Camera Talk

I bought a Zeiss Opton Biogon 3.5 cm f2.8 in Zeiss Ikon Contax rangefinder mount last year having found one on eBay at a not too ridiculously high price. Like a lot of vintage wide-angle lenses from the 1950's I expected it to work fairly well, perhaps with a few obvious forgivable flaws compared to modern lenses, and certainly be a nice conversation piece if nothing else. I had owned the Zeiss Jena (a much earlier version) once, so I knew that the build quality at least would be special. (The Opton is the post-war verison of this lens and coated).

Well, as Zeiss lenses are often wont to do, this lens exceeded my expectations. I finally got around to processing some film taken with it yesterday and I will post a result or two. The camera is a Voigtlander Bessa R2. The C41 processing was done with an Arista kit and it was the first time I'd processed my own color film since the 1970's and I made some mistakes, partly corrected with post processing using GIMP. The lens sharpness and rich color rendering ability still comes through. This lens is going to see a lot more use real soon.

Sonoran Desert (Fuji Xtra 400):

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Moon Rise over desert west of Blythe, CA (Fuji Xtra 400):

The rich colors are very attractive (not to mention the fine composition in number one). I have the same Opton in Contax mount, and am embarrassed to admit that I haven't used it in a long time. Your photos make me want to dig it out. Thanks.
--- James

ADDED: Just curious, are you using a Bessa R2C, or an adapter? I just checked my lens, and it is the Opton-Biogon (deep rear). Yours?

James,

Yes this is the Opton Biogon and it fits directly on the Bessa 2RC - no interference problems. The older or East German made Biogons may not fit it - not sure.

I purchased the Biogon just for the R2C which I acquired in a trade deal with Steve Gandy of Rangefinder forum fame. It's a pretty expensive rig, and I was a little worried it would not perform at a high level, but I was wrong. I also have a good Contax IIIa, but the R2C is just seductively easy to use. I think I need some more Opton class lenses.

Here's a couple more with the Biogon, this is Rincon Beach in Southern California a little south of Santa Barbara. I'm starting to like Fuji 400 - it's remarkably tolerant of my errors for one thing! No implied art here - just lens and camera testing and playing around with film. I could use a sky or polarizer on this lens for landscapes - the first is a little overexposed or overdeveloped (probably the latter). The backlit beach shot is a pretty brutal test of any lens, and this one handles it damn well, especially for a 1950's lens, if I say so myself.

davela wrote: I purchased the Biogon just for the R2C in a trade deal with Steve Gandy of Rangefinder forum fame. It's a pretty expensive rig and I was a little worried it would not perform at a high level, but I was wrong. I also have a good Contax IIIa, but the R2C is just seductively easy to use. I think I need some more Opton class lenses.

My Opton Biogon is circa 1953. I also have an Opton Sonnar 1.5/50 of similar vintage, and a very nice Contax IIa. I'd like to have a Bessa R2C, but they never show up used. Though now discontinued, Gandy still has some but the price is very steep ($750).

One more, along the Interstate in far west Texas



I shot a couple of rolls using flash as well as natural light too at a family event, with very, very good results on persons - not unlike a modern Nikon lens for instance. I rarely post photos of people I know for privacy reasons though (unless they are long gone or public figures).

Wow - nice photos. The price for these has been high for years -- including through the "go digital" era of the early 2000s.

You know, the lens handled that direct sunlight pretty good. That's usually death for most older lenses.

A couple more the the 3.5 cm F2.8 Biogon Opton (on a Bessa 2RC)

Interstate 17 north of Phoenix, Kodak Gold 200, self processed (can't you tell!)



Coconino National Forest, somewhere a few dozen miles south of Jerome, on a dirt road off the main highway. Kodak Gold 200, self processed. I can recommend the Coconino National Forest if you want to "get away from it all" (I was just driving through).

Love those rays! Yeah, the Opton Biogon is like the Holy Grail for Contax shooters. I may never see one on my camera, unless I sell off a bunch of other stuff.

PF