Zeiss Jena · M42 screw mount · 1949–1988
The Tessar is Paul Rudolph's four-element, three-group design of 1902, and the Jena Tessar 50mm f/2.8 is its most familiar small-format form. Harry Zöllner recalculated it in October 1947 with new glass types, and it reached buyers from late 1949. The optics then stayed the same for four decades while the barrel kept up with the cameras. It gained a preset aperture in 1951, a spring aperture in the mid-1950s, and in the late 1950s became one of the first lenses anywhere with a fully automatic aperture. It went on cameras from the simple Beltica to the Werra and on SLRs, and was sold for the Exa and Praktica until 1988. Marco Kröger's history notes it's soft wide open and sharpens quickly as you stop down toward f/5.6, so on mirrorless it's a small, easy walk-around 50 once you close it a stop or two.
On a mirrorless camera
It’s a M42 screw mount lens, and its mount sits 45.46 mm from the film. Every mirrorless mount below sits closer than that, so a plain adapter ring fills the gap and the lens still focuses to infinity. On a smaller sensor it frames tighter, like a longer lens.
Versions
The Tessar 2.8/50 was made for M42, Exakta and Praktina cameras, with a preset aperture from 1951, a spring aperture from the mid-1950s and a fully automatic one from the late 1950s, so check the mount and aperture type in the photos. Export lenses read aus Jena T instead of Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar. The Prakticar 2.8/50 (Praktica B bayonet, about 2,600 made) is the only multicoated version.
Expect the usual age faults, like haze, oily blades and stiff focus grease. Early M42 copies can have a conical rim behind the thread that some adapters won't clear.
New to old glass? How to check a used vintage lens covers haze, fungus and the rest in detail.
Buying guide
We'd buy an M42 Tessar if you're adapting, like the black aus Jena copy at $107 delivered, the median, or the one titled serviced with a full CLA at $145 if you want it ready to shoot. There are at least 61 for sale, many from US sellers, and most ask $80–160 delivered, with Exakta-mount copies the cheapest from $78. The lens came in M42, Exakta and Praktina mounts with preset, spring or automatic apertures, so check the mount and aperture in the photos. An M42 copy takes an M42 adapter, one that presses the pin if the aperture is automatic, an Exakta copy needs an Exakta adapter, and the model page lists the adapters by camera. Early M42 copies can have a conical rim behind the thread that some adapters won't clear, and we'd skip the $234 Exakta copy at more than twice the median.
$78.16est. delivered
The lowest delivered Tessar here at $78, an Exakta-mount copy from a US seller with 100% feedback, so it needs an Exakta adapter. The title makes no condition claim, so ask for a backlit photo of the glass and one of the blades stopped down.
Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f2.8 Exa/Exakta Mount
$107.00est. delivered
An M42 copy marked T 2.8/50 aus Jena, the export version, at $107 delivered, the median, from a 100% seller with a front cap in the photo. M42 is the easy mount to adapt, so ask whether the aperture is automatic and for a photo of the blades at f/8.
Tessar 2.8/50 CZJ Lens M42 Mount Type SLR from DDR #10781233
$145.00est. delivered
Titled serviced with a full CLA, a black M42 copy with both caps in the photo, at $145 delivered from a 100% seller. That's $38 over the median for the service, so ask what the CLA covered.
✅ Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f2.8 M42 Mount Lens / Serviced (Full CLA) 9791269
Delivered prices include shipping as eBay quoted it to a US address on Oct 12, 2026. Many sellers charge by distance, so your total may differ. eBay shows yours before you pay.
Snapshot
Checked . Some may have sold.
Delivered prices include shipping as eBay quoted it to a US address on Oct 12, 2026. Many sellers charge by distance, so your total may differ. eBay shows yours before you pay.
Used$78.16est. delivered
$70.00 + $8.16 shipping
Buy It Now$70.00
This seller takes offers, and many sellers accept less than the asking price.
Fine if you might miss it? Send an offer first. Someone else can still buy it while you wait for a reply.
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Good buy
US seller. Exakta mount, no condition claim.
Seller: sir_gurt
100% positive
Used$107.00est. delivered
$88.00 + $19.00 shipping
Buy It Now$88.00
Good buy
M42, marked T 2.8/50 aus Jena. Front cap in the photo.
Seller: fotomaestro
100% positive
Serviced$145.00est. delivered
$120.00 + $25.00 shipping
Buy It Now$120.00
Good buy
Titled serviced with a full CLA. Both caps in the photo.
Seller: gloryukraine
100% positive
Used$94.99est. delivered
$79.00 + $15.99 shipping
Buy It Now$79.00
Our take
US seller. Chrome Exakta copy with a cap.
Seller: concourse
99.3% positive
Used$101.05est. delivered
$89.95 + $11.10 shipping
Buy It Now$89.95
This seller takes offers, and many sellers accept less than the asking price.
Fine if you might miss it? Send an offer first. Someone else can still buy it while you wait for a reply.
Want it for sure? Use Buy It Now.
Our take
US seller. Zebra Exakta copy.
Seller: edgewoodshop
100% positive
Used$116.70est. delivered
$105.00 + $11.70 shipping
Buy It Now$105.00
This seller takes offers, and many sellers accept less than the asking price.
Fine if you might miss it? Send an offer first. Someone else can still buy it while you wait for a reply.
Want it for sure? Use Buy It Now.
Our take
US seller. Chrome M42 copy.
Seller: syracusecamera
99.9% positive
Used$80.00est. delivered
$60.00 + $20.00 shipping
Buy It Now$60.00
Check the seller
Zero feedback. Chrome Tessar T, no mount in the title.
Seller: bobsun1975
No feedback yet
Used$233.65est. delivered
$220.00 + $13.65 shipping
Buy It Now$220.00
Priced high
About 2.2 times the median. Exakta mount, titled Special Lens.
Seller: garmont22222211
99.8% positive
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