Contax Zeiss Sonnar 85mm f/2.8

[Jman13]

So, I got my new Zeiss 85mm f/2.8 yesterday. Not the fastest lens in the world, but WOW what a lens!

First, a pic of the lens:



Now...this lens is SHARP. Straight from wide open....here's a 100% crop, untouched (just converted straight after opening in Lightroom), wide open at f/2.8:



I haven't had a lot of time to shoot with it yet, but it is very nice...absolutely stunning color and contrast, even wide open (rivals my old 135L, if not bettering it in the contrast department), with very nice bokeh.

Here are two quick flower shots (nothing special), but they show you the quality. I did no color enhancement to either of these images...this color is straight out of camera, without a polarizer, in overcast conditions. And actually, you're losing a bit of what was captured...the greens are even more vibrant in the ProPhoto RGB color space...converting to sRGB for the web has tempered it. Both wide open:





Needless to say, I'm impressed. Not a bad lens for $250!

[Perry Ge]

That bokeh in the first flower shot is wonderful. How close does this thing focus?

[Jman13]

It doesn't focus all that close (a smidge less than 1m), so it's not really suited as a really close up lens, but it's more than enough for tight portraits and the like. It's also very small and compact. 55mm filters. The tulip shot was at the MFD (or very close).

[sandro9mm]

does it AF with adapter? and where did u get it?

[René Damkot]

Originally Posted by sandro9mm

does it AF with adapter?

No.
It's a MF lens.

[Jman13]

Originally Posted by sandro9mm

does it AF with adapter? and where did u get it?

As Rene said, it's a manual focus (and manual aperture) lens only. I got mine from KEH. They don't have any more there now, but you can get them on eBay or wait a while and another one will pop up on KEH.

[Madweasel]

Weren't you tempted to go for the fabulous Planar 1.4 version? I always lusted after one of those in my Contax days.

[Perry Ge]

Originally Posted by Madweasel

Weren't you tempted to go for the fabulous Planar 1.4 version? I always lusted after one of those in my Contax days.

Yeah but at that price, might as well shell out for an 85L!

[Katzer1]

Originally Posted by perryge

Yeah but at that price, might as well shell out for an 85L!

there are a few on ebay for not that much, on the other hand, unless you really need 1.4, the EF 85 1.8 is not that pricey, had wonderful AF and is not a slouch either.

[rwong2k]

I own the 50/1.7 and i've tried my friend's 85/1.4 and 35/1.4 on my 5d, what a wicked lens, with the af confirm adapter these lens are amazing,

how many years ago were these lens made? or when were they made?

[Jim G]

Say, that bokeh in the first one is awesomely creamy. Not half bad...

[Jman13]

Yeah, I was tempted by the 85 f/1.4, but I don't have that kind of money to spend right now. If I find myself using my 85 f/2.8 more than I use my Canon 100 f/2, I'll probably sell both and get the 85 f/1.4, but until then, I'm content to have a very nice portrait prime that has this type of image quality for this price. The IQ is superior to the 85 f/1.8 and my 100 f/2, though they are no slouch either, and obviously have the extra stop of speed and AF.

A good copy of the 85 f/1.4 is about $600-$700, so it's not a small price increase. You can occasionally get some beat up copies for less, but If I'm spending that much money on a lens, it had better be in very good condition. There's a reason I buy from KEH...they warranty their stuff, and they have a good return policy.

[Madweasel]

There's a place called Ffordes in the UK that sells lots of second hand camera gear and they've always had a good selection of Contax Zeiss. Lots of people must have been selling it lately (no doubt going digital), so they've now got all the most desirable stuff: 21mm f/2.8, 85mm f/1.2, 135mm f/2, 200mm f/2, and 300mm f/2.8, but the prices are very high. Stuff to make you go 'oooh'!

[Jman13]

I went to the zoo today, and while I did the vast majority of my shooting with the 70-200 f/4 IS, I put my Sonnar 85 on for a few shots. I'm still just blown away by the quality.

Here's one shot from the limited time I used it today. If anything, the only weakness of the lens is it doesn't quite have the bokeh power of, say, the 85L or the 135L, but part of that is due to the max aperture. This shot is a horrendous shot for bokeh quality, with the huge amount of vertical lines, directly behind the focus point, and it still does a pretty darn good job with it. The sharpness, color and contrast are all just amazing. This was shot wide open, with very, very minimal adjustments.



100% crop:

[BCBryce]

Hi Jman,

You inspired me to pick up a CZ 135, and CZ 60mm, thanks for getting me into the alternative glass!

Macro pics with the 60mm here:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/....php?p=5794085