Two East German companies manufactured lenses for the Pentacon Six: Carl Zeiss, Jena, and Meyer-Optik, Görlitz, which later became part of the Pentacon group, after which the lenses were given the manufacturer name “Pentacon”.  Carl Zeiss Jena is justifiably considered to be one of the best lens manufacturers in the world.  The Meyer-Optik/Pentacon lenses in the Pentacon Six mount are also capable of excellent results.

Carl Zeiss, Jena
 

Notes
(1) Various versions of most of these lens have been produced.  As well as cosmetic changes and addition of multi-coating, some newer versions have a different body shape and/or are lighter in weight.
To see some information on design changes, click here.
(2) FAD = fully automatic diaphragm
(3) An earlier version of the 50mm Flektogon weighed 620g.
(4) Several thousand 80mm f/2.8 Tessars were produced for the Praktisix between 1956 and 1958.
(5) Data in this table refers to the 80mm Biometar as produced for the Pentacon Six.  A newer version produced for the Exakta 66 has different dimensions and weight.
(6) The final version of the 180mm and 300mm Sonnars, produced from approximately 1981 onwards, incorporates a connector for a special adaptor which transfers the aperture set on the lens to the electric metering on Praktica LLC, VLC and PLC 35mm cameras.
(7) A new version of the 300mm Sonnar produced from approximately 1981 onwards is 204mm long and weighs 1550g.
(8) These lenses are from Meyer-Optik and were previously known as “Orestegor”.  Before the introduction of the Orestegors, Meyer produced other telephoto lenses with the name “Telemegor”.  These are of an older and different design from the Orestegors.   See below for details of Telemegor lenses.

Most of this data is based on published sources.  I do not have examples of all of these lenses (!), and I have not measured or weighed all those that I do have, although I can confirm the accuracy of the filter dimensions given.

For further details of the lenses – number of elements and grouping of elements, variations of the lenses, etc, I refer you to Nathan Dayton's excellent website, www.commiecameras.com

Most of these lenses are illustrated and tested in the Lens Test section of this website.  To go to the lens test section, click here.

Zeiss design variations and serial numbers

Zeiss lenses in the Praktisix/Pentacon Six mount were produced during a period of 35 years: from 1956 to 1991.  Over this period of time, various changes were made to the lenses.  Fortunately, it is possible with the help of the serial number to date most of the lenses that Zeiss produced.  To see more information on this, click here.

Meyer-Optik, Görlitz / Pentacon

Michaels_Photo at members.tripod.de (no longer available at that web address) gave the following information on lenses from Meyer-Optik, Görlitz (later known as Pentacon-Feinoptisches Werk Görlitz):
 

Notes (1)  For the Praktisix (the predecessor of the Pentacon Six) (2)  For the Praktisix II (3)  Only at the beginning of the production of the Praktisix (4)  Michael’s website said 196mm.  My 300mm f/4.5 Telemegor is 198mm long. (5)  Michael’s website said 198mm.  I think that this was a transposing error.  My Orestegor is 217mm long with the hood, which is normally left in place, but 189mm without the hood. (6)  For Praktisix, Pentacon Six and Pentacon Six TL.  Produced until 1990. Michaels_Photo said that only the two Orestegor/Pentacon lenses are significant for users. “They are excellent telephoto lenses what were built until 1990 in several versions”. Michaels_Photo also listed another version of the Primotar, an f/3.5 85mm lens with 4 elements in 3 groups and a filter size of 40 × 0.5.  This lens can be seen on a Praktisix on the cover of the book “Mittelformat Ost”.  However, the serial number of that lens pre-dates the introduction of the Praktisix, so it is obviously a privately-made adaptation of an older lens, possibly from a Meister Korelle mount. Image to the right: Three Telemegor lenses in Praktina mounts from “Praktina-Technik” by Erhard Loose & Werner Kühnel Published by VEB Fotokinoverlag Halle, 1961 The 180mm Telemegor does not appear to have been made available in Praktisix/Pentacon Six mount, although the other two were. (Linsenschnitt = Lens diagram)

The 300mm lenses

As indicated above, the Telemegor was discontinued after the production run(s) for the Praktisix and Praktisix II.  It was replaced by the Orestegor, which was half a stop faster.  Later on, the Orestegor was re-named “Pentacon” when the Hugo Meyer factory was absorbed into the State-owned Pentacon organisation.  All of these were manual, or pre-set, lenses, as regards aperture operation.

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© TRA May 2002, January 2010