Home

Please support mflenses.com if you need any graphic related work order it from us, click on above banner to order!

SearchSearch MemberlistMemberlist RegisterRegister ProfileProfile Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages Log inLog in

Sonnar T 300/4 olympia... any experience?
View previous topic :: View next topic  


PostPosted: Fri Oct 01, 2010 6:41 pm    Post subject: Sonnar T 300/4 olympia... any experience? Reply with quote

I have a chance to get the earliest model of CZJ Sonnar - the olympic 300/4 based on the original 5/3 Sonnar formula. I understand, the lens is rare, but I'm curious if anybody has experience with it (sharpness, bokeh, CA...)

Thanks Smile


PostPosted: Fri Oct 01, 2010 6:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have it I, need to take out more for correct opinion I used only once at winter time which is not the best for lens test.

http://www.mflenses.com/gallery/v/german/zeiss/sonnar/olympic_sonnar_300mm/


PostPosted: Fri Oct 01, 2010 7:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is this lens so rare? I must say that this is the first time I have chance to buy it. I saw Biotar 75/1.5 about 3-4 times for sale here, Primoplan 75/1.9 and Helios 85/1.5 once...


PostPosted: Fri Oct 01, 2010 7:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is this the Pentacon Six 300/4 Sonnar or a different design? If it is the P6 one it is a typical Sonnar, very sharp even wide open with some slight magenta/green CA in adverse lighting conditions. It's a very good lens but not a lightweight.


PostPosted: Fri Oct 01, 2010 7:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

There are at least 4 optical designs of Sonnar 300/4 (I think these images posted koji months ago):

1. Sonnar 300/4 Olympia

available in M42 and Exacta mount, some copies have T-coating, optical block is in front of the aperture




2. Sonnar 300/4 zebra

P6 mount, slightly different optical formula (maybe it was recalculated + zero lens added to close the aperture inside)




3. Sonnar 300/4 black

another optical formula, available with or without MC




Sonnar 300/4 Prakticar

last optical formula (not a typical Sonnar, in fact it's Ernostar-based), MCed, praktica mount



PostPosted: Fri Oct 01, 2010 8:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

no-X wrote:
Is this lens so rare? I must say that this is the first time I have chance to buy it. I saw Biotar 75/1.5 about 3-4 times for sale here, Primoplan 75/1.9 and Helios 85/1.5 once...


Rare I seen only 4-5 copies I guess under 4-5 yrs.


PostPosted: Fri Oct 01, 2010 11:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I own one copy too. Mine is heavily used, but according my comparison, it is up to f5.6 still comparable sharp to my former mint copy of '92 MC Tair 3s. At f8 the Tair was sharper with almost zero CAs. But Sonnar suffers from more CAs and LoCAs at all apertures. It delivers very good contrast and colder color rendering in comparison to warmer Tair. Nice collectible item, but optically nothing to rave about. Even my el-cheapo Revuenon 5.6/300 is at f5.6 sharper.
This is third copy I see for sale in Czech Republic in last 4 months. Including mine.
Bokeh, contrast and colors at f5.6:


PostPosted: Sat Oct 02, 2010 6:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

no-X wrote:
There are at least 4 optical designs of Sonnar 300/4 (I think these images posted koji months ago):


These are a bit wrong however:

Both the black and the zebra version have the exact same optical formula:


After the black version there was tbe lightweight (maybe 500 grams lighter, still heavy beast) black version:


Finally there is the Prakticar 300/4. Koji has the wrong image for it on his site - on the bottom of this image one can the proper diagram for the Prakticar-version (though it is read froom right to left instead of the normal left to right):


PostPosted: Sat Oct 02, 2010 4:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Anu: Thanks, I'll check the MC model as soon as it returns from service. Btw. do you think, that this diagram isn't related to any Zeiss 300/4 lens?

back to topic... here are my first shots with the Olympia Sonnar T 300/4 (all at f/4):









PostPosted: Mon Jan 27, 2020 6:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi,

according to the Sonnar 4/300 section in

https://zeissikonveb.de/start/objektive/wechselobjektive1950er/carl%20zeiss%20jena.html

the following first three lense schemes are correct, while I never saw the third scheme - which isn't a Sonnar - as non MC. In fact however there are black versions of the second scheme, which not only share the second optical formula but also the shape of the lense barrel; I own that version (https://www.digicamclub.de/showthread.php?t=23197).

The second (Zebra) scheme from 1963 has two differences to the first scheme of 1940: there is an additional flat lense to save the diaphragm mechanism, and there is an airgap in the second group.

no-X wrote:
There are at least 4 optical designs of Sonnar 300/4 (I think these images posted koji months ago):

1. Sonnar 300/4 Olympia

available in M42 and Exacta mount, some copies have T-coating, optical block is in front of the aperture




2. Sonnar 300/4 zebra

P6 mount, slightly different optical formula (maybe it was recalculated + zero lens added to close the aperture inside)




3. Sonnar 300/4 black

another optical formula, available with or without MC




Sonnar 300/4 Prakticar

last optical formula (not a typical Sonnar, in fact it's Ernostar-based), MCed, praktica mount



The last lense scheme is according to Prakticar 4/300 in

https://zeissikonveb.de/start/objektive/wechselobjektive%201980er/carl%20zeiss%20jena.html

also correct for the second version of this lense what was the first to be produced in higher numbers. It is related to the lense scheme of the rare Prakticar 2.8/200. The lense scheme of the third and last version of the Prakticar 4/300 however can be found at the link above and in the there cited patent and looks like a mixture between the "MC Sonnar" (third scheme on the top which isn't a Sonnar) and the 1963 Sonnar (2nd scheme on the top):


Source: Volker Tautz, Günther Benedix: Fünfgliedriges fotografisches Objektiv

Though not really beiing a Sonnar (e.g. due to air gaps and different radii) it is somehow more Sonnarish than the third and much more Sonnarish than the fourth scheme in the cited pictures which was produced before. The patent also states that the problem of the second version (4th cited scheme) has its problems in the first two lenses: due to strong ray deflections of the first two lenses those must be mounted very precise in order to achieve good lense quality. In the third version the basic idea was to procede (go back?!) to moderate ray deflections, in order to allow for less mounting effort.

Andreas


PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 10:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Valuable info gathered Andreas!


PostPosted: Sun Feb 02, 2020 7:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Pancolart!