Nex-5 + CZJ Pancolar 50mm F1.8 MC

[JaccoW]

I finally got something in the mail today.


No, not a Soligor:

It was a Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar 50mm F1.8 M42 mount!
Finally got something worthwhile to start practicing manual focus.

A few more pictures of the lens:



What does it look like on the camera?
Well, the lens itself is quite small, but with the adapter it's just 1cm longer than the standard 18-55 kitlens.

I'll try to get another camera to show the difference later.

Some samples

A bit of chromatic abberation wide open, but that is to be expected.


But quite sharp in the corners.





Slightly unsharp, but that is my fault.


Then we had a bit of fog.


It seems the out of focus areas have atendency to cause elliptical 'spots'.



I love it's ability to keep the atmosphere intact.

Verdict:
All in all I'm pretty happy with this lens. It handles quite nice, I like the 'bokeh', and it just looks awesome on the camera. (though you will have to trust me on that one until I get another camera to get another shot.)
The 50mm however translates to a 75mm focal length, so it is not an ideal walkaround lens.
That just means I will have to keep looking for something else.
Maybe a nice and fast 24mm lens. Maybe a Contax or M-mount for compactness.

[ludoo]

Now you *have* to get a Flektogon 35/2.4.

As for walkaround lenses, if you don't mind a not so fast one, the SMC Takumars 28/3.5 are very good and reasonably priced.

BTW, get a hood for the Pancolar.

[JaccoW]

Ha, I wish. My wallet is still recovering from this one. (Student here)
They do look nice though. They seem to go for $150-250 dollars on E-bay depending on the mount?

I was more thinking of a nice rangefinder lens. The adapter adds 3cm to the length of the lens. M42 is quite a lot cheaper though.

I should get a Pentacon 30mm F3.5 tomorrow.
It is an exakta mount though, so I will need to get another adapter.
Or can you just change the ring on them?
I got it for like €12, so I'm not too worried.

I did notice some flare, but is a hood really necessary?
The front element is quite recessed.
What would you recommend?
A rubber one, or this nice steel one?

[JaccoW]

I got a nice Pentacon 30mm F3.5 from E-bay. Looks to be in good condition. (At least not such a dog of a lens as my earlier Pentacon 200mm F4 That one has what looks like extensive 'repair' damages and junk on the inside.)




It's the 10 blade version, but unfortunately it in the exakta mount.

The adapters are a bit expensive for my camera. Is there any way to convert the exakta to M42? By a conversion ring or by unscrewing the mount? They also came in a M42 version didn't they?

[std]

Hi
This 3.5/30 looks like Meyer lidith to me - it's cool small lens with nice bokeh but will need a lens hood.

If you like the size get an adapter for exakta/nex - you will find lot more affordable Zeiss Jena lenses in Exakta than in M42. For me it is not worth converting those lenses - even here the conversion is not expensive but still .. i got a mint 2.8/35 exakta flektogon for 10 pounds - the conversion will be 2 times more than the lens price itself

If you do not like wasting money find a good RF lens.
Check Contax G primes - planar 2/35 is a good every day lens for NEX.
I got several russian ones in m39 but they are not even close to the Zeiss.

BR,
Stefan

[LucisPictor]

Nice! Congrats!
The NEX is a fine little cam! And the Pancolar a great lens.

[JaccoW]

Yes, but I believe right now only Kipon makes a Nex to Exakta adapter, which is at least €60,- Quite a bit more than I paid for the lens.
Guess I should have expected that.

The contax 35mm lens makes a 52.5mm lens on the Nex doesn't it?
I've got a bid on a Contax G 28/2.8 right now, but with 9 days to go it will probably end up going for quite a lot of money.

What rangefinder lenses are there by the way?
- Leica M-mount: Very nice, but expensive lenses.
- Contax Yahsica G: Affordable, but skyrocketing in price
- Olympus OM: Affordable, but limited choice.
- ???

I'd like some faster lenses in a 20-35mm range?
As soon as I get a protective rear cap I will probably put the Pancolar on as my only lens for now. I really like the results so far and it's quite sharp too.

[std]

Not sure if my exakta adapter is kipon .. it has white stripes and no tripod mount. Got it from seller big_is.

About G prices yes you are right unfortunately .. they are going up.

I've took a look at my paypal receipts - those are the prices with shipping included and unfortunately for the ones in USD I've paid also import duties as they are coming from US.


CONTAX ZEISS BIOGON 28MM F2.8 T* G LENS OUTFIT CLEAN $235.00 USD
CONTAX G1 mit 35/2,0 Zeiss Planar G 1 komplett - Top ! €437.00 EUR
Contax G 90mm f2.8 Sonnar Lens T* Carl Zeiss - USD $232.49

So this is getting an expensive hobby

Cannot comment on the Leica and OM lenses - i guess they are very very good but quite expensive also.

If you are looking for a faster lens maybe you should look for Voigtlander Nokton in M mount for f1.4 i see they have 35,40,58.

BR,
Stefan

[JaccoW]

Thanks, that is what I thought already.
Click here to see on Ebay
$92,-

The Nokton is a great looking lens too, especially for low light.
Plus, it seems to go well with the Nex:
Lattetheblue on Flickr

I got myself this little hood for the pancolar.
Should be getting here soon.

It might be an expensive hobby, but most of those lenses will probably hold their value pretty well right?