Pentaxian Registered: February, 2014 Posts: 408 | | Review Date: February 23, 2023 | Not Recommended | Price: $250.00
| Rating: 3 |
| Pros: | rather rare.. | | Cons: | everything else! | | Sharpness: 6
Aberrations: 4
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 7
Value: 2
Camera Used: Pentax KP
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I had been searching for a 300mm prime lens for some time, preferably not a mirror design.
Firstly I bought a Zeiss Sonnar 'Olympic' , which dates from the early 1960's, and was the first version before it was updated in about 1964, and later in the 1970's with a complete optical redesign.
My example has some light fungus, but this has no affect on the lens results.
And those results are deeply disappointing.
Firstly the CA is dreadful, even when stopped down to beyond f8. Even my photo processing program struggles to have any affect on this. Secondly the sharpness is nothing outstanding, and is bettered by my 500mm Russian mirror lens at f8.
Postives are it is heavy, but handles quite well.
I have subsequently bought a Tair 300mm f4.5, which is sharper and has less CA ( despite being a simple 3-element design), and best of all a Tamron Adaptamatic 300mm f5.6, which is far sharper than the Sonnar even wide-open, with very little CA. better still, it cost 1/10th the price for the Sonnar.
To be fair, it could be the fungus that is affecting the sharpness, and when I can find a way of removing the front element ( doesn't come out via the lens bezel, and the outer section refuses to unscrew!) and cleaning the fungus i will do this, and add to this review on what I find.
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New Member Registered: September, 2020 Posts: 1
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 12, 2020 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: N/A |
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Hi Folks,
Just a precision about the versions. The "Zebra" optical version has nothig to compare with the MC version. The MC version is closer to the Meyer-Optik Orestegonn 300mm than the original zebra design. This was done essentially for cost reasons because the original zebra was very difficult and expensive to manufacture.
As a consequence the chromatic performance of the later MC versions is much lower thant the older ones (zebra type). You can find some comparisons here : https://zeissikonveb.de/start/objektive/objektivtests.html
The chromatism is reduced on MC types when it is stopped down. | |
New Member Registered: November, 2013 Posts: 14 | | Review Date: August 5, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $300.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | extremely sharp lens | | Cons: | none | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: k200d,k-x k-s1 k-5, fuji x-e1, x-t100
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This lens of Carl ZEISS JENA is an apochromatic lens 6/4 construction with ED fluorit glass !!!  There are 3 model variants with 2 different optical designs. I've got the best one . the early zebra version with big fluorit glass elements.
++ excellent sharpness at f8
++ excellent color rendition
++ excellent bokeh
++/+ nearly no CA's
with self made focal reducer 0.7x that's why for excellent sharp marco shootings 2.8/210 are possible. This is very easy: fit a single front element of a binocular 7x50 into the smallest macro ring of Pentacon, and extreme sharp macro pictures of butterflies are available. (a very precious lens)
85 LP/mm = 170 black and while lines for my macro version with 24 MP Fuji sensor (with Pentax k-5 only 65 LP/mm). this is an absolutely professional value !!!
full points and highly recommended by me für the early version.
Lower evaluation is due to the modern version..
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Forum Member Registered: December, 2012 Location: Warsaw Posts: 83
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 23, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $145.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Very good image quality: color redintion, sharpness, contrast, bokeh. FF and 6x6 ready. | | Cons: | Size and weight must be taken under consideration but with this kind of lens this is just a factnot a con. | |
Another classic lens from Carl Zeiss: SONNAR 300mm f/4.
Thanks to it's newer design it weights "only" 50% more than SMC-K 300mm f/4 - not 100% more as with old design "Zebra" type.
The lens can be used handheld. Due to it's weight, it is very stable, so shutter speeds of 1/30 - 1/50 are not a problem at all (thanks to SR).
Lens is fully usable wide open, from f/5,6 on it is VERY sharp. I didn't have any problem to get crisp images few minutes after I first tried it.
Colours are warm and saturated, bokeh very natural and pleasing. Crisp sharpness of the main subject and subtle tonal transition (due to simple Sonnar design) together with great bokeh creates great 3D effect.
The lens handles like a Takumar with working aperture metering on Program - which is what I like very much.
Pentacon Six/Pentax adapter is a must, big screw-in sunshade is included in a set (same size as CZJ Sonnar 180mm f/2,8).
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