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

Vario-Sonnar T* 35–70mm f/3.4 (C/Y)

Carl Zeiss · Contax/Yashica · 1985

single source, unconfirmed

Known as “variable prime”

Also known as: Contax Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 35-70mm F3.4 MMJ · Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 35-70mm F3.4 (MM) · Contax Vario-Sonnar 35-70mm f/3.4 · Contax 35-70mm f3.4 MMJ · Vario-Sonnar T* 3.4/35-70 · Vario-Sonnar 3,4/35-70 · Zeiss 35-70 3.4 C/Y · CONTAX Vario-Sonnar T* 35-70mm F3.4 · Contax Zeiss 35-70mm MMJ · コンタックス バリオゾナー 35-70mm F3.4 · バリオゾナー T* 35-70mm F3.4 MMJ · CONTAX Vario-Sonnar 35-70mm F3.4 MM

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
MM (Japan, 1985–) Contax/Yashica 1985 — —
  1. Construction (10 elements in 10 groups), true focal lengths 35.7–69.0 mm, 63°–34° diagonal, aperture scale 3.4–22, M67 × 0.75 thread with 70 mm clip-on, 0.7 m with a macro setting to 1:2.5, approx. 475 g, 80.5 mm long and 70 mm across, and the Multi-Mode mount are from Carl Zeiss's data sheet, cat. no. 10 47 33 (read from the Wayback Machine's capture of 11 August 2025; the live URL returned 404 on 1 November 2026). Japanese Wikipedia gives the same 10群10枚, 0.7 (0.25) m and φ67; the 0.25 m macro limit is its figure, the sheet giving the macro range as a ratio only.
  2. Diaphragm blades: eight, from David Braddon-Mitchell's specification table on phillipreeve.net; neither Zeiss nor Japanese Wikipedia gives the count. Single source.
  3. Launch year: Zeiss's sheet is undated and Japanese Wikipedia gives no year. Braddon-Mitchell writes that the lens was designed in 1982, and a reader's comment on his review puts its release at 1985; a dealer's description (kamerastore.com) returned by a search gives 1984, but that page could not be fetched. 1985 is used because the lens is MM-only and Japanese Wikipedia dates the 159 MM, the first body to use MM lenses, to February 1985 and the first MM lenses to the same year; the single-source badge is set for it.
  4. Macro: Zeiss describes the macro setting as reached by setting the one-touch ring to 35 mm and 0.7 m and turning clockwise past a slight resistance into the range marked in red, for 1:2.5; Braddon-Mitchell reports the macro mode framing roughly the area of a US $100 note.
  5. Zeiss's curves at 35 mm: barrel distortion reaching about −2.5% of image height at the corner; relative illuminance at f/3.4 falling to about 25% at the extreme corner and to about 70% at f/8. Braddon-Mitchell measured about 2.5% barrel at 35 mm, none at 50 mm and about 1% pincushion at 70 mm, and about two stops of corner vignetting at 35 mm wide open.
  6. No list price was found: Kyocera's archived pages of 2002 do not carry it and no US, DM or yen price has been located. Craig Marshall (RedShark, 2019) put a good used example at US$450–500.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • Engraved Vario-Sonnar 3,4/35-70 T* with a green 22; a constant-aperture one-touch zoom of 70 × 80.5 mm and 475 g with a 67 mm thread and a red-marked macro range beyond 0.7 m at the 35 mm setting
  • The only C/Y zoom with a constant f/3.4; the 28–70 is f/3.5–4.5 with two rings, the 40–80 an f/3.5 AE lens with a 55 mm thread and no macro
  • Not the Contax G Vario-Sonnar 35–70 f/3.5–5.6, an autofocus rangefinder lens with no aperture coupling for the C/Y mount
  • The official hood is large; Braddon-Mitchell suggests a folding rubber hood in 67 mm instead

MM (Japan, 1985–):

  • 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 push-pull barrel with a macro range marked in red beyond the 0.7 m stop at the 35 mm setting (Zeiss data sheet)
  • 70 mm across, 80.5 mm long, 475 g, with a 67 mm thread (Zeiss data sheet)
  • Built in Japan for Kyocera; sellers write it as MMJ

Specifications

Formula
Vario-Sonnar one-touch constant-aperture zoom, 10 elements in 10 groups, with a macro setting to 1:2.5¹
Construction
10 elements / 10 groups
Aperture range
f/3.4–f/22
Diaphragm blades
8
Min. focus
0.7 m
Dimensions
70 × 80.5 mm
Weight
475 g
Filter
67 mm (0.75 mm pitch)
Years manufactured
1985
Country
Japan
Coating
T*

What reviewers say

Optical Ratings

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

Chromatic aberration
very low
Vignetting
two stops wide
Flare & ghosting
glare, few ghosts
Distortion
mild barrel wide
Optical formula — Vario-Sonnar one-touch constant-aperture zoom, 10 elements in 10 groups, with a macro setting to 1:2.5¹
ⓘ 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/3.4 35–70 mm is the Contax/Yashica zoom with the reputation, the one reviewers call a variable prime. Zeiss’s data sheet, catalogue number 10 47 33, gives ten elements in ten groups, true focal lengths of 35.7 to 69.0 mm over 63° to 34°, a constant f/3.4 to f/22, a 67 mm thread, 80.5 mm of length, 70 mm across and about 475 g, which the sheet calls “an exceedingly light universal lens”, and it claims superb image quality with, “unusual for a zoom lens”, very low distortion. It is a one-touch zoom, the same ring pushed to change focal length and turned to focus, with a macro setting to 1:2.5 reached by setting 35 mm and 0.7 m and turning past a slight resistance into a range marked in red; Japanese Wikipedia puts that macro limit at 0.25 m. The sheet’s mount description, with shutter priority and automatic programs, is that of an MM lens, and no AE version exists.

It was built in Japan for Kyocera, hence the MMJ of the listings, and it replaced the German-built 40–80 f/3.5 of 1975 as the compact standard zoom. When exactly is not settled: Zeiss’s sheet is undated, David Braddon-Mitchell writes that it was designed in 1982, a reader of his review gives 1985 for its release, and a dealer’s description says 1984; since Japanese Wikipedia dates the first MM lenses to 1985, that year is used here. By the time Kyocera’s product pages were archived in October 2002 the 28–70 f/3.5–4.5 had taken its place and no page for the 35–70 was to be found, and no list price in any currency has been located.

Zeiss’s curves at 35 mm show the 10 cycles/mm contrast above 90% in the centre at f/3.4 and still around 65% at the frame edge, with the 40 cycles/mm curve at about 65% on axis; at f/8 all three frequencies run flat and high almost to the corner. Barrel distortion at 35 mm reaches about 2.5% at the corner, and relative illuminance wide open drops to about a quarter there, recovering to about 70% at f/8. Braddon-Mitchell’s test on a digital body agrees with the sheet point for point: outstanding centre and midfield at every focal length and aperture, corners weaker wide open at 35 mm and good stopped down, about 2.5% barrel at 35 mm shrinking to nothing at 50 and 1% pincushion at 70, two stops of corner vignetting at 35 mm wide open, very low axial colour, and flare resistance he thought strong for its age, though with glare and contrast loss when the sun is in the frame. His verdict was “remarkably good and useful” and “a consistently crisp vintage lens”, a light three-focal-length kit for landscape and hiking whose contrast is only average by modern standards. Craig Marshall, writing for video users at RedShark, went further: “if you buy only one Contax lens, this is the one to get”, “sharp as a tack”, with minimal breathing outside the macro range and an iris that can be de-clicked, the one drawback being a barrel that extends and so cannot take a matte box. Owners on the MFlenses forum rate the 28–85 as close to it in image quality but heavier, and the 35–70 commanded a little more money.

Handling is the point to try before buying. The one-touch barrel means fine focusing without nudging the focal length takes practice, Braddon-Mitchell found, and a ring that creeps or has gone loose is the common fault of the type; the aperture ring clicks at f/4 and then at full stops. Check that the macro range engages past its detent and returns, that the diaphragm closes to the green 22 and opens cleanly, and that the front element is free of cleaning marks. The official hood is well made but very large; a folding rubber hood in 67 mm does the job. On digital bodies with a deep mirror the rear element can be a problem: an MFlenses member reported mirror lock-up and a sticking aperture lever on a Canon 5D Mark I. Marshall put a good used example at US$450–500 in 2019; Braddon-Mitchell only remarks that prices vary and that patience saves a good deal. Left open: a maker’s date for its introduction and its withdrawal, a list price, and a serial record.

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* 35–70mm f/3.4 (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: Vario-Sonnar T* 28–70mm f/3.5–4.5 (C/Y) · Vario-Sonnar T* 28–85mm f/3.3–4 (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.