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

Makro-Planar T* 60mm f/2.8 (C/Y)

Carl Zeiss · Contax/Yashica · 1978

Also known as: Contax Makro-Planar 60mm f/2.8 · Contax Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 60mm F2.8 · Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 60mm F2.8 C/Y · Makro-Planar T* 60mm F2.8 AEJ · Makro-Planar T* 60mm F2.8 AEG · Makro-Planar T* 60mm F2.8 C MMJ · Makro Planar 2,8/60 T* · Contax S-Planar 60mm f/2.8 · S-Planar 2,8/60 T* AEG · Contax Zeiss 60mm 2.8 Macro · Contax 60mm f/2.8 Makro Planar C · コンタックス マクロプラナー 60mm F2.8 · コンタックス Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 60mm F2.8 AEJ · マクロプラナー 60mm F2.8 C MMJ · コンタックス Sプラナー 60mm F2.8

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
S-Planar T* 60mm f/2.8 AE (West Germany, 1978–) Contax/Yashica 1978 — —
Makro-Planar T* 60mm f/2.8 AE (Japan, –2005) Contax/Yashica — — —
Makro-Planar T* 60mm f/2.8 C MM (Japan, 1985–2005) Contax/Yashica 1985–2005 — —
  1. Construction (4 groups, 6 elements), 39°, closest focus and magnification (0.24 m at 1:1; 0.27 m at 1:2 for the C), weights (570 g; 260 g), dimensions (75.5 × 74 mm; 65.5 × 51 mm), filters (67 mm; 55 mm) and the f/2.8–22 scale are Kyocera's figures from its two product pages (kyocera.co.jp, archived 2003, page copyright 2002). Japanese Wikipedia and apotelyt agree on the construction and on the C's reduced helicoid. The family row carries the 1:1 lens's figures; the C's filter is on its own line.
  2. Blade count not given by Kyocera, Japanese Wikipedia or apotelyt; left empty.
  3. Prices: ¥128,000 with case for the Makro-Planar 60mm f/2.8 AE and ¥108,000 with case for the 60mm f/2.8 C MM are Kyocera's list prices as still shown in 2002–03; the price field carries the 1:1 lens's. No 1978 launch price for the S-Planar was found in any currency.
  4. Dates and names: 1978 for the S-Planar in West Germany is Japanese Wikipedia's; neither it nor any other source found gives the year the name changed to Makro-Planar or the year Japanese production began. The C is an MM-type lens and so no earlier than the MM barrel of 1985; no separate launch date for it was found. 2005 is the end of Kyocera's Contax business. A Spanish test on digitalcamaralens.com describes its 1:1 lens as a German-made AE Makro-Planar dated 1990, which does not fit Japanese Wikipedia's account that the Makro-Planar name arrived with Japanese production; one or the other is loose, and the barrel engraving of any given copy settles its origin.
  5. Mutar: Kyocera's pages say the Mutar I converter fits both barrels, with light fall-off at close range and vignetting when stopped down close; Mutar II and III do not fit.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • Three barrels, one optical system: S-Planar 2,8/60 (West Germany, white 22), Makro-Planar 2,8/60 (Japan, white 22, 1:1, 67 mm filter, 570 g) and Makro-Planar 2,8/60 C (Japan, green 22, 1:2, 55 mm filter, 260 g)
  • The 1:1 lenses nearly double in length as they are focused in and show the magnification scale on the extended inner barrel; the C extends far less and stops at 1:2
  • The two 1:1 lenses are the only AE-type Zeiss lenses Kyocera still sold in 2002–03 alongside the Makro-Planar 100mm f/2.8; neither exists as an MM lens, so an 'MM 60mm 1:1' offer is either the C or mislabelled
  • Not to be confused with the Makro-Planar T* 2/50 ZF / ZE of 2007 (f/2, 50 mm) or the Contax 645 Apo-Makro-Planar 120mm f/4

S-Planar T* 60mm f/2.8 AE (West Germany, 1978–):

  • Name ring reads S-Planar 2,8/60 T*; 'Made in West Germany'; white 22 on the aperture ring (AE)
  • Long double-helicoid barrel focusing to 0.24 m at 1:1; 67 mm filter; about 570 g

Makro-Planar T* 60mm f/2.8 AE (Japan, –2005):

  • Name ring reads Makro-Planar 2,8/60 T*; 'Lens made in Japan'; white 22 (AE) — this lens was never issued as an MM type
  • Same long 1:1 barrel as the S-Planar: 0.24 m, 67 mm filter, 570 g, 75.5 × 74 mm

Makro-Planar T* 60mm f/2.8 C MM (Japan, 1985–2005):

  • Name ring reads Makro-Planar 2,8/60 C T*; 'Lens made in Japan'; green 22 (MM)
  • Short barrel, 65.5 × 51 mm and 260 g, focusing to 0.27 m at 1:2 only; 55 mm filter instead of 67
  • Aperture numerals printed rather than engraved (Japanese Wikipedia)

Specifications

Formula
Makro-Planar, 6 elements in 4 groups; 39° angle of view; the same optical system in all three barrels
Construction
6 elements / 4 groups
Aperture range
f/2.8–f/22
Min. focus
0.24 m
Dimensions
75.5 × 74 mm
Weight
570 g
Filter
67 mm (S-Planar T* 60mm f/2.8 AE (West Germany, 1978–), Makro-Planar T* 60mm f/2.8 AE (Japan, –2005)) · 55 mm (Makro-Planar T* 60mm f/2.8 C MM (Japan, 1985–2005))
Years manufactured
1978–2005
Country
West Germany, then Japan
Coating
Zeiss T* multicoating
Original price
¥128,000 with case for the Makro-Planar 60mm f/2.8 AE (1:1), Kyocera's list price still shown in 2002–03; the 60mm f/2.8 C MM was ¥108,000 with case on the same list. No 1978 launch price was found (today ¥145,000)

What reviewers say

Optical Ratings

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

Chromatic aberration
very low lateral
Flare & ghosting
middling
Distortion
0.4% barrel

History

The 60mm f/2.8 is the Contax/Yashica line’s standard macro lens, a six-element, four-group design covering 39° that Zeiss sold under three names in three barrels without, by Kyocera’s and apotelyt’s account, changing the glass. It appeared in 1978 as the S-Planar T* 60mm f/2.8, an AE lens made at Oberkochen under the name Zeiss then used for its close-range-corrected designs, with a long double helicoid reaching life size at 0.24 m, a 67 mm filter thread, about 570 g, and, Japanese Wikipedia notes, elaborate internal baffling against reflections. When production moved to Japan the same lens became the Makro-Planar T* 60mm f/2.8, still an AE type: it was never made with the MM coupling, and in 2002–03 it and the Makro-Planar 100mm f/2.8 were the only AE lenses left in Kyocera’s list, the 60 at ¥128,000 with case.

The third barrel is the Makro-Planar T* 60mm f/2.8 C, an MM lens made in Japan. Kyocera’s page describes it as the 60mm f/2.8’s optical system unchanged in a compact mount: the helicoid stops at 1:2 and 0.27 m, the filter drops to 55 mm, the weight to 260 g and the length to 51 mm, and the aperture numerals are printed rather than engraved. It was listed at ¥108,000 with case in 2002–03. The two forms suit different buyers: the 1:1 lens is the one for true macro work, the C a short-focusing standard lens that reaches life size only with an extension tube. Kyocera says the Mutar I converter fits either, with light fall-off close up.

No English-language test of the lens was found beyond forum threads; a Spanish MTF test on digitalcamaralens.com of a German-made 1:1 AE lens on a Sony A7R II found resolution reasonable but a little low and well below the Makro-Planar 100’s, peaking at f/5.6–8, with very low lateral colour, 0.4% distortion, soft and reasonable bokeh and build it rated 10/10, the one wish being more contrast overall. That page dates its lens to 1990 and calls it a Makro-Planar, which sits awkwardly with Japanese Wikipedia’s statement that the name changed with Japanese production; the engraving on a given copy, S-Planar or Makro-Planar, West Germany or Japan, is the thing to read. Forum owners praise the out-of-focus rendering more than the sharpness, and one 2007 thread’s claim that the C was built by Cosina is disputed in the same thread and supported by nothing else found.

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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 Makro-Planar T* 60mm 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: Planar T* 50mm f/1.4 (C/Y) · Planar T* 50mm f/1.7 (C/Y) · Planar T* 55mm f/1.2 '100 Jahre Planar' (C/Y)

Sources (7)

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.