CZJ Tessar Versions

andrawes · Joined: 08 Sep 2018 Posts: 6

Hello, folks!

I am thinking in buying a 50mm f/2.8 Tessar. From your experiences guys, what version should I hunt?
Are there any significant differences between the produced models (Silver, Zebra, Black... )?

Many thanks in advance!

newst · Joined: 21 Oct 2014 Posts: 617 Location: Troy, MI USA

blotafton · Joined: 08 Aug 2013 Posts: 1554 Location: Sweden

Also, in a large thread about lenses that can make soap bubble bokeh an older version that had silver finish and many aperture blades could do that at 2.8.

fiftyonepointsix · Joined: 30 Apr 2017 Posts: 292

The Tessars made after 1960 used new glass, and are optically superior to the older versions. Early versions have more aperture blades, smoother Bokeh. conservation of inconvenience. I an have early Contax mount Tessar (~1933), the F2.8 version is as good as the F3.5 when it is stopped down.

This Chrome-Face 5cm F2.8 Tessar has a SN from ~1938, the front element was destroyed. I replaced it with one from a 1950s Contaflex.

Tessar 5cm F2.8, Contax RF mount by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

SO- the design of the lens did not change, but the front element is coated.

papasito · Joined: 09 Jan 2015 Posts: 1658

I have read that the better Tessar 50 is the one for Icarex mount.

Another good os the contar srl 45 mm

fiftyonepointsix · Joined: 30 Apr 2017 Posts: 292

With respect to the early 5cm F2.8 Tessar being "stretched too far", my oldest 5m F2.8 Tessar is on a Certo Dolina, but has a SN placing it in a block made for Movie Cameras. Remember that 35mm movie cameras are 18x24. The image circle covers 24x36, and I've taken apart the Certo Dolina lens and the early black face 5cm F2.8 Tessar in Contax mount to confirm the elements are identical. I've read that the Chrome nosed version was reformulated.

spleenone · Joined: 26 Dec 2009 Posts: 1130 Location: Slovakia

Also mine chrome m42 Tessar 50/2.8 has some swirl bokeh in the right angles.

Seele · Joined: 17 Apr 2009 Posts: 741 Location: Sydney Australia

Mos6502 · Joined: 20 Jun 2011 Posts: 961 Location: Austin

There was a Japanese blog the tested the CZJ Tessar against the Icarex Tessar, and by all appearances, the CZJ version was sharper and more contrasty.

My personal experience is that the newest one you can find will be the best, and I've various versions from the early 1950s, through to the 1980s.

Seele · Joined: 17 Apr 2009 Posts: 741 Location: Sydney Australia

Mos6502 · Joined: 20 Jun 2011 Posts: 961 Location: Austin

I have a variety of Tessar-type lenses from various manufacturers, and in every case they don't live up to the standard set by the black-barrel CZJ versions. I would not hesitate to believe that it is impossible to find a better Tessar-type 50mm from any other manufacturer.

newst · Joined: 21 Oct 2014 Posts: 617 Location: Troy, MI USA

Another option would be the Soviet Industar lenses that are copies of the original Zeiss Tessar design. Industar 22, Industar 26m and Industar 50. My preference is for the 50 but they all have redeeming qualities.

HOWEVER, if you want to see the best adaptation of the Tessar design, again in my opinion, I would go for the Contax/Yashica (CY) 45mm pancake Tessar.

tb_a · Expire: 2019-08-28

stevemark · Joined: 29 Apr 2011 Posts: 3754 Location: Switzerland

D1N0 · Joined: 07 Aug 2012 Posts: 2495

Because maybe some people also collect lenses (or lens characters).

Mos6502 · Joined: 20 Jun 2011 Posts: 961 Location: Austin

Tessars have some advantages over double-gauss designs. Often small, lighter, (the CZJ lenses are very light so long as they're not the Automatic Exakta mount). If we're talking vintage lenses, Tessar types were often better corrected for CA, coma, etc. than faster lenses, even if the less well designed ones suffer from field curvature and some distortion. They're very good lenses for close up and macro work, and indeed many dedicated macro lenses have been Tessar types, formulated at slower speeds for even better correction of aberrations.

tb_a · Expire: 2019-08-28

Actually my very last CZJ post-war lens is the small Tessar 50mm/F2.8 with the red T from 1949 in Exakta mount. All others already found their way to the waste pin due to the well known troubles (stiff focus & stuck aperture blades). The focus is still working but already rather tough. Aperture blades luckily not yet stuck. Maybe somebody already serviced the lens before. I don't know.

Out of curiosity I've tested it today on my A7R II and can say that it's able to deliver extremely sharp and contrasty pictures but unfortunately not really across the full frame on a 24x36mm sensor, not even stopped down to F8. The extreme corners still appear slightly unsharp and soft. For crop sensor cameras (APS-C and MFT) this problem doesn't exist. I didn't notice any CA's, not even wide open; i.e. the lens is very well corrected.

However, for a lens which is still available on flea markets in my country for something like EUR 5,- to 10.- it's stunningly good; i.e. most probably the best you can get as long as you are not looking for a landscape lens on a FF camera.