Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 5.8cm(58mm) f/2 lens for Exakta/Topcon lens mount 35mm slr cameras. Made in Germany. Serial # 3427067. Circa. 1949. Black paint finish. Single coated lens. Fast compact 58mm f/2 normal lens with 17 blade lens aperture for great BOKEH. Classic fast Zeiss lens to fit the Exakta series of slr cameras like the Exa, Exakta VX, Exakta VXIIa, VX1000 ect. Can also be used on Topcon slr cameras. This lens can also be used on most mirrorless digital cameras like the Canon R, Fuji X-Pro 2, Olympus OM-D. Nikon Z, Panasonic G9, GH-5, Sony a6500, Sony a7rIV ect. with the proper adapter. Great lens for a mirrorless digital camera. This lens is in Ex/Ex- or 7.5/8 out of 10 cosmetic condition. No dings or dents. Decent BLACK finish with some signs of wear. Good overall condition of the lens barrel with some signs of prior use. 39mm filter size. Close focusing down to .9m. Distance scale marked in meters. Manual lens aperture. Aperture range from f/2 to f/22. Lens has been CLA'D best as possible for an almost 70 year old lens in 2024. The optics in this vintage lens have only a very few small fine coating marks on the front, and rear. These coating marks will not affect your photos. Single coated lens. Nice very clean optics for a vintage Zeiss Biotar lens. Few small dust spots inside that can be seen with a flashlight. Good lens focusing. Smooth working manual lens aperture. The optics on this lens are in very clean condition for a vintage Zeiss Biotar lens. This lens will produce nice images with good color, and contrast. Includes a rear lens cap. This vintage "classic" Zeiss Biotar 58mm f/2 lens in BLACK finish sells with no reserve at a price of $435.
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Carl
Zeiss Jena Biotar 58mm f/2 lens has a long genealogy. It was developed by the
famous lens designer Dr. Willy Walter Merté for Carl Zeiss, shortly after these
earlier lenses,
and all
three lenses used a similar formula; they were six element lenses with
asymmetrical outer elements, a variant of the Double Gauss design for higher
performance and
increased
field correction and speed. The manual Biotar 58mm model is the smallest and
most well-made of all the different models, and it closely resembles the
pre-war lens in
design
and construction. It was first manufactured from pre-war brass parts with a
hard chrome or nickel plating, and later in aluminum. It also came in a rare
black lacquer coating
with
white markings, which is the most collectible.
In this
lens, Zeiss’ optical coating became a standard option for the first time. This
was also the first model offered in M42 mount, but the vast
majority of lenses were manufactured
in Exakta mount.
A post-war lens was produced in M40 (Praktiflex) Mount, but it
looks almost identical to the pre-war version. Beware that this version of the
lens was produced just
after
WWII, and it’s very common to see small bubbles in the
glass which result from production processes. This is not a fault, and unless
they are unusually large does not affect image quality.
The bokeh
of the Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 58mm f 2 has a characteristic twirling with the
aperture wide open. In general, the lens renders very flexible, and, at the
same time, sharp image.
Back,
side and scattered light is not well handled, the use of a hood is recommended.
There are chromatic aberrations discernible in contrast images.
The
variants with multi-blade iris and instant-return apertures were produced. The
aperture had the different number of blades: 17,12,10, 8.
The Carl
Zeiss Jena Biotar 58 mm f/ 2 is fit as an everyday kit lens. It is not bad as a
portrait lens as well as an effects lens.
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