Duke M.
Veteran
Someone please tell me if they've had a similar experience.
I've been looking at and playing with some used Zeiss lenses. I accept that Multi Coated lenses have less lens flare. No disagreements there.
However, when comparing an older single coated zebra lens with a newer MC (Multi Coated) lens the single coated lens seemed just a little sharper. I'm not saying the MC lens wasn't sharp, it was. It just seemed that the old Jena DDR (East Germany) Zebra lens was extra sharp. (They are called zebra because of the black and white stripes on the rings.)
PRO: I was interested in the Jena DDR version because it was so cheap, has a really long focus throw (~300-320 degrees) and in this case looked like its brand new even though the serial number indicates manufacture between 1970 and 1975. And really the lens flare on the DDR version isn't bad at all. Hey, that's what matt boxes are for.
CON: I've seen some of these lenses with poor finishes and rough mechanics. Caveat Emptor. Make sure someone who knows what to look for examines them.
[History Note: There were at least two Carl Zeiss factories that became separated when the Berlin wall went up in 1945. The machines, designs and workers stayed at the Jena factory in East Germany. Under communism QC sometimes suffered. In the 1970's they realized that these were a valuable export and tightened up QC a bit.
On another note the Carl Zeiss 180mm Sonnar F2.8 lens was developed specifically to film the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Even during the cold war the DDR version of the 180mm Sonnar was listed in the West German Zeiss catalog. Its an impressive, and huge piece of glass. Sonnar means sun.]
I've been looking at and playing with some used Zeiss lenses. I accept that Multi Coated lenses have less lens flare. No disagreements there.
However, when comparing an older single coated zebra lens with a newer MC (Multi Coated) lens the single coated lens seemed just a little sharper. I'm not saying the MC lens wasn't sharp, it was. It just seemed that the old Jena DDR (East Germany) Zebra lens was extra sharp. (They are called zebra because of the black and white stripes on the rings.)
PRO: I was interested in the Jena DDR version because it was so cheap, has a really long focus throw (~300-320 degrees) and in this case looked like its brand new even though the serial number indicates manufacture between 1970 and 1975. And really the lens flare on the DDR version isn't bad at all. Hey, that's what matt boxes are for.
CON: I've seen some of these lenses with poor finishes and rough mechanics. Caveat Emptor. Make sure someone who knows what to look for examines them.
[History Note: There were at least two Carl Zeiss factories that became separated when the Berlin wall went up in 1945. The machines, designs and workers stayed at the Jena factory in East Germany. Under communism QC sometimes suffered. In the 1970's they realized that these were a valuable export and tightened up QC a bit.
On another note the Carl Zeiss 180mm Sonnar F2.8 lens was developed specifically to film the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Even during the cold war the DDR version of the 180mm Sonnar was listed in the West German Zeiss catalog. Its an impressive, and huge piece of glass. Sonnar means sun.]