Zeiss Superspeed Mk1 - can someone help me verify these lenses?

[David_Allen]

Hi everyone, I'm about to check these lenses out tomorrow for possible purchase, as I've been in the market for a vintage set of Zeiss Superspeeds. These are listed as Mk1 B mounts and they look a bit different from the other Mk1s I've been - most notably they lack the orange focus marks.

They're clearly a bit beat up which is fine since I plan on getting them refurbished, I just wanted to get an opinion from anyone familiar on whether these are actually B-speeds? Is there something I'm missing here?

I'm checking the glass in about 12 hours so I'd greatly appreciate any thoughts!

Thanks so much,
Dave

 

[Dan Kanes]

Those look really interesting.

With those being the only photos... hard to tell much.

Few thoughts for you: 1. Could be Opton - East German Zeiss, aka occupied Germany during Cold War.
2. More photos of the front and back will help the even more knowledgeable than I help you.
3. If you can put them on a projector that will help you see if they meet your standards of color performance, alignment and resolution.
4. Like any vintage lens it might be difficult to find replacement elements if there is glass damage. Highly recommend getting these rehoused by TLS or Zero Optik if they will take them and if the optics meet your needs - I bet they are awesome.

Is the iris shape “round/hexa/octagonal” or triangular ?

Depending on price , could be a bargain or a nightmare depending on your expectations

 

[Jacek Zakowicz]

These look like bspeeds indeed. The 25 has a PL adapter on it and the 50 does not. The iris declick slider is missing on the 50 in picture. They don't have focus gears installed. Other than that they look worn but complete except that declick slider. the rear elements on those are very exposed to the outside world and usually severely scratched.
oh and also check the aperture operation: we've got several lately with broken apertures.

 

[David_Allen]

Thanks so much guys! Will update here after an assessment. And thanks for the rehousing recommendations as well.

 

[Clint Lealos]

Yeah, definitely B-Speeds. The 50mm also has a small divot drilled out on the focus ring where someone installed after market focus gears and used set screws to keep it from slipping. I have that done to all my B-Speeds. Let us know how they looked!

 

[Mike P.]

B-speeds are the ones that are T1.4 (instead of T1.3) and have triangular bokeh when stopped down.

They still have all the vintagey Zeiss look goodness you love, just the mechanics aren't as nice (focus throw isn't 270deg, gears didn't come standard, didn't have standard PL mount).

 

[David_Allen]

I ended up buying both of them for a really nice deal. They both look great; the 25 came with a PL mount but still need to test out the 50. Glass looks really nice and the focus isn't all that stiff, will probably get them serviced at Duclos next month. Overall really happy with the purchase.

Now I just need to find an 18 and 85 and I'll be happy!