REVIEWS - Contax T* 35-135mm F3.3-4.5 Vario-Sonnar

BUILD QUALITY

Like all Contax RTS lenses the 35-135mm feels well built with a nicely dampened focus ring. The focus ring action is light - lighter than my Contax 100mm F2 Planar. The focus ring feels very smooth and really is a joy to use. The only thing that seems a bit awkward is the secondary focus ring for the macro function. To engage the macro mode, the 35-135mm has to be at 35mm and then the secondary ring pulled towards the camera body. The sliding action can be a bit rough; though, my latest 35-135mm engages the macro mode without much effort at all.

The Contax 35-135mm is a large lens. Like its twin brother the 28-85mm, these are big lenses which feel front-heavy or nose-heavy when mounted on a Canon dSLR. It is dubious to label the Contax 35-135mm as a “compact” lens (as Zeiss did in their original marketing literature). Sure, it is great for that purpose, but it feels heavier and heavier as the day wears on, especially with a beefy dSLR like the Canon 1Ds Mark III.

The Contax 35-135mm is a one-touch zoom - meaning the focus ring is also the zoom ring. The lens employs a push-pull design. The push-pull action is very smooth, nicely dampened and with no zoom creep. Some photographers like this design because they can zoom and focus without moving their hand from one ring to another. While others fear the push-pull leads to dust being stirred up in the chamber and eventually landing on the digital sensor. I have used the Canon 28-300L IS and 100-400L IS; the Contax 35-135’s pumping action is more subdued in comparison. With today's dust shakers, dust is less of an issue today than it was in the early 2000's.

HANDLING

The Contax 35-135mm is rated F3.3 at 35mm and F4.5 at 135mm, but I suspect the lens has a lower T-stop rating. When using the Canon 24-105L (an F4 lens) the viewfinder seems brighter than the Contax 35-135mm. At 135mm the viewfinder is dim and seems more like a F5.6 lens - and so do the resulting shutter speeds. Focusing in dim light levels, such as the last couple hours of daylight, is challenging. With F4.5 there is alot of DOF, so images do not “snap” into focus. If using a tripod and Live View, the keeper rate is good - but that sort of defeats the purpose of a “walk-around” lens.

There are an array of lens hood options. Per the Contax specifications, the default is the Contax 82/86s Metal Ring and a Contax #1 Metal Hood. I do not like this combo because it is two pieces. Instead I use a Contax W-1 Metal Hood which works just the same - but is just one piece. I have also tried the Contax 82-86 Metal Ring (note - no “S”) and that works as well, but I have noted a trace of light fall off in the extreme corners. My suggestion is the Contax W-1.

LENS PERFORMANCE

The 35mm side has nice resolution, distortion is well controlled and the images have the typical Zeiss coloring. The corners are pretty good. At F8 the corners are sharp, but the resolution is lower than the center of the lens. Images have a nicely balanced contrast with good shadow detail. There is some barrel distortion which corrects easily in most raw editors. I have not noticed any complex wave distortions like those found in the Contax 21mm Distagon. At 35mm the Contax has higher resolution than my Canon 24-105L, but the corners on the Canon 24-105L are better (assuming a F8 image).

The 135mm side is more exciting with its bokeh. Compared to the Canon 24-105L, the Contax 135mm reach offers more background blurring potential. However, this is no Canon 135mm F2 L USM. The Contax 35-135mm's bokeh is pleasant in most conditions. Busy backgrounds such as pebbles, rock beds or foliage can create some undesired effects. This true for most lenses, so not a demerit solely against the Contax 35-135mm. The Contax 35-135mm can render a pleasing portrait, but for portraits and similar subjects, I rather use the Contax 100mm F2 Planar.

There is some light fall-off in the corners. When stopped down to F5.6 or F8, any light fall off that remains is not noticeable. There can be some strong vignetting in macro mode in the extreme corners - expect to crop the last 2-3% of the image in each corner. The images have nice contrast and sharpness, and (surprisingly) sometimes there is the classic Zeiss 3D effect. Coloring is neutral and pictures tend to have nice greens and blues.

Coloring fringing (CA) is evident, but is minor and is definitely less than my Canon 24-105L. Capture One easily cleans up the CA, so it does not worry me much. The Contax will flare if shot into the sun. The flare has been the pretty type with nicely stacked shapes & colors. The front element does NOT rotate, so using polarizers and graduated filters is trouble-free.

MACRO MODE

The Contax 35-135mm’s macro function is amazing and the most impressive feature of the lens. The Contax 35-70mm has a simple macro function which engages when the focus is turned fully to the left and past a soft-stop. The 35-70mm’s macro function is a neat parlor trick; whereas the 35-135mm is a serious macro lens. The Contax 35-135mm macro mode is much more refined - the adjustability and range is greater, with more precision. To engage the macro function on the 35-135mm, the focus ring is set at 35mm, then the lower ring is pulled towards the camera until it locks into position. Engaging the macro mode may take a small amount of force to click into place.

Once in the macro mode the the focal length has a small zoom range - probably in the 35-45mm range. The secondary ring (the one used to engage macro mode) is also the focus ring for the macro mode. The big focus ring controls the zoom range. The minimum focus distance is ~12”. I use the zoom for product shots because its macro view has a very unique, somewhat wide angle feel. The light fall off in the corners can be pretty high on full-frame dSLRs, so shooting F8 or F11 is a good plan. There can be physical vignetting in the extreme corners from the lens hood, so some minor cropping might be needed. This probably sounds horrible, but it really is just the most extreme corners.

CONCLUSION

Looking at 100% crops on the monitor, I am always amazed at the level of detail resolved by the Contax 35-135mm. I think “my” Contax 35-135mm is appreciably better than “my” Canon 24-105L. Comparing the Contax 24-105L to the Contax 35-135mm is a give and take affair. The Canon offers auto focus, stabilization, weather sealing and auto aperture. The Contax offers a very useful 35-135mm range, better optical performance and an awesome macro mode.

The Contax 35-135mm’s slow aperture posed its greatest challenge. Back in the dSLR days, focus confirmation adapters really did not much help. ISO performance at that time was kind of limited too. But today with cameras like the Sony A7rIII and Nikon Z7, accurately focusing manual zooms is a breeze. And today's ISO performance is crazy good, so a slow apertured zoom is not nearly the problem it once was. So, that leaves the Contax 35-135mm's size as probably its biggest problem, it is definitely a large lens on today's mirrorless bodies.

The Contax 35-135mm oozes the classic, retro gear feel. In my experience the 35-135mm macro function is the stand-out feature, and the 135mm reach is very useful for my shooting style. If you are feeling bored with your Canon 24-70mm F2.8 L or Canon 24-105mm F4 L IS, then the Contax 35-135mm might offer that something extra you have been hoping to find.