Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda

New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site

New Feature: SMS Notification alert

New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist

FM Forums | Leica & Alternative Gear | Join Upload & Sell

2 end

Archive 2012 · CONTAX C/Y CARL ZEISS VARIO-SONNAR T* 28-70mm F3.5-4.5 MM

ljw2k
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · CONTAX C/Y CARL ZEISS VARIO-SONNAR T* 28-70mm F3.5-4.5 MM

Anyone help me with a question i have been thinking of buying a lens and can not seam to find any reviews online nowhere its the CONTAX C/Y CARL ZEISS VARIO-SONNAR T* 28-70mm F3.5-4.5 MM

Aug 01, 2012 at 02:01 PM

briantho
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · CONTAX C/Y CARL ZEISS VARIO-SONNAR T* 28-70mm F3.5-4.5 MM

I'd go with the 35-70 which is a known gem. The 28-70 isn't that great from what I've read.

Aug 01, 2012 at 02:19 PM

ljw2k
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · CONTAX C/Y CARL ZEISS VARIO-SONNAR T* 28-70mm F3.5-4.5 MM

I must agree with you the 35-70 3.4 is a gem but very hard to come by or should i say i don't know anyone or anywhere who is selling as people who know this lens don't sell.

Thanks for your reply Brian.

Regards Andrew

Aug 01, 2012 at 02:23 PM

wfrank
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · CONTAX C/Y CARL ZEISS VARIO-SONNAR T* 28-70mm F3.5-4.5 MM

If 28 is important to you (it is to me) I'd check out the 28-85/3.3-4 too. It's bigger than the 35-70 but at least as good.

They show up on ebay every now and then. And here on FM too.

Aug 01, 2012 at 02:54 PM

Fred Bruche
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · CONTAX C/Y CARL ZEISS VARIO-SONNAR T* 28-70mm F3.5-4.5 MM

Not sure how difficult it would be for you get it shipped to the UK or the cost, but KEH currently has five 35-70 3.4 for sale.
Just a FYI, I am not affiliated to KEH in any way

Aug 01, 2012 at 02:54 PM

Tri Tran
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · CONTAX C/Y CARL ZEISS VARIO-SONNAR T* 28-70mm F3.5-4.5 MM

Just wait for the 35-70 to show up. I would pass on the 28-70.
The 28-85 is a very good lense, but it's rarer than the 35-70 and more expensive.

Aug 01, 2012 at 03:30 PM

ljw2k
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · CONTAX C/Y CARL ZEISS VARIO-SONNAR T* 28-70mm F3.5-4.5 MM

I don't mind paying the premium price for the 35-70 but must be excellent to mint original condition.

Aug 01, 2012 at 03:48 PM

mawz
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · CONTAX C/Y CARL ZEISS VARIO-SONNAR T* 28-70mm F3.5-4.5 MM

The 28-70's not a bad lens, but it's nothing special. I owned one for a while and it did not demonstrate the IQ the 35-70 and 28-85 are known for. The 28-70 was the low-end Contax kit zoom. On the plus side, the handling was excellent (unlike the push-pull 35-70 and 28-85) and the lens is reasonably compact.

I'd only chase down a 28-70 if I was looking for a lightweight and easy to use carry zoom for a FF body with Zeiss colour.

Aug 01, 2012 at 08:30 PM

edwardkaraa
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · CONTAX C/Y CARL ZEISS VARIO-SONNAR T* 28-70mm F3.5-4.5 MM

The 28-70 isn't even a Zeiss lens. It was a rebadged third party lens, can't recall the brand, but probably Tokina. It was meant to be a cheap kit lens for the Aria.

Aug 01, 2012 at 08:34 PM

ljw2k
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · CONTAX C/Y CARL ZEISS VARIO-SONNAR T* 28-70mm F3.5-4.5 MM

I have since been reading other forums and read it was a Sigma lens and re badged so looks like i will have to change my plan and start to look for a 35-70 or the 28-85 as above.

Looked on the bay and a 28-85 is on there and looks mint boxed but when i read the full description it has some dist problems inside the lens .....not good.

I think i should mention at this point i am no pro photographer far from it more starting out in the DSLR world but got some good freinds who have taken photography up years ago and it was them who told me to go down the Zeiss route.

I have seen samples from many of these lenses and i much prefer the colour and the 3D look over the canon but to say that my 50mm nifty 50 gave me some cracking shots.

I would like again to thank all for your replies and i do appreciate your comments and help.

Aug 01, 2012 at 09:04 PM

edwardkaraa
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · CONTAX C/Y CARL ZEISS VARIO-SONNAR T* 28-70mm F3.5-4.5 MM

I have owned both 35-70 and 28-85. They're both stellar. The 28-85 was even jointly developed with Leica.

Aug 01, 2012 at 09:43 PM

aleksanderpolo
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · CONTAX C/Y CARL ZEISS VARIO-SONNAR T* 28-70mm F3.5-4.5 MM

A few dust speck in the lens will not show up in pic. I have a 35-70 but won't sell mine.

Aug 02, 2012 at 12:00 AM

Tri Tran
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · CONTAX C/Y CARL ZEISS VARIO-SONNAR T* 28-70mm F3.5-4.5 MM

Yep, my old copy has a dented filter thread (probably knocked against something), scratches on the front element when I bought, and yet the image quality was stunning. Some one said it's like having a 35-70 prime kit in one lense, and I think it's true. I sold it because I needed the money only bought another one a month later. This time it won't go anywhere.

Aug 02, 2012 at 12:05 AM

Bifurcator
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · CONTAX C/Y CARL ZEISS VARIO-SONNAR T* 28-70mm F3.5-4.5 MM

I've been looking for the 28-85 for about a year now here locally and nada...

Aug 02, 2012 at 12:29 AM

wfrank
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · CONTAX C/Y CARL ZEISS VARIO-SONNAR T* 28-70mm F3.5-4.5 MM

I found the 28-85 after two months "locally", here meaning within EU. As new for some 250€. I think the 28-85 goes for less than the 35-70 simply because it is lesser known. And it IS a BIG lens, but I dont mind as I am using it on the 5D2.

Aug 02, 2012 at 02:22 AM

Bifurcator
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · CONTAX C/Y CARL ZEISS VARIO-SONNAR T* 28-70mm F3.5-4.5 MM

There was a 35-70 in the shop last week for ¥23,000 (that's like exactly $300 at today's exchange rate) - why, what do they go for in the west?

I didn't take it out of the case, just rotated it on the shelf to look for the "West Germany" or "Japan" so I dunno perfectly the condition - but the exterior looked perfect and it was in the "excellent" case. (It was Made In Japan BTW)

Aug 02, 2012 at 07:35 AM

edwardkaraa
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · CONTAX C/Y CARL ZEISS VARIO-SONNAR T* 28-70mm F3.5-4.5 MM

By the way, according to several older tests, the 28-85 seems to perform best WO, while the 35-70 needs to be stopped down to 5.6 at all FL for best performance.

Aug 02, 2012 at 07:57 AM

ljw2k
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · CONTAX C/Y CARL ZEISS VARIO-SONNAR T* 28-70mm F3.5-4.5 MM

I have never seen one here in the UK shops but to be honest not been looking for long and if you don't want it i would be interested in it if they can send to Uk that is.

Aug 02, 2012 at 08:01 AM

Jman13
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · CONTAX C/Y CARL ZEISS VARIO-SONNAR T* 28-70mm F3.5-4.5 MM

I really liked the 28-85 when I had one. It was one of the few standard zooms I actually enjoyed shooting with. Very sharp from 35-85mm wide open, with 28 being good, but not outstanding wide open. It is a large and heavy lens, but I found it easy to focus and fun to use.

Aug 02, 2012 at 08:08 AM

AhamB
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · CONTAX C/Y CARL ZEISS VARIO-SONNAR T* 28-70mm F3.5-4.5 MM

edwardkaraa wrote:
By the way, according to several older tests, the 28-85 seems to perform best WO, while the 35-70 needs to be stopped down to 5.6 at all FL for best performance.

As far as resolution goes, that might be true (the 35-70 having lower contrast in the corners WO), but the 28-85 seems to have quite some lateral CA in the corners, which bothers me in web-sized images. The CA will not go away by stopping down...

Aug 02, 2012 at 08:26 AM

1 2 end
FM Forums \| Leica & Alternative Gear \| Join Upload & Sell 1 2 end