Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 180mm f/2.8 (M42)

I have promised my good friend Rose to transfer ownership to her once I get over the honeymoon with this Carl Zeiss

lens, I will sure miss this Zebra lens.

 

And I really want to share this <a href="http://techtheman.blogspot.com/2008/10/zeiss-jena-sonnar-180mm-f28-

m42.html"><b>Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 180mm f/2.8 (M42)</b></a> with you all. I call it my Zebra Football lens. If

anyone has any complaint on mounting difficulty on M42 lens, look no other lens but this baby and if one can handle

this lens well, you can handle many difficult M42 lens. It is my most proud M42 lens ever in possession.

<br><br>

<b>Mounting Instructions:</b>

<ul>

<li>Have cap & lens hood on the zebra football lens</li>

<li>Place lens on vertical orientation with front cap facing down</li>

<li>mount genuine adapter on body as usual</li>

<li>Screw camera onto the big lens</li>

</ul>

 

<p align="center">

<a href="http://techtheman.blogspot.com/2008/10/zeiss-jena-sonnar-180mm-f28-m42.html"><b>Carl Zeiss Jena

Sonnar 180mm f/2.8 (M42)</b></a>

<br>

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3014/2978915019_dfc4009b52.jpg" /> <br> <br>

 

Lens cap is <b>119mm</b> <br>

filter size is <b>95mm</b> <br>

weight is about <b>1100g/2.45lb</b> <br>

 

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3186/2979773742_f928561e2d.jpg" /> <br> <br>

 

 

I have added the <br>

1/4" to 3/8" tripod screw mount adapter <br>

 

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3252/2979775386_979a0a7b49.jpg" /> <br> <br>

 

 

My copy of Pentax K 300mm f/4.0 and Vivitar Series 1 zoom <br>

all look tiny next to it <br>

 

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3203/2979752154_16a3ef3779.jpg" /> <br> <br>

 

 

This lens gets character when screwed <br>

onto Pentax K10D with genuine adapter <br>

 

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3194/2979362671_2bceec6bd5.jpg" /> <br> <br>

 

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3058/2980218808_930739e74a.jpg" /> <br> <br>

 

 

A few test photos wide open in f/2.8 and f/4.0, hand-held <br>

 

<b>#1</b> <br>

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3032/3011128494_1859fe7193.jpg" /> <br> <br>

 

 

<b>#2</b> <br>

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3246/3010292041_107a292ae9.jpg" /> <br> <br>

 

 

<b>#3</b> <br>

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3009/3011124084_977e298802.jpg" /> <br> <br>

 

 

<b>#4</b> <br>

17year old Freckle <br>

 

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3058/3011126742_920dd6995c.jpg" /> <br> <br>

 

<b>#5</b> <br>

Her yellow scarf <br>

Live Long & Pawsper <br>

 

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3239/3011125602_655260ec5a.jpg" /> <br> <br>

 

<b>#6</b> <br>

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3227/3011124502_42db4c93d9.jpg" /> <br> <br>

 

<a href="http://techtheman.blogspot.com/2008/10/zeiss-jena-sonnar-180mm-f28-m42.html"><b>Carl Zeiss Jena

Sonnar 180mm f/2.8 (M42)</b></a>

</p>

That is one stunning lens. How you can give it up is beyond me. Beautiful color and definition. I don't think I would want to carry it around very much though...

Quite on the contrary, I love to carry this lens. If you want attention, this is the lens to have. I think I

can be humble but I stand taller with this lens. With my president elect acceptance speech, we have to stand tall

and say yes I can. And instead of thief inviting white lens, I feel the charm of those hunky white Canon fine long

glass. I was in a coffee shop this morning and I could not help overhearing conversations this morning about my

black beauty. Even the 17 year old Freckle turns to me in the coffee shop and post for the shot.

 

Damn the birds who stay in the shady side of the bird feeder that I had to wait for the back swing to get into the

lighted spot. This lens is not for everyone but I am on high adrenaline when I carry it. I hope it works for Rose.

 

I recently bought a used Porshe (spelling) backpack from the original owner of this lens and I have a

Opetka very comfortable neck strap and those two accessories make a hell of difference to make it less

intimidating for this heavy lens. I am serious when I say this is a Zebra football lens as it really feel like

a football when I hold them in two hands.

I have the same lens in a Pentacon 6 mount. Although I had to have the aperture control repaired, it is optically a really superior lens. Works with great effect on my 20D.<div></div>

Not that it's particularly relevant, but the 200/2.0 Canon FD was also fabulous...far better color and resolution than the 200/4...and it was 72mm, which tells us something about Zeiss vs Canon. Wish there was an FD adapter for Pentax K.

I think you got it the wrong way round,....it's the k10 which GAINS character when the CZ 180 is attached....

 

This lens has been one of my favourites for nearly 30 years. My sample is a multicoated one in Pentacon Six mount, is the last item from that abysmal camera system, and is too good a lens for me to ever willingly give up!

 

The lens 'recipe' itself is much older than the P6 having been computed for the 1936 Berlin Olympics to capture the expected dominance of the Nazi athletes in the evening light using Contax cameras with through a reflex housing. For this reason the optical performance is nearly as good at f2.8 as stopped down. Indeed the design turned out to be so good that it was easily modified to cover 6x6cms. When the Germans lost their patents at the end of WWII this lens was widely copied so I believe that there is/was indeed a similarity to the Canon FD lens.

Thank you for all the wonderful inputs. Mine is also in Pentacon 6 mount and it comes with a Pentacon

to M42 adapter mounted towards the rear end. I previously owned Praktica MTL5 camera and I also ran

into a lens by the' name of Pentacon 50 f/1.8. Are Pentacon 6 related to Praktica Bayonet mount? I

am very much attracted to my first SLR with Praktica MTL5, made by East Germany. It is my first SLR and it uses

the M42 mount

<br>

<p align="center">

<a href="http://www.praktica-users.com/lens/p6lenses/czjson2.8_180.html">http://www.praktica-

users.com/lens/p6lenses/czjson2.8_180.html</a>

<br><br>

<img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2070/2069510055_8ba86e5c8e.jpg" /> <br>

<a href="http://techtheman.blogspot.com/2007/12/my-1st-film-camera-prakticar-mtl5.html">Praktica

MTL5 and Pentacon 50mm f/1.8 (m42)</a>

</p>

Thanks,<br>

Hin

The Zeiss Jena lenses are pretty darn good. *I* really like the Flektogon 35mm f2.4. ;-)

 

Nice pics!

In my opinion, the "L" series of Prakticas were the best of the lot for the M42 mount, anyway.

 

The Pentacon name was substituted for earlier Zeiss names as the legal problems mounted for export to the first

world. Otherwise, these are still fine lenses. By later on, most of the various companies making lenses and

cameras in the DDR were combined into the one VEB (People's Owned Enterprise) Pentacon. Thus sinking Ihagee, KW,

Zeiss, and so forth. "Pentacon" was the name chosen for the export version of the first prism 35mm slr the Contax

S of Carl Zeiss Jena (Rectaflex, etc --please don't quibble;-)

@Hin....Nice pictures,thankyou for sharing =)

Hin,

 

The Praktisix and P6 are the same mount, also used in a lot of military optics made by 'East German Zeiss' as it was known, AKA, Carl Zeiss Jena, DDR

 

This is interesting about this lens;

 

http://www.cameraquest.com/oly180.htm

I think I finally need to get an adapter. That old Zebra works wonderfully on 6x6, my DoF Destroyer.

Years ago I used the same exact copy of this lens on a Keiv 60. Man, that was some combo to carry. Beautiful

shots when I could get the frame spacing right.

 

Eric Onore

<p ><a href="mailto:ferrocine@telefonica.net"></a>I also have this marvelous lens, mine is serial number 9378498 also in M42 mount and I need to clean Aperture Blade Assembly. <a href="mailto:ferrocine@telefonica.net"></a>Could you supply me a sketch how to disassemble it?</p>

<p >Thank you in advance and best regards.<br />Juan</p>