Contax Sonnar T* 85mm f2.8 Reviews

Rating
Reviewed by:

JordanCS
( Expert)

Review Date
May 1, 2008

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Review 1 of 7

Price Paid: $230.00 from KEH

Summary:

Exceptional contrast, color and sharpness at all apertures. Rivals some of the best Canon L series primes in pure image quality. Bokeh is very nice, though of course slightly limited by the f/2.8 aperture. Lightweight and compact. I was and still am truly blown away by the image quality for such an inexpensive lens. Has quickly become one of my favorite lenses. The Zeiss classic '3D effect' I get from this lens is unrivaled by anything else in my kit.

Strengths:

Sharpness
Bold, saturated color
Exceptional contrast and clarity
Bokeh
Compact size
Fine focus control
Zeiss '3D' look

Weaknesses:

Only f/2.8
Relatively long minimum focus distance (1m)
Very long focus throw (but this contributes to focus accuracy)

Similar Products Used:

Zeiss 50mm f/1.7 Planar
Canon 100mm f/2
Canon 135mm f/2L

Customer Service:

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Rating
Reviewed by: positivefiction
(Intermediate)

Review Date
July 30, 2003

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Review 2 of 7

Price Paid: $200.00 from adorama

Summary:

i've used a ton of good lenses before, so I don't make this statement lightly... this is a REDICULOUSLY SHARP LENS!!! took some prelimenary photos, scanned the negatives with a Minolta Dual Scan III, and the photos are sharper than anything I've ever seen in my monitor! I was hoping that this lens would be the equal of the famous 90mm Sonnar G, and based off what I've see so far, this lens might even be better. ULTRA HIGH CONTRAST! The look of this lens reminds me of the Contax 45mm Planar, which is VERY high praise. A roll taken with strobes show the best sharpness I've ever attained with 35mm film. I was a bit skeptical buying this lens, with the bigger 1.4 version being the legend of the Contax family, but after the first two rolls I've seen, I'm thrilled! This lens might be the biggest sleeper in the entire Contax lineup! Hell, it might be the sharpest lens on the planet!

Strengths:

the best sharpness I've ever attained with a lens using 35mm film. color and contrast are astounding background blur is to die for! the size of a 50mm lens! much cheaper than it's larger, heavier f1.4 brother.

Weaknesses:

very high contrast lens. avoid using high contrast film, unless you want to lose the highlights or shadows. i took a roll of my dog in the shade with Kodak Gold 200, metered with Minolta Auto Meter V, and the blacks in her hair became too dark. Lower contrast film will suit this lens just fine, though.

Similar Products Used:

you name it... everything Contax G series (21mm-90mm) Contax SLR 28mm 2.8, 50mm 1.4, 135mm 2.8 Canon EOS 50mm 1.4, 100mm 2.0, 200mm 2.8, and every version of the 70-200mm L lens they make.

Customer Service:

never needed.

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Rating
Reviewed by: seano
(Intermediate)

Review Date
May 12, 2003

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
4 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Review 3 of 7

Price Paid: $0.00 from used

Summary:

I'll simply agree with the praise heaped upon this lens by others. I've gotten good results with this lens at every aperture. It seems incredibly sharp! 85mm is a very useful focal length, and the 85mm Sonnar is light and easy to carry around. Not as fast as the famous 85mm Planar, but more affordable, possibly sharper, and definitely easier to carry around all day on an Aria body. Uses 55mm size filters, so you can share them with several other lenses. I'm not an optics expert, but I suppose some of the benefits of this lens are due to the Sonnar design. For some reason, images that I've taken with this lens catch my eye, especially with a more saturated film.

Strengths:

Great sharpness, color, contrast, and image quality. Absolutely beautiful.

Weaknesses:

I believe that the nature of this lens design prohibits very fast apertures, so if you can't handle shooting at f2.8, save your money for the Planar 85mm instead. That said, this lens produces great images even wide open.

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Rating
Reviewed by: camerashark
(Expert)

Review Date
January 30, 2003

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Review 4 of 7

Price Paid: $0.00

Summary:

Light, sharp, exceptional build; a little jewel of a lens.

Strengths:

Wonderful, sharp, contrasty photos, even at full aperture--use it wide open! Well worth the money. How else do you plan to print detailed 16x20 prints from 35mm film?

Weaknesses:

Focuses to about 3 feet (wish it was a macro lens)

Similar Products Used:

zeiss 28mm f2.8 distagon, 50mm f1.4 planar, 100mm f3.5 sonnar; pentax primes (pretty good...) and nikon primes (not in the same league in terms of sharpness)

Customer Service:

Very dependable but very slow...can take weeks.

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Rating
Reviewed by: VincentD
(Intermediate)

Review Date
November 20, 2002

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5,
3 votes

Review 5 of 7

Price Paid: $300.00 from smile photo (demo)

Summary:

This is a lovely lens. Sharp, with nice contrast and so good for portraits. I purchased a demo model years ago. Mine is the ae I'm not sure if they ever made an MM version of this lens.

Strengths:

Sharp as a tack, a very good portrait lens -its small size makes it easy to carry and use.

Weaknesses:

None

Similar Products Used:

Yashica

Customer Service:

Never Used

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