Contax Vario-Sonnar 35-70: wow!

scottgee1 · Joined: 02 Jul 2010 Posts: 3 Location: Motown!

doomed-forever, it's interesting that you bring Yashica options into the discussion.

A sometimes knowledgeable dealer with whom I've done business over many decades insists that Kyocera "made the Contax and Yashica lenses on the same line." His point being that the purported superiority of Contax lenses was nothing more than marketing hype. Discussion of higher quality glass, better optical formulas and tighter tolerances fell on deaf ears. Honestly, I never made the time for a side by side comparison.

As we all know, Kyocera did indeed offer similar lenses under both names; is he correct? Should I have bought Yashica lenses instead and given my extra $$ to a proper charity?

doomed-forever · Joined: 09 Aug 2014 Posts: 239

The Contax Zeiss Lenses are of some higher Quality compared to the Yashica ML (MultiLayer Coating) Lenses,
but for comparsion, many Yashica ML Lenses are very good, especially compared to their Zeiss Originals....
for instance, the Yashica ML 50/1.7 prime is about 85 to 90% the IQ of the Zeiss Planar 50/1.7 AE Type lens,
just a very little bit softer, by a margin (if you get a decent copy) and a bit cooler colours - but way much
cheaper. The MM Line from Contax Zeiss is newer (since ca. 84 being made) and something better than the AE Series
from Zeiss. I do have many Contax Zeiss C/Y lenses, and they equal parts from Yashica ML - there is often only
a slight difference, the haptics, optics from Yashica ML Series is quite well made, and so is the IQ, often.

For example, there is a 1:1 Zeiss Contax Planar 50/1.7 comparsion vs. the Yashica ML 50/1.7 onto fredmiranda.com,
you've just to figure out that specific forum thread post with sample images. Many Yashica ML lenses are great
bargains, but unfortunately, since the Sony NEX/E-Mount Cameras came into play, especially the full frame A7-Series,
the prices have been raised quite a lot, as many people are hunting them on ebay and other online auction forms.

Stay away from the cheaper Yashica DSB series, they're not multicoated, older design, and not really compareable
to the Yashica ML Series - for Kyocera, the MLs where the "HighEnd" Lenses, whileas the DSB Line have been the
Bred & Butter Lenses back into their heydays. On top of the MLs came the Zeiss lenses into game.

The Contax Zeiss 35-70/3.4 is a very good Zoom lens, i do own a decent copy myself, too. It can easily rival prime
lenses, and it basically contains a 35, 50 & 70mm Prime all into one very decent Zoom lens.

The Contax Zeiss 35-70/3.4 is worth every penny, and better then for instance the Leica-R 35-70/4 Lens,
which is in fact an optimized Minolta 35-70/3.5 Design...and the Minolta let alone is a very good lens,
but it can't compete with the Leica-R 35-70/4 Version, and not with the 35-70/3.4 Contax Zeiss Lens.
(Leitz used the optical Minolta Calculation from their 35-70/3.5 Zoom lens back into it's heyday for Leica,
because there was a huge demand for Zoom lenses, not only Leica(R) prime lenses)..and later they've had fine-tuned it,
and released the bit slower aperture 35-70/4 Lens Zoom Leica-R Design.

Kyocera have had an agreement with Zeiss and produced some lenses under license.