VARIO SONNAR 45-90 for CONTAX 645

A review and Photo example of the VARIO SONNAR 45-90mm(Kyocera/CONTAX) with a Leica S digital camera.

Gallery

Sample photo taken with the LEICA S Typ007.

Review

Usage
Lens overview
Comparison with competitors

1．Usage

The Vario-Sonnar 45-90mm F4.5 (hereinafter referred to as VE45-90) is a zoom lens for 645 format cameras that was released in 2002, three years before the end of the CONTAX 645 camera. It is one of my favorite lenses because of its visual match with the LEICA S Typ007.

The lens’s rendering is as expected, and when I checked the images developed from DNG, the F-number was dark, but the sharpness was comparable to that of a prime lens.

With a focal length of 45mm, distortion is hardly noticeable at infinity, but at a shooting distance of about 1m, which is common to all lenses, barrel distortion can be seen when shooting a brick-like grid.

The distortion is straightforward, so it should be easy to correct with image processing software. As it is a minor lens, the lens name does not appear in the lens correction candidate list of Affinity Photo 2, which I usually use.

Like other CONTAX 645 lenses, the autofocus (hereinafter referred to as AF) focusing speed is not very fast. The biggest drawback is the action of determining the focus when it goes beyond the AF focal point and returns. It would be nice if it stopped exactly at the first AF focal point, but it usually goes back and forth once and stops at the in-focus position. There is no problem with the focusing accuracy at the AF stop position.

This is no doubt because it is used via a mount adapter, but there is a one-step lag from turning on the power until you can actually take pictures, and it takes a little time to establish communication between the camera and the lens when waking up from sleep, which is the same as other 645 lenses. I have seen posts on the web about the combination of Leica S and CONTAX 645 lenses freezing when waking up from sleep, but I have never had a freeze when waking up from sleep because I turn off the main switch of the camera after using it and do not use the sleep function.

I had passed on purchasing this lens because I already had the HCD35-90, but since the DISTAGON55mm and Planar80mm seem difficult to get at a price, I purchased it in the hope that the ZEISS lens would cover that range. Although it overlaps with the DISTAGON 45mm that I own, I was going to overlook that, but because of the versatility of this lens, I decided that I didn’t need the DISTAGON 45mm and sold it. However, after that, I found the DISTAGON 55mm at a cheap price at a sour shop in Ginza and bought it, so my lens ownership policy is unstable.

The dedicated hood for this lens, GB-104, is rare on the used market and is expensive. On June 2, 2023, I got a new dead stock GB-104. It’s a shame to use it because it’s in perfect condition, but I’ll try it outdoors sometime.

The GB-101 for the DISTAGON 35mm has a hood diameter of φ100 and the bayonet claw position is the same as the GB-104, so it can be reused. The hood length of the GB-101 is not enough for the focal length, but it’s better than nothing, so I use it outdoors during the day.

Like the DISTAGON 55mm, it is said that the number of units produced is small, but it seems that there are always a few available on the secondhand market, so you should be able to find this lens if you search carefully at secondhand stores.

2．Lens overview

The zoom range of the VE45-90 is 45mm to 90mm, and when used with the LEICA S typ007, it becomes a 2x zoom lens that covers the standard range of 36mm to 72mm by multiplying the sensor size by 0.8.

The maximum aperture F-number is 4.5 throughout the entire zoom range, and the constant F-number may be a continuation of the image of high-end zoom lenses from the era of manual cameras, but when used in the current P mode with advanced electronic cameras, the change in the F-number of the zoom lens is not a big problem, so I personally think that it is better to have a variable F-number to increase the brightness on the wide-angle side. However, since this lens has a 2x zoom range, even if the F-number is variable, it will only reach F3.5 to 4 on the wide-angle 45mm side, so it can be said that a constant F4.5 would not make much difference.

The lens is not an internal zoom, but its overall length changes slightly when zooming. The change in length due to zooming is irregular, with the lens extending forward by about 9mm at the 45mm position, being about 5mm longer at the 55mm position, being the shortest at the 90mm position, and extending forward by about 9mm.

The zoom ring is at the front, the focus ring is at the tip of the lens, and the AF lens, so you can leave the focus to the camera except for close-up photography, which will be described later, and concentrate on framing.

When shooting with the Auto Extension tube 13mm for close-up photography, AF can be used, but the focusing accuracy is poor, and there were several times when the shutter would not release, so I used MF mode.

In my experience when shooting close-up, the AF of the LEICA S typ007 depends on how you match the subject and the AF frame, but I often use MF because the focusing accuracy drops when shooting close-up.

And, although it may be a problem specific to the lens I own, the AF drive sound of the lens can be a little harsh with a high-pitched sound.

When used with the LEICA S typ007 + 16038 [Leica S adapter C], the focal length is saved in the EXIF of the image file, so you can check what focal length was used after shooting, making it as easy to use as a modern zoom lens. With this combination, the aperture ring on the lens does not function, and the aperture value must be set on the camera.

3．Comparison with competitors

There are zoom lenses for medium format cameras such as the HASSELBLAD HCD35-90 and the LEICA VARIO ELMAR 30-90, but the Vario-Sonnar has the narrowest focal length range.

The HASSELBLAD HCD35-90 is large and heavy, while the LEICA VARIO ELMAR has a wider focal length range of 30-90mm, the lens size is the same as the Vario-Sonnar, and the maximum aperture is bright at F3.5, making the Leica Vario-Elmar the best spec out of the three lenses. This is probably due to the new lens design and the fact that it is optimized for the digital medium format sensor 45*30mm. However, there were a lot of comments on the Akamaru Forum, where enthusiasts gather, and I was a little taken aback by the people who had high expectations for the zoom lens.

Leica may have believed the words of the company itself, “Apart from the slightly darker maximum aperture, it can be used effectively and is difficult to compare with a prime lens.”4 and went head-to-head with the prime lens. As zoom lens technology advances, the image quality of prime lenses should improve as well, so it’s only natural that a prime lens will have better image quality if they are designed the same year.

Zoom lenses have always sacrificed image quality in exchange for convenience.

The focal length range of this Vario-Sonnar was 45-90mm instead of 35-90mm because the wide-angle end would have been 35mm, which would have made the lens larger, and because if a zoom lens covered 35mm at the wide-angle end, the Distagon 35mm would have no place in the product lineup, so I surmise that this lens specification was chosen. However, this is speculation and could simply be a technical or price issue.

HCD35-90mm lens configuration diagram (taken from the official Hasselblad page)

VARIO SONNAR 45-90mm lens construction diagram (taken from the official ZEISS page)

Specification and Competitor

Lens name	CONTAX VARO-SONNAR45-90	HASSELBLAD HCD35-90	LEICA VARIO ELMAR 30-90
Local length(mm)	45.9〜87.5	36.3〜87	30〜90
Max aperture	4.5	4.5(5.6)	3.5(5.6)
Min aperture	32	32	32
Lens Construction	12elements in 10group	13elements in 11group	14elements in 11group
Min distance(m)	0.5	0.65	0.65
Lens length(mm)	115	167	113.5
Lens Max diameter(mm)	102	102.5	101
Filter Size(mm)	95	95	95
Weight(g)	1140	1410	1030
Release date	Y 2002	Y 2016(Orange dot)	Y2012
Price(Japan-Yen)	¥379,000 Y2023 Uesd ¥150,000〜	¥1,024,000 Y2023 Used ¥300,000〜	¥1,220,000 Y2023 Used ¥500,000〜

Reference links

Update history

2024.8.28
2024.03.04:update
2023.06.25:First draft

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