Glass Bodies a variant-level encyclopedia of vintage lenses and cameras by iwillpat

Distagon T* 28mm f/2.8 (C/Y)

Carl Zeiss · Contax/Yashica · 1978

Also known as: Contax Distagon 28mm f/2.8 · Contax Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 28mm F2.8 · Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 28mm f/2.8 C/Y · Zeiss Distagon 2,8/28 T* · Distagon 2.8/28 Contax · Contax 28mm F2.8 MMJ · Contax 28mm F2.8 AEJ · Distagon T* 28mm F2.8 AE · Distagon T* 28mm F2.8 MM · コンタックス ディスタゴン 28mm F2.8 · CONTAX Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 28mm F2.8 MMJ · ディスタゴン T* 28mm F2.8 AEJ · Contax Yashica Distagon 28mm 2.8

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
AE (Japan, 1978–) Contax/Yashica 1978 — —
MM (Japan, 1985–2005) Contax/Yashica 1985–2005 — —
  1. Launch date: Japanese Wikipedia dates the AE to 1978; Phillip Reeve writes 'mid-1970s' and minolta.su lists '1975(?)–2005'. Japanese Wikipedia is the only source to give a year rather than a guess, so 1978 is used here. The MM is 1985 in Japanese Wikipedia and 1984 in Reeve's review (the 159 MM body that introduced the MM lenses is itself dated 1984 by apotelyt and 1985 by camera-wiki).
  2. Specifications: 7 elements in 7 groups (7群7枚), 74°, 0.25 m, 280 g, 62.5 × 50 mm and a 55 mm filter are from Kyocera's 2002–03 product page and are matched by English Wikipedia's table, Japanese Wikipedia and Reeve; apotelyt rounds to 63 × 50 mm, and minolta.su weighed its copy at 284 g. Six blades and the f/2.8–22 range are from Reeve and minolta.su; Reeve gives about 1:6 at the closest distance. Price: ¥57,000 with case is Kyocera's list price as captured in 2002–03, a late price for the MM, not a launch price; no launch price in any currency was found.
  3. Whether the MM is a different optic: apotelyt writes that the 2.8/25 and 2.8/28 'according to Zeiss were optically improved in the MM-version'; Reeve could not find a good source, the comparison he cites shows the MM only marginally better, within the margin of error, and both Wikipedias give 7 groups and 7 elements for both barrels. The two are recorded as generations of one design.
  4. Where it was made: Reeve believes the AE was Japan-made from the start, without proof, and the MM Japan-only; a collector could not find a German copy and a reader comment states none was made. Apotelyt's general note that C/Y lenses moved from Oberkochen to Japan is not evidence that this lens ever left Japan.
  5. Used prices: around US$200–300 on ebay.com and €150–250 on ebay.de at the end of 2015, the MM somewhat dearer (Reeve); apotelyt's band is US$200–600.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • Front ring reads Carl Zeiss, Distagon 2,8/28 and a red T* with the serial; a compact lens, 62.5 mm across and 50 mm long at 280 g, against 76 mm and 530 g for the 28mm f/2 (Kyocera page; English Wikipedia table)
  • 55 mm metal filter thread on a front that does not rotate; aperture ring 2.8–22 (phillipreeve.net; minolta.su, which notes the diaphragm ring turns unusually smoothly)
  • White 22 on the AE, green 22 on the MM; 'Lens made in Japan' on both (phillipreeve.net)
  • Takes the No. 1 metal hood on a 55/86 adapter ring or the 55 mm G-12 soft hood (neither with a filter fitted), the K-51 snap cap, and the Mutar T* I converter but not the Mutar II or III (Kyocera page)
  • Not the Zeiss Distagon T* 2.8/28 for Rollei QBM (HFT), nor the ZF/ZE line, which has no 28mm f/2.8; the Contax G Biogon 28mm f/2.8 is a rangefinder lens with a different mount, and the Yashica ML 28mm f/2.8 carries Yashica's name

AE (Japan, 1978–):

  • Minimum aperture figure 22 in white; 'Lens made in Japan' on the barrel (sellers' AEJ). No German-made copy has been found: a collector searching for one drew a blank and a reader of Phillip Reeve's review states that none was made (phillipreeve.net)
  • Stopped down, the diaphragm forms the ninja-star opening of the AE lenses, which the MM does not (phillipreeve.net)
  • No MM coupling: aperture-priority and manual only on the multi-mode bodies

MM (Japan, 1985–2005):

  • Minimum aperture figure 22 in green and the MM coupling for shutter-priority and program modes; the version needed for Nikon F or Sony A conversions (phillipreeve.net)
  • 'Lens made in Japan' on every copy (sellers' MMJ); Kyocera's product page titles it Distagon T*28mmF2.8 (MM)

Serial-range notes

6631574
The one number recorded here: the AE copy tested by minolta.su, marked Made in Japan. No serial-to-year table for the C/Y lenses has been found; a number places a copy only relative to other numbers.

Specifications

Formula
Distagon — retrofocus wide-angle, 7 elements in 7 groups, all air-spaced, no floating elements; 74° angle of view
Construction
7 elements / 7 groups
Aperture range
f/2.8–f/22
Diaphragm blades
6
Min. focus
0.25 m
Dimensions
62.5 × 50 mm
Weight
280 g
Filter
55 mm
Years manufactured
1978–2005
Country
Japan
Coating
T*
Original price
¥57,000 with case (2003, MM): the maker's list price on Kyocera's Japanese product page as captured in 2002–03, a late price for the final version; no 1978 launch price was found (today ¥65,000)

What reviewers say

Optical Ratings

Aggregated from the reviews above — follow the links for the full picture.

Vignetting
strong wide open
Flare & ghosting
well resisted
Coma
low
Distortion
low
Optical formula — Distagon — retrofocus wide-angle, 7 elements in 7 groups, all air-spaced, no floating elements; 74° angle of view
ⓘ What these charts mean

MTF (modulation transfer function) shows how much contrast the lens keeps at a given fineness of detail, from the center of the frame to the corner — the coarse curves track punch, the fine ones resolving power, and a gap between solid and dashed lines means astigmatism. Relative illumination (falloff) shows how much darker the corners are than the center at each aperture. Manufacturers only began publishing these for modern lenses; no 1950s maker issued them, which is why older families here cite period magazine bench tests instead.

History

The Distagon T* 2,8/28 was the small 28 mm of the Contax/Yashica range, the lens a Contax owner bought instead of the big and costly 28mm f/2. Seven elements in seven groups, all air-spaced and with no floating elements, cover 74° and focus to 0.25 m at about 1:6; the barrel is 62.5 mm across and 50 mm long, weighs 280 g, carries a 55 mm metal filter thread on a front that does not rotate, and stops down through six blades from f/2.8 to f/22, so its sunstars are six-pointed. Japanese Wikipedia dates the AE lens to 1978, Phillip Reeve to the mid-1970s; the MM barrel followed in 1984 or 1985, and the lens was still on Kyocera’s Japanese product page in 2002–03, at ¥57,000 with case, until Contax production ended in 2005.

It appears never to have been made at Oberkochen. Reeve believes the AE was built in Japan from the start, though he has no proof; a collector searching for a German copy found none, a reader of his review states that none was made, and the AE copy tested by minolta.su, number 6631574, reads Made in Japan, as does every MM. The two barrels are told apart by the colour of the 22 on the aperture ring, white on the AE and green on the MM, and by the ninja-star opening the AE’s diaphragm makes stopped down. Apotelyt passes on a Zeiss statement that the MM version was optically improved; Reeve could not find a source for it, the comparison he cites shows differences within the margin of error, and both Wikipedias give the same seven elements in seven groups for both. The MM usually costs a little more, partly because it is the version needed for conversion to Nikon F or Sony A mounts.

Both reviewers like it. Reeve finds the build, flare resistance and price excellent and the sharpness at f/8 very good, against corners that are soft at f/2.8, field curvature, strong vignetting, undistinguished bokeh and a fall-off in performance at close distances for want of floating elements; he calls it very enjoyable, well suited to landscapes, and possibly one of the very best manual 28 mm lenses to be had. Tony at minolta.su goes further, calling it one of the best 28s he has handled, with almost no weaknesses: usable for landscapes from f/5.6 and best at f/8, low in distortion, coma and chromatic aberration, strong only in vignetting, with a monolithic feel and a diaphragm ring that turns as if greased. Used, Reeve saw it at US$200–300 on ebay.com and €150–250 on ebay.de at the end of 2015, and apotelyt’s band is US$200–600, a fraction of what the 28mm f/2 fetches.

Left open: a firm launch year for the AE, the launch price, any serial table, and whether a Zeiss document stands behind the MM improvement claim.

Expand Collapse

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 Distagon T* 28mm f/2.8 (C/Y)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $290 across 67 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-02 (middle half $250–$340). Tracked since 2026-11-01, 2 days: unchanged from $290.

By day
DateMedianMiddle halfListings
2026-11-02$290$250–$34067
2026-11-01$290$250–$34067

Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.

Show 164 more listings

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Buying from Yahoo! Auctions outside Japan. It is a domestic marketplace: sellers ship within Japan, and most will not register an overseas buyer. A proxy service bids on your behalf, receives the item and forwards it, for a fee and a wait. Buyee, Jauce and ZenMarket each accept a Yahoo auction number directly. Listed alphabetically for information — none is recommended over another, and none of these is an affiliate link.

Listings updated 2026-11-02. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: Distagon T* 25mm f/2.8 (C/Y) · Distagon T* 28mm f/2 (C/Y) · Distagon T* 35mm f/2.8 (C/Y)

Sources (8)

Every page here is assembled from public sources, and the gaps are real ones. If you own this lens, know a serial number I'm missing, or can see where I have it wrong, tell me — corrections, serials and sample photos are all worth having.