philber Offline Dedicated FM Upload & Sell: On
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p.1 #4 · Zeiss advice for 5dmk2 | |
I own the ZE 21 and ZE 50, have tried the ZE 28 and have the ZE 35 on order, to be delivered later this month, so maybe I can offer some opinions. If you should buy only one lens, then it is the 50. On FF it is the most useful focal length, going from portrait to cityscape and landscape. I know that some Zeiss cognoscenti prefer the 50 Makro (not yet announced in ZE mount yet), because the one weakness of the Planar is wide open at minimum focusing distance. On the other hand, it is also the least expensive, and for that price, to have shots of such awesome beauty just leaves the competition in the dust.
Then, if you want a second one, the 21 is fabulous. Devoid of CA, tremendous flare control, sharp wide open even at close range, and huge DOF, due, I am told, to how Zeiss cleverly manage field curvature. One weakness: it has slight mustache distortion, which can be cured either in photoshop or with PTLens. In my estimate, it is an even better lens than the 50, but, whereas the 50 has no real competition, it is had to argue against the Canon 17 TS-E, the 24 TS-E and an adapted Nikon 14-24. 4 different lenses, each superb in its own way. For zoom action, the Nikon rules. For architecture, tilt-shift can't be beat. For delivereing pictures which are just alive with beautiful colours, contrast, and striking 3D effect, the Zeiss is paramount.
Can't say much about the 35mm except that in C/Y and ZF versions, it is very highly regarded, so I ordered one in ZE. There is also a rumour that Zeiss will release a new 35 f:1.4, maybe as early as December, if you believe it.
Candids with ZEs: the answer depends on the shooter. Cogitech (Paul) does amazing pictures of non only candids, but moving candids with lenses trickier than any of ths, so, yes, it is doable, but it requires serious training and talent. I can do candids, but only essentially static [takes his hat off to Paul]
Regarding your other lenses: I owned 35L, and sold it because it just couldn't compare to my ZE 50 in terms of colour, contrast, etc, so, even though it was not the same focal length, I ended up using my Zeiss all the time, and 35L stayed in the bag. Both TS-Es are superb, but I stayed away because of the care you need to set up each shot. For me that fact that they require a tripod for tilting or shifting is a deal-breaker, as I like to shoot handheld. Nikon zoom: a very good lens, but heavy, and vulnerable. Also, no filters.
For a while, I owned a Canon 24-105L. It is a great one-lens-does-it-all zoom. For walkabout, it was agreat choice. My problem was that I obsessed over the quality of each shot much more than I hurt when losing shots because I didn't have the appropriate lens mounted. But that's just me... For others, this would be a good choice to complement Zeiss primes, unless you want to buy a 24-85 Zeiss used and have it converted by Conurus with full AF.
In all this, I gave you my point of view. I don't hold this to be the truth. Others probably have other priorities/sensitivities.
As a reward for reading this long rambling, a couple of shots from today. One with each Zeiss. If you need more samples, I have posted quite a few on the various relevant threads, but will gladly post more if that can help inform.
 Canon EOS 5D Mark II 21 mm f/4.0 1/60 sec 100 ISO -1.0 EV
 Canon EOS 5D Mark II 50 mm f/4.0 1/80 sec 100 ISO -1.0 EV
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