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

Vario-Sonnar T* 28–85mm f/3.3–4 (C/Y)

Carl Zeiss · Contax/Yashica · 1988 · Vario-Sonnar one-touch zoom, 16 elements in 13 groups¹

single source, unconfirmed

Also known as: Contax Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 28-85mm F3.3-4 MMJ · Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 28-85mm F3.3-4 (MM) · Contax Vario-Sonnar 28-85mm f/3.3-4 · Contax 28-85mm f3.3-4 MMJ · Vario-Sonnar T* 3.3-4/28-85 · Vario-Sonnar 3,3-4,0/28-85 · Zeiss 28-85 3.3-4 C/Y · CONTAX Vario-Sonnar T* 28-85mm F3.3-4.0 · Contax Zeiss 28-85mm MMJ · コンタックス バリオゾナー 28-85mm F3.3-4 · バリオゾナー T* 28-85mm F3.3-4 MMJ · CONTAX Vario-Sonnar 28-85mm F3.3-4 MM

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
MM (Japan, 1988–2005) Contax/Yashica 1988–2005 — —
  1. Construction, true focal lengths (29.0–82.4 mm), angles of view (75° to 29°), aperture scale 3.3–22, the 28–35–40–50–60–85 focal-length scale, M82 × 0.75 thread, focusing to 0.6 m, back focal distance 41.4 mm, vertex length 143.3 mm at 28 mm and 99.7 mm at 85 mm, and 735 g are from Carl Zeiss's data sheet, cat. no. 10 47 38 (read from the Wayback Machine's capture of 9 February 2024). Kyocera's product page of October 2002 gives the same 13 groups and 16 elements, 75°–29°, 0.6 m, 735 g and 82 mm.
  2. Length: Kyocera gives 85 × 99.5 mm, kakaku.com the same; Zeiss's drawing is dimensioned ~98 mm and English Wikipedia prints 85 × 98 mm. The Kyocera figure is used. Gearfocus's 880 g is a dealer's figure contradicted by both makers.
  3. Launch year: 1988 rests on kamerastore.com's product description alone; neither Zeiss's sheet nor Kyocera's page is dated, and Japanese Wikipedia gives no year for it. The single-source badge is set for it. 2005 is the end of Kyocera's camera business.
  4. Price: ¥154,000 with case is Kyocera's manufacturer's suggested retail price as published in October 2002, for the MM type; it is the only list price found and may differ from the 1988 price. No US or DM price was found.
  5. Accessories per Kyocera: case No. 5 (included in the price); metal hood W-1 fitted directly, no soft hood; gelatin filter holder not usable; snap-on cap K-81 (82 mm). The Mutar T* I is rated 良好 but with light fall-off at the edges and vignetting when stopped down; Mutar II and III cannot be fitted.
  6. Distortion: Zeiss's curve at 28 mm reaches about −3.5% of image height (barrel) around 18 mm from the centre, the figure a forum member quoted from the same sheet in 2014; relative illuminance at f/3.3 and 28 mm falls to roughly 20% at the extreme corner and to about 40–50% at f/5.6 and f/8.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • Engraved Vario-Sonnar 3,3-4/28-85 T* with a green 22; the largest of the C/Y standard zooms, 85 mm across the front with an 82 mm thread, 735 g, one-touch push-pull barrel with a 28–35–40–50–60–85 scale
  • Shares its 82 mm thread with the 35–135 and the Distagon 15 and Tele-Tessar 300; the 28–70 and 35–70 take 67 mm
  • Not the Contax N Vario-Sonnar 24–85 f/3.5–4.5, an autofocus lens with contacts and no C/Y coupling, nor the Sony or ZA Vario-Sonnars that carry the Zeiss name on autofocus mounts
  • Takes the W-1 metal hood directly; no soft hood was offered (Kyocera)

MM (Japan, 1988–2005):

  • The only version: an MM lens from the start, with the green 22 on the aperture ring; Japanese Wikipedia lists it only among the MM lenses and no AE barrel exists
  • One-touch barrel: a single broad ring that is pushed to zoom and turned to focus, with a focal-length scale of 28–35–40–50–60–85 (Zeiss data sheet)
  • 82 mm filter thread and a wide flared front, 85 mm across, about 98–99.5 mm long and 735 g (Zeiss data sheet; Kyocera)
  • Built in Japan for Kyocera; sellers write it as MMJ

Specifications

Formula
Vario-Sonnar one-touch zoom, 16 elements in 13 groups¹
Construction
16 elements / 13 groups
Aperture range
f/3.3–f/22
Min. focus
0.6 m
Dimensions
85 × 99.5 mm
Weight
735 g
Filter
82 mm (0.75 mm pitch)
Years manufactured
1988–2005
Country
Japan
Coating
T*
Original price
¥154,000 with case (Kyocera list price, MM type, October 2002) (today ¥174,000)

What reviewers say

No reviews aggregated yet — this family is still in the research queue. Written one? We'd love to index it.

Optical formula — Vario-Sonnar one-touch zoom, 16 elements in 13 groups¹
ⓘ What these charts mean

MTF (modulation transfer function) shows how much contrast the lens keeps at a given fineness of detail, from the center of the frame to the corner — the coarse curves track punch, the fine ones resolving power, and a gap between solid and dashed lines means astigmatism. Relative illumination (falloff) shows how much darker the corners are than the center at each aperture. Manufacturers only began publishing these for modern lenses; no 1950s maker issued them, which is why older families here cite period magazine bench tests instead.

History

The Vario-Sonnar T* f/3.3–4.0 28–85 mm is the big standard zoom of the Contax/Yashica line: sixteen elements in thirteen groups, true focal lengths of 29.0 to 82.4 mm covering 75° to 29°, focusing to 0.6 m, an M82 × 0.75 filter thread on a front 85 mm across, and about 735 g. Zeiss’s data sheet, catalogue number 10 47 38, presents it as a lens whose image quality across the range “can be readily compared to lenses with fixed focal lengths”, still good at the 0.6 m limit, in a sturdy mechanical design intended for architecture, landscape and portraiture. Like every Zeiss Vario lens for the Contax SLRs of its day it is a one-touch zoom under a Zeiss patent, a single ring pushed to change focal length and turned to focus, with a focal-length scale at 28, 35, 40, 50, 60 and 85 mm. The sheet’s mount description, with aperture priority, shutter priority and automatic programs, is that of an MM lens, and no AE version exists.

It was built in Japan for Kyocera, which is why sellers call it the MMJ, and kamerastore.com dates its introduction to 1988, a year no maker’s document found so far confirms. Kyocera’s product page of October 2002 still carried it at ¥154,000 including its No. 5 case, close to twice the ¥79,000 asked for the smaller 28–70 f/3.5–4.5, with the W-1 metal hood fitting straight on the front and the Mutar T* I converter rated usable with edge fall-off and some vignetting stopped down. It remained in the range until Kyocera closed its camera business in 2005.

Zeiss’s curves give the character. At 28 mm wide open the 10 cycles/mm contrast stays above 90% out to about 15 mm from the centre before dropping in the corners, and the 40 cycles/mm curve is around 60% in the centre; at f/8 the three frequencies run close together across most of the frame. Barrel distortion at 28 mm reaches about 3.5% of image height, and relative illuminance wide open at 28 mm falls to roughly a fifth at the extreme corner, improving to between 40 and 50% by f/5.6. Owners on the MFlenses forum describe it as sharp as some of the equivalent Contax primes and close to the 35–70 f/3.4 in image quality, name its weight and wide-end distortion as the drawbacks, and complain about the cost of 82 mm polarisers; one used it on a Canon 5D Mark II without the rear element touching the mirror. No blog or video review of it has been found.

A buyer should work the push-pull ring through its full travel, since a one-touch barrel that creeps or wobbles is the usual complaint with this type, confirm that the diaphragm closes to the green 22 and springs back, and check the large front element for cleaning marks. It needs 82 mm filters and the W-1 hood, both large. Left open: the launch year from a maker’s source, the number of diaphragm blades, a launch price, and any price outside Japan.

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 Vario-Sonnar T* 28–85mm f/3.3–4 (C/Y)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $220 across 16 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-02 (middle half $200–$250). Tracked since 2026-11-01, 2 days: unchanged from $220.

By day
DateMedianMiddle halfListings
2026-11-02$220$200–$25016
2026-11-01$220$200–$25016

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

Show 21 more listings

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Listings updated 2026-11-02. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: Vario-Sonnar T* 28–70mm f/3.5–4.5 (C/Y) · Vario-Sonnar T* 35–70mm f/3.4 (C/Y) · Vario-Sonnar T* 40–80mm f/3.5 (C/Y) · Vario-Sonnar T* 35–135mm f/3.3–4.5 (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.