Carl Zeiss Jena 135mm f2.8

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Hi

I have been offered this lens Carl Zeiss Jena 135mm f2.8 for £20 and was wondering if it is any good?

Some of the example photos online look really good.

Is this a manual focus only lens?

Thanks, Vicky :clap:
 
If it`s one of the old m42 east german lens, I suppose it`s worth £20, but thats it.
 
I'm after one of these and they have been going for £55-£65 on ebay so if it's all working then go for it as they are a very nice lens indeeeeeeeeed!
 
If it`s one of the old m42 east german lens, I suppose it`s worth £20, but thats it.

Actually these lenses are very highly sought after. I don't know of a f2.8 version but the f3.5 is worth at least £50, if you look on evilbay they can go for well over £100 each.

It will be manual focus/manual aperture only but don't let that put you off, its worth trying, but doesn't suit everyone. You will need an adapter to make it fit your camera, I don't know about other makes but my M42 to Canon Eos adaptors cost £1.49 each from Amazon.
 
Cool, well I can try it out for £20, not much to spend and read reviews saying it's pretty good, worth a try :)
 
I have one, and its a lovely lens. Doesn't get used much, because I dont use long lens much - but lovely nevertheless.

For 20 quids its a steal
 
To get the best out of it, you should make sure the dioptre adjustment on your viewfinder is bang on. It can take lots of practice to get a good focusing technique but when you crack it its well worth it. Have a look at some of the manual focus groups on Flickr, there are some amazing photographs taken with these old lenses. (and then theres mine too :( )
 
Post some pics when you get it!! :thumbs:
 
It's not a great lens as these things go, but you really can't go wrong for £20. Zeiss Jena is East German, not the much more desirable West German side. It was split after WWII.

You will need an adapter to fit it to any current camera, like this http://www.srb-griturn.com/m42-lenses-on-minolta-afsony-alpha-234-p.asp Focus will be manual of course, and also the aperture control will be a manual too, which is a faff, but can be done provided the lens has an auto/manual switch. Check the handbook for manual (stop-down) aperture metering and make sure you can do it with an A200. I wouldn't buy it if your camera cannot do this. Maybe somebody could confirm?
 
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