can I use Contax ivory lens Biotar 1,5 f 75 mm in EOS 500D?

[mobbingvictim]

Hello and nice greatings from Germany,

today I'm new in this site. I have a great question: can I use a original lens from Contax Carl Zeiss Jena, a BIOTAR 1,5 f=75 mm with Contax (from 1947) connect, in a new Canon EOS 500 D? Is from my daddy, he give me the camera, what you can see, with a lot lens. Now I like to use it all. Thanks for answer.

Stephan

[exaklaus]

No, you can't use it on your 500D, only for close-up and this 75 Biotar in Contax mount (if it is really an original 75 Biotar and if it is really in original Contax rangefinder mount!) is superrare, so you can't modify it. For the price, you could get for it when selling, you can buy a handfull of M42 75mm Biotars, maybe more.

Best you show some photos.

Klaus

[Sevo]

As far as adapting goes, nope - you cannot adapt rangefinder lenses to SLRs, as the register of the latter is much bigger, by mirror box dimensions. You'd need a mirrorless camera (NEX or M4/3) or a Leica M mount (M8/M9) to adapt to.

These ivory coloured Contaxes are almost always fakes made from Kievs, by the way. There are dozens, if not hundreds of ivory repaint Kievs while there may be only one or two real ones (all existing pictures may be of only one camera). The more so if the lens should also be ivory - a ivory Biotar is so far entirely unknown.

It is not entirely impossible that the Ukrainian re-painters also made over some genuine Biotar to create a more complete kit, but it is much more likely that that ivory "75mm f/1.5 Biotar" will prove to be a 85mm f/2 Jupiter-9 (Sonnar) in disguise on closer inspection.

[kds315*]

Let me have the serial number of body + lens and I can look it up if it is genuine or maybe not - a benefit of being a member of the Zeiss Historical Society