Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 35mm f/2.4

We don’t have a vetted photo of this one yet. Own a copy? Send us a packshot and we’ll credit you.

The best-known CZJ wide, introduced in the mid-1970s as the multicoated successor to the Flektogon 35/2.8. Its party trick is a 0.2 m minimum focus, which gives a near-macro wide look with a soft, slightly busy background. Wide open it vignettes heavily and can throw ugly flare artifacts that clear up by f/2.8. The common faults are oily or sticky aperture blades and noticeable sample variation, so inspect the iris before buying.

Key specs

Focal length

35 mm

Max aperture

f/2.4

Mount

M42 screw

Image circle

Full frame

Close focus

0.2 m

Filter thread

49 mm

Weight

240 g

Field of view by sensor

Full frame

54.4° horizontal · frames like 35 mm on full frame

Super 35

39.2° horizontal · frames like 50.6 mm on full frame

Micro Four Thirds

27.8° horizontal · frames like 72.8 mm on full frame

What it goes on

Auto-aperture M42 with an A/M switch on most copies; with a non-flanged adapter just set M. If the blades are sticky the iris will not follow the ring reliably — a CLA fixes it. Half-stop clicks are audible, so declick for video. Glassless adaptation to EF and mirrorless; some copies need adapter shimming to hit infinity exactly.

• Canon EF camerasWith adapterALEXA 265, ALEXA 35, ALEXA Mini LF, Pocket Cinema Camera 6K G2 +14 more

  M42-EOS flanged ring. Cheap and common. Pick a flanged ring that presses the auto-aperture pin. On full-frame EF DSLRs a few lenses (Helios 44-2, some Takumars) can catch the mirror at infinity.

• Sony E camerasWith adapterRonin 4D-6K, Ronin 4D-8K, Alpha 1 II, Alpha 7 IV +13 more

  Novoflex · K&F Concept · Fotodiox. 27.5 mm of room — a plain mechanical adapter. Manual focus and iris.

• Canon RF camerasWith adapterEOS C400, EOS C50, EOS C70, EOS C80 +10 more

  Novoflex · K&F Concept · Fotodiox. 25.5 mm of room — a plain mechanical adapter. Manual focus and iris.

• L-Mount camerasWith adapterCinema Camera 6K, PYXIS 12K, PYXIS 6K, Ronin 4D-6K +6 more

  Novoflex · K&F Concept · Fotodiox. 25.5 mm of room — a plain mechanical adapter. Manual focus and iris.

• Micro Four Thirds camerasWith adapterMicro Studio Camera 4K G2, Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, Lumix BGH1, Lumix GH6 +1 more

  Novoflex · K&F Concept · Fotodiox. 26.2 mm of room — a plain mechanical adapter. Manual focus and iris.

• Nikon Z camerasWith adapterKOMODO-X 6K S35, V-RAPTOR [X] 8K VV, V-RAPTOR XE

  Novoflex · K&F Concept · Fotodiox. 29.5 mm of room — a plain mechanical adapter. Manual focus and iris.

• Leica M camerasWith adapter· by flange mathsALEXA 265, ALEXA 35, ALEXA Mini LF, Ronin 4D-6K +1 more

  17.7 mm of room for a plain ring. Check rear-element and mirror clearance before buying.

• LPL camerasWith adapter· by flange mathsALEXA 265, ALEXA 35, ALEXA Mini LF, URSA Cine 17K 65

  1.5 mm of room for a plain ring. Check rear-element and mirror clearance before buying.

See every camera this lens fits →

Sources: phillipreeve.net, allphotolenses.com, pentaxforums.com