Originally posted by radium Hi, There is a difference between Carl Zeiss AG and Carl Zeiss Jena but people often convince themselves otherwise and try to make the former East German Zeiss to be the same level as the former West German Zeiss. It`s hard to go wrong with just about any 50-55mm lens from any lens maker and I`m sure the rebadged CZJ 55mm F1.4 lens will be a top performer. I would rather pay less and get a non rebadged lens than get a CZJ lens.
Ummm...it ain't a rebadged CZJ. The supposed relationship worked the other way around. Chinon lenses (or lenses sourced from the same maker used by Chinon) were rebadged as CZJ by a British distributor who had rights to the Carl Zeiss Jena name in Britain. They were never Zeiss. About twice a year we field questions about these lenses on this forum. The big giveaway is the Made in Japan label. No CJZ lenses were made outside of the DDR.
As for CZJ being inferior to Chinon...have you ever handled or shot with either? The CZJ lenses are quality optics and hardly inexpensive or cheap. A little bit of Google work will shed some light on Zeiss history. CZJ is every bit as legitimate as the various West German entities. We looked down on them, back-in-the-day because they were being made by our enemies and were less expensive than a comparable Super-Tak. But truth be told, if I had a chance to buy a CZJ Pancolar 80/1.8 at a reasonable price, I would jump at it. Unfortunately, their reputation (and price) exceeds that of the similar SMC Takumar 85/1.8. Ditto for any of the Flektogon wide-angles.
Oh, and there are inferior 50mm lenses out there. I have owned a few. Two specifically come to mind. The first, a Rexatar 50/1.8 was attached to my first SLR. Adequate, but nasty, none-the-less. The second was a Chinon that came attached to a Pentax P3N. I liked the body, but the lens was very cheaply made and not that great.
Mind you, I am a fan of off-brand stuff (I started the Off-Brand Club thread), but CZJ is hardly junk box goods. Given the choice of a 50mm Pancolar or a 50mm Chinon and I would go for the CZJ, though the Pancolar would probably cost about 5x what a 50mm Chinon is worth.
Steve
P.S. To the OP...I am not saying that your Chinon lens is a turkey. Chinon made some decent product but also some cheap stuff as the 80s progressed. The proof is in the photos. Go out and have fun.
Last edited by stevebrot; 06-14-2012 at 10:34 PM.