The Limbo Connection's photos with the keyword: Carl Zeiss Jena

Having bought the book in the secondhand bookshop at Lacock Abbey, I felt an unstoppable urge to photograph it under Benjamin Carter's sphinx which is supported by the plinth in the picture. The book is open at a reproduction of Evelyn Hofer's 'Portrait in Windowlight' photographed in 1969. Secondhand books are seldom described as 'used' or (worse) 'pre-loved'. I need to analyse why this is so, and whether it means books are held in high or low esteem generally. Photographed with a 50mm f/2.8 vintage Tessar lens on a Canon EOS 40D.

Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f/2.8 lens on a Canon EOS 30D. This lens was the cheaper option to the 50mm f/1.8 Pentacon when you bought a Praktica MTL5. The plant is Nerine bowdenii 'pink', known as Guernsey lilies.

Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f/2.8 lens on a Canon EOS 40D digital camera. The chief reason I bought into the Canon EOS system was to use this lens. Fortunately the low cost of secondhand discontinued digital SLR cameras enables such indulgences. The design of the Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm F2.8 Tessar stretches back at least to the 1930's where countless examples exist in different forms, formats, and mounts. This is a fundamentally simple lens of just four elements in three groups with five aperture blades. It is not the best 50mm lens that I own. However, it is certainly the cheapest. So it is something of a mystery why I find it so satisfying to use. It is slow for a 50mm lens at f/2.8. The focus throw is very wide, allowing precision at the expense of fast handling. It seems sharp, but nearly all 50mm lenses are sharp. It performs well wide open; so do many others. Colour rendition is good. Distortion is not a problem. Contrast is strong. You could say the same about practically all 50mm lenses. But I like this particular lens very much.

Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f/2.8 lens on a Canon EOS 40D digital camera.

Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f/2.8 lens (£12 on eBay) on a Canon EOS 40D digital camera. The cheapest route to a lens with 'Carl Zeiss' on it. Manufactured between 1952 and 1978, thus there is plenty of choice on the secondhand market. The moment I had it in my hand, I loved the feel of it and the smooth focus and aperture adjustment. Using it on a crop sensor digital camera avoids the criticism that it is soft at the corners: I'm using only the best part of the simple optics. Nevertheless, optimum performance is f/8 - f/11 where contrast is best; otherwise post-processing will improve your efforts. F/2.8 is slow, but these days we're all used to levels of ISO which were unimaginable when this lens was in production, and so only photographers chasing depth-of-field will be bothered by the slowness. Close focus is about twelve inches - it's practically macro! And the long focus throw provides plenty of scope for tiny adjustments. The front element is well recessed: no need for a lens hood, nor a protective filter for that matter (but I disdain protective filters anyway. Like extended warranties, they exist to improve dealers' profit margins). Not as good as the 55mm f/3.5 Micro-Nikkor, which is hard to beat by any lens, but much cheaper, and fun to use. Colour rendition isn't bad, either.

I used the plinth which supports the columns for Benjamin Carter's sphinx for this shot. The portrait on this page of the book is by Evelyn Hofer, and is entitled 'Portrait in Windowlight'. It was made in 1969. Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f/2.8 lens on a Canon EOS 40D digital camera.

According to Wikipedia, Sterling is the largest selling cheap brand in the UK and is the eighth biggest selling brand of cigarettes in the UK. They appear to disgust their users so comprehensively that they cannot wait to put the empty packets in a dedicated litter receptacle. Here, a pack has become a part of Autumn's rich and colourful tapestry. Photographed with a Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm M42 f/2.8 lens on a Canon EOS 20D camera.

Photographed using a Canon EOS 20D with a Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm f/2.8 Tessar lens. According to Wikipedia, Superkings are primarily marketed towards the working-class female smoker, and the brand is the ninth most popular cigarette in the UK with 3.3% of the market.

I used a Carl Zeiss Jena f/2.8 Tessar lens on a Canon EOS 20D to make this still life.

I know that transferring an old Praktica strap to a Canon SLR is a serious violation of photographic etiquette. I realise the Camera Cops will detain me for questioning if they find out. But it's just too good a strap not to attach to a camera you use more often. Photographed with a Nikon D2Xs and an AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G lens.