| Author: | | New Member Registered: February, 2019 Posts: 12 | | Lens Review Date: August 25, 2019 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $50.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Feels lovely, so easy to use | | Cons: | Over-rated and over-priced | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 8
Camera Used: SP1000 K-X ME Super
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Mine was the black Sonnar "S" mint version. Generally it was good. Not excellent. Not very good. I was disappointed after reading so many people going off on one about this with giddy glee. It's not that dazzling in reality. Get real, people! Maybe you are getting off on the red and cute purple multicoating? The secondhand used market is full of these old lenses for a reason, OK?
Nice built-in hood and feels superb on a Pentax SP-type film SLR. It's a bit "plastic" in places but the engineering is lovely. Inside the back-end the mechanism is a bit flimsy and fragile (which is why some lenses you'll find have failed aperture systems). Sadly, as with today's digital technology-swamped crowd who paid a huge bomb for a camera and want to save a buck by buying cheap old lenses, a lot of people rate a lens when it's their sensor and processor that is actually producing the image in conjunction with the lens. If you put this on a film camera you'll get some great results at f5.6 to f11-f16 where sharpness and overall quality across the image is good to very good and some wonderful images at times. Either side of that (sadly, it is not "tack sharp wide open" despite what some people repeat uncritically) this is quite ordinary. Mind you, the bokeh (if you are into that background out of focus blurry fuzz stuff) is really nice. Infinity is nothing to write home to your Mother about and I would not recommend it for long distance or landscape photography. But that's often the case with these old used 135mm lenses as they are nothing like the superb mid-focal length telephoto or zoom digital lenses from the giants of the DSLR world. Good for mid-distance work, though. Close focus is lovely and it's superb how close you can get with this lens. I suppose it's the density of glass or the multicaoting, but this lost me one full stop of light when compared to a hand-held meter test and a double check comparison with another camera. That's actually a bit of a pain in some conditions when you are trying to freeze movement with maximum sharpness. I think it's worth $40-50 but over that it's simply not worth it and you are letting yourself get ripped off if you pay over $60 for a perfect mint one. Sadly, there is some purple fringing chromatic aberration in high contrast shots. As with many "cult" online lenses it just does not live up to the hype and the giddy cliché repetition that you often find online. A Takumar 135mm f3.5, despite not being the finest 135mm in the world, is just as good and it has a greater infinity focus and you can get one generally cheaper than this Carl Zeiss Jena.
| | | | | New Member Registered: March, 2019 Posts: 14 | | Lens Review Date: March 21, 2019 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: None indicated
| Rating: N/A |
| Pros: | As new condition but still to be used in anger | | Cons: | None that I can read about | |
I was given a Praktica camera and kit which included this lens to sell on eBay. I wasn't really aware of the legacy lens thing and sold the Praktica camera and standard lens and some other bits but as this lens was in such good condition I thought I would sell it separately so did some investigation and put on eBay at a good price for me.
It sat there on eBay with a number of watchers but no takers and each time when at the desk I would take it out of the drawer and play around with it. Eventually took it off eBay and started down the road of looking for other lenses to keep it company and the rest is history.
Cheers
| | | | | New Member Registered: November, 2013 Posts: 8 | | Lens Review Date: December 10, 2018 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $40.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | very sharp lens | | Cons: | very few CA's | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: k-s1 k-x k200d
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++ very sharp lens
+ high contrast
++ nertral color rendition
+ few CA's wide open
for macro shootings with macro tubes !
9.5 points | | | | | New Member Registered: November, 2018 Posts: 2 | | Lens Review Date: November 25, 2018 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $25.00
| Rating: N/A |
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I have one that is Konica Ricoh mount version (KR mount). How can I make it to at least PK .. I would like to mount it on Sony E mount or Nikon F mount. Thanks!
| | | | | New Member Registered: June, 2018 Posts: 4 | | Lens Review Date: June 21, 2018 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $100.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Minimum focus distance, affordable, sharp, nice bokeh with Zeiss colors | | Cons: | Very difficult to find one in good conditions | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 8
Camera Used: A7
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Tried four copies of the lens: two had stuck diaphragm blades, one had fungus and the last one had been dismantled and was unacceptably dusty. Finally found mine, but I paid the price.
Build quality is ok if you find a good one. The lens is quite small.
It's sharp with good bokeh even if only f/3,5. It has great Zeiss colors and can focus close to less than one meter, I don't know many other 135mm close focus... Well, buy it, but be careful especially with stuck/oily diaphragm blades.
| | | | | New Member Registered: January, 2018 Location: Paris Posts: 8 | | Lens Review Date: January 26, 2018 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $80.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Clarity, IQ, COLOR rendering, unbelievable low price | | Cons: | Not pka but A/M switch | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 7
Value: 10
Camera Used: K1
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This lens is kind of bizarre...my version is a mint “electric mc Sonnar czj ddr 135-3.5”
Nice and Very good build even though not a Pentax k..It looks kind of poorman bigger FA77mm ....
When you look this m42 mount and the adaptation ring you have to put in your brand new K1 camera you just want to cry and start regretting ...😭
And think understand why such a low price
When you succeed mouting it on your camera you feel it s kind loosy fix and it will drop on the ground ( no locking) and you are afraid  🤪
First pic, wide open of course (because you let the a position switch...) and.....WOW wtf.....😎
You check the mount ....second pic ...same Wow😎
And etc....
The IQ/clarity/COLOR rendering at P.O. of this old thing is just unbeleavable.
I found the COLOR rendering and contrast much more strong and steady at P.O. during poor light/flat white sky conditions than my K135 F2.5 that I love too but in these particular conditions only I find it on the cools side COLOR rendering with low contrast scenes.
This lens is sharp equal from 3.5 to 8 !!!! Bizarre I told you
Optically it’s a razor sharp
Nowdays I think such optics would cost hundreds $$$
Focusing is ok but just not the confort feeling of the K ring
The cons :
the m42 screw mount with adapt ring no locking on the camera
Now I have 2 x135 to carry with me ....the K for 2.5 and trekking / unsteady walk conditions.... and this one for all others
I recommend strongly, smiles for the high grade results (and laughing /always checking the fix finally) guaranteed . Lot of fun using such anachronistic stuff but in fact better than the green button system of the M and K for my taste
Be careful with m42 to pk adaptator if first use and choose the right one for infinity focusing. Google it before for some hints. (Prefer to remove tiny screw and the small tit and let the 10$ adaptator ring on your lens....so easier and faster to mount and dismount of your camera)
| | | | | New Member Registered: July, 2016 Location: London, UK Posts: 3 | | Lens Review Date: August 23, 2017 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $80.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharpness, colour rendition, bokeh | | Cons: | A bit slow | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Sony Alpha 7RII
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A coupla dozen of shots only and I'm already in LOVE with this lens. I wouldn't write a review so hastily, 2 hours after taking it out of the box, but I'm just so enthusiastic! I could only test it in very poor light conditions (it arrived tonight, and it was dark already).
The lens seems fabulously sharp, even on a 44 mega pix camera like the Sony Alpha 7RII (I give it *only* 9 for sharpness just because I keep the 10 for the modern Sony Zeiss 55mm f1.8 - which hurts your eyes from being so_sharp, and your wallet too, at £700).
I love the colours, bokeh seems very creamy. Mechanics & build top notch.
I paid a low price because the body looks a bit used, and the dust inside is a bit more than average. I bet it doesn't do anything, but I'll open up the lens & clean it - it's a relatively simple job on these old babies.
More in the next few days, with some time. But again - these Zeiss are a dream.
All pictures wide open (so to speak) i.e. f3.5
    | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: April, 2015 Location: Wisconsin, USA Posts: 2,555 | | Lens Review Date: May 23, 2017 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $150.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, Micro-contrast, Makes great black & white images | | Cons: | Only f/3.5 | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K1
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I just got through comparing five 135mm lenses. This CZY Sonnar won hands down!
Light weight, only four elements, no colored fringing wide open, terrific color, the best lens for black and whites that I own.
Wide open sharp from one side to the other, with truly incredible bokeh.
I currently own three of these lenses and plan to buy even more. All of mine are the "Zebra" version with a DDR on the front and with serial numbers around 9,386,000.
In a blind test, this lens from f/3.5 to f/16 will beat most $1000 lenses, yet you can buy it for under $100. A crazy bargain!
| | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: May, 2015 Location: Hampshire Posts: 885
1 user found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: February 12, 2017 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $30.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Has an A-M switch | | Cons: | | |
This is a quick review based on little usage of two lenses.
Both were CARL ZEISS JENA DDR MC S. S/N'S 106598 and 131184.
I like these lenses but there are some as good (and cheaper) in the K mount. As a M42 mount with the A-M switch it is easier maybe to focus and stop down than using green button metering. A K-A mount would be heaven (as would a wider aperture).
It is quite sharp, seems to provide good colour and seems to sell well on ebay.
I wish I knew why the MC in red seems to be important. An image taken on yet another grey day here in England, than you Pentax for shake reduction!
F8, 1/50s and a crop.
 | | | | | New Member Registered: August, 2016 Posts: 8 | | Lens Review Date: November 18, 2016 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $85.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp,color | | Cons: | Flare in the backlighting | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 9
Camera Used: K5II
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This lens came to me as a second-hand, but the condition was quite well. Not a single scratch on the glass.The first thing that impressed me is that the sharpness is quite well even wide open. Actually I use f3.5 all the time and the outcomes are superb. Secondly, the color is rich and vivid. It does have some drawbacks :It flares when using in the backlighting, and the focus ring is not smooth. But in general this a great lens made in Germany.
| | | | | New Member Registered: October, 2015 Posts: 2 | | Lens Review Date: October 22, 2015 | I can recommend this lens: No |
Price: $54.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Contrast and Centre Sharpness | | Cons: | Distracting Bokeh, Chromatic Aberration | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 5
Bokeh: 3
Handling: 9
Value: 8
Camera Used: Sony A7s
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I tried two copies of the Praktica PB Mount version of this lens, with the hope of using it for some nice compressed landscape type shots.
The lens does have good centre sharpness and contrast and the build quality and feel were excellent.
Unfortunately there is quite a bit of Chromatic Aberration and the bokeh is quite distracting. Ultimately, although I didn't buy this lens especially for shallow depth of field work, it is kind of hard to avoid at this focal length, and out-of-focus areas have a distracting harshness about them.
I also found that this lens flares quite easily and that the built-in hood could do with being a bit longer.
| | | | | New Member Registered: October, 2014 Location: Near Berlin Posts: 1
2 users found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: May 25, 2015 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $140.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | sharpness, contrast, color contrast and reproduction, price | | Cons: | only 6 diaphragm blades, in addition highly reflective (not blackened), short and shaky built-in hood, disgusting focus ring | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 6
Handling: 4
Value: 10
Camera Used: Canon APS-C
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Own definition of points - using the above scaling: 5 = still good, 7-8 = good to very good, 9-10 = excellent
(10 = "100%" for technical aspects: such a immaculate thing does not exist)
About this as good as new copy: it was produced within the latest version at the end of 1980s in Saalfeld in the former GDR (therefore no "Aus Jena" export version) and
sold a short time later after the political changes from acquired inventories.
Traditionally one of the best 135mm lenses for the 36mm-film format, however, the most useful optical performance is available, when stopped down at least f/5.6 or higher.
The high color contrast and intense, as well as pure colors are typical of this lens, with color slide film quite welcome characteristics (in digital image processing, this tends
to play a minor role), but an edged diaphragm and significant color fringing at high contrast details lead to a less beautiful reproduction outside the focal plane.
Compared to S.-M.-C. Takumar 1: 2.5/135 (Model II):
Very stiff focusing grip with extremely uncomfortable, needle-sharp bare metal pyramids, painful for the fingers (in this regard, the former, painted models feel a little more
"comfortable"); on the other hand, mechanical slackness is hardly to be felt; the Takumar here feels at worlds better, but also at the expense of a wobbly front barrel.
Slightly inferior imaging performance in the lower apertures (and thus far less contrasty than the also tested much older aluminum bare, "silver" Sonnar 4,0/135); does not
quite reach the sharpness in the center at closed apertures, but sharper, more contrast and less CA in the corners, overall a more homogeneous performance across the
entire image field.
MC SONNAR 3,5 / 135 CARL ZEISS JENA DDR
Variations
left: the model above, anodized and partially painted body, right: previous and "electric" model, completely painted body, different coatings
Overview
f/8 / APS-C / standard ooc jpeg file, scaled down on 1200x1800 of 5184x3456 image size, taken with the above, left model
Detail (100% crop)
 | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: November, 2010 Location: California Posts: 2,223 | | Lens Review Date: January 2, 2015 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $200.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp wide open with contrast and good colors, small, built-in hood | | Cons: | rare, hard to find. | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Kx, K5, K3
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This is probably the sharpest and nicer 135mm lens (pardon me, SMC Takumar 135/2.5 Second Version and Pentax K 125/2.5, I am embellishing little here, but not too much), just a tad slower than the SMC Tak and Pentax. I will post some photos later. Here is one quick shot:
 CarlZeiss MC DDR 135mmf3.5 @f3.5 - Chair by Palenquero, on Flickr
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: December, 2010 Location: San Jose Posts: 25 | | Lens Review Date: December 12, 2014 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $120.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | smooth handling, sharp, quality | | Cons: | screw mount & none | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 9
Camera Used: Pentax K-X
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I was really impressed when I read reviews about this lens and searched for it.
A year ago, I bought this lens. It is an M42 mount (Pentax) manual focus lens and I was wondering how to handle it while quick capturing.
It is very stable and smooth lens. If your eye sight is good, then this lens is the best for mid/long distance captures.
Once, I attach this lens to my K-X, I don't really wish to remove it. Even now I forgot my other lenses
I am not a professional photographer, so I can't give you all F stop output and suggestions.
Performance wise, its too good, I get what I want.
This beauty has inbuilt lens-hood too, I didn't know that and no one mentioned about it too.
This is one of the best lens from its era, and still can knock-out current lens family (If you don't compare with auto focus mode)
For camera lenses, it does matter "how you get and what you get..."
This lens didn't disappoint me, anyhow...
Some sample photographs (30% re-sized)
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