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

Distagon T* 35mm f/2.8 (C/Y)

Carl Zeiss · Contax/Yashica · 1975

Also known as: Contax Distagon 35mm f/2.8 · Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm F2.8 · Contax Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm f2.8 C/Y · Distagon 2,8/35 T* · Distagon 35mm F2.8 MMJ · Distagon 35mm F2.8 AEJ · Distagon 35mm F2.8 AEG · CONTAX Distagon T* 35mm F2.8 MM · Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm F2.8 AE · コンタックス ディスタゴン 35mm F2.8 · ディスタゴン T* 35mm F2.8 MMJ

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
AE (West Germany and Japan, 1975–) Contax/Yashica 1975 — —
MM (Japan, 1985–2005) Contax/Yashica 1985–2005 — —
  1. Construction, closest focus, weight and filter thread agree across the English Wikipedia Contax lens table, apotelyt's catalogue, lenstip's specification entry and Kyocera's product page of 2002–03: 6 elements in 6 groups, 0.4 m, 245 g, 55 mm, f/2.8–22. The diameter is 62.5 mm on Kyocera's page and in the Wikipedia table, 63 mm on apotelyt; the length is 46 mm in all three. Kyocera gives the angle of view as 62°.
  2. No source consulted gives the number of diaphragm blades; the field is left empty.
  3. Dates: Japanese Wikipedia gives 1975 for the AE lens and 1985 for the MM. The end date of 2005 is the end of Kyocera's Contax production, not a date published for the lens; it was still on Kyocera's product pages in 2003.
  4. Price: ¥46,000 with case is Kyocera's list price for the MM lens as still shown on its Japanese product page archived in 2003. No launch price of 1975 was found in any currency.
  5. Where made: AE copies occur with both the 'Lens made in West Germany' and the 'Made in Japan' engraving; the MM copies seen in trade are Japanese. Apotelyt says production shifted over time from Oberkochen to Zeiss's Japanese facility under the same quality control.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • Front ring reads Carl Zeiss Distagon 2,8/35 T*; 55 mm filter, 62.5 mm across, 46 mm long and about 245 g, stopping down to f/22. The f/1.4 Distagon of the same focal length is a 67 mm, 600 g lens that stops at f/16; the PC-Distagon has a shift mechanism and an 86 mm front
  • AE or MM by the colour of the 22 on the aperture ring: white on the AE, green on the MM, which also has the coupling cam for the multi-mode bodies. A seller's AEG, AEJ or MMJ is read from the country engraving
  • Not the Rollei-mount Distagon 2.8/35 HFT, which carries the Rollei QBM bayonet and HFT rather than T* on the ring, nor the Zeiss Distagon T* 2/35 ZF and ZE of 2007 onward, which are f/2 lenses in Nikon F and Canon EF mounts

AE (West Germany and Japan, 1975–):

  • Minimum-aperture figure 22 in white on the aperture ring; no MM coupling
  • 'Lens made in West Germany' (AEG) or 'Made in Japan' (AEJ) on the barrel; the AEJ is the common one in trade

MM (Japan, 1985–2005):

  • Minimum-aperture figure 22 in green, and the MM cam at the mount for shutter-priority and program exposure
  • 'Made in Japan': no German-made MM copy of this lens was found in trade

Specifications

Formula
Distagon: compact retrofocus wide-angle, 6 elements in 6 groups
Construction
6 elements / 6 groups
Aperture range
f/2.8–f/22
Min. focus
0.4 m
Dimensions
62.5 × 46 mm
Weight
245 g
Filter
55 mm
Years manufactured
1975–2005
Country
West Germany and Japan (AE); Japan (MM)
Coating
T*
Original price
¥46,000 with case, before tax, the list price for the MM lens still shown on Kyocera's Japanese product page archived in 2003; no launch price of 1975 was found (today ¥52,000)

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 Distagon T* 2,8/35 is the small wide-angle of the Contax/Yashica range and was on sale from 1975 with the RTS. Six elements in six groups, 0.4 m closest focus, a 55 mm filter thread and about 245 g in a barrel 62.5 mm across and 46 mm long: it shares its filter size with the Planar 50mm f/1.4 and weighs well under half of the aspherical f/1.4 Distagon of the same focal length, which takes 67 mm filters and 600 g of space in the bag. It stops down to f/22, and Kyocera’s product page gives a 62° angle of view.

Two barrels carried the same optics. The AE lens of 1975, with its minimum-aperture figure in white, was made both in Oberkochen and in Japan; the MM lens that Japanese Wikipedia dates to 1985, the year of the 159 MM, has the figure in green and the cam that lets a multi-mode body set the aperture, and every MM copy met in trade is Japanese. Kyocera’s lineup of February 2001 still carried it as an MM lens, and its product page archived in 2003 listed it at ¥46,000 with case, against ¥168,000 for the f/1.4 and ¥390,000 for the shift PC-Distagon. No 1975 price was found.

Opinion on it is divided in a way the f/1.4 does not attract. Japanese Wikipedia quotes the critic Hioki Munehiro: inexpensive for its performance and unexpectedly capable at portraiture. Owners on the mflenses forum describe it as one of the quietest Contax lenses for contrast, and one argues that if the f/1.4 did not exist this would be counted among the best 35 mm lenses, while another in the same forum rates it poorly. Mike Eckman, reviewing an RTS III in 2021, captioned it as a highly regarded six-element design but never got a frame through the camera. Apotelyt gives a used band of $250–400, the cheapest way into a Zeiss 35 mm lens for the mount.

Left open: the number of diaphragm blades, serial or production data, and the 1975 list price.

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* 35mm f/2.8 (C/Y)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

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* 28mm f/2.8 (C/Y) · Distagon T* 35mm f/1.4 (C/Y) · PC-Distagon T* 35mm f/2.8 (C/Y, shift) · Tessar T* 45mm f/2.8 (C/Y)

Sources (9)

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.