Vario-Sonnar T* 28–80mm f/3.5–5.6 (N)
Carl Zeiss · Contax N · 2001
single source, unconfirmedAlso known as: Contax N Vario-Sonnar 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 · Contax N Vario-Sonnar 28-80mm F3.5-5.6 · Contax N Vario Sonnar T* 28-80mm · Carl Zeiss N Vario-Sonnar T* 28-80mm F3.5-5.6 · Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 N · Vario-Sonnar T* 3,5-5,6/28-80 N · Vario-Sonnar 3.5-5.6/28-80 N · N Vario-Sonnar 28-80mm · Contax NX 28-80mm · Vario-Sonnar 28-80mm N mount · コンタックス N バリオゾナー 28-80mm F3.5-5.6 · CONTAX Nマウント バリオゾナー T* 28-80mm F3.5-5.6 · Nバリオゾナー 28-80mm
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carl Zeiss N Vario-Sonnar T* 3,5-5,6/28-80 for Contax N (2001–2005) | Contax N | 2001–2005 | — | — |
- The family's focal length and aperture are the wide end; the maximum aperture falls from f/3.5 at 28 mm to f/5.6 at 80 mm. Element and group count, closest focus, filter thread, weight, release month and list price are from Japanese Wikipedia's list of N-system lenses. A search-engine snippet of Zeiss's historical datasheet (zeiss.de, vario-sonnar-35562880) gives the same 7 elements in 7 groups; the file returned 404 on 1 November 2026. No second full specification sheet was reached.
- Aperture: Zeiss's datasheet file name and Japanese Wikipedia give f/3.5–5.6; the May 2002 European list posted on dprforum lists it as a 28–80/4.5–5.6, which no maker source supports. Minimum aperture, blade count, dimensions and motor type: no source reached gives them, and the fields are left empty.
- Close focus: 0.5 m normally and 0.25 m in the macro setting (Japanese Wikipedia); Casual Photophile gives the macro ratio as 1:2 at 80 mm, enough, in Zeiss's words as the reviewer reports them, to fill the frame with a credit card.
- 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: ¥65,000 is the Japanese list price at release (Japanese Wikipedia). A May 2002 European list posted on dprforum put it at about 700 EUR. No US price was found; Casual Photophile saw NX bodies with this lens at $200–350 in 2020.
How to tell them apart
- The kit zoom of the Contax NX, and the only N lens with a 55 mm filter thread: the next smallest, the 50mm f/1.4 and 70–200, take 67 mm (Japanese Wikipedia)
- Not a Contax/Yashica Vario-Sonnar: the manual-focus 28–70mm f/3.5–4.5 and 35–70mm f/3.4 have the three-claw C/Y bayonet and no autofocus motor, while this lens has the electronic N bayonet
- Not the Contax G Vario-Sonnar 35–70mm f/3.5–5.6 or the Sony/Zeiss Vario-Sonnar zooms, which share the design name on other mounts
Carl Zeiss N Vario-Sonnar T* 3,5-5,6/28-80 for Contax N (2001–2005):
- The smallest and lightest N zoom: 55 mm filter thread, 380 g, hood supplied (Japanese Wikipedia); every other N lens takes 67 mm or larger filters
- A macro setting that takes the close limit from 0.5 m to 0.25 m, reaching 1:2 at 80 mm (Japanese Wikipedia; Casual Photophile NX review)
- Contax N bayonet with electrical contacts, an aperture ring and no AF/MF switch on the barrel, as on every N lens (photozone on the N lenses)
- Carl Zeiss N Vario-Sonnar T* 3,5-5,6/28-80 for Contax N (2001–2005): The only version. Japanese Wikipedia dates its release to November 2001 at ¥65,000 and lists it as Kyocera-made; it was introduced as the kit lens of the NX of 2002 and also sold in a kit with the N1 (Mike Eckman; Casual Photophile). The system was sold until Kyocera left cameras in 2005, and no separate end date for the lens was published. No optical revision, finish change or edition is known.
Specifications
- Formula
- Compact Vario-Sonnar kit zoom, 7 elements in 7 groups, with a macro setting at the long end
- Construction
- 7 elements / 7 groups
- Aperture range
- f/3.5
- Min. focus
- 0.5 m
- Weight
- 380 g
- Filter
- 55 mm
- Years manufactured
- 2001–2005
- Country
- Japan
- Coating
- Zeiss T* multicoating
- Original price
- ¥65,000 (November 2001, before tax) (today ¥73,000)
What reviewers say
- Drew Chambers and James, Casual Photophile (Contax NX review) (blog) — A slow kit zoom that "performs best at 50mm" and gives little background blur, but with contrasty, deep colour the reviewer reads as classic Zeiss, excellent distortion control at 80 mm and a 1:2 macro setting whose sharpness "blows me away" and which both authors preferred to the lens at normal distances. The autofocus motor in Chambers's copy failed after months of use, leaving the lens to manual focus.
History
The Vario-Sonnar T* 28–80mm f/3.5–5.6 was the budget zoom of Kyocera’s Contax N autofocus system and the kit lens of the NX, the smaller and cheaper body with a built-in flash that Kyocera announced in February 2002; Mike Eckman says it was also sold in a kit with the N1. Japanese Wikipedia dates the lens to November 2001 at ¥65,000, the lowest list price in the N range, and lists it as Kyocera-made, with seven elements in seven groups, a 55 mm filter thread, 380 g, the hood supplied, and a close limit of 0.5 m that a macro setting takes to 0.25 m. A search-engine snippet of Zeiss’s own datasheet, no longer on Zeiss’s sites, gives the same seven elements in seven groups. A European list posted in May 2002 priced it at about 700 EUR and described it as an f/4.5–5.6 lens, which no maker source supports. The maximum aperture falls from f/3.5 at 28 mm to f/5.6 at 80 mm. No source reached gives its blade count, minimum aperture, dimensions or the type of its focus motor.
It is the smallest N lens, the only one with a 55 mm filter thread, and it follows the rest of the line mechanically: an electronic bayonet with a larger throat than the Contax/Yashica mount, an autofocus motor in the lens, an aperture ring that reports to the camera, and no AF/MF switch on the barrel. Zeiss’s manual-focus zooms for the C/Y mount, the 28–70mm f/3.5–4.5 and the 35–70mm f/3.4, are the lenses a seller is most likely to confuse it with in a title, and the Contax G 35–70mm shares the Vario-Sonnar name on the rangefinder mount.
The one published account of it in use is Casual Photophile’s NX review of 2020, in which Drew Chambers, with a second opinion from James, used the camera with this lens. He found it slow, as its aperture suggests, with little background blur, best at 50 mm, and marked by contrasty, deep colour he regarded as classic Zeiss. Its macro setting reaches 1:2 at 80 mm, close enough by Zeiss’s account to fill the frame with a credit card; its sharpness there “blows me away”, distortion at 80 mm is excellent, and both authors liked their macro frames best. After months of regular use the autofocus motor in his copy failed, leaving the lens usable in manual focus with the camera’s focus confirmation, and he could not say whether the failure is common. He found NX bodies with this lens at about $200 to $350 for a patient buyer in 2020, with the 24–85 costing a little more.
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* 28–80mm f/3.5–5.6 (N)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
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