Zeiss West Distagon 4.5/38mm from the Development Department

Carl Zeiss West Distagon 4.5/38mm – Development Department Prototype

An interesting and unusual Carl Zeiss West wide angle lens covering the medium format. It features a 53 mm screw mount for a lens board and is fixed focus. The lens is preserved in near mint condition. The optics are clean, showing only slight traces of previously removed fungus. Complete with the original lens board mounting ring and the original cardboard case.

All Carl Zeiss lenses bearing serial numbers in the 2.5xxxxx range were reserved for the Zeiss Development Department in Oberkochen. Many original Carl Zeiss catalogues and contemporary publications illustrate lenses from this experimental serial number series, making these examples easily recognizable as factory development and pre production lenses. As such, this lens represents a rare and desirable piece of Zeiss development history.