For the opportunity lens review Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 2,8 / 35 Many thanks to Igor Tihan.
Review Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 2,8 / 35 (Zebra, M42)
TTX: Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 2,8 / 35
Focal length: 35mm
Number of aperture blades: 5 pieces
Fit thread: M42
Optical design: 6 elements in 5 groups
The weight: 200g
Front Filter Diameter: 49mm
Diaphragm: F / 2.8-F / 22.
Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 2,8 / 35 is a wide-angle lens for 35mm film cameras. Will work great on modern full frame digital cameras made in DDR. When used on cropped cameras, the lens almost loses all its charm. On Canon 350D, with which I took test shots, EGF will be equal to 56mm.
View of a Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon F2.8 35mm digital camera lens
I met Flektogon 2,8 / 35 in white, black and black and white (zebra) frames, lenses exist for M42 thread, Exakta mount. Who knows which mod was the most successful, unsubscribe in the comments.
Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 2,8 / 35. My copy is very shabby.
The Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 2,8 / 35 lens has one feature, it can focus very, very close, up to 18 centimeters. With such a minimum focusing distance, the lens shoots macro well in the 1: 2 mast, while using cropped cameras, the increase is even stronger. When focusing on MDF, the trunk of the lens is noticeably lengthened.
Lens view Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 2,8 35
When focusing, the front lens does not rotate, the focus ring rotates smoothly almost all 360 degrees. Focusing ring metal. The lens has a depth of field scale for F / 4, 8, 11, 16, 22.
Enlightenment of the rear lens of the Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon F2,8 35mm lens. View of aperture blades
The blinking aperture of the lens consists of 5 petals. I met specimens and with 6 aperture blades. Near the aperture control ring there is a button for aperture operation mode. On my copy, the aperture device works only from F / 2.8 to F / 5.6, and the aperture mode button stuck.
Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon F2,8 35mm. It seems that the front lens of the lens is completely without enlightenment.
Sample Photos
All photos taken on Canon 350D... RAW -> JPEG with auto levels.
How to use with modern cameras?
Lenses with mounting thread M42 (M42 X 1 / 45.5), such as the lens from this review, are very easy to use on almost any modern digital camera (both SLR and mirrorless), for this it is enough to choose the right adapter (adapter). You do not need to carry out any additional steps to modify the lens.
The cheapest adapters can be found at Aliexpress.com... There are adapters (adapters) with a chip that provide more convenience during shooting, usually chips are used to confirm focus and / or metering exposure, and form the correct EXIF. The chip does not affect the image quality in any way.
For some SLR cameras (for example, with the Nikon F-mount), you need to use adapters with a corrective lens, which allows you to focus correctly at all focusing distances. For any mirrorless cameras, such a lens is not needed, and the adapter is a simple decorated hollow metal tube with an appropriate mount.
For SLR cameras
- Canon: For cameras Canon EOS with bayonet mount EF / EF-S need an M42-Canon EOS adapter, such an adapter with a chip can be found herewithout chip here.
- NIKON: For cameras Nikon DX / FXas well as for cameras Fujifilm и Kodak with a Nikon F mount, you need an M42-Nikon F adapter, you can buy such an adapter without a lens and a chip here, with a lens without a chip herewith chip without lens here, with lens and chip here. Why a lens? Why chip?
- PENTAX: For Pentax cameras with K mount, you need an M42-Pentax K adapter, you can buy such an adapter here.
- SONY/MINOLTA: For cameras with a Sony / Minolta A mount, you need the M42-Sony A adapter, you can find such an adapter without a chip at this linkwith a chip at this link.
- OLYMPUS/PANASONIC/LEICA: For cameras with a 4/3 bayonet mount (not to be confused with Micro 4/3!) You need an M42-4 / 3 adapter, you can buy such an adapter here.
For mirrorless cameras
- SONY: For cameras with 'E'/'FE' mount series SonyNEX и Sony Alpha you need an adapter M42-Sony E (aka M42-Sony Nex), you can find it at this link. An autofocus adapter is also available for these cameras. Techart PRO Leica M - Sony E Autofocus Adapterwhich can be found at this link.
- OLYMPUS / PANASONIC / KODAK / XIAOMI: For cameras with a bayonet mount Micro 4/3 (Micro 4:3) you need an adapter M42-Micro 4/3, you can find it at this link.
- CANON M: For cameras with Canon EF-M mount need adapter M42-Canon M, it can be found at this link.
- CANON R and RF-S: For cameras with Canon RF mount need adapter M42-Canon R, it can be found at this link.
- Nikon 1: For cameras Nikon 1 Series need adapter M42-Nikon 1, you can find it at this link.
- Nikon Z: For cameras Nikon Z series (FX/DX) need an adapter M42-Nikon Z, it can be found at this link.
- FUJIFILM X: For cameras with mount X need an M42-Fuji X adapter, you can find it at this link.
- FUJIFILM GFX: For medium format cameras G-mount need M42-Fuji GFX adapter, you can find it at this link.
- SAMSUNG: For cameras with NX mount, you need an M42-Samsung NX adapter, you can find it at this link. There are no adapters for the NX mini camera yet.
- PENTAX: For Q-mount cameras, you need an M42-Pentax Q adapter, you can find it at this link.
- SIGMA / PANASONIC / LEICA: For cameras with L mount you need an M42-Leica L adapter, you can find it at this link.
- LEICA: For cameras with a bayonet mount Leica M need adapter M42-L / M, you can find it at this link.
If you have any questions on compatibility and adapters - ask in the comments (comments do not require any registration at all).
Personal impressions
The lens is peculiar. It is very difficult to get into the zone of sharpness in the area of infinity, also at infinity, as I did not try, I did not get a single more or less sharp picture at F / 2.8, it only turned out to be a mess. Perhaps I did not get the most successful instance. But the lens holds back light well. The lens is well suited for close-ups, though sharpness on open apertures suffers a lot. When shooting macro lens gives a very interesting, nice bokeh.
Dimensions Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon F2.8 35mm and Mir-1 2,8 / 37
Catalog of modern Carl Zeiss lenses can look at this link.
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Conclusions
The Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 2,8 / 35 is an interesting 35mm prime lens with macro capability. Otherwise, nothing special, perhaps I have not the most successful copy in my review.
Material prepared Arkady Shapoval. Training/Consultations | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Telegram
I use this lens on Nikon 7000 with an adapter without a lens. What can I say? ... Since it was not possible to focus beyond 1-2, I could not fully test it. But at the focal length at which I could see it ... I will say this, that for portraits there is nothing special, and this is natural, all the same 35 mm ... BUT on macro I can tell you despite the same 35 mm .... this is the best that I have seen and tried ... very impressed and continues to impress quite softly and artistically! Thanks for the review, so not only I liked it on the macro. Objective opinion has a place to be!
Igor, it would be very interesting to see a comparison with our World-1 in the same conditions.
people! need help. maybe someone has a link to a manual for the device or repair of the diaphragm block of a given lens. rummaged all the Internet. I can not find. There are 2 springs in the lens. interested in the one that is mounted INSIDE the diaphragm block. I will be very grateful for the help.
thanks to this video figured out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0T3_UjICrg
I already offered Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 4/20 for the test. but probably not noticed or not interesting. But just in case, I’ll duplicate. Best regards, Sergei.
Send, it will be interesting.
I'll send it by the weekend. But according to the latest reviews in nete, he became a video idol.
Thank you very much for your review! it would be great to read about red mc flectogon 2.4 / 35 :)
You definitely came across an unusable lens. Unfortunately, I’m in Russia, therefore it’s almost impossible to send a workable version of Flektogon for review, but in reality this lens is noticeably better than its Soviet Mir-1 reincarnation and has very high sharpness and detail with little, especially for wide-angle, XA and nice warm color reproduction .
Here's an example from Flektogon. I have an earlier one than Zebra - with a volcanic focusing ring and a 6-blade diaphragm already with a "jump rope".
And more
Well, open
Well and to the heap
I fully support Dmitry on all counts! As for the complexity of focusing, the lens is probably just badly worn out the focuser assembly. This is not difficult to determine if you try to "wobble" the focusing ring. For a while, it helps to eliminate the sagging of the trunk by pressing the focusing ring towards the camera during focusing and shooting, but this is an extreme case. Previously, this problem was successfully "treated" in Remtochmechanika on Uritskogo, 1. As for the image, this Flektogon was the best average (in terms of FR) wide-angle of the Soviet era for 35mm SLR cameras. After all, nikkors, minolts, pentaxes, etc., for most of the citizens of the USSR were simply an unattainable dream. I paid a very “bad” sum for Vivitar 28 \ 2,5 at that time. Many thanks to Arkady for the review!
As for the image, you can give the GDRivsky about, the active, what kind of a crash 40 rocky ago?)))) It’s too light, it’s too far to the ninishnaya optics!
Maybe to the present and far, but the lens is quite workable and after half a century. And I gave the examples of the photo above.
I feel that you are no expert. Since then, for your information, no one has invented any other optical schemes and modern ones differ from those only in the presence of autofocus. The only problem with this glass is its lousy condition.
That is, the autofocus motor made modern 35 mm lenses a couple of sides lighter than this flektogon and a couple of goals higher in optical quality?
Well, what are you talking about? So far, it's hard to find something better than Zeiss.
Judging by the photo, nothing special. The drawing looks a bit like Helios ...
Then on Mir-1 rather))
... then - who looks like whom? :)))
Maybe rather the opposite? And if you consider that Helios is copied from CZ biotar, and the world from CZ zonnar, then who looks like whom?
On the APS-C matrix (Sony a58) was not impressed: https://yadi.sk/d/tA5VqlmFv3H35
... an interesting 35mm prime lens with macro capability. Otherwise, nothing special ...
Strange wording.
So "interesting" or "nothing special"?
So against sun
and near field
The photos seem flat to me. I don’t like this bokeh and reminds me of Jupiter 8. The whale lens is quite suitable against this background.
Jupiter 8 is not the lousiest Soviet lens. In addition, the Jupiter scheme is a zonnar, and the German counterpart is definitely an excellent lens. Jupiter, compared to the same helios, has excellent pictures.
Recently purchased, went through. The same problem with sharpness on the open and from the aperture. I adjusted the sharpness with the front lens unit: slightly twisted, by about 0.75 revolutions of the thread (I picked it up experimentally) and locked it with a plug or, as it is called, the extreme nut with the name. The diaphragm wedges in open states, if the posterior lens unit is pinched. It is treated by letting it go slightly. There was also a dent in the thread under the filter - manually rolled with the back of an ordinary marker.
Love this lens. I shoot on Nikon D750, it has a focusing area of 2-3cm, but the field of focus is small, of course. Boke really likes it. Here is an example photo
@Tatyana
nice pictures