Value-Performance: A quick look at some Carl Zeiss Jena lenses from East Germany

When I was growing up during the Cold War, all Eastern Bloc products were considered junk. Take the Trabant and its 2-stroke engine. Although it’s gone on to cult status, it’s still a laughably awful vehicle.

You might think East German Carl Zeiss Jena (CZJ) lenses are in the same ballpark, trendy with a cult following, but they deliver top-notch performance and nice looks.

They are, for the most part, very affordable, at least currently. This is changing as more photographers become interested in them and discover their performance-value ratio.

For me, the performance of the lens is more than the highest sharpness, sharpness and micro-contrast. I appreciate that, but it’s also about bokeh (the out-of-focus area) and how the lens balances sharpness, contrast and bokeh to deliver a unique rendering. CZJ lenses have a good balance in this regard.

In this short article, I cover my experience with three East German CZJ lenses:

• On the Pentacon Six mount, the Biometar f/2.8 80mm and the Flektogon f/4 50mm
• On the Contax RF mount, the Biometar f/2.8 35mm.

Here’s what I cover:

First, the warts

The mild alloys used in the construction of these lenses were designed to keep costs down, and the result is potentially worn mounts and/or seized focus helices. I say potentially, as I’ve had lenses that are fine and others that have had problems. The aesthetic appearance of the lens is not the best indicator.

Pentacon Six mount lens alloys are consistently better than Contax rangefinder mount lenses.

The danger with the Contax Biometar mount is that the all-aluminum construction invites a galvanic reaction that presents itself as self-welding of the lens cartridge to the focus assembly. This can cause a very stiff focus and cannot be repaired. Some lenses have it, some don’t.

Lens focus quality control is as follows: I have had a CZJ lens where the focus was set incorrectly. whether it was a factory or an original dealer, I’m not sure. But it was totally fixable.

This is. The optical formulas and coatings (although not the modern level of Zeiss T*) are well made and I have not seen any problems with defects (peeling) or soft coatings.

What about the cost?

Pentacon Six lenses are generally very affordable compared to West German equivalents. Interestingly, at the time of sale, CZJ lenses were about 45% of the cost of West German lenses. This gap is still there, but today it is slowly closing.

The exception is the Contax II Biometar 35 f/2.8 mount which is now more expensive than a Zeiss Option Biogon or the Zeiss 35 Planar, but this is due to the rarity of only having 2500 CZJ Contax Mount Biometars made.

Optical design?

CZJ lenses use high performance designs. The history of the post-WWII split of Carl Zeiss into Carl Zeiss Jena and Zeiss Opton/Zeiss Oberkochen is outside the scope of the article. But it is worth remembering that Zeiss Jena was the original Zeiss location.

Of course, many of the main designers and workers fled the DDR to the allied sector, but some talent remained in Jena. Since 1997 Carl Zeiss Jena has continued as Jenoptik.

What about the results?

Contax RF Biometar 35 f/2.8 mount

I tested two samples of the Biometar 35mm f2.8 on the Contax mount. Both are exceptional. Sharpness and microcontrast make the resolving power marginally, but noticeably, better than the post-war Biogon (Zeiss Opton). The same results occurred against a 1960s production Soviet Jupiter 12, the Soviet copy of the pre-war Biogon.

I am very happy with the images produced by the Biometar 35 f/2.8. I appreciate the aluminum construction when hiking in the mountains. It weighs half as much as its West German brass construction counterpart.

Wide open under a bright sky, the Biometar can show slight corner darkening, which disappears quickly between f/4 – 5.6.

Focusing: Once I replaced the old marine lens lubricants with modern ones, the Contax mount Biometar focus was smooth and nice.

Pentacon Six mounts Biometar 80 and Flektogon 50

The Pentacon Biometar 80 f/2.8 mount and the Flektogon 50mm are on par with Zeiss lenses of the equivalent genre: the Hasselblad C-system lenses of the 1960s/70s.

Aperture clicks don’t have the same rock-solid feel and aperture clicks as the West German Zeiss lens, but they’re still positive and smooth.

Comparing the Flektogon to newer lenses like the 50 f/4 Distagon FLE, the FLE is noticeably superior, especially at the edges. But is the Flektogon still competent for impressive 30×30 enlargements? Absolutely.

In particular, the aperture of CZJ lenses produces a round circle, compared to West Germany’s pentagon-shaped opening. I prefer out of focus bokeh of CZJ lenses.

To try or not to try?

If you’re a Contax II/ IIa RF fan like myself, owning the CZJ Biogon 35mm is a precious experience with a rare piece of glass. Performance beats its Zeiss Opton cousins, but is not without significant mechanical risks. It’s a bit of DDR roulette.

If you’re considering CZJ Pentacon 6 mount lenses as an alternative to more expensive glass, take the plunge. The results are very satisfactory. As for the detractors of camera bodies: load the film properly (preta!) and use the body before you use it. You won’t look back!

Enjoy the ride.

~ Tim

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