Monday, June 7, 2021

Zeiss JENA Flektogon 25mm f4

 

While looking for a 35mm f2.4 version of a Cold War era East German Zeiss JENA lens, I happened upon a bargain-priced vintage Zeiss Jena Flektogon 25mm f4 at the online lens retailer KEH.com. So I jumped on it.

Known for its sharp images, beautifully saturated colors and appropriate contrast, the Zeiss Jena Flektogon lens draw attention.  This 25mm is less talked-about then its sisters the 35mm f2.4 and 2.8 lens versions.

It was a M42-mount version, serial number 7135573 with no optical defects in very good cosmetic and working order.  Using a M42-to-NX mount adapter, the lens looked quite handsome on my Samsung NX1 digital camera (see photos below):

 


This lens has a front lens threaded filter size of 77mm.  Due to the lens's focal length of  25mm [37.5mm 'crop factor' equivalent on the NX1's APS-C sensor], I figured that since I would use this lens primarily for street photography, a circular-polarizing lens filter would help with bright sun and accentuate cloudy skies.

Some basic historical/technical information, the Zeiss Jena Flektogon 25mm f4 is provided below by allphotolenses.com/

 Source: http://allphotolenses.com/lenses/item/c_2177.html

The following photographs are presented 'as-taken' - handheld, without in-camera filters or effects and no post adjustments.  They are my first pictures with this lens.

The photo below includes a 9X magnification to illustrate the sharpness of the lens. 

F-11  /  ISO200  / EV 0  /  1/80sec
 
I find that the photograph photo below of the post office has a nice gradual transition between the light and more shadowed areas.  It's attractive.
 

F-11  /  ISO200  / EV 0  /  1/80sec

              F-8  /  ISO800  / EV 0  /  1/80sec

F-5.6 /  ISO800  / EV 0  /  1/80sec

 F-4  /  ISO200  / EV 0  /  1/250sec

 For the photo below I switched to the monochrome camera setting on the NX1 (aka "Classic")

F4-5.6  /  ISO3200  / EV +0.6  /  1/40sec

F-4  /  ISO400  / EV 0  /  1/125sec

The photographs above were the first pictures I had the opportunity to take with this lens and so far the results are quite good.  I would like to experiment more with a full open aperture to further explore the bokeh of this lens and under different lighting conditions.  I would like to get a few indoor shots. 

 Technical drawing of this lens found on the Internet.  Only difference is the 'Exacta" mount.

Learn more about this and other Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon lenses:

"Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon, Wide Angle Lens History and Review" by Cheyenne Morrison. An informative post on the Zeiss Jena lenses can be found here:

https://casualphotophile.com/2019/04/02/zeiss-flektogon-lens-review/

Further observations from  http://www.legacylens.eu/lens-database/german-lenses/carl-zeiss-jena/

"..The 25mm f4 Carl Zeiss Flektogon is a rare wide angle lens that's very hard to find today, especially in good condition. It is the first of a wide angle lens series that continued with the 20mm f4 and f2.8 MC Flektogons. In terms of design, the 25mm Flektogon represents the starting point from which the series would later develop. Its optics is good, but remember that this is an old single coated lens, so you shouldn't expect the same raw performance that you'd extract from a newer multi-coated version.  The 25mm f4 Carl Zeiss Flektogon has a minimum focusing distance of 0.2m and it weighs around 350g. Filter diameter: 77mm."

Please leave a comment with any questions or to further the discussion.  Thanks, Bart