Pentacon Prakticar - What lens is this? Sigma?

[Forest_rain]

I'm looking for a 135mm lens to pair with my Pentacon BX20. I've heard that some of the Pentacon/Prakticar 135mm 2.8 lenses are made by Sigma or made in Korea, and are not very good, and it's hard to tell. I see a lot of postings up for the lens pictured in pictures 1 and 2, is this a good version? What make is it?

There is also a 135mm 3.5 (see picture 3). Which one is better, the 2.8 or the 3.5?

[Oldhand]

As far as I am aware, the Pentacon 135mm f2.8 that you have shown is the last iteration of the Meyer Orestor.
The Carl Zeiss Jena Prakticar 135mm f3.5 is a Sonnar design.
Both are very good lenses
Tom

[kypfer]

From my limited experience, plus an amount of on-line research, German-made lenses for the Praktica bayonet (PB mount) range of film cameras are all labelled as such, often on the clip-on black plastic dust shield on the rear of the lens. Some Zeiss branded lenses are also labelled "Made in Japan under License" or similar, other 'Prakticar' lenses have little or no labelling as to their origin. As to whether German-manufactured Zeiss-labelled lenses in PB mount are historically Meyer-Optik designs, or actually Zeiss designs, I've not been able to definitely ascertain. It would seem the Zeiss-branded lenses were labelled as such for the Jenaflex cameras whereas the Pentacon Prakticar lenses were for the Praktica cameras.
One would probably need to comparitively dis-assemble similar specification Zeiss and Prakticar lenses, 28mm f/2.8 for example, to confirm if they are in fact identical within.
Whether of Zeiss or Meyer-Optik design, both perform very well

[Pancolart]

Actually Meyer Orestor (Pentacon / Prakticar) 2.8/135mm is Sonnar design too which makes it one of the best bargains out there. But please correct me if wrong.

[visualopsins]

[Alex TG]

[visualopsins]

from http://forum.mflenses.com/list-of-lens-diagrams-triplets-planars-and-hybrid-lenses-t22934.html

[stevemark]

[Forest_rain]

On a side note does anyone know anything about my Pentacon 50mm 1.8? It doesn't have "Made in German Democratic Republic" like some I've seen, on the back. The build seems pretty "good" but is this a good copy?

[Oldhand]

The Prakticar Pentacon 50mm f1.8 is the last iteration of the Meyer Oreston 50mm f1.8
It is a fine lens, very sharp stopped down and with a delicious bokeh wide open.
T

[Pancolart]

[Oldhand]

[stevemark]

[Forest_rain]

Sorry for the late reply. Here's a picture of the side, the focusing ring appears to be plastic. So it was probably made in Romania by IOR. I wonder how good the lens is, there is not much information about that company online.

The lens looks very clean though, almost no dust in the glass, but will see how the pictures come out.

Anyone have any info on this make? I'm assuming it will be almost the same according to the information from the site you supplied, maybe losing some prestige of being "non German made" only:

"From the second half of the 80s, material savings were implemented in Pentacon lenses, which are expressed in the so-called rationalized versions (“ratio”). Here, the metal of the outer frame parts and the bezel ring was replaced by plastic. The very grippy and stylish nubby rubber on the meter ring was also saved. Here only a grip grid was pressed into the plastic. This did not make the lenses really worse, but for the attentive observer they lost some of their exclusivity. However, the price remained the same. For the GDR citizen, “ratio” became something like “increase in utility value”, only without an increase in price. "

[kypfer]