Hi, I purchased this Zeiss Jena Sonnar 5cm f2 on ebay for $80. Since then I have been searching the net for more information but can not find a definite answer. I guess it was made shortly after the war. However, I can not find any serial numbers on the barrel - I have read that authentic Zeiss lenses made in the western factory or assembled from the old parts should have them, well at least one visible on the outside.?
The glass is surprisingly clean, apart from what looks like smears/fingerprints on the inside of the front element. The lens has 9 aperture blades.
If the lens is authentic and not a disguised Jupiter could you please advise me on the way of mounting it on sony nex?
some pictures:
thrice wrote:
It'll be contax RF mount. Similar to Nikon S mount.
Just wondering if it is authentic, as I have read reports of jupiters that had their front rings swapped for Zeiss ones. The contax RF and Leica lenses have had many fakes made in USSR.
mawz wrote:
Likely to be real, the Jena labelling means that it's of post-war East German manufacture and that's a lot less likely to be worth faking.
I hoped that it being early after-war production could be assembled using the "original" parts. Now this could be a bit confusing as East-German plant is as original as the west German. I hope that someone could tell me about the optical value of the lens - is it as good as the ones made in the West after the war or the original "united" zeiss? Curiously, I read that the early west sonnars were quite bad!?
ZoneV wrote:
I have a Zeiss Jena Sonnar 50/2 on a Contax II at home. I could look if there is an additonal number on the barrel.
That would be great, thank you!
Coating seems pretty blue-ish, so it probably is Zeiss. I dont think they would fake Zeiss Jena as its not "true" Zeiss. Tho it doesnt mean its bad (I think that quite few of Zeiss Jena lens are very underestimated and pretty good bargains).
Hi, in the end, did you manage to find out if the Sonnar is real? I have one which is exactly as yours, with similar SN: 3095486!!
I also am looking for an adapter (for micro 4/3) and found a Kipon exactly as the one you found for NEX: in case you bought it, it is ok?
Thanks!
Antonio
I can only find one serial number - at the front. One thing that is confusing a bit is the fact the lens has what looks like brass cylinder at the rear. The wartime and later lenses in East-Germany did not use brass, apparently.
Here is a quote from Mr Henry W. Scherer's website: "It is sometimes not easy to tell a pre-war Jena lens from a post war Jena lens, except that the lens barrel and internal lens mounts of a pre-war Jena lens were made of brass, and most made after the war were made of aluminum with the exception that very rare wartime lenses made under military contract were also made of aluminum."
(http://www.zeisscamera.com/services_overhaul-cIIa-lenses.shtml)
Still, I imagine there was a lot of confusion after the war and lenses were assembled from what parts they had at hand. When I have more time I have to do a proper search.
I am reluctant to spend a lot on the adapter - I have a few other lenses I wish to adapt even more than this - namely Contarex Planar - and money is limited. I will most likely wait till a used adapter is found.
Thanks for the answer.
In the meantime, I found this item on kevincameras.com (a well known seller with good reputation), which is exacty like mine (including the first three digits of the sn):
Item Name : Contax RF Carl Zeiss Jena 50/2 'T' Sonnar
Serial no. : 3005646
Glass Description : Rare 1946 East German Jena Alloy Rigid mount with black anodised aluminum rear section,extremely early serial no.,front cleaning mark,no haze
Remark :
Barrel condition : EX
Price : $450
Now I feel confident on our lenses, let's wait for the adapter!
Regards,
Antonio
