Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f/2.8 : Specifications and Opinions

Reviews

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The following opinions have been automatically translated with Google Translate.

Antonio.bartalozzi

sent on 22 Aprile 2025

Pros: Soft blur, color rendering, micro-contrast, very smooth focusing, look (aluminum version) super cool

Cons: Not too bright, suffers quite a bit from backlight

Opinion: I bought this lens by seeing a few video reviews at a good price. Being in the period when I used brighter lenses such as the helios and the super takumar 50mm f1.4 I left it aside a bit. In recent days I have picked it up again and I must say that it left me surprised. It has perhaps one of the most elegant, soft, and painterly bokeh among my vintage lenses. At close range it is very beautiful on flowers and nature and even closing the aperture a little (at f4 or f5.6) it still maintains a very soft and pleasant blur. Also nice for portraits with soft or sharp light (if not backlit, as it suffers a bit like all old lenses). I am very satisfied, it is a very poetic lens.

Alex170290

sent on 15 Aprile 2021

Pros: construction, sharpness, blurry, bokeh, colors

Cons: maybe the passage of the diaphragm is a little strange..

Opinion: it's an optics that returns very natural colors, with the best bokeh ever seen. 12 slats of the diaphragm guys, the bokeh is a booling ball. Sharpness is great. the construction made in Germany is beautiful, all in metallic silver. The only drawback in my focus is very hard, so you have to crack it a little bit. It's for still photos! it's beautiful aesthetically, sexyy

EnricoGiuliani

sent on 10 Maggio 2020

Pros: Very compact and light, remarkable quality even for the present day, beautiful bokeh even with "soap bubbles", excellent readability of lights and shadows, very intense colors.

Cons: Nothing, given the palious cost for a goal!

Opinion: Recently bought, in black version with screw attack 42, at a few tens of euros, surprised me pleasantly. High resolution especially central but starting at f/5.6, under that diaphragm is relatively soft. It provides excellent results in closed diaphragms macro shots (mounted inverted or with classic extension tubes), for its performance in the finest details. A miscousation for a few euros that pays off a lot in terms of satisfaction!

Rolubich

sent on 10 Maggio 2020

Pros: Construction, lens and historical scheme, color quality, blurry, low cost

Cons: Yield to TA

Opinion: Historic CZJ lens with equally historic Tessar optical scheme. Mine is the aluminum version with 12-bladed diaphragm, multilayer coating ("red T") and M42 attachment. At TA it has a rather weak resolution and contrast but it is still very usable even on dense sensors, and then the low contrast to TA can also be considered an advantage. At f/4 it improves a lot and at f/5.6 excellent resolution and contrast, this in the center. It suffers a bit in the peripheral areas, like all the goals of the era that I tried, but at f/11 achieves a good uniformity on the whole image and you can also take landscape photos with good results. Beautiful colors and good blurred, especially in comparison with another 50mm vintage. Moderate vignette and almost no distortion. We add the very low cost and easy availability and I do not know what you can ask for more.

Chebeltempo

sent on 23 Marzo 2020

Pros: Size, color rendering, price

Cons: Adjustment diaphragm

Opinion: Taken for a loaf of bread the ALU version. What about... Excellent optics, exciting color rendering, good sharpness and blurry really very nice. Very compact and at the same time solid and well-crafted optics. You just have to get used to the diaphragm preset system (it was stuck in my model, then unlocked with Zippo gasoline and lots of patience). Excellent rendering in macro images, also using extension tubes, not having the rear diaphragm activation pad, present on many M42 optics. As far as I'm concerned, considering also the cost and age of the project, it is a very advisable optics, which can not miss in the park of a vintage enthusiast.

Everlastingz

sent on 08 Novembre 2019

Pros: The price, fabulous Bokeh, bright colors of zeiss lenses, macro photos. Fabulous F11.

Cons: Nothing for the price paid.

Opinion: Let's start by saying that the Bokeh at F2.8 is fabulous if you like the soap bubble effect that is great at its peak if you shoot with the subject from 1 meter to 2 and with the background placed around 5 meters. The sharpness is impressive if you think it's 50-60 and is recoverable in PP. The top you'll see it at F11 perfect at the edges. In the evening it gives you an impressive 10-pointed star, but if you try to close at F16 and beyond it comes out gorgeous, but you lose sharpness, so here comes into play a nice multiexposure with F11 base and Recovery F16 stars. In the daytime I love it and I never take it out of the car so much that I decided to buy a Fujifilm x-e2 leaving it fixed. For many the sharpness is obsolete, but I prefer more this one that returns the "real" photo than the modern ones that look like photos exited from Autocad, however beautiful, but very unreal. I conclude by saying that for 40 euros is worth the expense and take home also excellent portraits. Only mole but I think it's a problem of mine, the inifinite is about 2. Once you know, go easy.

Ariete66

sent on 25 Febbraio 2018

Pros: The price, the blur, bright colors, in the macro photos

Cons: being an analog lens and used on digital camera you have to settle.

Opinion: I did a lot of research before buying this goal. Found on EBAY at a ridiculous price I decided to take it, the idea of ??using an analogue lens on a digital camera made me very puzzled but once I tried I was amazed. landscape photography, macro, portraits.very, very satisfied.

Claudio Paoli

sent on 29 Novembre 2017

Pros: The price, the blur, the yield in the blue, and the bright colors in the macro photos

Cons: definition, given the price virtually nothing.

Opinion: It does not of course have the definition of modern lenses, but it is a lens that is fine and cheap, it is worth everything that costs and probably a little more, with nikon in macro shooting is fine, blur and good i colors are alive and lit, even with the ring with the correction for endless focus with a slight retouch you get discrete picture

Marco Bensi

sent on 17 Febbraio 2017

Pros: From F4 onwards but without getting to exceed F11 very good sharpness. various tests made with other newly built objectives ... Regge confrontation despite ... A contrast sleeping less, due to less complete antireflection coating. The mechanical part is in old style Zeiss style.

Cons: Say .. A pinch of only TA disappointment.

Opinion: Beautiful in its aluminum livery. Mounted on a mirrorless ... from a special pleasure. I have also the older brother Sonnar 135 ... that is monstrous ... and together they are a pair magnifica.Consigliabilissimo especially if paid 30 Euros like me ... I arrived in good condition but a nice clean the lenses ... it regained 100%. The colors seem inecceppibile.Con a rollover ring or the rings allows macro superlative.Il vintage charm of Carl Zeiss. wonderful

Skender Buci

sent on 29 Dicembre 2016

Pros: Really awesome, I love the Zeiss optics and this jena 50mm has a blurred fabulous !!

Cons: Nobody!!

Opinion: This jena tessar 50mm is making me very entertained with a blurred fabulous and amazing colors, then on the D800E from the maximum, unfortunately I do not have much time to try more in depth but in time I want to see how it behaves on the field !! Paid 100 Euros and shipped my copy is almost new, the Giera commissioning fire is nice typical fluid zeiss !!

FedericoSacchi

sent on 05 Novembre 2016

Pros: Blurred beautiful, Sharpness, Materials

Cons: nobody

Opinion: I bought a perfect specimen of this lens by bit .... now is the objective that has the most beautiful I've ever seen ... blurry similar to fuzzy "bubble" Trioplan style; has a surprising nìitidezza, good even at TA, closing sharply rooms ... it returns very accurate colors, but brillanti.Una magnificent lens, at a ridiculous price.

Matt46

sent on 26 Agosto 2016

Pros: Crystal clear, compact, very solid, very blurry, price

Cons: Ring small maf but usabilissima

Opinion: One of my favorite lenses, due to its compactness almost disappears both in the pocket and on the SLR. The sharpness is good already at 2.8 and become excellent closing of a stop ... one of the sharpest lenses vintage I've ever tried. It 'also very solid, if it falls to the ground is able to be broken on the floor! RnPer fifty € specimens are in excellent condition, for 30-40 € we will take home pieces with some damage or ailment (seeds nuts -bloccate, dust, mold ... maybe). I have paid 55 and the buy back definitely!

Federico Effe Elle

sent on 13 Febbraio 2015

Pros: Excellent yield in the blue (typical of Zeiss). Excellent sharpness (from f / 4).

Cons: No One

Opinion: A great lens vintage.rnUtilizzato system on m4 / 3 offe angle fields equivalent of 100mm. The sharpness becomes absolute in games to f / 4 while TA is not performing as the twin Planar f / 1,7.rnLa color rendering is amazing especially in the "blue" and had to desaturate often even the sky, above all in the high mountains. rnSfocato really pleasant. rn

Balsa85

sent on 22 Ottobre 2014

Pros: Blurred pleasant, sharpness, exceptional close up if I reverse a macro is scary. The yield good returns, I would say that the actual colors of the shot.

Cons: At a price of 30 euro I would say nothing

Opinion: Now I have this lens for about a year, I can say that it was the best purchase I have made. sharp already wide open to the best of f8, which means great for travel weighs just all metal, neutral color rendering some call it cold, but returns the actual colors of the shot. I am using it for portraits, close up and macro and where really good. Downsides might be the maf manual, but for others it could be a pro, I recommend it to everyone when we do not have the deadlifts from the body. I use it on Canon 600d adapters cost a little more than ten euro d.