I met up with a fellow Sonnar enthusiast at the Marine Museum this weekend, brought along two Sonnars recently converted to Leica mount. Both Sonnars bought off RFF. I’ve been asked several times to list the different versions of the F1.5 Sonnars. This is not an easy question to answer except to state “A LOT”. Based on shooting with and taking apart A LOT of Sonnars over the last 20 years, there seems to be changes to the Sonnar design every year or two throughout the run. Small changes to the optics, bigger changes to the optics, introduction of coatings on the front element, later to all surfaces, changes to the coating, changes to the mechanical construction and materials used. I have Sonnars made within the same batches that show changes. I’m up to Twelve Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm F1.5 Sonnars made between 1932 and 1945. They are all different. Add a 272 ZK, 272 J-3, and 286 J-3 to the line-up.
If someone were to ask- “What is the best of the Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm F1.5 Sonnars?” The answer is easy. Find one with a serial number that starts with 272. It can be a ZK Sonnar or a 1950 Jupiter-3 with Zeiss serial number starting with 72 stamped into the rear triplet.
If someone asks “What is your Favorite 5cm F1.5 Sonnar?” It is the 1607 block lens- a 1934 5cm F1.5 Sonnar, one of the first with filter threads that can be converted using a J-3 LTM mount. This lens was originally in a Contax mount with a Black ring. I picked up a second lens from this group recently; SN was within 60 of the first. No black ring on the Contax mount, chrome finish.
The 267xxxx 5cm F1.5 Sonnar T is converted using a KMZ focus mount, bought off Ebay. The mount was not assembled correctly, the inner helical was misthreaded ½ turn. The internal focus stop screw was also missing. Both fixed, cleaned and lubed. KMZ focus mounts are the best. The mount had a ZOMZ J-3 put in it, not “perfect” but good, rather than shimming it for the mount it was not made for- put the Sonnar into it. This Sonnar is one of the first to use a Metal alloy rather than the heavy brass of earlier lenses. The internal coatings are soft, and the surface behind the aperture has lost about 1/3rd of its coat. This is from lubricants outgassing. I had another Sonnar in this batch that had the same problem. I have earlier and later Coated Sonnars that do not have this problem.
Wide-Open, on the Leica M9
Corporal Jones:
If someone were to ask- “What is the best of the Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm F1.5 Sonnars?” The answer is easy. Find one with a serial number that starts with 272. It can be a ZK Sonnar or a 1950 Jupiter-3 with Zeiss serial number starting with 72 stamped into the rear triplet.
If someone asks “What is your Favorite 5cm F1.5 Sonnar?” It is the 1607 block lens- a 1934 5cm F1.5 Sonnar, one of the first with filter threads that can be converted using a J-3 LTM mount. This lens was originally in a Contax mount with a Black ring. I picked up a second lens from this group recently; SN was within 60 of the first. No black ring on the Contax mount, chrome finish.
The 267xxxx 5cm F1.5 Sonnar T is converted using a KMZ focus mount, bought off Ebay. The mount was not assembled correctly, the inner helical was misthreaded ½ turn. The internal focus stop screw was also missing. Both fixed, cleaned and lubed. KMZ focus mounts are the best. The mount had a ZOMZ J-3 put in it, not “perfect” but good, rather than shimming it for the mount it was not made for- put the Sonnar into it. This Sonnar is one of the first to use a Metal alloy rather than the heavy brass of earlier lenses. The internal coatings are soft, and the surface behind the aperture has lost about 1/3rd of its coat. This is from lubricants outgassing. I had another Sonnar in this batch that had the same problem. I have earlier and later Coated Sonnars that do not have this problem.
Wide-Open, on the Leica M9
Corporal Jones:
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Wide-Open,
At F4.
At F4.
At F1.5 again,
At F4-
This lens is good, stops down to F22. "I Suspect" that Zeiss revised the formula after this batch, in time for the 272 batch. Of interest- All of my ZK and J-3 with Zeiss SN on the rear triplet are from the 272 batch and 285 batch. I do not know if there are any stamped "67xxxx"- I've not seen one.
At F4-
This lens is good, stops down to F22. "I Suspect" that Zeiss revised the formula after this batch, in time for the 272 batch. Of interest- All of my ZK and J-3 with Zeiss SN on the rear triplet are from the 272 batch and 285 batch. I do not know if there are any stamped "67xxxx"- I've not seen one.
The second lens- a 1934 Uncoated 5cm F1.5 Sonnar originally in a chrome Contax mount, last digits 399. My first one from this batch- 344. That one came in a Contax mount with a black ring. Both have a beautiful bloom. To characterize "this version" of the Sonnar- seems to be more center sharp, and "bluer blues" than later lenses. This one had a ding in the filter ring, removed with a tool bought from Micro-Tools. "Picky", but I found many of these early Sonnar lenses are picky with which filters screw in what lens. This one- Russian filters are perfect for it, so it goes to the M Monochrom. Yellow filter used for all shots.
Wide-Open,
At F4.
This lens was 7 years old when Pearl Harbor took place.
Wide-Open,
At F4.
This lens was 7 years old when Pearl Harbor took place.
Wide-Open,
I shimmed this lens for optimal use wide-open with the Yellow filter on it. Yet another factor that needs to be considered using a Rangefinder camera. Totally worth it.
I shimmed this lens for optimal use wide-open with the Yellow filter on it. Yet another factor that needs to be considered using a Rangefinder camera. Totally worth it.
At F1.5,
At F4,
At F4,
The Pair of Sonnars,
I picked up another 5cm F1.5 Sonnar T from the same 267xxxx batch, very close to this one. The front element on it is perfect, better than the original which had fine cleaning marks over the entire surface. The middle triplet- not as nice.
SO: swapped front elements.
Focus is perfect, did not shift at all. Sometimes when swapping elements, a slight change to the shim is required. This is usually not necessary when the optics are from the same batch.
All wide-open, focus via the Rangefinder using a 1.25x magnifier on the M240.
SO: swapped front elements.
Focus is perfect, did not shift at all. Sometimes when swapping elements, a slight change to the shim is required. This is usually not necessary when the optics are from the same batch.
All wide-open, focus via the Rangefinder using a 1.25x magnifier on the M240.
Räuber
Established
Thank you for your evaluation of those 2 Sonnars. It is interesting that you picked those 2 lenses from those batches. Coincidentally I have copies from both batches too. Now that I have thrown away the curtain from my secret documentation I can finally talk more in depth about my observations. 😅
- 1607140 = clearly Bertele's second optical optical calculation (v2). It shares the same traits as the black Nickel f/11 lens. It does not have the same central sharpness as the 3rd or 4th optical calculation (v3, v4) but it is decently sharp. Interestingly the 1607k batch has a higher contrast than the older 1429k batch. This gives the image more clarity. Through pure luck I found an interesting optical effect. The v2 Sonnars have a more pronounce cross-shaped ghost (how is this called?) with bright spot lights. Maybe it is a trait of the nickel body?
- top left 1429404 v2b ZJ CR bn11, top rigth 1607140 v2b ZJ CR br, bottom left 1661030 v3b ZJ CR cd, bottom right 1826639 v3b ZJ CR cd
- 2675918 = Berteles 4th (productive) optical calculation combined with the first T coating is a sharp one.
- 1661030 the first batch of v3 optical design Sonnars in all Chrome mount beats all other Chrome Sonnars in central sharpness.
- 2675918 Berteles v4 optics with T coating brings a lot of sharpness and contrast to the table that almost all older Sonnars and even a lot of the later CZJ Sonnars could not reach.
- 2859272 if you manage to find one of those LTM Sonnars give them a look. When looking through the lens it seems not spectacularly sharp but side by side with other Sonnars it comes out on the top.
- 5956083 my secret favorite is one of the latest CZJ Sonnars and not even in Contax mount but in KEF. So it might be difficult to adapt this lens to use it. It was designed for motion picture 35mm film cameras. At the end of the 50ies CZJ created the highest quality Sonnars with Berteles 4th optics and this shows.
- 1604706 this Carl Zeiss 50mm f/1,5 T hosts Berteles 5th optical calculation and in the middle of the 50ies the production quality of Zeiss Oberkochen might have reached a peak in the Sonnar 50mm f/1,5 production. This one has a great central sharpness and strong contrast. Is it better than the CZJ Sonnars? Well, this has to be seen.
- Carl Zeiss C Sonnar 1,5/50? No question it is the sharpest Zeiss Sonnar 50mm you can buy! Forget about those 90 year old dinosaur lenses! 😄 Truly it is in a league of its own. It has this modern contrast, sharpness and clarity you would expect from a Zeiss lens today. Sorry for saying this. But it is no Bertele lens anymore. Technically it is not a clear Sonnar lens anymore too. It is a mix of Planar and Sonnar design.
- 6315064 this JIOPITER-3 in Contax mount is very sharp with good contrast. The coating gives images more yellow but beside of this it really belongs into this short list. Very sharp but it uses no Schott glass and a custom Soviet optical calculation.
I think the aberration you are seeing is Coma, like a comet tail.
The C-Sonnar- I consider it an "Ernostar", Bertele's design that precedes the Sonnar. The Ernostar evolved into the Sonnar be filling the air-space between the second and third element to make it a Triplet, eliminating two air-glass surfaces. The C-Sonnar uses multi-coated optics, which essentially eliminates the need for the filler glass.
Someday I'll line up my Sonnars for a comparison. My sharpest are from the 272xxxx batch. I have an original LTM from that batch, and it comes within a "hair" of my C-Sonnar. My ZK Sonnar and one 1950 J-3 are from that batch as well. I have an original LTM from the 285xxxx batch, and two 1950 J-3's from that same batch. With lenses from 267xxxx through 286xxxx: watch for hidden set screws holding the rear triplet in, and the front name ring in place.
Some from today- with the 267xxxx with new front element, on the M9. All wide-open, second two are disco-lights only.
Skaters are moving fast. The focus on this J-3 mount is very smooth.
The C-Sonnar- I consider it an "Ernostar", Bertele's design that precedes the Sonnar. The Ernostar evolved into the Sonnar be filling the air-space between the second and third element to make it a Triplet, eliminating two air-glass surfaces. The C-Sonnar uses multi-coated optics, which essentially eliminates the need for the filler glass.
Someday I'll line up my Sonnars for a comparison. My sharpest are from the 272xxxx batch. I have an original LTM from that batch, and it comes within a "hair" of my C-Sonnar. My ZK Sonnar and one 1950 J-3 are from that batch as well. I have an original LTM from the 285xxxx batch, and two 1950 J-3's from that same batch. With lenses from 267xxxx through 286xxxx: watch for hidden set screws holding the rear triplet in, and the front name ring in place.
Some from today- with the 267xxxx with new front element, on the M9. All wide-open, second two are disco-lights only.
Skaters are moving fast. The focus on this J-3 mount is very smooth.
1945 Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm F1.5 in LTM
1945 Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm F1.5 in LTM album hosted in ImgBB
ibb.co
Pictures of the CLA on my two original LTM Sonnars, 272xxxx and 285xxxx- showing the SN on the pieces of the helical.
Pictures with the 272xxxx LTM on the M9 and M Monochrom.
