Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar Lens 50mm f/2.8 M42 Mount

Very good condition Carl Zeiss TESSAR 50/2.8 (#10520939) lens is ready to work with any mirrorless cameras, focuses infinity, covers full-frame sensor.
Lens, front cap.
S/n: last photo. (10520939)
Adapter to Sony NEX, E, FE, Samsung NX, Fuji (FX), M4/3 (MFT, Olympus, Panasonic) + 300 baht.
With UV Filter + 200 baht
Sale only inside Thailand!
EMS 50 baht or meeting in North Pattaya.
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Format: 35mm SLR
Type: Prime lens
Focusing: Manual Focus (MF)
Lens mount: M42
Optical Quality:
Finally let’s talk about the actual optical performance. I didn’t expect much from this lens and I couldn’t be more surprised when I saw what I was getting on the camera display. Images looked beautiful on 3′ display, but more importantly they did not disappoint when I viewed them again on a 24′ display at home. This lens is actually very, very impressive performer in many ways!
For starters, it’s really usable and pretty sharp wide open; not something you’d expect such cheap lens. I often step down my F1.4 lenses to F2 or even F2.8 to get the optimum optical performance, so Zeiss being usable at F2.8 is a real bonus. You can be the judge of that yourself, as most shots in the video were shot at F2.8. For even better idea of sharpness at different F-stops, take a look at 100& crops below. The only real difference between these shots, is the background. The foreground is pretty much the same from F2.8 all the way to F8. Very impressive!
Character:
I’ve got more good news: this lens also produces amazingly smooth bokeh, especially at F2.8. It doesn’t have as much character as the legendary Helios 44-2, but in its own way it’s just as nice and is more suitable in certain situations, especially when using this lens in combination with modern lenses. Same goes for the contrast, which is very high for a vintage lens at this price point. Again completely opposite to Helios 44-2 which goes into a dreamy/low contrast/flare mode when pointed towards a bright light source. The Zeiss 50mm F2.8 though holds the contrast very well even when pointed directly at the sun. Zeiss lenses are known to have good contrast, but I didn’t expect that from such cheap lens. The footage in my test video is pretty much straight out of the camera with only very minimal correction, so what you see is what you’ll get from this lens!
The F2.8 does sound underwhelming for a 50mm lens, but with most modern cameras, low F2.8 or even slightly slower is no longer an issue. For example the night shots in the video above were shot at 1600ISO with (now) super cheap, but very capable Sony NEX 5N. Even at F2.8 this lens has picked up the street lighting pretty well giving me a decent exposure even in such low light conditions. Some people might argue that F2.8 lens won’t produce cinematic enough shallow depth of field, but as you can see in the video above, even on (APS-C / S35) Sony Nex 5n, this lens produces as much shallow depth of field as you can take. It’s a misconception that F1.4 is the only way to go. A lot of experienced cinematographers rarely shoot below F2.8 or even F4 (cine lenses are usually rated in T-stops though)
Another good thing about this 50mm is that being a full frame lens, you don’t need to worry about it covering certain sensors. It usually comes in M42 mount, which means that this lens can be used with just about any camera when coupled with a simple adapter. You can even “speedboost” it with certain mount cameras, so there aren’t many reasons not to like it. The minimum focusing distance of just 35cm is very handy too.
Specifications:
Focus Throw – Approx 270°
Mounts – M42, Exakta
Optical Formula – 4 elements in 3 groups (Tessar)
Closest Focusing Distance – 0.35m/1ft
Filter Size – 49mm
Aperture Blades – 5
Weight – 170g
12 Aperture Settings from F2.8 to F22
Made in DDR

Why buy one?
Very cheap for any lens, especially Carl Zeiss
270° focus ring rotation, great for video use
0.35m closest focusing distance, great for close ups
Great optical performance for such cheap lens
Beautiful, but not overpowering character