i will report on both lenses, i have seen some samples with the cv15 on a german forum which looked at least as good as the 5n

Last week I picked up a Zuiko 100mm 2.8 lens at an estate sale. It's as small as a 50mm lens and the image quality is excellent. Not bad for $5.00.

Phillip, I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the 6 vs the 7.

Well, for a long time I have been watching for a ZF.2 85/1.4, and separately I have been thinking about the ZF.2 35/1.4 compared to my Leica 35/1.4 Lux, but with no luck. Few people sell these lenses, and they are almost always snapped up right away. I did buy one copy of the 85/1.4 but it ended up having a scratch on the front element, and I sent it back.

Today both came up. In spite of a tight budget, I scrambled for the money, and got lucky that I just managed to sell my Hasselblad 203FE with a WLF, so I could actually pull it off, and picked up both. Within a few minutes, I tripled the number of f/1.4 Zeiss lenses I own, and increased the number of ZF.2 lenses by 20%

It is not certain that the 35/1.4 will stay, but I will test it against my 35 Lux and decide which I like better. The Leica has a disadvantage in that it has no communication with the body, and thus needs to be used in stop-down mode. It also doesn't focus quite so close, and of course, its colour is somewhat different. There is a very tiny slim chance that I might keep both, but given the price of these lenses it is very small.

I have a Leica R 35mm-70mm f4.0 Vario Elmar lens on my way to me to arrive I believe on Tuesday. Earlier in the year I purchase a Leica R 28mm F2.8 PC Super Angulon lens and prior to that this year I purchased a Leica R 100mm f2.8 Apo Macro Elmarit lens.

Rich

naturephoto1 wrote:
I have a Leica R 35mm-70mm f4.0 Vario Elmar lens on my way to me to arrive I believe on Tuesday. Earlier in the year I purchase a Leica R 28mm F2.8 PC Super Angulon lens and prior to that this year I purchased a Leica R 100mm f2.8 Apo Macro Elmarit lens.

Rich

whoa! curious to see some shots with the super angulon.

sebboh wrote:
naturephoto1 wrote:
I have a Leica R 35mm-70mm f4.0 Vario Elmar lens on my way to me to arrive I believe on Tuesday. Earlier in the year I purchase a Leica R 28mm F2.8 PC Super Angulon lens and prior to that this year I purchased a Leica R 100mm f2.8 Apo Macro Elmarit lens.

Rich

whoa! curious to see some shots with the super angulon.

I will see what I can do for that. I have tried it for some stitched images basically only at this point. But, here in is my problem. At this point, my most advanced digital camera is the Lumix G1 which is a M 4/3 camera and as you know all focal lengths are multiplied by 2.

At least in the near future I am leaning toward purcahsing either the Fujifilm X-e1 or the Fujifilm X Pro1 which have an APS C sensor. Though my dealer has the X e-1 cameras in stock we are waiting for both the demo unit and those with the 18-55mm Fuji zoom lens along with the Novoflex Leica R lens to Fuji X camera adapters to come in. Once we have the parts I will make an evaluation between the cameras.

I will probably wait for one of the Fuji cameras to post images from the PC lens.

It would be nice to get a new Leica M, but at a price of around $9,000 for the camera and all of the additional parts, that is a lot more than I would like to spend.

Rich

naturephoto1 wrote:
sebboh wrote:
naturephoto1 wrote:
I have a Leica R 35mm-70mm f4.0 Vario Elmar lens on my way to me to arrive I believe on Tuesday. Earlier in the year I purchase a Leica R 28mm F2.8 PC Super Angulon lens and prior to that this year I purchased a Leica R 100mm f2.8 Apo Macro Elmarit lens.

Rich

whoa! curious to see some shots with the super angulon.

I will see what I can do for that. I have tried it for some stitched images basically only at this point. But, here in is my problem. At this point, my most advanced digital camera is the Lumix G1 which is a M 4/3 camera and as you know all focal lengths are multiplied by 2.

At least in the near future I am leaning toward purcahsing either the Fujifilm X-e1 or the Fujifilm X Pro1 which have an APS C sensor. Though my dealer has the X e-1 cameras in stock we are waiting for both the demo unit and those with the 18-55mm Fuji zoom lens along with the Novoflex Leica R lens to Fuji X camera adapters to come in. Once we have the parts I will make an evaluation between the cameras.

I will probably wait for one of the Fuji cameras to post images from the PC lens.

It would be nice to get a new Leica M, but at a price of around $9,000 for the camera and all of the additional parts, that is a lot more than I would like to spend.

Rich

you could always get a used 5D classic to have a way to use the lenses at their real focal length. they're pretty cheap and easily take R lenses on an adapter. the camera is big, but so are the R lenses.

Contax 85mm F1.4 MMJ
Konica Hexanon 135mm 3.5mm

Wainting for a adapter to the hexanon to try it out

sebboh wrote:
naturephoto1 wrote:
sebboh wrote:
naturephoto1 wrote:
I have a Leica R 35mm-70mm f4.0 Vario Elmar lens on my way to me to arrive I believe on Tuesday. Earlier in the year I purchase a Leica R 28mm F2.8 PC Super Angulon lens and prior to that this year I purchased a Leica R 100mm f2.8 Apo Macro Elmarit lens.

Rich

whoa! curious to see some shots with the super angulon.

I will see what I can do for that. I have tried it for some stitched images basically only at this point. But, here in is my problem. At this point, my most advanced digital camera is the Lumix G1 which is a M 4/3 camera and as you know all focal lengths are multiplied by 2.

At least in the near future I am leaning toward purcahsing either the Fujifilm X-e1 or the Fujifilm X Pro1 which have an APS C sensor. Though my dealer has the X e-1 cameras in stock we are waiting for both the demo unit and those with the 18-55mm Fuji zoom lens along with the Novoflex Leica R lens to Fuji X camera adapters to come in. Once we have the parts I will make an evaluation between the cameras.

I will probably wait for one of the Fuji cameras to post images from the PC lens.

It would be nice to get a new Leica M, but at a price of around $9,000 for the camera and all of the additional parts, that is a lot more than I would like to spend.

Rich

you could always get a used 5D classic to have a way to use the lenses at their real focal length. they're pretty cheap and easily take R lenses on an adapter. the camera is big, but so are the R lenses.

I have small hands and have a Canon adapter for R lenses (came with the PC lens). I could try R lenses on a Canon body when I try the Fuji cameras. I tried to handle the 5D MKIII with Canon lenses at Photo Plus in October and I found that the size of the camera was a bit tough for me to hold (not only do I have small hands but I have the remnants of 2 broken wrists from a bicycle and car accident in 1993). I know that Art Wolfe had suggested that I get one of the 5D MKIII cameras. My salesman for the Fuji Cameras sold his Canon 5D MKII and Canon system and went to the Fuji X Pro1. I know that the Fuji cameras will not yield FF, my salesman has indicated that the Fuji X Pro1 is recording images equal or about equal to the Canon 5D MKII.

There are issues as I understand it in focusing the legacy manual focus lenses on the Canon screens. I also know that my friends like Jim Lager (who wrote 8 of the Leica books) isn't too happy with the fact that every Canon body has a different menu for operation. That is why he Leitaxed a lot of his R lenses for Nikon. But, now he is using mainly his Nikon lenses since his sight isn't what it had been he doesn't use his R lenses very often.

Rich

naturephoto1 wrote:
I also know that my friends like Jim Lager (who wrote 8 of the Leica books) isn't too happy with the fact that every Canon body has a different menu for operation.

I don't really understand that complaint unless you're using several different camera bodies every shooting session. Besides, I hardly ever need to go into the menu with my 5D.

AhamB wrote:
naturephoto1 wrote:
I also know that my friends like Jim Lager (who wrote 8 of the Leica books) isn't too happy with the fact that every Canon body has a different menu for operation.

I don't really understand that complaint unless you're using several different camera bodies every shooting session. Besides, I hardly ever need to go into the menu with my 5D.

I don't know, that was just a comment that Jim made when I saw him in October. I haven't used the camera myself and only handled the 5D MKIII for less than 5 minutes. But, the 5D MKIII did seem to be large and noticeably harder for me to hold than my Leica R8 with the motor winder. I had to stretch my hand and fingers (and somewhat uncomfortably) around the MKIII version.

Rich

The Leica 28mm f/2.8 PC lens is really a Schneider design, and is supposedly nothing special until you stop it down somewhat. At f/8 it is meant to be very good, or even excellent. That is on full frame, and I don't know if it has the resolution to support a high-pixel-density mirrorless.

Id wait to see what happens in spring, I'm convinced a FF mirrorless is coming soon.

carstenw wrote:
The Leica 28mm f/2.8 PC lens is really a Schneider design, and is supposedly nothing special until you stop it down somewhat. At f/8 it is meant to be very good, or even excellent. That is on full frame, and I don't know if it has the resolution to support a high-pixel-density mirrorless.

Hi Carsten,

You are correct about its pedigree. However, after speaking with Justin Stailey at Leica, he agreed that the 28 PC is a Schneider but these lenses had to be made to Leica's standards. I am not sure if they were hand picked, but they are supposed to be better performers than the run of the mill lens in the Nikon or Canon mounts. Best performance will be about f11 to allow the maximum amount of shift on the lens (9.5mm; 11mm may result in CA along the edges of the FF).

It performs admirably on my Lumix G1 camera. I know that it is not as sharp as the R 28mm 2.8 2nd generation lens. My initial tests indicate that my copy performs quite well, but I have only made the assessment at close to f8 or f11 and running the shift out to 9.5 or 11m on the G1.

Many have reported on-line that the Leica 28mm 2.8 PC version may well be the highest resolving 35mm FF format shift lens (including TS) and color of any of the lenses made for the Leica system or the Canon or Nikon shift and TS lenses. But, of course there will be variations from specimen to specimen.

Rich

carstenw wrote:
Well, for a long time I have been watching for a ZF.2 85/1.4, and separately I have been thinking about the ZF.2 35/1.4 compared to my Leica 35/1.4 Lux, but with no luck. Few people sell these lenses, and they are almost always snapped up right away. I did buy one copy of the 85/1.4 but it ended up having a scratch on the front element, and I sent it back.

Today both came up. In spite of a tight budget, I scrambled for the money, and got lucky that I just managed to sell my Hasselblad 203FE with a WLF, so I could actually pull it off, and picked up both. Within a few minutes, I tripled the number of f/1.4 Zeiss lenses I own, and increased the number of ZF.2 lenses by 20%

It is not certain that the 35/1.4 will stay, but I will test it against my 35 Lux and decide which I like better. The Leica has a disadvantage in that it has no communication with the body, and thus needs to be used in stop-down mode. It also doesn't focus quite so close, and of course, its colour is somewhat different. There is a very tiny slim chance that I might keep both, but given the price of these lenses it is very small.

Very interested in what you will find. Though 35lux is out of my price range, but who knows? Zeiss is just two big for my standard prime lens.

Re: The Leica PC lens, my "knowledge" is strictly second-hand (I know a small handful of people who have owned them), but the comments I made were specifically about the Leica version; I don't know anything about the other versions. If you get the chance to test on a higher MP, larger sensor body, I would be interested in your experience. I expect that the 11mm shift is no longer tolerable. I am also interested in your thoughts about shooting wider open than f/8.

About the 35 Lux-R vs. ZF.2 35/1.4 Distagon, no one is more curious than I am I have tried both before, but have not been able to compare directly yet, especially on my D800, so I am quite interested to find out how it goes. Unfortunately the days are short and the light diminished, so I am not sure how much testing I can get in before spring. I would like to try landscape, portrait and urbex shooting before deciding. I expect to keep the "winner" for a long time, so I want to make the right decision.

LightShow wrote:
Id wait to see what happens in spring, I'm convinced a FF mirrorless is coming soon.

We know that the Leica M is coming hopefully in the first Q of 2013. But boy is it expensive with all of the extras.

I expect that someone else will also come out with something. However, I want to avoid changing my R mounts from the Leica R lenses so that I can also use them for my R film cameras without having to change the mounts back and forth.

Also, for me right now, I feel that I need to get something beyond my Lumix G1 with my Leica R lenses. I feel that I need a larger sensor for better performance. That is why at least in the interim I am leaning toward either the Fujifilm X-e1 or the Pro 1 which if I decide later would become the 2nd camera after I purchase a FF body.

Rich

zhangyue wrote:
carstenw wrote:
It is not certain that the 35/1.4 will stay, but I will test it against my 35 Lux and decide which I like better.

Very interested in what you will find. Though 35lux is out of my price range, but who knows? Zeiss is just two big for my standard prime lens.

leitax the c/y 35/1.4. i believe it is smaller than either and pretty awesome, though not as good as the new Z* for landscape.

naturephoto1 wrote:
I have small hands and have a Canon adapter for R lenses (came with the PC lens). I could try R lenses on a Canon body when I try the Fuji cameras. I tried to handle the 5D MKIII with Canon lenses at Photo Plus in October and I found that the size of the camera was a bit tough for me to hold (not only do I have small hands but I have the remnants of 2 broken wrists from a bicycle and car accident in 1993). I know that Art Wolfe had suggested that I get one of the 5D MKIII cameras. My salesman for the Fuji Cameras sold his Canon 5D MKII and Canon system and went to the Fuji X Pro1. I know that the Fuji cameras will not yield FF, my salesman has indicated that the Fuji X Pro1 is recording images equal or about equal to the Canon 5D MKII.

There are issues as I understand it in focusing the legacy manual focus lenses on the Canon screens. I also know that my friends like Jim Lager (who wrote 8 of the Leica books) isn't too happy with the fact that every Canon body has a different menu for operation. That is why he Leitaxed a lot of his R lenses for Nikon. But, now he is using mainly his Nikon lenses since his sight isn't what it had been he doesn't use his R lenses very often.

Rich


the 5D classic isn't noticeably smaller than the 5DmkIII, so it probably won't fit you either. i believe the 6D is a bit smaller, but i doubt it's really noticeable. the only issue with manual focusing lenses on canon screens is that some cameras will need to have the screens shimmed for correct focus (simple to do). one also needs to choose the appropriate screen for canon – the ultra precision matte if you're going to be using lenses faster than f/2.8 a lot or the stock screen if you're going to use a lot of longer telephotos.

sebboh wrote:
zhangyue wrote:
carstenw wrote:
It is not certain that the 35/1.4 will stay, but I will test it against my 35 Lux and decide which I like better.

Very interested in what you will find. Though 35lux is out of my price range, but who knows? Zeiss is just two big for my standard prime lens.

leitax the c/y 35/1.4. i believe it is smaller than either and pretty awesome, though not as good as the new Z* for landscape.

naturephoto1 wrote:
I have small hands and have a Canon adapter for R lenses (came with the PC lens). I could try R lenses on a Canon body when I try the Fuji cameras. I tried to handle the 5D MKIII with Canon lenses at Photo Plus in October and I found that the size of the camera was a bit tough for me to hold (not only do I have small hands but I have the remnants of 2 broken wrists from a bicycle and car accident in 1993). I know that Art Wolfe had suggested that I get one of the 5D MKIII cameras. My salesman for the Fuji Cameras sold his Canon 5D MKII and Canon system and went to the Fuji X Pro1. I know that the Fuji cameras will not yield FF, my salesman has indicated that the Fuji X Pro1 is recording images equal or about equal to the Canon 5D MKII.

There are issues as I understand it in focusing the legacy manual focus lenses on the Canon screens. I also know that my friends like Jim Lager (who wrote 8 of the Leica books) isn't too happy with the fact that every Canon body has a different menu for operation. That is why he Leitaxed a lot of his R lenses for Nikon. But, now he is using mainly his Nikon lenses since his sight isn't what it had been he doesn't use his R lenses very often.

Rich


the 5D classic isn't noticeably smaller than the 5DmkIII, so it probably won't fit you either. i believe the 6D is a bit smaller, but i doubt it's really noticeable. the only issue with manual focusing lenses on canon screens is that some cameras will need to have the screens shimmed for correct focus (simple to do). one also needs to choose the appropriate screen for canon – the ultra precision matte if you're going to be using lenses faster than f/2.8 a lot or the stock screen if you're going to use a lot of longer telephotos.

Thanks. When I spoke to the Canon Reps at PhotoPlus they indicated that the neither the 5D MKIII nor the 6D had interchangeable screens. Maybe they are incorrect, but they indicated that I would need their Canon EOS-1D X to get a camera with interchange the screens. Maybe the 5D MKIII aand the 6D need to be shipped to Canon to change the screens. But, that does not give me much confidence if I would need to shim the screens for a non replaceable screen or the Canon Reps didn't know what they are talking about. But...

Rich