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

Tessar T* 45mm f/2.8 (C/Y)

Carl Zeiss · Contax/Yashica · 1982

Also known as: Contax Tessar 45mm f/2.8 · Carl Zeiss Tessar T* 45mm F2.8 · Contax Carl Zeiss Tessar T* 45mm f2.8 pancake C/Y · Tessar 2,8/45 T* · Tessar 45mm F2.8 MMJ · Tessar 45mm F2.8 AEJ · CONTAX Tessar T* 45mm F2.8 MM · Carl Zeiss Tessar T* 45mm F2.8 AE · Zeiss 45mm f2.8 Tessar pancake · コンタックス テッサー 45mm F2.8 · テッサー T* 45mm F2.8 MMJ パンケーキ

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
AE (Japan, 1982–) Contax/Yashica 1982 — —
MM (Japan, re-issued, –2005) Contax/Yashica — — —
Tessar 100 Jahre anniversary edition (Japan, 2002) Contax/Yashica 2002 — —
  1. Construction (4 elements in 3 groups), closest focus (0.6 m), dimensions (60 × 18 mm) and the 49 mm thread agree between the English Wikipedia table, Japanese Wikipedia, Kyocera's product page and Tony's review on minolta.su. Kyocera gives the angle of view as 50° and lists the filter as 55 mm with the 49/55 ring, because its hoods and gelatin holder mount on that ring; the thread in the lens is 49 mm. The six diaphragm blades are from the minolta.su review.
  2. Weight: 90 g on Kyocera's page, in the English Wikipedia table and, as 'about 90 g', in Zeiss's own data sheet; 87 g measured by minolta.su. The table carries Kyocera's.
  3. Dates: 1982 for the AE lens is Japanese Wikipedia's and the minolta.su review's. No source gives the year of the MM re-issue. The anniversary edition is dated 2002 by apotelyt. The end date of 2005 is the end of Kyocera's Contax production.
  4. Price: ¥37,000 with case is Kyocera's list price for the MM lens as still shown on its Japanese product page archived in 2003. No 1982 list price was found.
  5. Where made: every copy met in trade, AE or MM, is engraved 'Made in Japan'; no German-made Tessar 45 was found, and no source claims one.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • A pancake 18 mm long and 60 mm across, about 90 g, reading Carl Zeiss Tessar 2,8/45 T* on the front ring, with a 49 mm thread; no other C/Y Zeiss lens is this thin, and Zeiss's data sheet calls it the lightweight among the system's standard lenses
  • AE or MM by the colour of the 22 on the aperture ring, white or green; both are Japanese. A titanium-coloured barrel inscribed 'Tessar 100 Jahre' is the 2002 anniversary edition
  • Not the Tessar 2.8/45 of the Rollei 35 S or the Tessar 3.5/40 of the Rollei 35, which are fixed to those cameras, nor the Zeiss Jena and folding-camera Tessars of other mounts: the C/Y lens has the bayonet with its aperture ring at the rear and the T* mark
  • On a digital SLR through a C/Y adapter that reaches infinity, the rear of the lens can foul the mirror (Fred Miranda thread, 2008); on mirrorless bodies the 45.5 mm flange distance means the adapter is taller than the lens (minolta.su)

AE (Japan, 1982–):

  • Minimum-aperture figure 22 in white; 'Made in Japan' on the barrel

MM (Japan, re-issued, –2005):

  • Minimum-aperture figure 22 in green and the MM cam at the mount; 'Made in Japan'

Tessar 100 Jahre anniversary edition (Japan, 2002):

  • Titanium-coloured barrel, in the finish of the Contax G lenses, with a 'Tessar 100 Jahre' inscription (apotelyt; English Wikipedia)

Specifications

Formula
Tessar: 4 elements in 3 groups, in a pancake barrel 18 mm long
Construction
4 elements / 3 groups
Aperture range
f/2.8–f/22
Diaphragm blades
6
Min. focus
0.6 m
Dimensions
60 × 18 mm
Weight
90 g
Filter
49 mm, 49 mm thread; Kyocera's accessory table treats it as a 55 mm lens through the 49/55 step-up ring, with the No.4 metal hood or the 55 mm soft hood on that ring
Years manufactured
1982–2005
Country
Japan
Coating
T*
Original price
¥37,000 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 1982 was found (today ¥42,000)

What reviewers say

History

The Tessar T* 2,8/45 is the pancake of the Contax/Yashica system: Paul Rudolph’s four-element, three-group Tessar of 1902 in a barrel 18 mm long and 60 mm across that weighs about 90 g, which Zeiss’s data sheet calls the lightweight among the system’s standard lenses. It focuses to 0.6 m, stops down to f/22 through six blades, and takes 49 mm filters, though Kyocera’s accessory table treats it as a 55 mm lens through the 49/55 step-up ring, on which its No.4 metal hood and 55 mm soft hood mount. Japanese Wikipedia dates it to 1982, seven years after the first C/Y lenses, and every copy met in trade is engraved ‘Made in Japan’.

Its history is unusual for the range. Japanese Wikipedia says the AE lens was discontinued early, then became popular and commanded high used prices until Kyocera put it back into production in the MM series with the green minimum-aperture figure and the cam for the multi-mode bodies; no source gives the year of the re-issue, but the lens was in Kyocera’s lineup in February 2001 and on its product page in 2002–03 at ¥37,000 with case, the cheapest Zeiss lens in the catalogue. For the Tessar’s centenary in 2002 apotelyt records a limited edition in a titanium-coloured finish inscribed ‘Tessar 100 Jahre’, which the English Wikipedia table describes as finished like the G-series lenses; no number, price or listing of it was found.

In use it is a lens of the centre. Tony’s 2020 review on minolta.su finds the centre and mid-frame very good from f/4 and the corners poor even at f/8, with higher vignetting than usual, smooth if slightly swirly bokeh, and a little focus shift at f/5.6; Japanese Wikipedia puts the focus shift more strongly, as severe enough to take practice. He does not recommend it as a standard lens on a digital body, where the 45.5 mm flange distance makes the adapter taller than the lens, but recommends it without reservation as a small, stylish lens for film cameras, which is what it was made to be. One practical warning from a 2008 Fred Miranda thread: on a digital SLR with an adapter that reaches infinity, the rear of the lens can foul the mirror.

Left open: the year of the MM re-issue, the number and price of the 2002 anniversary edition, serial or production data, and the 1982 list price.

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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 Tessar T* 45mm 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* 35mm f/1.4 (C/Y) · Distagon T* 35mm 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.