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

Planar T* 135mm f/2 (C/Y)

Carl Zeiss · Contax/Yashica · 1975 · Planar-type telephoto, 5 elements in 5 groups

Also known as: Contax Carl Zeiss Planar T* 135mm F2 · Contax Planar 135mm f/2 · Carl Zeiss Planar 135mm 2 C/Y · Contax 135mm f/2 Planar T* · Planar 2/135 T* · Planar 135mm F2 AEG · Planar 135mm F2 60 Jahre MMG · Carl Zeiss Planar T* 135mm F2 AE · Zeiss 135/2 C/Y · Contax 135mm f2.0 Planar · コンタックス プラナー 135mm F2 · プラナー T*135mm F2 AE · Carl Zeiss Planar 135mm F2 ヤシカ コンタックス

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
AE (West Germany, 1975–) Contax/Yashica 1975 — —
60 Jahre Contax, MM (West Germany, 1992) Contax/Yashica 1992–1992 — —
  1. Launch: Japanese Wikipedia gives 1975 for the AE lens; Kamerastore's product page says 1974, with no source. 1975, the year the RTS and the C/Y bayonet appeared, is used.
  2. Construction (5 elements in 5 groups), closest focus (1.5 m), filter thread (72 mm) and dimensions (75 × 101 mm) agree between apotelyt's table and English and Japanese Wikipedia. Weight: apotelyt and Kamerastore give 790 g, English Wikipedia 830 g; 790 g is used. Blades: Kamerastore gives eight, the only source for the count. The end year is that of the 60 Jahre edition, the latest documented production; no discontinuation date for the regular lens was found, only its absence from Kyocera's 2002 lens index.
  3. MM: English Wikipedia and apotelyt say the standard lens is AE only and that the 60-year anniversary lens is the MM version; Japanese Wikipedia says an MM followed in 1985. Dealer and auction listings show AEG lenses and MMG '60 Jahre' lenses and nothing else, so the English Wikipedia and apotelyt account is the better evidenced.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • Front ring engraved Planar 2/135 T*; a heavy lens with a 72 mm filter thread, 75 mm across and 101 mm long, against the Sonnar 135mm f/2.8's 55 mm thread and 585 g (apotelyt; Kyocera 2002 for the Sonnar)
  • AE lenses are the regular production and read 'Made in West Germany'; an MM lens of this focal length and aperture is the 1992 anniversary edition and carries the '60 Jahre' inscription
  • Not the Apo Sonnar T* 2/135 of 2012 in ZF.2 and ZE mounts, which has eleven elements and the Apo Sonnar name, nor the Sony Zeiss Sonnar 135mm f/1.8 ZA, nor the Contax 645 Sonnar 140mm f/2.8

AE (West Germany, 1975–):

  • Minimum-aperture figure 22 in white and no MM coupling; 'Made in West Germany' on the barrel, the market's AEG
  • Plain Planar 2/135 T* engraving with no anniversary inscription

60 Jahre Contax, MM (West Germany, 1992):

  • '60 Jahre' (60 years) inscription on the barrel and the green 22 of an MM lens; sellers write it as MMG

Specifications

Formula
Planar-type telephoto, 5 elements in 5 groups
Construction
5 elements / 5 groups
Aperture range
f/2–f/22
Diaphragm blades
8
Min. focus
1.5 m
Dimensions
75 × 101 mm
Weight
790 g
Filter
72 mm
Years manufactured
1975–1992
Country
West Germany
Coating
T*

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 Planar T* 2/135 is the fast 135 mm of the Contax/Yashica range, launched with the RTS system in 1975: five elements in five groups, f/2 to f/22, 1.5 m closest focus, a 72 mm filter thread, 75 mm across and 101 mm long, at 790 g by apotelyt’s table and Kamerastore’s page or 830 g by English Wikipedia. Zeiss used the Planar name for it although it is a telephoto rather than a double-Gauss standard lens. Japanese Wikipedia quotes the photographer Hioki Munehiro calling it “現在の最優秀レンズの一つ”, one of the best lenses of its day, and the lens has kept that reputation on the used market, where it sells for several times the price of the Sonnar 135mm f/2.8 that shares its focal length.

The regular lens is an AE lens, made in West Germany and written AEG by sellers, with the white 22 and no coupling for shutter-priority or program modes. English Wikipedia and apotelyt record the only MM version as the limited edition for the sixtieth anniversary of the Contax name in 1992, engraved “60 Jahre”, which the market lists as MMG; Japanese Wikipedia says instead that an MM followed in 1985, a claim no listing or other source supports. The optics are the same in both. The size of the anniversary run has not been found, nor a discontinuation date for the regular lens, which was gone from Kyocera’s lens index by 2002. No launch price in any currency has been found.

No structured review of the lens exists in the sources searched; what circulates is forum opinion, which is divided between those who find it low in contrast and soft at f/2 with colour fringing wide open, improving sharply stopped down, and those who value it for exactly that soft rendering behind the plane of focus. Sellers of used copies advertise “no haze”, which suggests haze is worth checking for. Left open: weight, the anniversary run size, the end of production, the blade count beyond a dealer’s figure, and any serial-to-year table.

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 Planar T* 135mm f/2 (C/Y)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, EUR: a median of €1,200 across 3 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-02 (middle half €1,000–€1,200). First day tracked.

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

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: Sonnar T* 135mm f/2.8 (C/Y)

Sources (5)

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.