Contax Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f/1.4

Very good lenses. Carl Zeiss has the best quality product for optics and

the result is quite incredible:

I use this Contax Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f/1.4 lens almost exclusively with B&W. It is fantastically sharp and contrasty in all situations. I began B&W with Minolta manual lenses. The difference was astounding. The Minolta prints were so lacking in contrast that they looked rather like a printer reproducing black with a colour ink cartridge.

All the cheaper (sic) Zeiss lenses are fabulous, but I think the 50mm (both 1.7and 1.4) have the edge. They print without loss of quality up to 40cms - the largest I can go. The Minoltas were deteriorating above 25mm.

Also, the lens has a beautifully solid feel. Like a gold bar.

You are not surprised the Contax Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm SLR camera lens gives sharp images, but more important and even better are the contrast and bokeh (the nice unsharpness what gives a picture the third dimension).

The mechanics are top.

The price is high compared to a plastic Pentax or Minolta, but in this league only the Leica can compete, and that one costs 4(!) times the price of the Zeiss.

They say that this is the most copied lens design in the world and there is a reason...it is fantastic.

Photodo rates ir for 4.5, which is lower than its brother -50/1.7 (4.6). However, both lenses are great and the highest MTF of all SLR lenses. I prefer 50/1.4 over 50/1.7 not only half stop faster but it has a better built. The 50/1.4 feels more metal than 50/1.7; but it's heavier and slightly larger than 50/1.7. This is the least expensive Zeiss for Contax and it's the most useful lens. I've never disappointed whenever I use this lens. Planar 50/1.4 is one of 3 factors that I still keep my Contax SLR even though my job currently more on medium format and rangefinder. Planar 50/1.4 and Planar 85/1.4 are worth to keep even though I have only 2 lenses.