germany Oberkochen "Opton" and plant and equipment were relocated to Russia as well.

Some of shared lens produced were: Sonnars, Tessars. CZJ also produced their own lens not found in the West: Pancolar (similar to Planar), Flextagon (the west CZ copied this design and made Distagon, and others.

You can buy a Praktica camera with a CZ Lens quite cheaply. For example, a SLR with a 50/2.8 Tessar under $100 USD from Ebay. Sonnar 135/35 for about 100USD, and a Pancolar or Flextagon is a bit more expensive as this is very highly regarded, but both under USD$150.

All of the above mentioned lens are found on the common M42 screw mount, so it fits into quite abit of cameras and even more with adapters.

I bought a Prakica body with a generic lens for USD 35 yesterday and I spent a bit of time on ebay looking for a tele-photo sonnar and a 50mm Pancolar 1.8. I found both under 150 usd each, being of pristine condition.

So if you are willing to experiment out the comfort zone of Japanese and Western cameras but want quality above the average Zenit, Zorkies or Fed, then the East German camera Praktica may be a good choice.

raytoei

 

[analox]

Thanks for the informative post! Tempting...

 

[Ben Ang]

they may be carl zeiss branded, but they re not the same quality as the carl zeiss that is commonly known.

carl zeiss jena is often considered inferior, so much so that towards the end of the cold war era, the carl zeiss jena had to stop using the 'carl zeiss' name. if you want the really high quality lenses, you ll have to stick to the pre war carl zeiss, the ones made for exakta, or the contax/yashica T* lenses. basically, those without 'jena'

 

[raytoei]

okay... i will agree that post breakdown of iron curtain, maybe the quality suffered.

But the REAL Carl Zeiss was actually in Jena.

"Carl Zeiss AG is a German manufacturer of optical systems,
industrial measurements and medical devices, founded in Jena,
Germany in 1846 by Carl Zeiss, Ernst Abbe, and Otto Schott. "

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Zeiss_AG

I think the western zeiss is/was better than the post war Jenas. But I wouldn't
generalise that all Jenas were bad. The Biotar 75/1.5, Flektogon 35/2.4 and
Pancolar Lens are very good.

Well, I will be receiving my shipment of pancolar and sonnar soon. We will soon find out

 

[newghost]

Let me guess, will you be going after 35mm compact with REAL carl zeiss lens next?

 

[raytoei]

newghost, LOL.. No leh... this is first time i am going to shoot film slr (actually 2nd time but the pentax mx was in my hands only for 24 hours before some couple gave me an offer i couldn't refuse), so far i like it, running 2 rolls through it.

the praktica mirror slap really reaches out and slap me like a rifle recoil.

but wah liao...35cm minimum focus..., coming from RF world, this is heavenly.

 

[OSFlanker]

A Contax 137 or 139 with Carl Zeiss 50mm f/1.7 is not too expensive, followed by a Voigtlander VSL-1 (M42 mount) with Ultron 50mm f/1.8 lens (which is basically a Planar). So these are real Zeiss glasses.

I have a Contax 139, a VSL-1 and a Porst Compact Reflex (rebadged Cosina CSM, M42 mount) and I have to say the Contax is the best to handle and smoothest. The VSL-1 and Porst are really clunky, esp the mirror slap. It's no wonder a Contax 139 costs more, but you are paying for quality.

 

[raytoei]

hi. after 2 weeks of using the Praktica and about 10 rolls later... this are my observations:

a. i like the fact the slr can close focus whereas the
Rangefinder can't. This 42mm lens can focus down to 35cm (!),
the best i can squeeze out from my CZJ Sonnar LTM is 0.7m

b. Mirror slap is a problem, on the RF, i can shoot at 1/8
on a 50mm lens with a soft button release. On the SLR,
1/60 is default and i barely make it to 1/30.
With a 135mm lens, on the RFF, i can go at 1/60 while
on the SLR, it produces pronounced vibration at 1/60.

c. Interestingly, I found this SLR okay for street shooting.
With non-AF prime lens, I used Hyperfocal distance
focusing to capture those fleeting street moments.

For this m42 mount, there were several different lens version,
all due to different pins protruding from the screw mount. For example,
the excellent Fujinon 42-75mm zoom won't fit properly on this praktica
lens, much to my chagrin.

But generally, lens is cheap for the m42 mount, Tessars are going at
60-70 usd, Planar type Pancolars are going at 100-150 USD, while
Biogon type Flektogon wides are going 150-200usd. All from
Carl Zeiss Jena and generally very good.

If not CZJ lens, then the superb Super Takumar lens are inexpensive too,
I snagged a 50/1.4 for 75 usd.

So, i am glad I bought this like-new camera with 2 czj lens.
My first SLR (other than the canon 40d for selling things online).

50/f1.8 Pancolar, Kodak Plus-X, rated at 200.

raytoei

 

[Ben Ang]

wow... 10 rolls in 2 weeks =X anw, whats that fujinon you re referring to? is it an M42 lens? any pictures to share? can pm me if you think it doesnt match the thread. thanks!

 

[raytoei]

Fuji Fujinon-Z 43-75mm f3.5-4.5 M42 Screw Mount Lens

http://photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/00PLi8

item # on evil bay: 160589178009

i am looking for a 75 to 90mm lens, preferably a prime, so if you want to swap, let me know.