Zeiss Contax - Haze?

S

Scotty Fox

Member
Hi All,

In the process of purchasing Zeiss Contax AEG lenses, to then Cine Mod them. It's been going pretty good, but I've received one that I'm not too sure about.

A 28mm.

Upon inspecting the inside of the lens using a high powered flashlight, I saw something that could be the beginnings of haze, dirt, something else?

I've attached a photo for reference (if anyone has any expertise in this area), I would appreciate your input. It's only around the outer edge of the inside of the glass. Hasn't encroached on the center yet or near it really.

It was advertised as:

＜Optical system＞
There is no scratch.
There is no fungus.
There is no haze.
There is no balsam separation.
There is no dirt.
There is a tiny dust.

I'm okay with the dust (seems more on the photo than to the naked eye), but I am concerned about what's circled in red. I'm debating whether to return it as I'm worried this will be something that worsens over time, and wasn't specified in the listing on Ebay.

ZeissContax28mm.jpg

Thanks!
 
It might be that the black paint on the edges of the elements has started to fall off, the paint is there to prevent flare. Can't really know until the lens is disassembled for inspection.
 
It is odd for Zeiss, but not unheard of in a lens that is more than 50 years old. Not sure how old your lens is, but I wouldn't be very concerned if everything else works properly. Probably several places around the world that can take it apart, clean everything, and paint the element edges again for not much money.

I've had a bunch of 1950's Canon Serenar lenses shed their paint, and fixed them as well. The biggest problems from this is the ever increasing black dust that will build up in the lens as the paint continues to degrade.

It's also possible that you have a bunch of oil that has evaporated from the internal surfaces and deposited on the lens elements, this increases haze. I'm not positive but it looks like there are a few small blotches from this happening. If it looks like a decent lens, and you got it for a good price, have it serviced. If the price was high and you still have a return window, you can think about returning it and trying to buy another.
 
Yeah these are old lenses. If you do not see anything in the image, I would not worry. (leave it with caps off in the sun, if there is any fungus it will die with the UV rays).
 
Polaroid22 said:
(leave it with caps off in the sun, if there is any fungus it will die with the UV rays).
Click to expand...

Not necessarily true.

Different types of fungus can be UV resistant, and can etch the glass of lenses.

They should be killed and residue cleaned before they damage the elements.
 
Thankfully I'm 98% certain that this is NOT fungus (above image). Seen a lot of fungus on past lenses and I'm pretty familiar with what it looks like in several stages from starting to wrecked. Also familiar with the damage it leaves behind, wish there were more places that can strip/polish the coatings, and apply a new coating. Even a single layer of AR would be better than nothing and most of these older lenses only had a single layer to begin with. Only a couple people offering this in the USA, and they mostly specialize is specific families of lenses. It is often more cost effective to buy another lens than to have one repaired.
 
Thanks for the feedback all.

Yeah I'm going to be taking these to Duclos and have them evaluated before the Cine Mod is done... they said they send it out for service if a lens needs it.. I imagine with their reputation, they have a good place to get these lenses cleaned up...

That being said I'll have to see how much they would charge, then let the seller know about the defect (which wasn't in the listing), and see if he'll give me a discount, or if not, I'll just return it.

Anybody have an idea how much the going rate is to open up a Zeiss Contax lens and repair (if it is paint, grease or grime) that's causing this?

Just a pain to have to return this and begin searching for another 28mm AEG which seem to be difficult to find in any good condition for a reasonable price.
 
I would have to go through my records to see what it cost to have my Contax lenses gone through, as my memory is lacking at the moment.

That being said, I told myself I would never sell mine, but If someone wanted to purchase a complete kit rather than one of's, I would be willing to sell my set.

18mm f4.0
25mm f2.8
28mm f2.8
28mm f2.0
35mm f2.8
35mm f1.4
45mm f2.8
50mm f1.4
50mm f1.4
60mm f2.8 macro
85mm f1.4
100mm f2.0
135mm f2.8
200mm f3.5
Mutar I 2X
 
Mark Hama has a reputation for fixing several different types of cameras and lenses, probably a good place to send your stuff.
 
Just heard back from Mark,

Said he can't repair lens coating problem.. looks like it's to Plan B... whatever that is.. maybe just returning! ugh...
 
David W. Jones said:
I would have to go through my records to see what it cost to have my Contax lenses gone through, as my memory is lacking at the moment.

That being said, I told myself I would never sell mine, but If someone wanted to purchase a complete kit rather than one of's, I would be willing to sell my set.

18mm f4.0
25mm f2.8
28mm f2.8
28mm f2.0
35mm f2.8
35mm f1.4
45mm f2.8
50mm f1.4
50mm f1.4
60mm f2.8 macro
85mm f1.4
100mm f2.0
135mm f2.8
200mm f3.5
Mutar I 2X
Click to expand...

Shoot David, unfortunately I've already purchased several lenses... looking now for the 28 AEG f2... wouldn't want to part with that one would ya? haha..
 
Don't want to break up the set. It took some time to assemble it.


If it were me, I'd return it for a refund and find a better example.

If you are wanting to drop money on it then you might contact Stuart at Focus Optics.
 
Hard to be certain from a single image, but it does not look like a coating issue. To me it looks like a little oil deposit and some missing paint. Before you return it, look around for a replacement and see what it will cost. A CLA is going to be at least $100, so maybe factor that into the price of a replacement.
 
Thanks for the referral. I contacted Stuart to see what he says.

Greg - Yeah I'll pursue this one and see what it costs to fix it up.. If the lens is in good working order otherwise maybe it's worth it.. If no one can give me a number to fix then I'll probably have to return it.. not looking to sink into a massive hole cost wise for one lens.
 
Do you have any local old school photography stores around? One look through the lens and they should be able to tell you if there damage beyond what a reasonable repair would cost.

Truthfully, I doubt you will ever see an artifact from that edge issue, it looks pretty benign to me, I've had much worse in my hands where you can see a plain white edge. Also note that not every element requires the edge paint, only certain parts of the light path even bounce a ray to the edge. Wish I remembered which parts require this so I could provide the full information, but I just don't remember. Often cemented groups will get painted, and it looks like this is a cemented group. Either way, I think it would be fine to use unless you are seeing a flare in the blackest portions of the image, and may not be visible unless a very bright subject is in view or a light source shining into the lens. In short, based on the image above, this doesn't look bad at all. Would need to have it in my hands to tell you more.
 
Greg_E said:
Do you have any local old school photography stores around? One look through the lens and they should be able to tell you if there damage beyond what a reasonable repair would cost.

Truthfully, I doubt you will ever see an artifact from that edge issue, it looks pretty benign to me, I've had much worse in my hands where you can see a plain white edge. Also note that not every element requires the edge paint, only certain parts of the light path even bounce a ray to the edge. Wish I remembered which parts require this so I could provide the full information, but I just don't remember. Often cemented groups will get painted, and it looks like this is a cemented group. Either way, I think it would be fine to use unless you are seeing a flare in the blackest portions of the image, and may not be visible unless a very bright subject is in view or a light source shining into the lens. In short, based on the image above, this doesn't look bad at all. Would need to have it in my hands to tell you more.
Click to expand...

Turned out to in fact be the wearing of paint off one of the elements... I contacted the seller to see if there's anything he'll do about it since it wasn't in the description or photos.. but I'll have to decide to pay and get it repaired.. or just roll with it and use it till it starts causing problems as you mentioned Greg. Or just return it depending on what seller says.
 
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