Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar 50mm f1.8 and f2. A review of two great bokeh vintage lenses.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ก.ค. 2024
- The radioactive Pancolar 50mm f1.8 is one of the most highly regarded M42 mount fast fifties from the 1960s and 70s, praised for its sharpness, rendering and bokeh. This video reviews the vintage lens's performance on powerful digital mirrorless and DSLR cameras. Not just the bokeh, but also its stopped down images.
And I compare it head-to-head with an Exakta mount Pancolar f2 - also a fine lens, but with a different optical design and different rendering.
Here are links to the different parts of the video:
00:00 Introduction
01:39 Lens specs.
06:53 Pancolar 50mm f1.8 - performance
12:09 Pancolar 50mm f2 - performance and f1.8 comparisons
19:30 Discussion and conclusions - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
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I don't always click on these videos, but every time I do I find myself calming down
lol I know what you mean
Another enjoyable video on vintage lenses. I probably like them because I used lenses like these when I first started SLR photography and I'm rather vintage myself.
Thank you. Oldies but goodies!
Me too
The 50 1.8 is my favorite 50mm lens. I own the 6 blade, non radioactive version and it is sublime. As much as I like my Canon 1.4 or the Konica or even the Super Tak - the Pancolar is in a league all its own. I will never get rid of it. And, I can’t wait to shoot some film with it. Thanks for the comparison. Another fantastic video as always
To Rowan: Great lens...I have just the very same version ... for some 50 Years!
Have an ever growing vintage lens collection and these videos always feel like a nice conversation about lenses with a friend, but also dangerously notifying me of lenses I’ve yet to collect!
As said below a calming informative Somon's utak video .. I have been taught much about the Zebra glass by this very astute photographer. Thank you Simon.
Just like your other videos before, I really enjoyed this one too. Thank you for the detailed presentation of the lenses.
As a long-time user of various Pancolar lenses, I have also spent some time studying the history of these lenses and the underlying patents and would like to contribute some information here.
The fact that the Pancolar 50mm f2 behaves like a Biotar is because it is a Biotar. 😉The design dates back to 1954 and was Carl Zeiss Jena's attempt to reduce the Biotar's previous focal length from 58mm to 50mm, as the West German competitors were very successful with the Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f2 and the ISCO-Göttingen Westagon 50mm f2 for SLRs. For legal reasons (the name Biotar belonged to Zeiss West), the Biotar 50mm f2 was renamed Flexon by Zeiss East a short time later. In 1959 the Flexon was then renamed Pancolar. And in 1960 the design was slightly revised to improve edge sharpness.
The design of the Pancolar 50mm f1.8 dates back to 1964 and was initiated after Asahi and A. Schacht Ulm (Travelon 50mm f1.8 in M42 and Exakta mount) had successfully placed such SLR lenses on the market. The radioactive version still has the 6/4 design (not 6/5 as shown in your video). Both the two front and the two rear elements contain thorium dioxide, which is why your Geiger counter also reacts strongly at the front. Only with the change to the non-radioactive version, designed in 1967, the optical design was changed to 6/5.
I hope you find this information helpful and I look forward to many new videos from you. Keep up the great work!👍🙂
Wonderful comparison - really enjoyed the approach and all the information. I know these videos take a lot of time and it is appreciated by me very much !
Thank you so much for your kind words. These videos do take an awful lot of time, so it's great to read your feedback.
Not to throw you into a minefield, but I'd love to see a comparison of the same lens, same scene, between the Sony and the Pentax. I know lenses are more your thing, but you're so good with your methologies that I cannot help but think it would make for an interesting video.
That would be a minefield! I may be wrong, but doesn't the Pentax K-1 use a Sony a7r 36MP sensor, but tweeked by Ricoh? I'll give it a go. What I can say is that every time I look though the K-1's optical viewfinder outdoors, the scene looks more appealing than through the EVF!
@@Simonsutak I think it may well be the same sensor. DXO Mark rates the original A7R at 95 and the K-1 at 96. It would be interesting to see if the one-point difference (with Ricoh tweaking) played out in any substantial way.
nice to see new video
I have the zebra Pancolar 50/1.8 and I love it. Only the focus ring was so stiff that I tried to fix it and now can't put it back together... I still have all the parts so hopefully one day I can get it working again
Many thanks for another excellent and informative video. I certainly was aware that the Pancolar was a sought after lens. I just looked up the price and didn't realise that they had become so sought after. I wish that I had seen your video a few years ago. I was still new to vintage lenses and discovered a Praktica camera with a Pancolar lenses in an antiques shop. Thanks to your detailed descriptions and images of the two lenses, then I can confirm that this was the f2 version. The aperture ring was very difficult to turn, though I remember how the little indicators moved on the side of the lens. As for the focus ring - this was stuck solid. I recall trying to rotate the lens (in either direction) with all my strength. Thinking that the lens would break apart or at least unscrew from the camera. So guess this was due to the exakta mount. The total price was around $100-$200. I hope that the lens has now been serviced and is enjoying a second life. Though after your video, would much prefer the f1.8 version.
Many thanks Rod - let's hope someone managed to de-un-stick that stuck solid focus ring.
Thanks for the video. This gives me an incentive to try my f2 Exakta Pacolors on my Fujifilm for which I have the adapter. Also I have other Exaktas with a Schneider Xenon f1.9 and Isco f2.8 Westanar. My first 35mm was a Praktica with a Hexatar sold by a New York store, followed by a very nice Pentacon with an f2 Westagon. These have been sitting on shelves but now I see I should try them out on my mirrorless digitals.
Thanks for the great video Simon. I have the f/2 Pancolar and it is such a beautiful lens. I didn't know much about the f/1.8 before this. I wonder why they simplified the optics AND increased the complexity in the mechanical componenets.
Have the F2 8-blade thorium zebra in Exakta I use with Sony full and crop frames. Got it fairly cheap years ago and de-yellowed it. Does have some dust and such inside and could use a good cleaning (but I understand many are reluctant to open up and work on radioactive lenses). The slight dirt (mostly around edges so center still very sharp) does make for some soft diffusion and on crop frame is an excellent moody portrait lens. With the swirly bocah you can line things up just right for some magical dreamy looks. That push button is a pain but I usually like it wide open (though used it to switch between open and a set stop when moving between light sources in video is a good idea-will have to try that- maybe an extra plus). Haven't used it for a while so this video has inspired me to pull it out (I keep it in a round metal tin for safety that says Campbell's Soup on it and fits perfect with foam) for an upstate trip this month. Sometimes need a pipe wrench to focus though!
Thank you for another Nice video. You are a fantastic explainer and a superb photographer . ✌️🙏😉
Thank you!
Great review, comparison and best of all lovely artistic photos. I own the 6 blade zebra version. It does not say CZ but just "Aus Jena" = "From Jena" I snatched it dirt cheap from a flee market, can't really remember what camera it had attached. The front element is yellowish but not as much as your copy. I love that lens so much that, even though it was in a decent workable condition, I had let some buddy overhaul it completely. The focusing was a bit hard to turn but now things run smoothly. I love the warmth of its' rendering and overall performance. Only reason I haven't used my M42 lenses much is because I'm in great favour of small lenses of all kind that don't require huge adapters. LM, LTM and old German Braun Paxette lenses for instance. However I like the min. close focus distance this lens can do. Always like your reviews. Thanks for the good work.
The most expensive native M42 lens are Pancolar 55 1.4, Pancolar 80 1.8, Enna Muchen 85 1.5, Biotar 75 1.5. Each one of those costs a leg. I missed a Pancolar 80 a few years back by a little, now it haunts me every now and then
They are expensive, but I've tried a couple of even more expensive M42 lenses - the Ultra-Achromatic Takumar 85mm f4.5 and the ultra-rare Takumar 100mm f2. Neither I wanted. But the Pancolars and the Biotar! I've also just missed or not followed up on these lenses in the past. But like house price inflation in London, where I've lived all my life, and "could have should have" bought...it's fatal to look back.
I have in mint condition: Flec MC 2.4/35, Pancolar 1.8/50 Zebra not radioactiv, Pancolar 1.8/80 MC and Sonnar MC 3.5/135
Love your videos man! You should do more minolta sr mc and md lenses!!!
I need to buy them first. I would love a f1.2!!!
Great video, thanks! I have the 6 blade non-radioactive (I think... serial number > 9 million) and I love it for all the reasons you included. However, my sharpest lens is my Zeiss Planer 50mm f/1.4 (in Nikon mount); it's a gem!
Yes, those Planars are wonderful!
Incredible timing as ever..Ijust won a zebra Flek and have a bid on a Pancolar currently!
I could be wrong..but I did live in Berlin for 8 years..I "believe" its pronounced "Yeahna" anyone willing to raise me one Reichmark and set me straight?
Following feedback, I changed my pronunciation from J - na to Yay-na. Don't know if this is right now!
@@Simonsutak it’s tricky to know..I had a “friend” chastise me for calling one of my 16mm film cameras a Beaulieu…apparently I should have been saying “Baugh-luuuugh!” So one can never win.
I have the Pancolar 50mm f1.8 zebra 8 blade version and enjoy it very much…like you I have grown a little tired of the strong yellow tint it give to each photo and am ready to try for a de-yellowing job.
I was curious how the Pancolar f2 compared to the Tessar 50mm f2.8.
Thanks again for another excellent and informative video!
Wide open, I much prefer the Pancolar to the Tessar. The Tessar wasn't optimised for wide open shots. Colours, I also prefer from the Pancolar. The Tessar is a sharp lens stopped down though.
Good evening Simon, many thanks for an excellent video.I own the zebra, and also, the slightly earlier silver version of the f2 Pancolar, and have always found them superb performers, especially for black & white photography. I found sample variation greater with M42 versions of this lens, than I did with the Exakta version, when I was using Prakticas. You mention the 55mm f1.4 Pancolar, but really, I think that the law of diminishing returns applies in this case!, however, a very interesting, and perhaps more economic! comparison, would be to try both versions of the later 50mm f1.4 Carl Zeiss Jena 'Prakticar' lens, both are 7 element designs, but the first version uses thorium in its make up the second does not, both have 6 blade aperture mechanisms, but the second version has unusual petal shaped blades. This version focusses down to 0.4M, and the first version 0.36M
Many thanks but you're not helping my LBA at all. I do like the petal shaped blades of the second Prakticar version. I've recently bought a Re Auto-Topcor 58mm f1.4, so I have my hands full at the moment!
Hmm. My pancolar 1.8 wide open performs more like your f2 version. Wonder if that coating/tint is making the difference. Mine doesn’t have it.
I have the CZJ Flexon (a 50 mm Biotar renamed as Pancolar from 1959) 50/2 on a Praktina IIa and am very pleased with it.
good quality.👏
Interesting! My copy of zebra 6 blades non-radioactive single-coated f/1.8 version does swirl! Also, it flares seriously and beautifully so that I like to use it as an effect.
That is interesting! You're persuading me to try the 6 blades, non-radioactive version.
@@Simonsutak Thanks for another excellent review! (I've been a lurker for a while...) It would indeed be interesting to see a comparison with the non-radioactive f1.8 version. From what I've read, they only changed the optical scheme to 6/5 (a kind of reverse Ultron) when they gave up radioactive glass, whereas the earliest version of the f1.8 was still of the classic (asymmetrical) Planar design (6/4).
Hi! About the copy of Zebra 6 blades non-radioactive you mean is the Electric Pancolar MC 1.8???
@@gianloseto87 Not MC. It's single coated!
@@cheerlscable oh yes the MC is multi coated, so there is a third model of 80's in black color, that is single coated and should be that one, right?
at 11:38 one solution to the colour cast is to do a LCC profile, and use it as a pre-set for the batch, clicking on this profile every shot, saving time in importing.
Yes, good idea. The adjustments required are pretty similar across compositions.
I asked before but wondering if this summer you could make a video about how or if the white balance effects the "colors" of vintage lenses. It would be a interesting experiment I think. Maybe do 3 to 5 lenses you count as the best colors (and include a yellowed radioactive lens). Love your work Simon.
Yes, I remember - I think it's an excellent idea and I even started the research. I took photos with just under 50 different lenses (!) of the same colour scene, wide open and stopped down. That's to look at how their colour tones differ. And the next step is to look at white balance, and different white balance settings. I think trying so many different lenses was a little OTT, and I like your idea of taking 3-5 lenses. I've a back-log of videos to complete, but I will do this sometime!
@@Simonsutak cool man. Yeah I think if anyone were to test such a thing. It should be you. And if you can borrow a Canon mirrorless maybe do a couple of sony vs canon colors on vintage lenses.
My experience in dissaembling, fixing and cleaning the 1.8s is their are many different variations in how the aperture selection in particular is achieved, and most are very finicky and over engineered. One makes use of a sheathed tension cable to transfer the stop down pin to the blades which is the only time I've seen this (early non radioactive aus jena marking), very different from the pancolar non radioactive marked zebra 1.8, grease is a big problem as well as a brittle pin bracket fort he stopdown paddle
I have the F 1.8 multi coated version with green writing. Flare and loss of contrast shooting into the light are minimal. The close focus distance and good level of sharpness and contrast make it a extremely versatile lens. Mine renders on the cool side compared to most of my other vintage lenses. The first copy I bought off eBay had a very stiff focus ring that was not listed. It seems like this is a very common issue with these lenses. Comparing it against a later version of the Olympus 50mm f1.8 my Olympus is smaller, lighter, a little sharper, and renders a bit warmer with punchier colors. The only way the Olympus does not beat it is, in close focus distance. Another big factor is the Olympus generally sells for $40-$80 where pancolor sells for $160-$200.
The Olympus is a cute lens, with nice colours. And there are some other excellent value f1.8 lenses, and even cheap f2 lenses that perform rather well....
I have enough lenses, I have enough lenses, I have enough lenses. But maybe...
Thank you so much for your kind words. These videos do take an awful lot of time, so it's great to read your feedback. I do enjoy testing and comparing these kind of lenses - there's hardly a dull moment in the right light.
@@Simonsutak I'm not sure if you replied to the wrong person, but I do appreciate the hard work you go to with your videos. I have enjoyed many of your videos and you have convinced me to buy several lenses with your photos and in depth analysis. Thanks.
Dear Simon, I thoroughly enjoy your videos and always consult before buying a lens. Well almost. I did go out and purchase the Pancolar 50 f1.8 after this review along with further research. Mine is in an Exakta mount. The seller dug up another Exakta mount lens he forgot he had in his collection, the Steinheil Auto Quinon 55mm f1.9. I ended up acquiring the lens as well. I did some research and discovered not much written on it. However, photos shot with it on flicker blew me away! I was wondering if you have had the chance to shoot with it and any thoughts? I have yet to try mine but am very eager to do so. Kind regards. Keep up this content please. A delight to watch.
Lucky you! The Quinon has a superb reputation amongst many owners. People have written to me suggesting I try it. I've wanted one for ages, but it's quite pricey on-line. Have fun with both lenses! Simon
If you are keen you are more than welcome to borrow mine for a review. It would be a pleasure. @Simonsutak
i have the later Pancolar 50mm 1.8 MC version. It would be nice to know your opinion in comparison
to these two.
6:10 the exakta close down mechanism from the f2 looks similar to other CZJ lenses from this time, if it is so then you can probably lock the aperture by clicking the button and rotating it
Nice comparison. I have the later f/1.8, which isn't radioactive, and it's a wonderful lens. I do have a question, though. How do you use these on a DSLR? Because of the flange distance, when I adapt mine to my Nikon, I can't focus farther than about 3m. I tried one of the "correcting" adapters, but it both slightly increases the effective FL, and somewhat degrades the optical performance.
There are few variations of the f1.8 version i.e. some without zebra lines but with red or green wordings. What are the difference?
I have the red MC version of 1.8. l prefer it over the radioactive version since it has better contrast. It looks pretty similar to my red MC version of Pentacon 50 1.8, but those two are not close at all.
id like to see the MC Pancolar and MC Pentacon compared. i own the earlier Oreston in zebra and the first version Pancolar f/2
Enjoyable video.
Mine is theCarl Zeis Jena DDR Pancolour. 1.8. very sharp even wide open.
I use it extensively with ext tubes for close up flowers. Almost exclusively wild flowers.
However, just recently noticed that the aperture pin has stopped working. Im guessing when I say spring related.
It it worth paying to have it repaired? If so where?
I am in North Pembrokeshire and disabled now, so cannot drive. I do enjoy using this lens, it being so sharp an all.
Your help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.
I do simple repairs on lenses myself, but aperture spring problems and the like are beyond my capabilities. I've never sent a lens away for repair, so I can't recommend someone who can repair lenses. However, I do need to get a couple of lenses repaired soon, and if and when I find someone good I'll be in touch.
I think the best approach is to contact a good camera shop and ask them if they can help, because the lens probably is worth repairing. Or selling if someone else wants the repair job. You could try, for example, West Yorkshire Cameras.
15:16
You say you say you've processed the image to accentuate the swirls, how exactly did you process the image?
I'm a big fan of the swirls too, so more is definitely better!
Hey Simon. I've just picked up a Pancolar 50mm 1.8. Can I ask if you set the aperture blade to 1.8 and slightly depress the pin does the aperture slightly close down ? Thank you in advance
Hi. No my lens doesn’t do that - the blades stay wide open.
many thanks for the review. I fear every time you review a vintage lens the price goes up! In any case, do you take any precautions when using the nuke versions? I suppose it's no worse that getting bombarded when you have a chest x-ray or other med diagnostic procedures. Finally, will you ever review/compare the best nuke lens?
Thank you! I don't use my radioactive lenses as much as I would like, because I feel it's best not to used them all the time. I did research and post three TH-cam videos on the dangers of using radioactive lenses, and concluded that it was OK to use the lenses some of my time but not all the time. I keep them stored away from our living areas. The fall off in radioactive dosage is quite dramatic as you move even a little away from the lens. So that's good news.
In terms of reviewing the best nuke lenses, the problem is that I don't own all the best ones (I'm thinking especially of the f1.2 lenses). I suppose I could do a review of the ones I do own...as they are all excellent lenses...including one f1.2 lens....and refer to the others.
@@Simonsutak Thank You. Recently, I've seen a f1.4 50mm radioactive for sale but it needs a long pentacon adapter to fit my sony. My feeling, just looking at this particular adapter, is there must be some light loss in that arrangement. What are your thoughts? Thanks.
If we would only buy what we need, wouldn't life be a bit dull
👍🏻
So the "Aus Jena" lenses are actually export version for western market ? Which would explain why, for exemple, the Tessar 50mm f/2.8 is labeld "Aus Jena T 2.8/50" The T standing for Tessar as the werstern Zeiss owned the Tessar name for western markets ?
This is how I get lenses for around 20-40 euros… search for aus-jena instead of Zeiss ;) Flektogon for 40 just last week! Tessar for 5…
Wait I got the tessar f2.8. Exakta mount
It’s in the same family I guess, wow
I have an f/2 Exakta mount that suffers from the hardened grease and is basically unusable. I've so far been unable to find someone to repair it locally.
I've had the same issue with my M42 version and I can highly, highly recommend Fotoservice Olbrich. Perhaps not local to you, but worth every penny!
Thanks for your input. for now I'll buy another to keep me going. pop in to my flier account, like your thoughts
Para esto pago internet
So I cant lick the radioactive lens? Damn!
I don't think I'll ever totally get used to hearing the words "radioactive" and "lens" used in the same sentence. 😬
I miss my cameras and lenses. All destroyed in the house fire along with everything else.
So sorry to read this.
Simon, I wish you'd take more portraits for these lens reviews. I judge a lens by how it captures a woman's face, a woman's skin.
Yes, I agree 100%. A lack of subjects/models is the reason why there are not more human portraits. I am working on solutions....