Review 1 of 8
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$0.00 Summary: I'm in love with this lens.
It's very sharp and contrasty and has a focal length that is appropriate for a wide variety of situations.
The lens particularly impresses me with its sharpness at all apertures. I got this lens with a Contax Aria and they make a first-rate combination for travel. This little 45mm Tessar has produced so many "keepers" for me that I feel like it is becoming indispensable. I have bigger zooms that cover the 45mm range, but the color rendition, contrast and sharpness of the Contax 45mm Tessar seem to be the most satisfying. Strengths: Size, weight, optical quality, build quality. Weaknesses: Close focusing--the lens cannot focus closer than approx. 2 feet (as compared to the typical 1.5 feet of many standard lenses). However, I have gotten around this by carrying around a medium strength close-up filter with me and it works very well for close-ups of flowers, still life compositions, etc. In fact, with the contrasty quality of the 45mm Tessar behind the close-up filter, it seems that the results are usually superior to those other standard lenses that can focus at closer distances. I'd like to see Contax bundle a compact hood for this lens similar to the one that comes with Nikon's 45mm P lens. Similar Products Used: Nikon 45mm (also very nice and a winner for people shots, but doesn't seem to be quite as contrasty or sharp as the Contax (Zeiss).
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