MC Pancolar 1.8 / 50 Carl Zeiss Jena DDR (UPDATED) review

According provided by lens MC PANCOLAR 1,8 / 50 CARL ZEISS JENA DDR many thanks to readers of Radozhiva.

MC PANCOLAR 1,8 / 50 CARL ZEISS JENA DDR

MC PANCOLAR 1,8 / 50 CARL ZEISS JENA DDR. The lens is shown in film mirror Nikon EL2 camera. Installed with an adapter M42-Nikon F

In short

MC PANCOLAR 1,8 / 50 CARL ZEISS JENA DDR is a very nice classic fifty dollars from East Germany. Nowadays it can act as a good creative lens. It has a higher aftermarket price and a stronger reputation than many older 50 / 1.8 manual XNUMXs.

Please note that there were quite a few versions and sub-versions of this lens. Basically, there are two key ones: ordinary (without multi-coating), which is also called 'zebra', and such as shown in this review.

MC PANCOLAR 1,8 / 50 CARL ZEISS JENA DDR

MC PANCOLAR 1,8 / 50 CARL ZEISS JENA DDR

Main technical specifications of MC PANCOLAR 1,8 / 50 CARL ZEISS JENA DDR:

Review Instance Name MC PANCOLAR 1,8 / 50 CARL ZEISS JENA DDR 9831353 and 9830405 (there were several lenses in the review)
Basic properties
  • M42x1 / 45.5 - common landing thread 'M42'
  • manual focus only
  • aperture control ringas well as semi-automatic iris control using the ring aperture and pusher aperture cameras that have it
  • Aperture Control Switch
  • MC (Multi Coated) - special optical coating
  • DDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik) - German Democratic Republic (GDR)
  • lens suitable for full-frame cameras
  • metal case
Front Filter Diameter 49 mm, metal thread for filters
Focal length 50 mm
Zoom ratio 1 x
Designed by for film cameras with a frame size of 24 x 36
Number of aperture blades 6 non-rounded petals
Tags focus distance scale in meters and feet. The depth of field scale for F / 4, 8, 11, 16, 22. The label for working in the infrared spectrum (red four on the depth of field scale).
Diaphragm from f / 1.8 to f / 22. The lens has an aperture control ring. On the ring there are labels for F / 1.8, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22. You can set one additional value between each pair of numbers. There are two intermediate values ​​between F / 1.8 and F / 2.8. The aperture ring has a switch for choosing between manual or automatic aperture setting.
MDF 0.35 m
The weight 250 g (my measurements show 232 grams)
Optical design 6 elements in 5 groups

Pancolar 50 1.8 optical scheme

Lens hood Threaded, screwed into the front filter thread
Manufacturer country DDR
Period ?
Price About 80 cu for used option.

Prices for modern Carl Ziss lenses can be found here.

MC PANCOLAR 1,8 / 50 CARL ZEISS JENA DDR to the touch well assembled, has full metal case. The focus ring does not have rubberized inserts, metal with a characteristic anti-slip corrugation, rotates approximately 330 degrees (almost a full turn) The ring travel is smooth and pleasant. The original front cover without latches, just snug against the frame of the case, it can easily be removed with a random movement. During focusing, the front retractable body does not rotate. Focusing occurs by moving the entire lens block. The front lens is deeply recessed in the frame of the housing.

A nice little thing is a fairly small MDF, which is only 35 centimeters. Usually fifty dollars have an MDF of 40 to 60 cm.

At different times in the review, I had several of these lenses, some of which suffered a breakdown of the diaphragm mechanism. Some users claim that this is a common problem for this lens.

MC PANCOLAR 1,8 / 50 CARL ZEISS JENA DDR

MC PANCOLAR 1,8 / 50 CARL ZEISS JENA DDR

Sample Photos

Sample photos on Nikon D90, MC PANCOLAR 1,8 / 50 was installed using the adapter M42-Nikon F

MC PANCOLAR 1,8 / 50 CARL ZEISS JENA DDR

MC PANCOLAR 1,8 / 50 CARL ZEISS JENA DDR

Comments on this post do not require registration. Anyone can leave a comment.

Material prepared Arkady Shapoval.

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Comments: 104, on the topic: MC Pancolar 1.8 / 50 review Carl Zeiss Jena DDR (UPDATED)

  • Alexe de paris

    Photos in the topic! The charm!

  • Lennaganci

    Not familiar with a short review and without conclusions, which was especially disappointing)

  • Novel

    Vsim privit! On the Canon 600D, the mirror is not reachable?

  • Alex

    Luxurious lens. I’ve been shooting them for about 5 years now. Sometimes in the bokeh (in large-sized autumn trees) some kind of magical space arises, living its own life. As a portrait, he is also good, very voluminous. But with the mechanics, yes, I went over my own, the diaphragm drive and, by the way, the grease on the diaphragm blades.

  • Ilya

    examples of pancolar (zebra) on film
    canon 3000qd, tasma film nk-3 (bw)

    • Ilya

      and color, svema ds-5m

  • Alexander

    Can I use it on a Sony a77? And what kind of adapter is needed?

    • B. R. P.

      The M42 adapter is your mount.

  • Stanislas

    Is there a comparative test with the illegitimate brother Pentacon 1.8 / 50 Multi Coated?

    • Rodion

      Pentacon Pancolaru is not a brother at all. Completely different lenses: the Pentacon is a Meyer's development, while the Pancolar 50 / 1.8 grew out of the 50/2 pancolar, which in turn came from the 58/2 biotar (see the history of the Pancolar lens in the 50/2 version review).
      In short, the Pancolar 50 / 1.8 is a significantly better optical lens, which also causes a noticeable difference in the bokeh of these two glasses, for example.

      • Stanislas

        Clearly, I will know, since I took apart the lens from the Pentacon MC 1.8 50 review, it’s rare rubbish inside.

  • Victoria

    Please tell me! Yesterday I bought Praktica Super TL with Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar 1.8 / 50 mm lens. The shutter speeds are triggered, the film shakes, but the focusing ring is tight and when I focus on the viewfinder, soap is not visible, 100% of a clear image is not visible, only it becomes a little clearer when I set the desired distance. Tell me, is there a problem with the lens or with the camera itself? And in the repair they will be able to suggest something or do something?

  • Tony

    I have this lens and it never fails to deliver

  • Dddd

    Hello! What is the best wide-angle panacolar in your opinion? Thank you.

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Are there pankolar-shiriki?

  • Apptus

    This seems to be the same lens. Just the markings are a little different
    https://www.avito.ru/sankt-peterburg_pushkin/fototehnika/carl_zeiss_jena_50mm_1.8_ddr_p_3667197249
    And in the fifth photo you can see 3 pins (the adapter may be screwed on)

  • Eugene

    Hello. I'm interested in the following question. Is there a fundamental difference between the lens from the review and its modification, which contains the word “auto”? I would appreciate your answer!

    • Arkady Shapoval

      in terms of image quality - no

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English-version of this article https://radojuva.com/en/2011/04/obzor-pancolar-50-czj-otzuvu/

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