Vario-Sonnar T* 70–300mm f/4–5.6 (N)
Carl Zeiss · Contax N · 2000
Also known as: Contax N Vario-Sonnar 70-300mm f/4-5.6 · Contax N 70-300mm F4-5.6 · Contax N 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 · Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 70-300mm F4-5.6 N · Contax Vario Sonnar T* 70-300mm f4-5.6 N mount · Vario-Sonnar 4-5,6/70-300 T* · Contax N1 70-300mm · Zeiss 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Contax N AF · コンタックス N バリオゾナー 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 · CONTAX Nマウント Vario-Sonnar T* 70-300mm · バリオゾナー T* 70-300mm F4-5.6
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 4-5,6/70-300 for Contax N (2000–2005) | Contax N | 2000–2005 | — | — |
- Maximum aperture: Zeiss's data sheet is filed as 405670300, its own code for a 4-5.6/70-300, and Casual Photophile, photozone, kentfaith and most sellers write f/4–5.6; Japanese Wikipedia's lens table and Dirk's list on the dprforum N thread of May 2002 write f/4.5–5.6. The Zeiss naming is used here. Stronger: Zeiss.
- Construction (16 elements in 11 groups, one of them special low-dispersion glass), 1.5 m closest focus, 72 mm filter, 1,065 g, release month and the ¥175,000 list price are from Japanese Wikipedia's Contax N lens table, which names Kyocera as the maker; the indexed text of Zeiss's data sheet gives the same 16/11 and an M72 × 0.75 thread. photozone's specification box for a Conurus-converted copy prints 14 elements in 12 groups, 7 aperture blades, 1,070 g, 88 × 129 mm and a 52 mm filter; the filter figure contradicts every other source and the maker, so that box is not relied on for construction or blades. Stronger: Zeiss and Japanese Wikipedia.
- Minimum aperture, blade count (beyond photozone's 7) and the hood designation were not found in a source reached; photozone describes the hood as a barrel-shaped snap-on metal hood and the filter mount as non-rotating.
- Prices: ¥175,000 is the Japanese list price at the October 2000 launch (Japanese Wikipedia). About 1,500 euros was the European price quoted by Dirk on the dprforum N thread in May 2002; photozone in 2007 recalled it as about 1,000 euros new. No US price was found.
How to tell them apart
- A Vario-Sonnar 70–300 with an autofocus motor inside and the electronic Contax N bayonet: Zeiss never made a 70–300 for the manual-focus Contax/Yashica mount, whose nearest lens is the Vario-Sonnar 100–300mm f/4.5–5.6
- Not the 70–200mm f/3.5–4.5 of the same mount, which takes 67 mm filters and weighs about 634 g against this lens's 72 mm and 1,065 g
- Copies converted to Canon EF by Conurus carry an EF bayonet, lose the aperture-ring coupling to an N body, and are focused manually by setting the aperture ring to its smallest stop (photozone); they no longer fit the N1 or NX
Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 4-5,6/70-300 for Contax N (2000–2005):
- Vario-Sonnar 4-5,6/70-300 on the front ring with a red T*; the electronic Contax N bayonet at the rear (Zeiss naming; photozone)
- 72 mm filter thread, 1.5 m closest focus, about 1,065 g: a far larger lens than the 70–200 of the same mount (Japanese Wikipedia)
- Internal focusing, so the length stays fixed while focusing but extends when zooming; a barrel-shaped snap-on metal hood (photozone)
- Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 4-5,6/70-300 for Contax N (2000–2005): The only version, and one of the lenses the N1 was launched with in Japan in October 2000, at ¥175,000. Sold until Contax production ended in 2005; no optical revision, finish change or special edition is recorded. Zeiss, Kyocera's US literature and the reviewers write the maximum aperture as f/4–5.6; Japanese Wikipedia and a 2002 forum list write f/4.5–5.6¹.
Specifications
- Formula
- Vario-Sonnar telephoto zoom, 16 elements in 11 groups, one special low-dispersion element, internal focusing
- Construction
- 16 elements / 11 groups
- Aperture range
- f/4
- Min. focus
- 1.5 m
- Weight
- 1065 g
- Filter
- 72 mm (0.75 mm pitch)
- Years manufactured
- 2000–2005
- Coating
- T*
- Original price
- ¥175,000 (today ¥195,000) in Japan at the N1 launch in October 2000 (Japanese Wikipedia); about 1,500 euros in Europe in May 2002 by a forum report. No US price was found.
What reviewers say
- Klaus Schroiff, photozone (blog) — Tested as a Conurus conversion on a Canon EOS 350D: "rather massive and heavy" for its class, built from high-grade, mostly metal parts with tight tolerances, though it "seems to suck in lots of air and dust" and its manual focus is "a rather imperfect implementation". The ultrasonic autofocus is fairly slow but accurate.
- 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* 4-5,6/70-300 was the long zoom of Kyocera’s Contax N system from the start: Japanese Wikipedia dates its Japanese release to October 2000, the month the N1 went on sale, at ¥175,000, and gives 16 elements in 11 groups with one special low-dispersion element, a closest focus of 1.5 m, a 72 mm filter and 1,065 g, with the hood sold separately. Zeiss’s data sheet, now offline, carries the same construction and an M72 × 0.75 thread. The lens focuses internally, so it keeps its length while focusing and extends only when zoomed, and it takes a barrel-shaped snap-on metal hood. Its maximum aperture is written two ways: Zeiss’s own file code and most English-language sources make it an f/4–5.6, while Japanese Wikipedia and a 2002 forum list have f/4.5–5.6.
Like every N lens it is electronic through and through, with a focus motor in the barrel, an aperture ring read by the body, and the system’s dual-focus behaviour in which turning the focus ring during autofocus takes over from it; photozone identifies the motor as ultrasonic. There is one version, sold until Contax production ended in 2005. In May 2002 the poster Dirk put it at about 1,500 euros in Europe and called it “very good balanced on the N1”, though heavy, like the 100mm macro.
The only test report is photozone’s of December 2007, written by Klaus Schroiff on a copy that Conurus had converted to Canon EF and mounted on an APS-C EOS 350D. He found it “rather massive and heavy” for a slow tele zoom, built from high-grade, mostly metal materials with tight tolerances despite its dual-cam zoom, but noted that it “seems to suck in lots of air and dust”, that the zoom ring was a little stiff and that manual focus, with no AF/MF switch on an N lens, was “a rather imperfect implementation” needing Conurus’s workaround of setting the aperture ring to its smallest stop. Autofocus was fairly slow but accurate. His optical findings sit on pages not read here. Casual Photophile’s N1 reviewer owns the lens and says nothing about it in particular beyond the line’s shared colour and micro-contrast.
When buying, check the rear: a Conurus-converted copy carries a Canon EF bayonet and will not mount on an N1 or NX. Blade count and minimum aperture are not confirmed by a maker’s source; photozone’s specification box gives 7 blades but also a 52 mm filter that every other source contradicts, so its figures are set aside.
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* 70–300mm f/4–5.6 (N)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
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