Zeiss Distagon 28mm f/2.8
Carl Zeiss Distagon T 28mm f/2.8 C/Y* is the standard wide-angle lens for the Contax/Yashica mount — for 35mm SLR bodies including the Contax RTS, RTS II, RTS III, 139 Quartz, Aria, and Yashica FR / FX-3. The Distagon retrofocus design provides the back-focus distance an SLR mirror requires while delivering Carl Zeiss-grade wide-angle performance.
Key features
- Contax/Yashica bayonet mount
- 7-element/7-group retrofocus Distagon formula with T* multi-coating
- 55mm filter thread
- Manual aperture + manual focus — fully mechanical
- West German manufacture (early) or Japanese-made by Kyocera (later)
- T multi-coating* — Carl Zeiss reference high-contrast coating
Use case + rendering
The Distagon 28/2.8 is the environmental-portrait + reportage wide of the C/Y system. Sharp wide open (excellent across the field by f/5.6); typical Carl Zeiss high-contrast rendering with neutral color. T* coating handles flare against bright backgrounds well.
Often the first wide-angle a Contax shooter buys — bridges between the 50mm normal and 35mm reportage range without the bulk and price of the Distagon 28/2.
Compatible bodies
- Contax RTS / Contax RTS II / Contax RTS III
- Contax 139 Quartz / Contax Aria
- Yashica FR / Yashica FX-3 Super 2000
Related lenses
- Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.4 C/Y — normal
- Zeiss Sonnar T* 135mm f/2.8 C/Y — telephoto