Planar T* 85mm f/1.4 (N)
Carl Zeiss · Contax N · 2002
Also known as: Contax N Planar 85mm f/1.4 · Contax N Planar 85mm F1.4 · Contax N Planar T* 85mm f/1.4 · Carl Zeiss N Planar T* 85mm F1.4 · Carl Zeiss Planar T* 85mm f/1.4 N · Planar T* 1,4/85 N · Planar 1.4/85 N · N Planar 85mm f1.4 · Contax N1 Planar 85mm · Planar 85mm F1.4 N mount · コンタックス N プラナー 85mm F1.4 · CONTAX Nマウント プラナー T* 85mm F1.4 · Nプラナー 85mm F1.4
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carl Zeiss N Planar T* 1,4/85 for Contax N (2002–2005) | Contax N | 2002–2005 | — | — |
- Element and group count, focal length (83 mm), angular field (28.5° diagonal), aperture scale 1.4 to 16, closest focus 0.83 m (2.75 ft), 82 mm filter, GB-82 hood, 90 × 80 mm and approx. 810 g are from Kyocera Optics' US press release. Photozone's specification table agrees on 10 elements in 9 groups, 0.83 m (1:8.9), 90 × 80 mm and 82 mm, and gives 800 g.
- Japanese Wikipedia gives the construction as 9 elements in 8 groups with a close-range correction mechanism (近距離補正方式を備え8群9枚). Kyocera's release and photozone both say 10 elements in 9 groups, with six of the ten elements moving in Kyocera's internal focusing design; the maker's figure is the stronger one and is the one carried here.
- Aperture blades: nine, from photozone's specification table; Kyocera's release does not give a count. Focus motor: ultrasonic, according to photozone, 'not a speed daemon but reasonably fast and relatively accurate' on a Canon body.
- Where it was made: Japanese Wikipedia marks every N-system lens 京セラ製, Kyocera-made; no other source reached says where the N lenses were built.
- Price: $1,449.00 is the US street price Kyocera Optics quoted in its announcement, not a list price. No Japanese list price was found; Japanese Wikipedia gives none for this lens.
How to tell them apart
- The fast portrait lens of the Contax N system and its heaviest prime below the 400 mm: an 82 mm filter thread shared only with the 24–85 zoom among the N lenses (Kyocera Optics release; photozone)
- Not the C/Y Planar 85mm f/1.4 of 1975: that lens is manual-focus with six elements in five groups, focuses to 1 m and takes 67 mm filters (Japanese Wikipedia), while this one autofocuses, has ten elements, focuses to 0.83 m and takes 82 mm filters
- Not the Zeiss ZF, ZE or Sony/Zeiss 85mm f/1.4 Planars, which photozone says are not identical to it, nor the Contax 645 Planar 80mm f/2
Carl Zeiss N Planar T* 1,4/85 for Contax N (2002–2005):
- A large lens for an 85 mm: 90 mm across, 80 mm long, about 810 g, with an 82 mm filter thread and the GB-82 hood (Kyocera Optics release); photozone calls it a 'beautifully crafted monster' that dwarfs an EOS 350D
- Internal focusing, so the length does not change and the 82 mm filter does not rotate; a very broad rubberised focusing ring (photozone)
- Contax N bayonet with electrical contacts, an aperture ring marked 1.4 to 16, and no AF/MF switch on the barrel (Kyocera Optics release; photozone)
- A Conurus-converted copy has a Canon EF bayonet and no longer fits an N body; on such a copy the aperture ring set to its smallest stop switches the lens to manual focus (photozone)
- Carl Zeiss N Planar T* 1,4/85 for Contax N (2002–2005): The only version. Kyocera Optics announced it in the United States with the Tele-Apotessar 400mm f/4 in 2002, and Japanese Wikipedia dates its Japanese release to 25 May 2002. The lens was sold until Kyocera left the camera business in 2005; no separate end date was published. No optical revision, finish change or edition is known.
Specifications
- Formula
- Planar type with internal focusing: 10 elements in 9 groups, six of them moving during focusing
- Construction
- 10 elements / 9 groups
- Aperture range
- f/1.4–f/16
- Diaphragm blades
- 9
- Min. focus
- 0.83 m
- Dimensions
- 90 × 80 mm
- Weight
- 810 g
- Filter
- 82 mm
- Years manufactured
- 2002–2005
- Country
- Japan
- Coating
- Zeiss T* multicoating
- Original price
- $1,449 street price (2002, Kyocera Optics' US announcement) (today $2,530)
What reviewers say
- Klaus Schroiff, photozone.de (Conurus-converted sample on Canon EOS) (blog) — A "beautifully crafted monster of a lens": sharp in the centre from f/1.4 with soft borders wide open, negligible lateral colour and distortion, noticeable longitudinal colour fringing, very smooth bokeh and an ultrasonic autofocus that is "not a speed daemon but reasonably fast and relatively accurate". Optical quality 3 of 5, mechanical 4 of 5 on his scale.
- Guest author, Casual Photophile (Contax N1 review) (blog) — With the 50, the standout of the system: not the sharpest wide open, but bokeh of "a dreamy vintage quality" for portraits and the colour and micro-contrast shared by the Zeiss N lenses. Asking prices over $2,000 in 2020, which the author puts down partly to scarcity.
History
The Planar T* 85mm f/1.4 was the fast portrait lens of Kyocera’s Contax N autofocus system and one of the last lenses added to it. Kyocera Optics announced it in the United States in 2002 alongside the Tele-Apotessar 400mm f/4, at a street price of $1,449, and Japanese Wikipedia dates its Japanese release to 25 May 2002. Kyocera’s release describes ten elements in nine groups, an actual focal length of 83 mm covering 28.5° on the diagonal, apertures from f/1.4 to f/16, and an internal focusing design that moves six of the ten elements to hold performance from infinity to the 0.83 m close limit. It takes 82 mm filters and the GB-82 hood, measures 90 mm across by 80 mm long and weighs about 810 g. Japanese Wikipedia gives nine elements in eight groups with a close-range correction mechanism, but Kyocera’s own sheet and photozone’s measurement of a sample both say ten in nine, and the maker’s figure is used here. Japanese Wikipedia lists it, like every N lens, as Kyocera-made.
It is a different design from the manual-focus Planar 85mm f/1.4 of 1975 for the Contax/Yashica mount, which has six elements in five groups, focuses to 1 m and takes 67 mm filters. Photozone also warns that it is not identical to the Zeiss ZF and Sony/Zeiss 85mm f/1.4 lenses that appeared after it. Like every N lens it has an electronic bayonet, its own autofocus motor, an aperture ring that reports to the camera, and no AF/MF switch, the focus mode being set on the body. Focusing is internal, so the length is constant and the filter does not turn.
Klaus Schroiff tested a copy in December 2007 after Conurus had converted it to the Canon EF mount, on an EOS 350D. He found it sharp in the centre from f/1.4 with soft borders wide open, with negligible lateral colour fringing and distortion, noticeable longitudinal fringing in the manner of fast lenses of its era, and very smooth bokeh, and rated it very good to excellent on his scale with a 3 of 5 for optics and 4 of 5 for mechanics. Its ultrasonic motor he called “not a speed daemon but reasonably fast and relatively accurate”. Casual Photophile’s N1 reviewer, who owned most of the line, names the 50 and the 85 as its standouts for their colour, micro-contrast and dreamy bokeh, and saw asking prices above $2,000 in 2020. Many surviving copies are Conurus conversions and no longer fit an N body: on those the aperture ring set to f/16 switches the lens to manual focus, a workaround for the missing AF/MF switch.
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
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