Helios 40 or Zeiss 85/1.4 T ? ( title change )

dude163 · Last edited by dude163 on Wed Sep 29, 2010 6:13 pm; edited 2 times in total

Hi there, I found someone semi local that has some old camera gear for sale

she has:

2 - Contax 139 Quartz 35mm Body $135 each
2 - Carl Zeiss Planar 1.4 / 50mm Lens $295 each
1 - Carl Zeiss Distagon 2.8 / 28mm Lens $295
1 - Carl Zeiss Planar T* 1.4 / 85mm (Portrait Lens) $395

those prices are in Canadian dollars too

is that reasonable? or too high?

ManualFocus-G · Expire: 2014-11-24

Those prices all seem about right, the sort of price you would pay at a dealer. You would probably get all of them cheaper on ebay though.

Apart from the 85/1.4 which is a really, really good price!

dude163 · Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 12:12 pm Post subject:

Hi

but it will only fit on my old Rebel XT and not on my Pentax KX Sad

ManualFocus-G · Expire: 2014-11-24

dude163 · Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 2:17 pm Post subject:

I thought of that too Smile

Ill see what I can work out with her

dude163 · Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 2:50 pm Post subject:

thats what she sent me for a photo of the gear

hemmo · Expire: 2016-12-17

dude163 · Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 6:00 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the info

I already have a good 50 mm ( SMC Tak 1.4)

and I am awaiting delivery of a Helios 40 85/1.5

Im thinking I could get the Zeiss T 85/1.4 and see which one I like best and sell the other for what I paid for it

the problem is: Helios is converted to M42 and will only focus to 30 metres or so

the Zeiss is a C/Y mount, and will only fit on my rebel XT Unless I get the leitax conversion , but Im thinking the Zeiss would be the better lens overall especially if they are both equal price!

vulko · Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 6:43 pm Post subject:

I had an offer on ebay, the very same camera with zeiss planar 50/1.7 or 1.4, cant remember now. The offer was a second chanse, and it was about 150 euros.
This is to proove ManualFocus-G's point.

But 85/1.4 is quite cheap, I'd say get it, as you can always sell it and maybe even make some profit.

Attila · Expire: 2025-11-18

dude163 · Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 7:13 pm Post subject:

Thanks gang

Thats what ill do , Im going to look like some hipster photo-poseur now walking around with a Rebel and Zeiss 85 and my white KX with a Helio 40-1 Smile

I should grab a leica lens and fit it on my Praktica LTL Wink

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

dude163 · Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 7:59 pm Post subject:

Ok its a done deal..........325 Canadian!

now at least if its a scam Im only out 300 and change ;p

230 Euro
310 USD!

Attila · Expire: 2025-11-18

Wow! Congrats!

dude163 · Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2010 12:32 am Post subject:

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

If the lens that you show in the last image, and the one that is shown in the ad image, are one and the same, you have won the lottery: it is one of the very rare MMG (German MM) version exemplars of the lens.
Worth, by this reason alone, 4 times what you paid for it.

For God's sake do not make a hardware mod to your lens: if you want to do it, let's talk about it, we can exchange copies of the lens and I can give you one that is not as rare.

dude163 · Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2010 1:23 am Post subject:

Hi Orio

yes they are the same lens, what is so desirable about this version?

I should see what versions she has of her planar 50 and distagon 28 too In that case .

Thanks for the advice by the way, Im hoping this isnt a scam, but she tells me she is a retired lady who used to do photo 20-30 years ago, abd she used this rig for candids on shoots

dude163 · Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2010 1:26 am Post subject:

Google is a great tool

so MMG are the firstgen ones made by Zeiss in Germany
and MMJ are the later ones made by Kyocera in JPN?

is there a quality difference? or just that people want the german made german lenses.

I have a C/Y adapter for my canon rebel XT , and a M42 adapter for my KX , so in theory I could have an 85 for each body

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

The special thing about it is that is rare. Only very few MM copies were made in Germany before the entire production line of the 85/1.4 was transferred in Japan. Which happened shortly after the launch of the MM standard itself.
And, yes, both collectioners and photographers (for different reasons) search more for German made lenses than for Japan made lenses.

I personally have found the rumour that wants the German made lenses to be superior, unfounded. On the contrary, I can bring and mention several Japanese MM lenses that perform better than German AE lenses.
Like you probably have guessed, the keyword here is MM. Some of the Contax lenses are sure to have been improved in the moment the contax system was switched to MM. These are the Distagon 25, Distagon 28/2.8, and Sonnar 135/2.8, and have been confirmed by Zeiss. Other lenses are rumoured to have changed, also, but there is no official word on them. I, for instance, found the Planar 1.7/50 with serial number 8xxx or higher, to be visibly sharper than the precedent ones (at the expense of some "3Dness" in the rendering). With regards to the Planar 85/1.4, the Italian online magazine "Nadir" reports the same opinion: MM version sharper, AE version with more "3D". I however do not agree in this case: I have both AEG and MMJ versions, and I find them to be absolutely identical in the performance.

vulko · Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2010 5:39 am Post subject:

In fact there's no big difference in MMG and MMJ versions, but those lens junkies seem to think different. Well those are the same people who think leica is making better photos than other cameras. The good thing is that works out for you pretty well, as you can get some nice profit Wink

Congrats on the lens Smile

My advice is, sell this one and get a MMJ version and some other nice lenses Wink

Maybe a Jup 9 for your dearly beloved Wink

dude163 · Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2010 10:14 am Post subject:

she told me about another guy that had some contax gear for sale too

is that a 135/2.8 to the left and a vario sonnar in the background?

I think I hit the jackpot emailing this old lady! I mean in a photo way, not a GILF

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

Yes about the 2.8/135, the other lenses are not Contax.
You got the best deal Wink

_

dude163 · Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 2:16 am Post subject:

LOL

the guy with the above lot Douched out and sold it all on ebay

the lady with the Planar is

Either
a: dead
b: ignoring me
c: both of the above

Oh well, I was happy for a day or 2 , and my helios 40 I ordered from Russia, got sent back by Canada Customs , great weekend for me Sad

aoleg · Joined: 22 Feb 2008 Posts: 1389 Location: Berlin, DE

poilu · Expire: 2019-08-29