1931's Tessar f/2.8 5cm Contax I collapsible lens

[Orio]

This is a lens that I was after since literally years. It is, probably, the first lenses that was appreciated for what we call today "bokeh",
only, it was a long time before that word was actually used in a photographic meaning.
The collapsible Tessar f/2.8 5cm has been praised by many photographers for it's soft, "round" out of focus transition. But after the great success
of the fast Sonnars (f/1.5 and f/2) it rapidly lost appeal, and it didn't survive at the time the Contax II was released, when it was replaced by a f/3.5 version, which was cheaper
and it's one stop difference with the slower of the Sonnars made more sense in order to qualify it as the "entry level" lens to the Contax system.

Some 20 years later it's appearance, the Eastern Zeiss introduced a f/2.8 Tessar as entry level lens to the early M42 reflex cameras of the 50s. It was, however,
quite different in character from the original Contax Tessar, the new lens was significantly sharper, and obviously the coating gave it a much stronger resistance to flaring.
The f/2.8 Tessar made by Western Zeiss in the 60s for the Icarex cameras was somehow a way in between the smoothness of the original Contax version and the sharpness of the post-war Jena version.

After many years of unsuccessful watching, I finally stumbled upon an auction that was going quite low for the usual selling price of this lens (that normally exceeds the 200 Euros).
I bid and could win it for less than 100 Euros, which is a reasonable price for me - meaning that I can resell it easily in case of need.

These are simple test shots, nothing fancy. Note that the lens, compared to a current day lens, or even a 50s lens, has loads of flare, due to the uncoated elements.
Aside from this, I think that the rendering confirms the reputation that this lens got especially amongst the portrait photographers.
I added a couple of bokeh crops, because the full size allows to appreciate the texture.
I apologize for the rushed photos of the lens itself, it really looks much better than this, when I have time I will take better photos of it.

My copy belongs to a batch of 1500 units released on November 24th, 1931.
It is one of the very first production batches of this lens. it was actually completed before the release of the Contax I camera, which reached the stores in 1932.
So we're really talking history of photography here.

#1 - (note that the black front was designed to match the black appearance of the Contax I)



#2



#3 - (note the great control of distortion!)



#4



#5



#6



#7



#8



100% crop of previous



100% crop of previous



#9


100% crop of previous



#10 (same scene as following image, this one stopped down to f/5.6)



#11 (same scene as previous image, this one wide open)



#12



#13

[iangreenhalgh1]

Very interesting, I had no idea the pre-war tessar for Contax was different in rendering to the others. I have loads of Tessars, post-war ones, in Exakta, M42, for Werra etc and your sample images look nothing like them, they don't look anything like any of my Industars either and I have 7 or 8 or those from 1954 to 1988.

I turned down one of these a few weeks ago for 25ukp. I'll have to ring the shop and see if they still have it, will go nicely on my Kiev.

[Drack]

A very unique lens indeed. It has great character. You can almost feel that the images are from 1931. I especially like the 8,12 and the last image. They both show the lenses up sides. It is surprisingly sharp and the detail is there too! One thing though, how is the focus? It looks a bit uncomfortable since there are no leavers on the side for you to hold on while focusing.

[Attila]

Nice find! Congrats! Nice presentation as well, I did pass this lens a couple of time too. May next time

[Nesster]

What a wonderful lens, both as an object and as an objective! I admit: I have envy.

[Orio]

[Orio]

[Orio]

[Orio]

[Drack]

I would be awesome to see some comparison shots with other similar lenses. Maybe Industar-50,22 or the Fed f3,5/50mm ?

[Orio]

[Laurence]

The rendering looks like it could be nearly perfect for portraits! Sort of 'soft', but not really (I know, I'm not making
sense). The depth of field certainly seems shallow, even at 5.6! I think this lens has some of the best character
of any lens I've seen in a long time. I always love the real-world shots rather than a shot of bars and graphs. Nicely
done, Orio, and a great bit of information and understanding of this remarkable lens.

[Drack]

[Nesster]

This got me to thinking... are there 'poor mans' versions of this lens -- the Contessa for example has a 45mm 2.8 uncoated Tessar, and I believe Dollinas came with 5 cm 2.8 Tessars...

[Orio]