Carl Zeiss Lenses

Hi, im wondering if anyone knows anything about carl zeiss lenses ? Im looking at buying some on ebay. Some just say Carl Zeiss, some say Carl Zeiss Jena, some say DDR, etc. I can't seem to find anything on what those mean. Is it jus where the lens was made ? If so is there any difference in quality ? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks !!!

The Carl Zeiss story is here: Carl Zeiss AG - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There were two Carl Zeiss brands after the Second World War:

- Carl Zeiss - the famous one, maker of expensive high-quality lenses for Hasselblad, Sony etc. based in Western Germany. This still continues today
- Carl Zeiss Jena, based in Eastern Germany (DDR), maker of cheap, honorable quality lenses for communist block camera manufacturers like Practica. I don't think that they ever got around to making a zoom lens or applying multiple coatings or using specialised glass (things which are common today even on basic kit lenses). This business disappeared after the reunification of Germany in 1990.

If you're seeing these lenses cheap on Ebay then they are certainly Carl Zeiss Jena. I don't think that they would be sensational performers on modern DSLR's which have much much more definition than the film for which the lenses were designed.