CZJ Flektogon 35mm f2.4

sasquatch · Joined: 26 Jan 2024 Posts: 44 Location: Cambridgeshire, UK

Really chuffed, picked up a Carl Zeiss Flektogon 35mm f2.4 m42 lens as part of an untested job lot the other day. It was simply labelled as a 35mm lens but I could just make out from the pics what it was. Came with 2x CZJ 135mm f3.5s and a couple other junk lenses. The 2 135mm are fully working and will more than pay for the entire job lot if and when I decide to sell them on but my main prize was the Flektogon.

When it arrived I noticed it had a slight rattle and my heart sank but it seemed ok on a few close focus shots I did around the house. I decided to take it out and test it at our local cathedral and was super disappointed. The centre of the images were OKish but everything else was distorted even stopped down, I thought for sure my brilliant buy had soured.
Here is what it looked like...

I decided despite never taking a lens apart to see if I could disassemble it to find the rattle. I could only find one video on youtube showing a disassembly but managed to open the front and back where I found two different elements had somehow worked themselves loose.

I had to remove the rear element block and tighten the inner ring.
On the front I found one of 3 grub screws holding the element block was a bit loose and the entire front element section freely rotated and wiggled.
I tightened the grub screw and reassembled the lens and ta da it looked like it was working like it should! Then I noticed the right edge of my shots was significantly more oof than the left.

So I reopened the front section and loosened off all three grub screws and made sure the element was as well seated as I could, re-tightened/ assembled. This time it seems to have done the job!!

I have to say I really scared myself a couple times when reassembling the rear section and had to repeat the process a couple times as not everything was lined up right and the aperture had become unresponsive but I got there in the end.

Now the happy owner of a fully working and sweet little CZJ Flektogon 35mm. Very Happy

visualopsins · Expire: 2025-04-11

sasquatch · Joined: 26 Jan 2024 Posts: 44 Location: Cambridgeshire, UK

Zamo · Joined: 08 Feb 2019 Posts: 168

It is indeed a nice inner satisfaction to solve a problem, having worked it all out by yourself (help of videos, etc, of course welcome) and to revive an old piece of advanced ingeneering. Even if now you don't use the lens anymore Smile

Dejan · Joined: 05 Jan 2021 Posts: 151 Location: Belgrade, Serbia

I had to "recenter" my Flektogon too! Most people probably don't try, sadly. The lens is definitely worth it.

sasquatch · Joined: 26 Jan 2024 Posts: 44 Location: Cambridgeshire, UK

sasquatch · Joined: 26 Jan 2024 Posts: 44 Location: Cambridgeshire, UK

lumens pixel · Expire: 2021-06-25

Dejan · Joined: 05 Jan 2021 Posts: 151 Location: Belgrade, Serbia

Thanks! The thing is that this lens has quite a reputation with some people, about many decentered copies floating around the market. It's good to know that it's something that usually can be repaired with relative ease. It's such a versatile little lens, not to mention that it's real macro lens when adapted to a helicoid (the way I adapt all M42 lenses anyway), and "semi-macro" otherwise.
I didn't avoid the issue with the aperture though. It was fine when I bought the lens, without oil on the blades etc., but after a couple of years it became sticky and eventually malfunctioned. There's someone who services this locally, for (very, very) cheap, so I didn't have to deal with that myself, but it wouldn't be scary, and I'm sure there are tutorials online.
This is all part of the Carl Zeiss Jena charm I suppose. In any case, no one will be as lucky with the expensive Sony GM lenses for example, since I doubt they will last for 50 years and then require just a simple CLA.

Indigo82 · Joined: 30 Dec 2018 Posts: 61

Sweet little lens. I like it. It's good when you need to carry only one lens to do it all. But honestly, it doesn't blow my mind because it doesn't do anything particularly breathtaking. It's good for landscape as it's very sharp but it is not wide enough. I much more prefer it's bigger cousing Flektogon 20mm f2.8 which is my favourite lens. When it comes to portraits, it's bokeh is nothing to write home about, doesn't impresses me, there's no enough 3D separation, somehow it is flat. I prefer my Pentax 50mm f1.2, Helios 44-2 or Samyang 85mm f1.4 for such moments. Even when I would go for environmental portraits, then I find 35mm too constrained and would go for 28mm or 24mm lenses. Now, if we talk about close focusing there it can produce lot of creamy bokeh photos, that's where I like it the most. However, when it is about small things like insects, there are better options for this. For example, 50mm lens with simple close up filter produces better results for me as it is good balance between distance, sharpness and bokeh. I expected more from Flek 35mm when it comes to bug photos. You may see my review here: https://www.pentaxforums.com/userreviews/carl-zeiss-35mm-f2-4-flektogon-mc.html?#review7610
All in all this is a very good lens, capable of great results and is one of my favourite lenses.

chhayanat · Joined: 11 Apr 2016 Posts: 248 Location: The Cow Belt

[quote=

I have to say I really scared myself a couple times when reassembling the rear section and had to repeat the process a couple times as not everything was lined up right and the aperture had become unresponsive but I got there in the end.

Now the happy owner of a fully working and sweet little CZJ Flektogon 35mm. Very Happy

[/quote]

Reading your post makes me feel braver already. I have been using a Flektogon 35/2.4 with the same white lettering as yours for about eleven years now. I feel a work-up like the one you gave to your lens might help mine as well.

kiddo · Joined: 29 Jun 2018 Posts: 1273

I have the last version red MC flek but it came to me click less. I've tried to use the bearing from a helios but ut seems to be to large, do you guys happen to know the size of that ball for the aperture ring clicks? Thanks