kosmoskatten wrote:
Kudos to Zeiss for taking the lens back into production, I thought it was a joke first but a reputable dealer came through with both the info and the lens.
I don't know where you heard that the 21mm Distagon is "back in production". it is not. All production of Contax cameras and lens ended long ago. The Zeiss factory (Kyocera-run) in Japan that made the lens has been shut down for quite some time.
jjlphoto wrote:
A few months back, Carl Zeiss announced it would be making lenses for Sinar's new meduim format camera. It was coupled with news that Jenoptik (Eyelike MF backs) had also purchased 51% of Sinar. Maybe it's something to do with that?
At the prices of Sinar, hundreds or at most thousands of SLR photographers will soon discover a new dimension in photography, but not millions.
I mean you have a good guess, it could be the digitar AF Sinar lenses, but I may be reading too much into tea leaves, even dissecting the exact wording...
Only Sony/KM sell in the millions. They could also sell in the millions by going the EF mount route as others have dreamt.
eronald wrote:
I think it's clear enough - Zeiss will -I predict- turn into another 3d party SLR lenssmith, and then like Angénieux they will be bought out by Tamron
Edmund
My impression of Zeiss is that they don't care about still photographers any more than as an easy means to make money by outsourcing. Their real businesses are things like lithography optics for semiconductors and astronomical/medical/surveying/cinematography optics. I get that impression from outsourcing almost all of Zeiss Ikon to Cosina and a number of other outsourcing incidents. (Kudos to them though for never having tried to conceal anything.) At least I don't see them outsourcing the lithography stuff to anyone.
Plus, Zeiss is not really a company, but a foundation. So who would receive the cash in an acquistion ?
Announcing a new product line is one story but actually making that product line available is a different story. I don't know about Zeiss as such but I remembered that there was a substantial delay between the announcement and the actual availability with Contax back then. I am excited but I am not holding my breath.....
Hehe, no matter what they announce, I guess at the time of this writing, their marketing guys are strolling around the usual suspect websites of the net.
And they will certainly do it with a big grin on the face, rubbing their hands slowly...
Could still be good news - shouldn't be DX with that film body so prominent in the ad - just order your adaptor at the same time you order your $1200 distagon 21!
Lotusm50:
Actually you are partially wrong.
Yes, Contax SLR lens production is since long dead and buried. But, due to the demand Zeiss actually ran an extra batch (or two) last year, they did fire up a production line for that lens. They took orders world wide though it was never announced that they were going to run a new batch, which is a pity.
A dealer in Scotland tipped me off, he learnt this from a Contax rep in the UK.
This is no BS, I got on the shortlist for it in late spring this year and they shipped in September.
Looks like they're a little too late - now that Nikon has ceased production of manual-focus cameras and lenses. I doubt that Zeiss will find "millions" of customers for manual-focus 35mm-format lenses - even if they made them in *all* of the current camera mounts.
If it's a line of Nikon F-mount lenses as speculated in the Rangefinder link, it is another marketing error. One of the reasons the Contax 35 line never became mainstream was their association with "B" grade Yashica. Quite frankly, I never heard of Contax until recently, or if I did, I don't remember because I never gave the name any heed. And I've been a photographer since 1973, and a pro since 1980. Sure, I had heard of Zeiss since the 1970's, but I only associated it with the Zeiss Ikon line and Hassy lenses.
The picture which was leaked is no longer on the Zeiss site. however, rangefinder has posted it on their home page. It clearly shows a Planar on a digital Nikon.
