Diary

The final image from the paperweight project. Photographed with a Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm 2.8 lens on a Canon EOS 30D camera.

The Tessar design dates back to 1902 and this particular type was launched at the beginning of the 1950s. It is very light and compact with only four elements and is one of the least expensive M42 lenses - mine was £12 five years ago. There is no cheaper way to acquire a Carl Zeiss lens. The minimum focusing distance is 35 cm (a shade under 14 inches). Compare this to the Nikkor-H 50mm f/2 of 1963 which has a minimum focusing distance of a shade under 24 inches, which was reduced to about 18 inches when reconfigured to the AI standard in 1974. The CZJ Tessar is practically macro!