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CONTAX AX, S-Planar T* 60mm F2.8, T-MAX400
Pentax Film Duplicator
Pentax K-3II
smc DFA 100mm F2.8 Macro
The Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonar T* 28-85mm f/3.3-4.0 (MMJ) is an amazing precision work of metal and glass. This lens provides one of the most popular zoom ranges with photographers, and is also my favorite zoom range in the 35mm film world. I use this lens when I only want to carry one Carl Zeiss lens on a trip or outing and the 50/1.4 by itself won't do. The 29-75 degree angular field will cover you in most everyday situations. The f/3.3-4 maximum aperture range is not the greatest, but it is acceptable for normal use. (I generally won't use a zoom lens if the maximum aperture is smaller than f/4.) Anyway, this lens is already about maximum acceptable size and weight for hand-held use, and that is the purpose for which this lens was designed. Imagine how big and heavy the lens would be if it had larger maximum aperture! The lens is engineered in two parts; the rear barrel is fixed to the camera and includes the aperture ring. The front barrel twists for focus and slides in and out for zoom. The lens is at maximum length when it is zoomed to 28mm. For quick shooting, the lens is super convenient. For example, just set the lens aperture to minimum, and set your RX to Program mode with the electronic focusing indicator turned on in the viewfinder. Use your right hand to hold the camera and release the shutter, and use your left hand to stabilize the camera while adjusting focus and zoom. Use the split image to set the focus, and confirm with the electronic focus indicator in the viewfinder. Hit the shutter release and the built-in silky-smooth power winder takes the shot and moves to the next frame. If you are using a Contax AX, you even get autofocus with all of your CZ lenses. Normally, you just set the lens focus to infinity and the AX autofocus function takes it from there. However, this lens if one of a few CZ lenses where you need to move the lens off of infinity to autofocus at the minimum end of the range, which is not a big deal. The focus/zoom movement is silky smooth.
The CZ 28-85/3.3-4 does have some disadvantages. It does not work well on a tripod, with the single ring design and lack of a tripod socket. It can be used on a sturdy-tripod with a heavier Contax body to support and balance the lens, but however irrationally, I would avoid doing it too much to avoid stressing the bayonet and mount on the lens and camera. (As mentioned in the introduction to the Carl Zeiss lens section, the metal mounting ring on the lens is relatively thin compared with the weight of CZ lenses and can be damaged if stressed too much. Indeed, I once damaged the mount of this lens by twisting it on while it wasn't exactly perpendicular to the camera body. Another disadvantage of the single ring design is that it is difficult to adjust the focus without nudging the zoom and vice versa. When carried over your shoulder while attached to the a camera body, the lens will always zoom out to maximum wide angle due to the weight of the front barrel. I have a habit of zooming the lens all the way out before slinging the camera over my shoulder. (Don't sling it around your neck, especially when attached to an RTSIII or you may cut off all blood flow to your brain! Still, its size and weight is about the same as a modern large-aperture autofocus zoom lens.) I once had the infinity focus of this lens go out of adjustment. I couldn't turn the focusing ring far enough to focus at infinity. A trip to the authorized repair shop solved the focusing problem and above bent bayonet ring problem about 15 years ago, and the lens still appears fine to this day. One other quirk I noticed is that this zoom lens does not communicate the current value of the variable aperture to the camera. Thus if you zoom the lens all the way to telephoto while the lens is set to maximum aperture, for example, the aperture setting displayed in the viewfinder does not change to reflect the actual aperture value. Actually, it does not matter because the light meter still exposes the film properly; only the displayed value is slightly misleading.
How to carry this lens and body combination? As mentioned above, I usually use this lens when it is the only lens that I carry. For this purpose, I have a camera bag that is designed for a modern digital SLR body with a large zoom lens. I can attach this lens to any full-size Contax body and the combination fits in the bag like a glove.
The 28-85/3.3-4 lens takes large screw-in 82mm filters. Contax provided a very nice W-1 metal lens hood, which is matched to the zoom range of the lens and screws right on top of your filter. Also, Contax made a matching metal 99mm K-94 lens cap that snugly fit right on top of the W-1 lens hood. There is never any need to remove the filter and hood from the lens for storage or to use the smaller original lens cap.
(DSC_0793AC1BR40SR1 Rev1)
CONTAX AX, S-Planar T* 60mm F2.8, T-MAX400
Pentax Film Duplicator
Pentax K-3II
smc DFA 100mm F2.8 Macro
CONTAX AX, S-Planar T* 60mm F2.8, T-MAX400
Pentax Film Duplicator
Pentax K-3II
smc DFA 100mm F2.8 Macro
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Shot on Rollei Vario Chrome at EI 400 vs EI 200
Color reversal (slide) film in 35mm format
Exposure bracketing test
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Comparison at: emulsive.org/photography/35mm-format/tie-a-ribbon-01-02-r...
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Filed under: #35mm_format, #Photography, #2017_August, #35Mm_Format_Film, #Color_Reversal_Slide_Film, #Contax_AX, #EI_200, #EI_400, #EMULSIVE_Daily_Photo, #Helios_443_MC, #Macodirect, #Rollei, #Rollei_Vario_Chrome
I've dismantled my camera : the internal focusing system had failed due to a shock. The viewfinder guidance mechanism was unpluged. Not very serious.
Despite this blurred picture, I can assure you that the mechanical construction is superb. Here you see gold-plated contacts, without any wire ! In my opinion, it may be the most impressive camera, mechanically speaking.