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

Sonnar T* 100mm f/3.5 (C/Y)

Carl Zeiss · Contax/Yashica · 1982 · Sonnar, 5 elements in 4 groups

Also known as: Contax Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* 100mm F3.5 · Contax Sonnar 100mm f/3.5 · Carl Zeiss Sonnar 100mm 3.5 C/Y · Contax 100mm f/3.5 Sonnar T* · Sonnar 3,5/100 T* · Sonnar 100mm F3.5 AEJ · Sonnar 100mm F3.5 MMJ · Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* 100mm F3.5 AE · Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* 100mm F3.5 MM · Zeiss 100/3.5 C/Y · コンタックス ゾナー 100mm F3.5 · ゾナー T*100mm F3.5 MM · Carl Zeiss Sonnar 100mm F3.5 ヤシカ コンタックス

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
AE (Japan, 1982–1985) Contax/Yashica 1982–1985 — —
MM (1985–) Contax/Yashica 1985 — —
  1. Launch year: Japanese Wikipedia gives 1982 for the AE lens and 1985 for the MM; phillipreeve.net gives 1983 for the AEJ. 1982 is used, the encyclopaedia entry being the one that dates both generations.
  2. Construction (5 elements in 4 groups), closest focus (1.0 m), filter thread (55 mm), weight (285 g) and dimensions (62 × 62 mm) are from apotelyt's C/Y table; Japanese Wikipedia gives the same 4群5枚, 1 m and φ55 mm. phillipreeve.net measured 62.5 mm across and 61 mm long on its copy and gives six aperture blades, the only source for the blade count. Kyocera's 2002 lens index no longer lists the lens, and no Kyocera page for it was found, so no maker's figures or list price are available.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • Front ring engraved Sonnar 3,5/100 T*; a short lens about as long as it is wide (62 × 62 mm) at 285 g, with a 55 mm filter thread (apotelyt; phillipreeve.net)
  • The small 100 mm of the C/Y range: the Planar 100mm f/2 takes 67 mm filters and the Makro-Planar 100mm f/2.8 67 mm at 740 g, and both are far larger
  • Not the Sonnar T* 2.8/90 of the Contax G, an autofocus lens with no focusing ring, nor the Rollei QBM or Hasselblad Sonnars, nor the Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnars for M42 and Exakta

AE (Japan, 1982–1985):

  • Minimum-aperture figure 22 in white; no MM coupling pin
  • 'Made in Japan' on the barrel: the AE lens reviewed by phillipreeve.net is an AEJ, and no West German AE copy has been documented

MM (1985–):

  • Minimum-aperture figure 22 in green and the MM coupling that lets the 159 MM, 167 MT, RTS III, ST, RX, AX and Aria set the aperture in shutter-priority and program modes

Specifications

Formula
Sonnar, 5 elements in 4 groups
Construction
5 elements / 4 groups
Aperture range
f/3.5–f/22
Diaphragm blades
6
Min. focus
1 m
Dimensions
62 × 62 mm
Weight
285 g
Filter
55 mm
Years manufactured
1982
Country
Japan
Coating
T*

What reviewers say

History

The Sonnar T* 3,5/100 is the small telephoto of the Contax/Yashica range: five elements in four groups, 1 m closest focus, a 55 mm filter thread, 285 g, and a barrel about as long as it is wide at 62 mm. Japanese Wikipedia dates the AE lens to 1982 and the MM lens to 1985; phillipreeve.net gives 1983 for the AEJ it tested. It sat between the Sonnar 85mm f/2.8 and the two larger 100 mm lenses, the Planar 100mm f/2 and the Makro-Planar 100mm f/2.8, and was the cheapest and lightest way to a 100 mm Zeiss on a Contax or Yashica body. Japanese Wikipedia quotes the photographer Hioki Munehiro on its rendering, “開放からクセがなく素直でシャープな描写” (straightforward and sharp from full aperture, with no quirks), and on its value for money.

Two barrel generations exist on the same optics. The AE lens of 1982 has a white 22 on the aperture ring and works in aperture-priority and manual; the MM lens of 1985 adds the green 22 and the coupling that lets the 159 MM and later bodies drive the aperture in shutter-priority and program. The AE lens was made in Japan (the reviewed copy is an AEJ, and no German AE copy has been documented); where the MM lenses were made is not recorded, and sellers list them as MMJ. The lens does not appear in Kyocera’s lens index of 2002, so it had been discontinued by then; no Kyocera product page, list price or launch price has been found.

Jannik Peters’s review on a 36-megapixel Sony a7R is the one substantial test. He found the build superb and the handling, with full-stop clicks and a 210° focus throw, among the best of the legacy lenses he had used; sharpness across the frame from f/3.5 with a small lift around f/8; smooth bokeh at close range, with the six blades drawing hexagonal highlights stopped down; about 1 EV of vignetting at f/3.5, gone by f/5.6; minimal pincushion distortion; no ghosting, but veiling flare with the sun just outside the frame that a hood tames; and longitudinal colour fringing in hard contrast, milder than the Makro-Planar 2/100’s but not apochromatic. His conclusion is that the lens has no real weaknesses, that it suits landscape and architecture first and portraits and close-ups occasionally, and that it is worth its price even though that is two to four times what other manual 100 mm lenses fetch.

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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 Sonnar T* 100mm f/3.5 (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: Makro-Planar T* 100mm f/2.8 (C/Y)

Sources (4)

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.