CONTAX HOLOGON T* 16mm(Ms-optics)

Review and photo examples of Kyocera / CONTAX G mount 16mm f/8.

Gallery

Leica M6 +Provia400X year 2012

HASSELBLAD X2D

LEICA M9

Review

The Hologon 16mm is an impressive lens with a unique appearance, and is the only CONTAX G series lens made in Germany by Carl Zeiss.
The lens specs are dark with a fixed aperture of F8, and the vignetting is large, so you won’t be able to obtain a uniform image unless you attach a filter with an even darker filter size value of F16.
It does not work with CONTX G series AF (autofocus) or Leica M type camera rangefinder.
I don’t have many good things to say about this lens, and to be honest, its practicality is quite low, but I like the look of this lens, so I use it.

I purchased a CONTAX G mount lens, but after selling the G1/G2 body, I had MS-Optics (Miyazaki Optical) convert it to a Leica M mount.
When shooting with film, even if you take a photo by eye, it will not turn out to be a failure unless it is significantly off.
Digital cameras are more sensitive to focus, so I think it’s safest to use live view instead of visual estimation.

As you can see from the gallery, the image is super wide-angle 16mm, but there is no distortion and it draws a very pleasing straight line.
The gallery has scanned and uploaded film photos, and we hope you will feel the deep nostalgia of old film. At this time, I took 36 photos, and some of the photos showed my fingers.
With digital cameras, depending on the camera sensor, color cast may occur at the periphery, but sharp images are suitable for monochrome, so this is a lens that you will definitely want to use for monochrome.
Out of curiosity, I attached it to the HASSELBLAD X2D and took a few shots, and was surprised to find that the image circle was overwhelmingly lacking, but there was no color cast. I would like to take it out from time to time as it seems to be fully practical under sunny weather. Even so, it looks beautiful when attached to the X2D.

This lens has a protruding rear element, so it feels like it might get caught in the Leica’s shutter film, but I didn’t have any problems with my camera.
The cameras I used were Hexar-RF, Leica M6, M8, M8.2, M9, and M typ240.
However, since the lens guard is placed at the very edge of the shutter film, there is a risk of an accident if the film bends or becomes distorted. With a film camera, when you open the back cover and raise the curtain, there is a lens guard at the very edge, which can be a little scary.
When actually taking pictures, I think it’s safe to attach a bottom grip to the camera, but if you normally hold the camera body while taking pictures, if you’re not careful, your fingers will be visible at the edges of the shot. During the film era, this caused me to suffer several times. In many ways, this is a lens that you use at your own risk.

On the used market, you can find both original G mounts and modified M mounts.
It is presumed that they either do not sell because of their basic lack of practicality, or that buyers quickly abandon them.
I bought my own model during the film era, so I remember that I was able to purchase it used for less than 100,000 yen. It’s probably around 100,000 yen including the cost of modifying the M mount, but the used ones are currently on the market for around 200,000 yen, so the price seems to be high and stable.
This lens has a very large and beautiful front element, and although it is not practical, it is satisfying just to look at it, and because I have a complete set of modified G lenses on hand, I keep it even though I don’t use it very often.
As you can see from the lens configuration diagram, I have seen a few cases where the front lens was poorly pasted, causing it to peel off and cause air bubbles to form. It seems that repairs were previously carried out at Kyocera, but this is currently unknown.
Repair Service Suwa, a CONTAX specialist repair company, will consult with you about lens repairs on a case-by-case basis, so if there’s one you’re interested in, I think it’s a good idea to consider it.

The included viewfinder is a rare type with a spirit level, but the image appears distorted and cannot be considered a good external viewfinder. When I used a film camera, I used a Zeiss 15mm finder or a Voigtlander angle finder (15mm attachment) to determine the frame.
Since we are in the age of EVFs, you probably won’t use this much, and it’s not very practical, so if it comes as an extra, you might be lucky, and I don’t think you need to force yourself to get it even if it doesn’t come with it.

Chinese companies have released a number of homages to their lenses, but I don’t think they will be interested in reprinting this lens, which has low market demand, is bulky, and seems to be difficult to process.

Specification

Name	HOLOGON	BIOGON	BIOGON	PLANAR	PLANAR	SONNAR	VARIO SONNAR
Focal length(mm)	16.5	21	28	35	45	90	35-70
Max aperture	8(fixed)	2.8	←	2	←	2.8	3.5-5.6
Min aperture	16(Attached filter)	22	←	16	←	22	←
Lens Construction	5elements in 3groups	9elements in 7groups	7elements in 5groups	←	6eleme0nts in 4group	5elements in 4groups	13elements in 8groups
Min distance(m)	0.3	0.5	←	←	←	1.0	←
Lens length(mm)	11	35.5	30.5	31.5	38.5	63.0	54.0
Max diameter(mm)	57	59	56	56	56	56	60
Filter size(mm)	– Dedicated ND filters are available. Changes to f/8 > 16 to alleviate peripheral light attenuation.	55	46	46	46	46	46
Weight(g)	120	200	150	160	190	240	290
Weight(g) M-mount	124		194 (222)*1	115	161	219 (259)*1	–
Release date	1994	1996	1994	1996	1994	1994	1999