Lenses We Love: Isco Gottingen Westar 100mm

I found this Isco-Göttingen Westar 100mm f/4.5 lens at a thrift store years ago for only $7. The design is unique: a bright silver aluminum body, curved and striped in the center, and for a 100mm full frame lens it's incredibly compact and lightweight, weighing only 0.4 pounds and measuring only 3.5 inches. In good condition these lenses sell online for around $45, but they're fairly rare. I was lucky to find one in the wild for so cheap!

Isco lenses were made in Göttingen, Germany from the 1930s to the early 2000's, when they changed their name to Schneider Kreuznach Isco. This particular lens was most likely manufactured between 1952 and 1957. The version of the lens I have has an Exakta mount, though they were also manufactured with an M42 mount. People online have remarked at the striking sharpness and color reproduction of this fairly simple lens and I have to agree. I've taken some striking photos with it myself.

I use this lens on Sony A7 full frame camera bodies, and I adapt it via a Fotodiox Exakta to Sony E-mount adapter. As I stated above, the lens is compact and light, making it ideal for travel photography without weighing me down.

The lens has 10 aperture blades, making for some pleasingly round bokeh.

Though it can be very sharp at higher apertures, I like to use the Isco-Göttingen Westar 100mm at its widest aperture, f4.5, for a softer, more vintage look. This lens has very little contrast, which also helps to create a vintage feel, though I often add more contrast in post.

The Isco-Göttingen Westar 100mm f/4.5 is a lens I keep coming back to, and I find that it's helped me create some of my most striking photos. If you ever get a chance to buy or use one, I'd strongly recommend it, and make sure to get your adapter from Fotodiox!