Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 135mm f3.5 Zebra - Lens Info
Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 135mm f3.5 Zebra
The Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 135mm f3.5 Zebra is one of those vintage lenses that just feels special the moment you pick it up. Built like a tank and styled with its iconic black-and-silver striped focusing ring, it’s a beautiful piece of mid-century German engineering that still holds up in the modern digital world. I got lucky scrolling through facebook marketplace one evening. I found this lens being sold in its original box for $90. The seller was selling a bunch of “junk” they inherited. So I responded to the ad with I’m on my way now what’s the address? lol.
LENS SPECS
Release Date: 1963
Format: 35mm
Mount: M42
Filter: 49mm
Aperture Blades: 6
Aperture Range: 3.5 - 22
Min Focus Distance: 1.00m
Weight 430g
Weather Sealing: No
Optical Design: 4 elements in 3 groups
APS-C Conversion Approx.: 216mm
Gear Shots
Build Quality
Produced mainly throughout the 1960s and 1970s, this lens hails from Carl Zeiss Jena, the East German branch of the legendary optics company. The "Zebra" nickname refers to that striking design, equal parts retro charm and functional grip. Despite being over half a century old, the build quality is outstanding. It’s all metal, with smooth, well-damped focus and aperture rings that make manual shooting feel incredibly tactile and precise. You get the sense that this lens was made to last generations, and many have.
Optical Quality
Optically, the Sonnar 135mm f3.5 is based on the classic Zeiss Sonnar formula, originally developed in the 1930s. The design was famous for its sharpness and compactness, and it lives on in this lens. While it’s not clinically sharp wide open, it produces rich contrast, excellent color rendition, and beautifully smooth bokeh that gives images a real vintage character. Stop it down just a bit, and the sharpness jumps noticeably, making it fantastic for portraits, nature, and even casual telephoto shooting.
Ease of Use
As a manual focus lens with an M42 screw mount, it’s incredibly easy to adapt to modern mirrorless cameras, where it continues to impress. The minimum focus distance is about 1 meter, which is standard for lenses of this era, though you can get closer with extension tubes if needed. There are only two things you need to do to start shooting with this lens in your modern mirrorless cameras. One get the right adapter and two set your camera to release shutter without lens.
