I’ve been hunting for a Carl Zeiss Jena Biometar 80mm f/2.8 for the Pentacon Six TL ever since I picked up the camera in April. The nice thing about these lenses is that if you wait long enough, one usually turns up at a decent price.
That’s exactly what happened a few days ago. A Biometar popped up for about $140 in local currency. Good deal. I messaged the seller, we went back and forth a bit, and two days later the lens was at my doorstep.
Now, I’ll admit it’s not in perfect shape. It came in a cloth pouch with only a DIY front cap. Still, the seller packed it well, so no complaints there. The lens itself has a bit of dust inside, which should be an easy afternoon fix with a few screwdrivers. The focusing ring, though, is another story: uneven and in need of fresh grease. Who knows, maybe I’ll turn this into a repair series.
So why the Biometar 80mm f/2.8? I already own the 120mm and 180mm. The 180mm is massive, and while the 120mm is more manageable, its field of view is still a bit too tight for everyday use. Not that the Pentacon Six TL is an everyday camera, as shooting with it feels like hauling around a tank.
On the TL, with its 0.55x crop factor, the 180mm and 120mm work out to roughly 99mm and 66mm full-frame equivalents. Not exactly wide. That’s where the 80mm steps in: its 44mm equivalent is much more versatile. In fact, it’s surprisingly close to the Voigtländer 40mm f/1.4 SC I use on the CLE, and pretty much the same as the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN on my Sony a6300 (1.53x crop factor).
The Biometar also feels like the missing piece in the Pentacon Six kit. Together with the 120mm and 180mm, it rounds out a small but flexible trio of focal lengths. I don’t see myself carrying all three at once (the TL is heavy enough as it is) but having the option to choose between wide-normal, short tele, and tele makes the system much more versatile.
With autumn just around the corner, I’m looking forward to putting the trio to work — especially the Biometar. The season’s yellows, golds, reds, and browns should be the perfect backdrop to see what this lens can really do.
