Vario-Sonnar T* 70–200mm f/3.5–4.5 (N)
Carl Zeiss · Contax N · 2002 · Vario-Sonnar telephoto zoom, 14 elements in 11 groups
single source, unconfirmedAlso known as: Contax N Vario-Sonnar 70-200mm f/3.5-4.5 · Contax N 70-200mm F3.5-4.5 · Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 70-200mm F3.5-4.5 N · Contax Vario Sonnar T* 70-200mm f3.5-4.5 N mount · Vario-Sonnar 3,5-4,5/70-200 T* · Contax N1 70-200mm · Zeiss 70-200mm f/3.5-4.5 Contax N AF · コンタックス N バリオゾナー 70-200mm F3.5-4.5 · CONTAX Nマウント Vario-Sonnar T* 70-200mm · バリオゾナー T* 70-200mm F3.5-4.5
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 3,5-4,5/70-200 for Contax N (2002–2005) | Contax N | 2002–2005 | — | — |
- Construction (14 elements in 11 groups), 1.0 m closest focus, 67 mm filter, release month and ¥85,000 list price are from Japanese Wikipedia's Contax N lens table, which names Kyocera as the maker. Zeiss's own data sheet for the lens (file 354570200) is no longer served by Zeiss and was read only through search snippets: it gives an M67 × 0.75 thread and describes an internal autofocus drive motor that can be switched off.
- Weight is given three ways: 634 g by Japanese Wikipedia, 650 g by kakaku.com's product record, and about 620 g in the indexed text of Zeiss's data sheet. The Japanese Wikipedia figure is used, sitting between the other two; none of the three is strongly evidenced over the others. Stronger, if the data sheet reappears: Zeiss.
- Dimensions of 77.5 mm across by 106 mm long are from kakaku.com alone. Aperture blades, minimum aperture and the hood designation were not found in any source reached; Japanese Wikipedia says only that the hood was sold separately.
- Prices: ¥85,000 is the Japanese list price at release (Japanese Wikipedia). About 1,000 euros was the European price quoted by the poster Dirk on the dprforum Contax N thread in May 2002. No US price was found.
How to tell them apart
- A Vario-Sonnar 70–200 with an autofocus motor inside and the electronic Contax N bayonet, which carries contacts and no mechanical coupling: Kyocera's manual-focus Contax/Yashica tele zooms of the same era are the 80–200mm f/4 and 70–210mm f/3.5, with the C/Y bayonet and no motor
- Not the Zeiss Vario-Sonnar 70–300 for the same mount, which is longer and heavier with a 72 mm filter, nor the Vario-Sonnar 70–200mm f/2.8 lenses Sony later sold under the Zeiss name for its Alpha bodies
- Copies converted to Canon EF by Conurus carry an EF bayonet in place of the N mount and no longer fit the N1 or NX (photozone, describing a Conurus-converted N lens)
Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 3,5-4,5/70-200 for Contax N (2002–2005):
- Vario-Sonnar 3,5-4,5/70-200 on the front ring with a red T*; the electronic N bayonet at the rear, with contacts and no mechanical aperture or focus coupling (Zeiss naming; the N mount as described on Japanese Wikipedia)
- 67 mm filter thread, 1.0 m closest focus, about 106 mm long: the smallest and lightest of the three N telephoto lenses (Japanese Wikipedia; kakaku.com)
- Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 3,5-4,5/70-200 for Contax N (2002–2005): The only version. Released in Japan in February 2002 at ¥85,000, the cheapest lens in the N line, and sold until Kyocera ended Contax production in 2005. No optical revision, finish change or special edition is recorded by any source reached.
Specifications
- Formula
- Vario-Sonnar telephoto zoom, 14 elements in 11 groups
- Construction
- 14 elements / 11 groups
- Aperture range
- f/3.5
- Min. focus
- 1 m
- Dimensions
- 77.5 × 106 mm
- Weight
- 634 g
- Filter
- 67 mm (0.75 mm pitch)
- Years manufactured
- 2002–2005
- Coating
- T*
- Original price
- ¥85,000 (today ¥96,000) in Japan at release in February 2002 (Japanese Wikipedia); about 1,000 euros in Europe in May 2002 by a forum report. No US price was found.
What reviewers say
- Guest author, Casual Photophile (Contax N1 review) (blog) — A body review by an owner of seven of the nine N lenses, this one among them. No lens-specific verdict: the N lenses as a group are credited with "great color rendition, clarity and contrast" and a micro-contrast "pop", with flare and fringing well controlled.
History
The Vario-Sonnar T* 3,5-4,5/70-200 was the last-but-one lens added to Kyocera’s Contax N autofocus system and the cheapest in it. Japanese Wikipedia dates its Japanese release to February 2002 at ¥85,000, against ¥175,000 for the 70–300 that had launched with the N1 in October 2000, and gives 14 elements in 11 groups, a closest focus of 1.0 m, a 67 mm filter and 634 g, with the hood sold separately. kakaku.com’s product record, opened in September 2002, measures it at 77.5 mm across and 106 mm long. Zeiss’s own data sheet is no longer online; its indexed text describes an internal autofocus drive motor that can be switched off and promises high image quality at every focal length. Like every N lens it is fully electronic, with an aperture ring read by the body, a focus motor inside the barrel and nothing mechanical at the bayonet, which has a larger throat than the Contax/Yashica mount and takes no C/Y lens.
There is one version, made until Kyocera wound up Contax in 2005. The poster Dirk quoted it at about 1,000 euros in Europe in May 2002, among the lenses available or due within weeks. Reviews are scarce. The one kakaku.com user review, from 2018, rates it 5 of 5 for image quality and portability and 3 for handling, finds the autofocus slow on an adapter, and sets it against the manual-focus C/Y Vario-Sonnar 80–200 as a cheap way into Zeiss glass. Casual Photophile’s N1 reviewer owns it but says nothing about it in particular, crediting the N lenses as a group with strong colour, contrast and a micro-contrast “pop”.
The weight is the one figure the sources cannot agree on: 634 g (Japanese Wikipedia), 650 g (kakaku.com) or about 620 g (the Zeiss data sheet as indexed). Blade count, minimum aperture and the hood designation were not found. Used, it is the least expensive N lens on the market; a share of surviving N lenses were converted to Canon EF mount by Conurus after the system ended, and a converted copy no longer fits an N1 or NX, so a listing should show the N bayonet with its contacts, not an EF flange.
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* 70–200mm f/3.5–4.5 (N)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
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