Old Glass, New Vision: Adventures with a Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 58mm f/2

I recently ran across a Facebook Marketplace listing for 1950’s Exakta VXIIa, which is a classic East German 35mm SLR (single-lens reflex camera). The silver body with black leatherette was in good condition, and more importantly, it had the highly regarded Carl Zeiss Jena 58mm f/2 lens mounted on it; a lens I’ve lusted after for years.

It was a 3 hour drive from Little Rock to meet the seller, but after checking the lens had no haze or fungus issues, I knew it had been worth the trip. These old manual lenses are known for their unique rendering characteristics that combine center sharpness with creamy bokeh. They often deliver a distinctive look that’s difficult to replicate with modern lenses.

A 1950s-60s era Exakta VX IIa paired with a Carl Zeiss Jena 58mm F2 lens

My Sony A7III is a great pairing with this lens - the full-frame sensor gives me the full field of view as it would have had on the original Exakta film camera, and the mirrorless design makes adapting these vintage lenses straightforward. For my initial outing I decided to find some spring flowers. I hoped some close-up botanical photography would be the ticket for really showcasing the strengths of this vintage lens and I was not wrong. The color rendering is unique with a subtile, almost painterly quality against the various shades of green.

The center flower is rendered with nice sharpness and delicate detail, while the background has melted away into those soft, creamy bokeh areas. The way the lens handles the transition between sharp and out-of-focus areas has a very pleasing, organic quality that's different from modern lenses.

I’ve not tried to shoot a portrait with this lens but have no doubt I’ll be pleased with the results. The 58mm focal length is just slightly longer than the standard 50 mm, which I expect will be more flattering for facial features.

Straight out of camera - Flowering Quince captured on a Sony A7III & Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 57mm

Black and White Lucie Cherry blossom photographed on a Sony A7III and Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 58mm F2

I wanted to shoot something totally different from the delicate flowers I’d originally been photographing, so decided upon some automotive photography after spotting this striking custom Toyota Supra with its yellow and gray/black racing design. I like how the lens captures the car's aggressive lines and aerodynamic elements with good sharpness while still maintaining that distinctive vintage lens character. The vented hood, and wide body kit details are all crisp, showing that this lens can handle technical subjects as well as artistic ones. I also like how the yellow really pops against the darker tone elements of the car.

Custom Toyota Supra shot with an A7III and Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 58mm F2 lens.

Custom Toyota Supra shot with an A7III and Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 58mm F2 lens. From soft florals to sharp automotive photography, really demonstrates the versatility of this vintage glass.

I had to try another aspect of this lens - how it handles low light. While I was shooting the car, the owner stepped out of his shop, Churchill’s Fine Cigars located in Hot Springs, AR, and invited me to take a tour. As a cigar fan, it was an offer I was happy to accept. The cigar shop has a rich, warm ambience that the Carl Zeiss Jena captured beautifully. What's immediately noticeable is the lens's rendering of the warm lighting against the dark surroundings. The golden glow from the lamps creates a cozy atmosphere, and the lens seems to handle this high-contrast scenario well. The warm tones of the lampshades and wooden elements are rendered with that classic vintage character - slightly soft but with a pleasing glow that modern lenses often try to replicate.

The green leather chairs stand out nicely against the darker background, and you can see the subtle texture of the leather. The composition, with the circular arrangement of furniture and the table at center, creates an inviting scene.

This is quite different from both the delicate flowers and the bright, technical car photo - demonstrating the lens's versatility across various lighting scenarios. Vintage lenses like this often have a distinctive way of handling these moody, atmospheric settings that can give images a timeless quality.

Churchill’s Fine Cigars and Gifts photographed with an A7III and Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 58mm F2

Exquisito Hand Made Cigar photographed with Sony A7III and Card Zeiss Jena Biotar 58mm F2

I’m excited to have been able to adapt this vintage lens to my modern Sony mirrorless camera. Many photographers, me included, appreciate these old manual lenses for their unique rendering characteristics (the combination of center sharpness with creamy bokeh). I'm impressed by its performance in the range of scenarios I tested - from bright outdoor florals to a custom car to a moody interior. The 58mm focal length seems versatile enough for these different subjects while maintaining that distinctive character throughout.

If you’ve made it this far, I’ll leave you with a final shot of my rig. The Carl Zeiss Jena 58mm F2.0 has two screw in front name rings. It seems there was a dispute over the name following WWII and the Carl Zeiss name was claimed by the West German manufacturing plant with the East German Plant taking the name Jena. On my copy of the lens, the top name plate says Jena but I managed to unscrew it to reveal the name “Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar”. No the serial numbers on the rings don’t match, but I understand is normal for this lens.

The Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 58mm F2 - showing both name plates.

WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES: HOW TO MAKE GREAT IMAGES OUT OF ANY SITUATION

I’ve heard that a bad day fishing is still better than a good day at the office. That’s how I feel about chasing the Milky Way. It’s not only about capturing a beautiful image but is a way to unplug from the hyperconnected world. Before that happens, you typically have to walk up or down a dark trail on a moonless night while trying to talk some sense into the imaginary voice in your head that’s telling you every stray sound is a starving bear or mountain lion with a taste for human flesh.

One’s imagination tends to go into overdrive in total darkness. But when the voice calms down, as it eventually does once your eyes adjust to the dark, you can relax, connect with nature, and revel in awe at the mysterious, starry band of lights called the Milky Way. On this occasion, I didn’t manage to capture the Milky Way as planned. This is how a surprise storm actually made the shot even better than I’d imagined. Sometimes lightning strikes, and you just have to go with it.

Friday, April 14, 2023, was a beautiful clear day with high temperatures in the upper 70’s (around 25 Celsius). While having lunch, I wistfully peered out the 6th-story window of my office and checked the weather forecast, which called for mostly clear skies. I then checked the PhotoPills App on my phone, which informed me the Milky Way core would be visible at 12:49 a.m. giving me three and a half hours to shoot the Milky Way before moonrise at 4:16 a.m.

The PhotoPills App is my number one planning tool for shooting the Milky Way, Sunrises and Sunsets. It is a paid app that’s worth every penny. My favorite feature is the augmented reality screen which works without having a cellular connection. That’s important because rarely is cell service available in dark sky areas.

Using this feature allows me to stand at the location of my planned shoot, point my phone camera in the direction I plan to shoot and see an overlay of exactly where the Milky Way, Sun or Moon will be on any day, at any time.

As badly as I wanted to pull the fire alarm and start my weekend early, by 3 p.m. I was headed home to pack the car for an overnight camping trip. With no time to scout for a new location, I decided to visit a familiar but hidden gem in the Ozark National Forest in Arkansas, USA, called Sam’s Throne.

It’s primarily a rock climbing destination with towering bluffs that offers unobstructed Southeastern and Southwestern views of Big Creek Valley. In North America, the Milky Way rises in the Southeast and sets in the Southwestern sky.

After a 2.5-hour drive north from my home in central Arkansas, I arrived at my destination with just enough time to set up camp before dark. From there, it would be a short 15 – 20 minute hike down a rocky, uneven trail to where I planned to shoot. To help get there safely, I brought a headlamp with both a powerful white light and a red LED. The white light helps guide me in and out of my location, and the red LED allows my eyes to adapt to the dark while I shoot.

I made it to the overlook without being eaten by around 12:45 a.m. To my surprise, since I was camping under a canopy of trees, I emerged to find mostly cloudy skies. Having no cell service to update my weather forecast, I still hoped to capture the Milky Way through a break in the clouds.

Determined, I decided the best way to not miss the shot was to take a time-lapse, letting the camera continuously shoot for the duration of my stay. Before pulling the gear from my backpack, I confirmed the location of the Milky Way using the PhotoPills App and scanned the area one last time for bears and mountain lions.

High winds at this location are not unusual, so I was prepared to battle the occasional 30-mile-per-hour wind gusts. I decided to mount my camera on a Playpod Extreme instead of a traditional tripod. This is a stable, low-to-the-ground camera support system that I knew would keep my camera steady in high winds. To this, I mounted my Sony A7iii and paired it with an ultra-wide Sony 14mm, f/1.8 GM lens. I’ve found this to be a great combination for capturing landscapes in low light.

I set my aperture wide open to f/1.8, ISO 5000, with a shutter speed of 15 seconds. I then found a star and, using my camera’s focus magnifier feature, made sure it was pin sharp in my viewfinder. The focus magnifier on the A7iii will enlarge a selected area and is extremely helpful when manually focusing on an object. I set my camera to continuous shoot mode, pushed the shutter release and waited for a magical break in the clouds.

For an hour, I watched the Milky Way play hide and seek behind the clouds. I took advantage of my free time by using a Lume Cube to light paint the foreground. This compact light has at least a couple of dozen settings and can be bluetooth controlled. Its 1% setting creates subtle, natural-looking light on the foreground in low-light conditions.

As I moved behind the camera, trying out different power settings and angles to light the foreground, I was oblivious to the approaching storm that produced a huge flash of lightning near my location around 2 a.m. Even though I could see across the valley for miles, it was the first flash of lightning I’d seen that evening.

I didn’t have any rain gear, so I decided it was time to pack up. Within 10 minutes of the lightning strike, I started to feel sprinkles of rain. I grabbed my gear, camera still sitting on its base, and started my 20-minute hike back to camp. Shortly after arriving back at camp, the sprinkles turned into a steady rain.

While laying on my air mattress in the tent, happy to be mostly dry, I scrolled through the images displayed on the back of my camera. While the Milky Way had only barely peeked through the clouds that evening, it was the image of the bright purple echo of lightning illuminating the valley that I looked at in awe.