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

Carl Zeiss Planar T* 1.2/55 Contax 100 Jahre CY
View previous topic :: View next topic  


PostPosted: Mon Nov 05, 2012 11:40 pm    Post subject: Carl Zeiss Planar T* 1.2/55 Contax 100 Jahre CY Reply with quote

I have shot with this lens for a couple of months. This is a very lovely lens. Sharpest 50ish 1.2 that I have ever tried. CA-control is phenomenal.

WO:






Stop-down:









PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 1:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

WOW! Smile

Planar 1.2/55 ? - My dream Cool

I have amended the title...


tf


PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 2:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Best one for sure , a dream lens ! Congrats!!!


PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 2:08 am    Post subject: Re: Carl Zeiss Planar T* 1.2/55 Contax 100 Jahre CY Reply with quote

hiepphotog wrote:
I have shot with this lens for a couple of months. This is a very lovely lens. Sharpest 50ish 1.2 that I have ever tried. CA-control is phenomenal.

WO:






Stop-down:









Welcome!

Your first post can't contain images (antispam measure) from now on you can post images without trouble.

Great images BTW.


PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 2:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you all for the warm welcome.

Fuzzywuzzy: thank you for fixing the images. I didn't know about that rule, sorry.


PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 3:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

hiepphotog wrote:
Thank you all for the warm welcome.

Fuzzywuzzy: thank you for fixing the images. I didn't know about that rule, sorry.


No worries, it was the same for all of us once Laughing


PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 7:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That was a serious violation. As punishment, you are requested to deliver your 1.2/55 Planar to one of the administrators, incidentally,
that happens to be me around here this morning. Razz Wink


PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 7:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Orio wrote:
That was a serious violation. As punishment, you are requested to deliver your 1.2/55 Planar to one of the administrators, incidentally,
that happens to be me around here this morning. Razz Wink

Laughing

For sure not a common lens and the results are quite remarkable, welcome on the forum BTW Smile


PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 8:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Crap, and I really wanted to eat this year.. Now I have to scourage ebay like a sewer rat looking for one of these I can afford instead Sad
Excellent images, and welcome to the forum!


PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 2:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

@Orio: Very Happy, you have to pry this out of my cold, dead hands. It took me a while to make sure that I can make a good use of this lens.

@pich900: thank you Smile. I'm glad that you like these pictures. I'm impressed with your personal collection of glass. I'm quite interested in the Angenieux 180 APO, but don't have the fund for it right now. And your price on the Leica 100 APO is very low. Whoever lucky enough to get it.

@Nisseliten: Thank you Smile. I'm fasting right now to save money for the 85 Jahre Embarassed . The collector that I bought this lens from is nice enough to give me until January next year to get the 85. I am a fan of Zeiss Contax glass. Personally, I like the old Zeiss rendition more than the new gen. stuff.

He also sent me the original press release from Kyocera. I'm sharing it here:

"A limited edition lens celebrating 100 years of the Carl Zeiss Planar. The 55mm f1.2 lens commemorates the development of this important optical formula. In 1896 German mathematician Paul Rudolph finished his calculations and produced the first Carl Zeiss Planar. The 55mm f1.2 is in limited distribution, worldwide. This lens is designed for Contax 35mm cameras.

The original Planar design soon became a classic, earning a reputation as the photographic standard. In a Planar lens, the front and rear groups are arranged almost symmetrically with the aperture component positioned in between. When in use, one is amazed to find that aberrations have been completely controlled, resulting in superlative image reproduction. Over the century since its debut, the Carl Zeiss Planar has been adapted in too many applications, but the result has always been an outstanding lens representing the very finest of lens designs.

This Planar T* 55mm f1.2 MM lens has been lavishly designed utilizing the latest in Carl Zeiss optical technology, and is a lens that users will truly enjoy. Extremely high contrast rendition and resolution coupled with true-to-life color, and very low distortion combine to produce an instant classic that exemplifies the Planar name."


PostPosted: Thu Nov 08, 2012 1:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Beautiful series, love the balloon shots!


PostPosted: Tue Nov 20, 2012 10:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

awesome lens and awesome pictures!

one question - what is the funny discoloration in the stopped down balloon shot?


PostPosted: Fri Dec 07, 2012 6:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for share and info...drolling mode on Shocked


PostPosted: Fri Dec 07, 2012 8:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Amazing lens and very well done photos - I have not expect less from that ZEISS milestone lens!


PostPosted: Fri Dec 07, 2012 8:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Welcome to the forums.

Lovely photos. Awesome lens. I haven't seen it on local ad ever. Congrats.


PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 6:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Welcome. This lens is beyond my dream.


PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 11:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

some really stunning photos right there


PostPosted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 6:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great set of pic, thanks for sharing


PostPosted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 7:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You don't need this lens, send it to me for proper disposal Laughing

seriously: looks pretty good to my eyes. congratulations


PostPosted: Sun Dec 23, 2012 10:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow, great to see some samples, thank you!


PostPosted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 8:32 am    Post subject: CZ Planar 1,2/55mm C/Y Special Edition 100 years Reply with quote

I remember being at CARL ZEISS plant at Oberkochen on the patio of the ZEISS Office Building, shooting on an bright an clear November morníng, besides other prototype lenses (4/600mm!), with that Planar 1,2/55mm lens on my Contax RTSIII! Since that time, I have never again hold in my hand such an perfect standard lens combo! The heavy Contax RTSIII body and the fairly heavy Planar 1.2/55mm lens, is really a dream combinatiion to shoot with it. Unfortunately, the last 4 pieces of this super glass, got sold at that time for 4,500 Deutschmarks to Great Britain! I guess, the lens cost even more today, as it is today a rare collector's item!

Maybe the brand new standard lens APO Distagon 1,4/55mm will beat in the future my impression!


PostPosted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 9:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Congratulations on acquiring a rare sought after gem. I agree the lens fingerprint looks very nice and results wonderful, but while the images deliver perhaps the review is a bit optimistic Smile in the choice of words? "CA-control is phenomenal."

I don't need the full size image to see that in this wide-open shot there is plenty of lateral chromatic aberration in the balloons, mountain, tents and crowd.

hiepphotog wrote:



and it's also earth-grounding to see that even the Holy Grail of Fifty-millimeters suffers from flare when provoked Wink


PostPosted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 6:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome and comments.

@Esox: for a very fast 50ish, this lens is phenomenal. One would see worse with other fast SLR 50s. The only thing that I don't really about this lens so far is that it flares quite easily. Coatings have definitely been improved much since then.

@Hari: It's just one of the presets in Nik 1-shot HDR Efex. The original was quite washed out.

A few more









PostPosted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 7:07 pm    Post subject: Re: CZ Planar 1,2/55mm C/Y Special Edition 100 years Reply with quote

OPAL wrote:
I remember being at CARL ZEISS plant at Oberkochen on the patio of the ZEISS Office Building, shooting on an bright an clear November morníng, besides other prototype lenses (4/600mm!), with that Planar 1,2/55mm lens on my Contax RTSIII! Since that time, I have never again hold in my hand such an perfect standard lens combo! The heavy Contax RTSIII body and the fairly heavy Planar 1.2/55mm lens, is really a dream combinatiion to shoot with it. Unfortunately, the last 4 pieces of this super glass, got sold at that time for 4,500 Deutschmarks to Great Britain! I guess, the lens cost even more today, as it is today a rare collector's item!

Maybe the brand new standard lens APO Distagon 1,4/55mm will beat in the future my impression!


This was one of the last three, according to the collector I got it from, though it would not matter much to me. The new Ultra Performance (UP) Zeiss line-up is definitely interesting (though massive). The Jahre is actually in manageable size and weight, certainly smaller than the Canon AF. This lens actually has an extremely good stop-down performance (easily better than the Sigma 50/1.4 and Pentax A 50/1.2, the only 50s I have shot extensively).

I don't think the new Zeiss would have APO, though whatever I have seen so far is very impressive (almost free of any CA, smooth and pleasant bokeh, and sharp). But the size/weight is a major factor to whether bring it out for a shoot. I'm more interested in what they would offer in the WA (hopefully a flat-field, sharp 35/1.4 or 24/1.4). The new Sigma is very impressive.


PostPosted: Tue Jan 08, 2013 1:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

not sure about the flare - it looks weird for such an expensive lens

planar 1.2/55 is definitely my dream but i think that canon fd 55 f1.2 aspherical can be a good competion to this one.

tf