Apo-Sonnar T* 200mm f/2 (C/Y)
Carl Zeiss · Contax/Yashica · 1996
single source, unconfirmed our own findingAlso known as: Contax Apo-Sonnar 200mm f/2 · Carl Zeiss Apo-Sonnar T* 200mm F2 · Contax Carl Zeiss Aposonnar 200mm F2 MMJ · Contax Carl Zeiss APO Sonnar T* 200mm f/2 MM · Aposonnar T* 2/200 · Apo-Sonnar 2/200 T* C/Y · Zeiss 200mm f/2 Apo-Sonnar C/Y · Contax 200mm f2 APO Sonnar · コンタックス アポゾナー 200mm F2 · CONTAX Carl Zeiss Apo-Sonnar T* 200mm F2 MMJ · カールツァイス アポゾナー T* 200mm F2 · Apo Sonnar 200/2 Contax
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MM (–2005) | Contax/Yashica | — | — | — |
- Element and group count (9群11枚 フィルターを含む), angle of view 12°16', closest focus 1.8 m, 2600 g, 123 × 182 mm, the aperture scale 2–22 and the dedicated slide-in filter are Kyocera's own figures from its product page archived 2002–03. The same page lists a built-in sliding metal hood, no soft hood or gelatin holder, a 111 mm screw-in cap and a dedicated case, and rates the Mutar T* I as mountable with light fall-off and vignetting when stopped down and the Mutar T* II and III as especially good. apotelyt and English Wikipedia count 10 elements in 8 groups, which is Kyocera's count without the filter; English Wikipedia also gives 120 mm across and 2.69 kg against Kyocera's and apotelyt's 123 mm and 2600 g, and the maker's figures are used here.
- Launch year: no source consulted gives one. Japanese and English Wikipedia list the lens without a date, and the Zeiss data sheet is a scan without a legible print date. The 1996 in the year field is this project's estimate from Kyocera's description, which ties the design to the 150 years of Carl Zeiss, founded in 1846; it should be read as 'mid-1990s' until a Zeiss or Kyocera document dates it. The MM barrel alone places it after 1985.
- Price: ¥980,000 with the dedicated lens case is Kyocera's Japanese list price as shown in 2002; no launch price in any currency was found.
- The number of diaphragm blades is not given by Kyocera, apotelyt or either Wikipedia; English Wikipedia says only that the iris has extra blades. The field is left empty.
- The end of production is taken as 2005, the year Kyocera announced it would no longer produce Contax cameras (English Wikipedia); the lens was still on Kyocera's site in 2002–03.
How to tell them apart
- Engraved Carl Zeiss Apo-Sonnar 2/200 T* on the front ring; a 123 mm barrel 182 mm long weighing 2.6 kg, with a tripod collar, a built-in sliding hood, a slide-in filter drawer and no front filter thread
- Not the Sonnar 180mm f/2.8 (815 g, 72 mm thread) nor the Tele-Tessar 200mm f/3.5 and f/4 (screw-in filters, under 800 g); not the Nikon-, Canon- or Pentax-mount 200 mm f/2 lenses of the same era, which carry their makers' names; the Zeiss Apo-Sonnar 2/135 for ZF.2 and ZE is a 2012 Cosina-era lens
- Green 22 on the aperture ring and the MM cam at the rear on every copy; the country is engraved on the barrel
MM (–2005):
- Minimum-aperture numeral 22 in green and the MM cam at the rear flange: Japanese Wikipedia lists the lens only in its MM table, and no AE version is known
- Slide-in filter drawer, built-in sliding hood, 111 mm screw-in front cap, dedicated case; 2.6 kg
- MM (–2005): The only version. Kyocera's product page describes a new construction using super-low- dispersion glass to remove chromatic aberration, designed with the gathered expertise of Carl Zeiss's 150 years, and listed it in 2002 at ¥980,000 with its dedicated lens case³. Where it was made is not stated by any source consulted; read the barrel.
Specifications
- Formula
- Apochromatic Sonnar-type telephoto with super-low-dispersion glass; 11 elements in 9 groups counting the slide-in filter (10 in 8 without it); angle of view 12°16'
- Construction
- 11 elements / 9 groups
- Aperture range
- f/2–f/22
- Min. focus
- 1.8 m
- Dimensions
- 123 × 182 mm
- Weight
- 2600 g
- Filter
- Dedicated slide-in filters (専用フィルター, 差込式); no front thread, 111 mm screw-in cap
- Coating
- T*
- Original price
- ¥980,000 with dedicated lens case (Kyocera's Japanese list price as still shown in 2002 for the MM lens; no launch price found) (today ¥1,110,000)
What reviewers say
No reviews aggregated yet — this family is still in the research queue. Written one? We'd love to index it.
History
The Apo-Sonnar T* 200mm f/2 was the fast 200 of the Contax/Yashica range, listed by Kyocera in 2002 at ¥980,000 with its dedicated case, more than six times the ¥154,000 of the Sonnar 180mm f/2.8. Kyocera’s product page describes a new construction using super-low-dispersion glass to remove chromatic aberration, designed with the gathered expertise of Carl Zeiss’s 150 years and boasting superb contrast and colour reproduction. By the maker’s figures it has eleven elements in nine groups counting the slide-in filter, ten in eight without it, a 12°16’ field, focusing to 1.8 m, an aperture scale from f/2 to f/22, a built-in sliding hood, a 111 mm screw-in cap, and 2.6 kg in a barrel 123 mm across and 182 mm long. There is no front filter thread; filters go into a drawer, and English Wikipedia says a set came with the lens.
It exists only as an MM lens, with the green minimum-aperture numeral and the rear cam for the program and shutter-priority bodies, which places it after 1985. No source consulted gives the launch year; Kyocera’s reference to 150 years of Zeiss points to the firm’s 1996 anniversary, and the 1996 in the year field is an estimate on that basis rather than a sourced date. It stayed on Kyocera’s site until the company’s withdrawal from Contax cameras in 2005. Where it was made is not stated anywhere consulted; the barrel engraving is the only guide. Kyocera rated the Mutar T* II and III teleconverters as especially good with it and the Mutar I as mountable, with light fall-off and vignetting when stopped down.
No blog or video review of the lens was found, only owner remarks and dealer copy, so its rendering is not described here beyond Kyocera’s own claims and English Wikipedia’s note that it is known for its unusually high speed. The lens was made in small numbers and trades at prices of a different order from the other C/Y telephotos; the dedicated filters, the hood mechanism and the tripod collar are the parts to check on a used copy, together with the green 22 and the cam at the rear. No serial table, production total, blade count or launch price has been found.
This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.
Example photos
Sample photo wanted — shot with a Apo-Sonnar T* 200mm f/2 (C/Y)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
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