Trifox - thanks for the images - nothing wrong with those colors - lots of vignetting though that's common to the Zeiss wides. I do like the size of the 18/4.
I use the Zeiss ZF.2 18/3.5 quite a bit with the Nikon D800E. It's ever so slightly inferior to the 14-24 at the same focal length, mainly in the corners. I don't worry about CA, wave-shape distortion, or vignetting since the LR lens profile cleans it all up very nicely.
For what it's worth, here are some more crops from it.
mMontag wrote:
Hey Wayne - I did reluctantly sell the 17-35 and now looking for a wide prime - using all Contax primes at this time. The 17TS-E & 14-24 are much too large for backpacking.
If you're back in the neighborhood sometime let me know - be happy to meet up and get out to a few photo favorite Colo hot spots - there are a few!
Thanks Mark! I will definitely contact you before the next time I go to CO so we could meet up. I am sure you know all the good spots which would be invaluable.
mMontag wrote:
Justruss - thanks for the sample images - that lens is wide and fairly sharp - especially for the price - I would like a little more sparkle for landscape however - thinking that would be the same issue with the Oly 18/3.5.
What do you mean by sparkle? I do have to limit myself to a certain type of processing because my images tend to run in editorial publications. A few more examples if it helps:
The first was a two-page spread in Smithsonian Magazine, and I think the second ran smaller in the article:
Jan - thanks for the images - I almost bought the ZF 18/3.5 when it first came out & went with the 28/2 instead. In a perfect world, I'm looking for a manual aperture lens that spins in the Canon / Contax direction - though a ZF for the right price might do it.
Justruss - Nice shots - love the bus!!
Thanks for the additional images - those colors pop pretty well - I put one on my E-Bay watch list - nice price - I understand there can be sample variation in that model - may have to try a few if I go that way.
Hey, Mark, when I was looking at ultra-wides for the NEX, I tried out the Fujinon EBC 19/3.5 in M42. It's not tack sharp wide open, but picks up quite a bit stopped down. I didn't try it on FF digital, but the original owner shared some film samples and they looked great. Just something to consider as your search goes on.
mMontag: It's definitely a lens worth at least exploring/trying if you can get a copy at a good price. And yes, I think there's more copy variation in these older lenses than their newer counterparts, particularly the non-super-premium brands. These UWA, notably older coatings/designs do risk flare and the like, which can totally reduce contrast/pop in some shooting situations.
The second shot is a train car actually. I did a story for SM on Cambodia's decrepit rails and the rise (and perhaps fall) of the vehicle in the first shot.
mMontag wrote:
Jan - thanks for the images - I almost bought the ZF 18/3.5 when it first came out & went with the 28/2 instead. In a perfect world, I'm looking for a manual aperture lens that spins in the Canon / Contax direction - though a ZF for the right price might do it.
