Zeiss lenses in Contax/Yashica mount -- does "Made in ____" matter?

Hello,

 

I've noticed that manual focus Zeiss lenses in Contax/Yashica mount tend to

fall in one of two camps:

 

- AE lenses made in Germany or "West Germany"

 

- MM lenses made in Japan

 

Does where the lens is made (Germany or Japan), or whether the lens is AE or

MM, have any effect whatsoever on the end result (i.e., the image)? German-made

lenses tend to command a premium over Japanese-made lenses, and I was wondering

if there was a legitimate reason behind this, or (more likely) it's just

another part of Zeiss myth/lore/marketing/consumer herd mentality.

 

Thanks!

 

Drew

Sorry, C/Y mount lenses aren't pre-1970 (more like pre-1990), but I can't think of a single forum where this question would be more appropriate.

The official answer always seems to be that there is no difference whatsoever. They use the same materials, design, and quality control.

 

However, as you noticed (and this is not always the case), you are comparing the older AE lenses to the newer MM lenses. I'm sure that designs are tweaked as time goes by and that the materials also change (sometimes improved and sometimes made cheaper to save money)and so I'd not be surprised if there really are some differnces.

 

I've read in several places that the Geman made AE lenses tend to have a more accurate and more pleasing color whereas the Japanese MM lenses tend to be higher in contrast and reddish in color (perhaps due to a newer coating).

 

I have the 28/2.8, both 50s, the 100/2 and the only German made lens I have is the 85/2.8 which has definitely higher contrast and images shot with it appear sharper (although they might not really be if examined with a high power loupe) than with any of the others.

German made Carl Zeiss lenses for Contax are much more expensive.

The short answer is NO.

German made stuff is a state of mind prestige bs thing. Japanese made lenses are equally good. It's kind of like the old Rollei 35 made in Hong Kong vs Germany and Leica made in Canada vs. Germany. The German quality control is there no matter what country, there just isn't the expensive skilled labor of Germany. In price though, yeah, German stuff costs more. So what, Japanese, Canadian and Hong Kong made versions of German gear is just as good and better value for the money on the used market. Ask yourself, are you a user or a collector and decide accordingly.

<i>German made Carl Zeiss lenses for Contax are much more expensive.</i>

<br><br>

Thanks for stating the obvious, Martin.

Hi,

 

I have been using and also buying & selling Contax & Zeiss C/Y lenses for the last seven years and would like to correct several points here..

 

Firstly, both the earlier AE and the later MM lenses were made in BOTH Germany AND Japan...but not all of the lens range.

 

The Contax RTS system was first introduced in about 1975 and all the first lens range was made in West Germany, but it quickly became clear that lens supply was an issue and Zeiss began making some of the lens range in Japan.

 

Quite soon most of the 'common' lenses..28/2.8, 35/2.8, 50/1.7, 50/1.4, etc were made in Japan... almost all of the AE versions of these common lenses are Japanese made and some of the other lenses were also made in Japan in AE versions. As I have already alluded to, to try and find an AE 'made in Germany' 28/2.8 or 50/1.4 is very hard as not many were made.

 

The only lenses that were exclusively made in Germany were some of the very exotic lenses, such as the 15/3.5, 35/2.8 PC shift, 28/2, 70-210/3.5 and some others, such as the fast 'pro' telephotos.

 

Likewise, with the later MM lenses, they were produced in both Germany and Japan, for example, the Distagon 18/4 can be found in more or less equal numbers of German & Japanese MM examples. The sonnar 85/2.8 was made in both countries in both the AE and MM version for example, whilst the famous Distagon 21/2.8 was only ever made in Japan in an MM version.

 

"I've read in several places that the Geman made AE lenses tend to have a more accurate and more pleasing color whereas the Japanese MM lenses tend to be higher in contrast and reddish in color (perhaps due to a newer coating)"

 

Charles..you have this the wrong way around..it is the earlier AE lenses, (irrespective of place of manufacture) which tend to have a 'warm' or reddish colour reproduction.

 

There is NO optical difference whatsoever between the early and later lenses, but Zeiss do tend to 'upgrade' coatings. The later MM lenses, again, irrespective of whether they are from Japan or Germany will tend to have a more 'neutral' colour balance than the early ones.

 

AS regards build quality, some people seem to think the German lenses are better made than the Japanese ones, well they are WRONG! I have handled and used 100's of these Contax lenses now and I can say what does make a difference is this: the earlier AE lenses BOTH German AND Japanese are IMO quite often better made than the equivalent later MM lens...in some cases (but not all)

 

Hope this illuminates..cheers Steve.M.

Steven Moseley has pretty well nailed it. What is important is not where the lens is made, but the fact that Zeiss apply their classically rigorous quality control to their own designs regardless of place of assembly. I have almost all the Zeiss CY primes between 28mm and 300mm (except the stratospherically priced Apo-Tessar and the Makro-Planars), in a range of AE, MM, German and Japanese configurations, and optically there's no difference. AE lenses tend to be cheaper, though there's no optical justification for it, and if you don't need program or shutter priority modes in Contax Multi-Mode bodies, are every bit a match for the later MM versions. The only way I can tell whether a particular photograph was taken by my AE or MM Planars is to look at my photo notebook.

Excellent. Thanks, Steve!

I agree w/Steven & Alex. All of the excellent Carl Zeiss lenses for the Kyocera Contax G1 & G2 were made in Japan (by Kyocera?) under official Zeiss standards (I read somewhere that personnel from Germany would be detailed to watch over things from time to time). I'm sure, though, that if Zeiss had produced some otherwise identical lenses in Germany, there would have been plenty of users who would have paid more for them.

<p>Hello Christopher, I just came across this and as I have in my possession, a contax G1, a 45mm/f2 and a 90mm/f2,8 which I love although I do not photograph with film as much anymore, I wonder; is there any digital camera out there of some significance where these lenses can be used either autofocusly or manually? Hope that someone comes across and enlightens me.</p>

<p>There is a difference in aperture geometry between the AE and MM versions of the 85/1.4 Planar T*. The MM is rounded whereas the AE shows the typical "sawblade" at f2.</p>

<p>I think this is true for other models in the Contax line as well.</p>