Tessar Lens: The Cheap Alternative

Two people walking in step photographed through the classical porch added incongruously to the front of the Georgian building in Corsham housing the Methuen Arms hotel.
I used a Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm f/2.8 lens on a Canon EOS 20D. This lens is a Tessar design of just four elements and was a lower cost option to a Pentacon equivalent on a Praktica camera in the 1970s. It was slower of course; f/2.8 compared to the Pentacon's f/1.8. Yet in good light the Carl Zeiss was every bit as good, better maybe. Certainly a sharp lens, and capable of closer focussing than many other standard lenses. I bought mine second hand for £12. I doubt if a lens in good working order and engraved with 'Carl Zeiss' could be found cheaper.