{"overview":"The Contax 16mm f\/8 Hologon is an ultra-wide-angle prime lens for the Contax G rangefinder system, designed for the G1 and G2 bodies. Its f\/8 fixed aperture and rectilinear ultra-wide coverage made it a specialist tool for architectural, interior and landscape work where extreme angle of view and corner-to-corner geometry mattered more than speed.","market_narrative":"UK auction evidence for this lens is thin: a single recorded hammer result of £950 from November 2006 sets the only documented saleroom benchmark, so a meaningful price range or median cannot be derived. Because that figure is a wholesale auction-hammer result rather than a retail asking price, what a clean copy actually sells for in today's market in 2026 is likely to differ, and the 16mm Hologon's scarcity means current value is best gauged by tracking fresh auction listings rather than relying on this lone data point.","buying_guide":"Inspect the front and rear elements carefully for fungus, haze and cleaning marks, since coating damage on an ultra-wide is highly visible in images and hard to remedy. Check the focus mechanism for smoothness and the aperture-control linkage on the G mount for correct electronic communication with the body, and look for separation or balsam issues between cemented groups as well as any signs of impact on the protruding front element. The dedicated centre filter, when present, materially affects value, so confirm whether it is included.","specs":"Documented specifications are limited to a 16mm focal length, fixed f\/8 aperture and Contax G bayonet mount; no further verified optical or mechanical data is provided in the source material.","faq":[{"q":"What is a Contax 16mm f\/8 Hologon worth at UK auction?","a":"The only verified UK auction hammer price on record is £950 from November 2006, which is too sparse a dataset to give a reliable current value."},{"q":"How much does a Contax 16mm f\/8 Hologon sell for today?","a":"With just one documented sale at £950 in 2006, the price a clean example sells for today can only be confirmed by checking current saleroom results, as scarcity makes individual listings volatile."},{"q":"Why is the price of this lens hard to pin down?","a":"The Hologon is a low-production specialist optic for the Contax G system, and with only a single recorded auction result there is insufficient data to establish a stable market range or median."},{"q":"Does the centre filter affect the value?","a":"Yes — the matched centre filter is part of the system as designed, and copies offered complete with it generally command stronger interest than body-only examples."}],"confidence":25,"reasoning":"Only one sales record from 2006 and no SPECS or variant data were supplied, so confidence is capped well below 50 per the rules."}