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Archive 2018Zeiss Loxia 25mm f2.4 is a distagon

  
 
nandadevieast
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p.2 #1Zeiss Loxia 25mm f2.4 is a distagon
I thought you had a 55 and a B135 as well?

Fred Miranda wrote:
Gunzorro wroteBeautiful looking lens, like all the Loxias. I'm sure it will be outstanding.

I will be skipping this lens in favor of my Loxia 21. This is the same thinking that caused me to sell my ZE 21/2.8 in favor of my Canon 24 TSE II, which trumped the Zeiss with its perspective controls and similar focal length. I found it too redundant to have two bulky and expensive lenses of comparable optical quality. At least the Loxia are not bulky!

The only Loxia I would be interested in is the potential 28/2 to fill the gap between 21 and 35, which isn't a really large or critical gap anyway. As it is, I find Loxia 21-35-50 to be a pretty well covered range for manual focus lens.

Looking forward to photos from forum members -- maybe that will ignite my G.A.S.
If they are truly 21mm and 25mm lenses, the gap would be about 10 degrees FOV apart. That could useful in situations where the 21mm is too wide for your composition. However, one could argue cropping the 21mm image to 25mm whenever needed while still keeping 29MP resolution. (42MP sensor)
Currently I'm shooting 21mm + 28mm (ZF Distagon) so my gap goes: 15, 21, 28, 40, 65 and 100-400.

Feb 08, 2018 at 10:59 AM
nandadevieast
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p.2 #2Zeiss Loxia 25mm f2.4 is a distagon
And i am hoping that when measured, it turns out to be a 21mm

Parariss wrote:
I'm still hoping that this 25, when measure, is somehow truly a 28.

Feb 08, 2018 at 11:01 AM
mjm6
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p.2 #3Zeiss Loxia 25mm f2.4 is a distagon
I wish it were a true 24mm lens, rather than something like 25.5mm which all the Zeiss lenses seem to be, and I would never even consider it if it were a 28mm. Such a milquetoast focal length.

Feb 08, 2018 at 11:05 AM
GMPhotography
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p.2 #4Zeiss Loxia 25mm f2.4 is a distagon
There is copy variance with the 40. Fred has got at least one bad one
Feb 08, 2018 at 11:07 AM
DannyBurkPhoto
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p.2 #5Zeiss Loxia 25mm f2.4 is a distagon
I'm not planning to get the Loxia 25, since I *am* planning to get the Milvus 25/1.4 soon, and I want 1.4 for flowers. That said, I'll watch comments on the Lox.

I did want a 28 and will probably get it if it comes along. Right now, I'm using a 28/2 ZE, or sometimes switch to 25/2 ZE, depending on what I'm doing. Next step up is 35, either Milvus 1.4 or Loxia, again depending on what I'm doing and if I need to lighten the load. Personally I like the Loxia 35 wide open for flower closeups, and stopped down it's very nice for landscape IMO. I like textured bokeh for flowers, so it fills the bill in that regard:

trillium ravine 5383 by Danny Burk, on Flickr
Feb 08, 2018 at 11:11 AM
ChrisMak
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p.2 #6Zeiss Loxia 25mm f2.4 is a distagon


DannyBurkPhoto wrote:
I'm not planning to get the Loxia 25, since I *am* planning to get the Milvus 25/1.4 soon, and I want 1.4 for flowers. That said, I'll watch comments on the Lox.

I did want a 28 and will probably get it if it comes along. Right now, I'm using a 28/2 ZE, or sometimes switch to 25/2 ZE, depending on what I'm doing. Next step up is 35, either Milvus 1.4 or Loxia, again depending on what I'm doing and if I need to lighten the load. Personally I like the Loxia 35 wide open for flower closeups, and
...Show more →
I have the Loxia 35 and think it is a bit harsh to state that it sucks big time at f2 and that the CV40 is a much better lens.
There is some serious sample variation though: the first one I tried out díd suck at f2 due to decentering, and also seemed to suffer from double imaging at f2 100% zoom. The second one (the one I bought) was very nice from f2 onwards, but sure, it really is a landscape lens.
Feb 08, 2018 at 11:37 AM
Blakehfreeman
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p.2 #7Zeiss Loxia 25mm f2.4 is a distagon
I agree in principle but most lenses that have “24mm” stenciled on the barrel are in reality 23/25 etc. they are given latitude in naming... so another mans “24mm” May have the same FOV as this lens. 🤷🏼‍♂️

mjm6 wrote:
I wish it were a true 24mm lens, rather than something like 25.5mm which all the Zeiss lenses seem to be, and I would never even consider it if it were a 28mm. Such a milquetoast focal length.


Feb 08, 2018 at 11:40 AM
Fred Miranda
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p.2 #8Zeiss Loxia 25mm f2.4 is a distagon
MikeEvangelist wrote:
Fred Miranda wrote...so my gap goes: 15, 21, 28, 40, 65 and 100-400.
Gaps are so old-fashioned.

12-24mm, 24-105mm & 70-200mm - heaven.


You don't have a gap there but still need to swap lenses.

I could have a bigger gap and 4 lenses instead. This would cover most of my shooting needs with minimal cropping:

  1. 15 Voigt (300g)

    AOV: 29 degrees

  2. 25 Loxia (400g)

    AOV: 26 degrees

  3. 40 Voigt (400g)

    AOV: 26 degrees

  4. 85 ZM (350g)
Feb 08, 2018 at 11:44 AM
Fred Miranda
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p.2 #9Zeiss Loxia 25mm f2.4 is a distagon
ChrisMak wrote:
DannyBurkPhoto wroteI'm not planning to get the Loxia 25, since I *am* planning to get the Milvus 25/1.4 soon, and I want 1.4 for flowers. That said, I'll watch comments on the Lox.

I did want a 28 and will probably get it if it comes along. Right now, I'm using a 28/2 ZE, or sometimes switch to 25/2 ZE, depending on what I'm doing. Next step up is 35, either Milvus 1.4 or Loxia, again depending on what I'm doing and if I need to lighten the load. Personally I like the Loxia 35 wide open for flower closeups, and stopped down it's very nice for landscape IMO. I like textured bokeh for flowers, so it fills the bill in that regard:
I have the Loxia 35 and think it is a bit harsh to state that it sucks big time at f2 and that the CV40 is a much better lens.
There is some serious sample variation though: the first one I tried out díd suck at f2 due to decentering, and also seemed to suffer from double imaging at f2 100% zoom. The second one (the one I bought) was very nice from f2 onwards, but sure, it really is a landscape lens.


The Loxia 35/2 has beautiful rendering imo. Definitely great micro-contrast, colors, sunstar, super low distortion, etc...all in a compact design. So lots of pluses for it.

It does need f/8-9 for the very corners and OOF rendering can be a bit harsh at mid-distance. I had an amazing copy and regret selling it. I think that's what Guy was referring to when he compared it to the CV 40/1.2. The Voigtlander matches the Loxia 35' strengths and in addition offers smoother OOF rendering and better corner resolution for landscapes at wider apertures...Not to count more blur from the faster aperture.
Feb 08, 2018 at 11:51 AM
DannyBurkPhoto
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p.2 #10Zeiss Loxia 25mm f2.4 is a distagon
Fred Miranda wrote:
I had an amazing copy and regret selling it.

The trillium I posted above is the spawn of your lens

Feb 08, 2018 at 12:09 PM
smpetty
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p.2 #11Zeiss Loxia 25mm f2.4 is a distagon
I've been very happy with my Batis 25/2 and have taken some of my favorite landscape images with it. Is the excitement about the Loxia 25 mostly due to the MF, or is it also a reflection of some deficiency of the Batis 25? I love my Loxia 21 and I enjoy MF, but I'm not sure what features of the new Loxia would be so compelling as to make me replace one of the best lenses I've ever owned.
Feb 08, 2018 at 12:16 PM
GMPhotography
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p.2 #12Zeiss Loxia 25mm f2.4 is a distagon
I really like to manual focus and unfortunately the Batis 25 just has no real feel to it and it bugs me. I think also a lot of folks build a separate MF kit and AF kit. It’s really what I have done . AF for me is for work and MF is for me personally
Feb 08, 2018 at 12:48 PM
GMPhotography
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p.2 #13Zeiss Loxia 25mm f2.4 is a distagon
Fred Miranda wrote:
ChrisMak wrote
DannyBurkPhoto wroteI'm not planning to get the Loxia 25, since I *am* planning to get the Milvus 25/1.4 soon, and I want 1.4 for flowers. That said, I'll watch comments on the Lox.

I did want a 28 and will probably get it if it comes along. Right now, I'm using a 28/2 ZE, or sometimes switch to 25/2 ZE, depending on what I'm doing. Next step up is 35, either Milvus 1.4 or Loxia, again depending on what I'm doing and if I need to lighten the load. Personally I like the Loxia 35 wide open for flower closeups, and stopped down it's very nice for landscape IMO. I like textured bokeh for flowers, so it fills the bill in that regard:
I have the Loxia 35 and think it is a bit harsh to state that it sucks big time at f2 and that the CV40 is a much better lens.
There is some serious sample variation though: the first one I tried out díd suck at f2 due to decentering, and also seemed to suffer from double imaging at f2 100% zoom. The second one (the one I bought) was very nice from f2 onwards, but sure, it really is a landscape lens.
The Loxia 35/2 has beautiful rendering imo. Definitely great micro-contrast, colors, sunstar, super low distortion, etc...all in a compact design. So lots of pluses for it.

It does need f/8-9 for the very corners and OOF rendering can be a bit harsh at mid-distance. I had an amazing copy and regret selling it. I think that's what Guy was referring to when he compared it to the CV 40/1.2. The Voigtlander matches the Loxia 35' strengths and in addition offer smoother OOF rendering and better corner resolution for landscapes at wider apertures...Not to count more blur from the faster aperture.


Thanks Fred I should have explained it a little better. The Loxia is a very nice lens stopped down the CV you can use more wide open.
Feb 08, 2018 at 12:51 PM
pdmphoto
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p.2 #14Zeiss Loxia 25mm f2.4 is a distagon
I had a good copy of the Loxia 35 and corners,were sharp at F5.6. Back on topic, I'm sure the Loxia 25 will be nice but since I already have the Loxia 21 I doubt I'll be buying. 24 to 28 mm focal length is one of my favorite, so I do have a ZF 25 2.8 for that.
Feb 08, 2018 at 01:09 PM
Fred Miranda
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p.2 #15Zeiss Loxia 25mm f2.4 is a distagon
Fred Miranda wrote:
Gunzorro wroteBeautiful looking lens, like all the Loxias. I'm sure it will be outstanding.

I will be skipping this lens in favor of my Loxia 21. This is the same thinking that caused me to sell my ZE 21/2.8 in favor of my Canon 24 TSE II, which trumped the Zeiss with its perspective controls and similar focal length. I found it too redundant to have two bulky and expensive lenses of comparable optical quality. At least the Loxia are not bulky!

The only Loxia I would be interested in is the potential 28/2 to fill the gap between 21 and 35, which isn't a really large or critical gap anyway. As it is, I find Loxia 21-35-50 to be a pretty well covered range for manual focus lens.

Looking forward to photos from forum members -- maybe that will ignite my G.A.S.
If they are truly 21mm and 25mm lenses, the gap would be about 10 degrees of angle of view apart. That could useful in situations where the 21mm is too wide for your composition. However, one could argue cropping the 21mm image to 25mm whenever needed while still keeping 29MP resolution. (42MP sensor)
Currently I'm shooting 21mm + 28mm (ZF Distagon) so my gap goes: 15, 21, 28, 40, 65 and 100-400.


Since I mentioned cropping and was hoping for a 28mm instead of 25mm, we would still get a 33.5MP file when cropping from 25mm to 28mm. The angle of view is small (only 6 degrees)
There is an argument for getting the Lox 25 and cropping to 28 whenever needed.
Feb 08, 2018 at 01:17 PM
Makten
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p.2 #16Zeiss Loxia 25mm f2.4 is a distagon
Sorry for more OT, but sharpness doesn't have to be evaluated when shooting landscapes. The Loxia 35 doesn't need stopping down, at least not more than to f/2.8.


_DSC1265 by Martin Hertsius, on Flickr


Corners?? Couldn't care less.

---------------

I have the Batis 25 and I like it, but I don't like the size of it and the plasticky build. But I use it at f/2 all of the time, so I'm not sure a Loxia would be a better choice for me.

Wide open:


5055 by Martin Hertsius, on Flickr
Feb 08, 2018 at 01:25 PM
ChrisMak
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p.2 #17Zeiss Loxia 25mm f2.4 is a distagon
Makten wrote:
Sorry for more OT, but sharpness doesn't have to be evaluated when shooting landscapes. The Loxia 35 doesn't need stopping down, at least not more than to f/2.8.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8696/17243690856_5e9db710c3_o.jpg
_DSC1265 by Martin Hertsius, on Flickr

Corners?? Couldn't care less.

---------------

I have the Batis 25 and I like it, but I don't like the size of it and the plasticky build. But I use it at f/2 all of the time, so I'm not sure a Loxia would be a better choice for me.

Wide open:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4304/36043430106_2b159a64e5_o.jpg
5055 by Martin Hertsius, on Flickr


There are many reasons to choose or not choose a lens. Regarding the Loxia 35 vs the CV40/1.2, there's the focal length, the aperture, but also the color rendering, the weight (the Loxia being 80 grams lighter). I remain with my opinion, that the Loxia is too often treated in a way that does not do its qualities justice, and it is too easily dismissed as a placeholder for the "real" Loxia 35mm that people are craving for, a ZM35/1.4 like Loxia. Sure, there is room for a different type of high end Loxia 35, but the current Loxia 35 is all too often in a corner being put to shame for its overpriced nature and weak performance. It needs a good copy though.

So much for the ill faited 35mm biogon Loxia, the coming distagon 25mm Loxia will not have to suffer that fate. I am really looking forward to seeing how it performs. The ZF.2 25/2 is a fantastic lens, but on the Voigtlander Nikon to E adapter, it is big and heavy. If the Loxia 25/2 comes close, than I will jump on it.
Feb 08, 2018 at 01:57 PM
Luvwine
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p.2 #18Zeiss Loxia 25mm f2.4 is a distagon
Makten wrote:
Sorry for more OT, but sharpness doesn't have to be evaluated when shooting landscapes. The Loxia 35 doesn't need stopping down, at least not more than to f/2.8.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8696/17243690856_5e9db710c3_o.jpg
_DSC1265 by Martin Hertsius, on Flickr

Corners?? Couldn't care less.

---------------

I have the Batis 25 and I like it, but I don't like the size of it and the plasticky build. But I use it at f/2 all of the time, so I'm not sure a Loxia would be a better choice for me.

Wide open:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4304/36043430106_2b159a64e5_o.jpg
5055 by Martin Hertsius, on Flickr


Dunno Makten, that landscape in the first pic looks pretty soft to me.....
Feb 08, 2018 at 02:00 PM
philip_pj
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p.2 #19Zeiss Loxia 25mm f2.4 is a distagon
It's a better overall FL for trad open landscapes than 21mm, which needs solid foreground interest - 'intimate landscapes'. A smaller crop than 21>25 gets to the focal length that dares not speak its name to CZ - 28mm. It'll likely be a modern 'me too' look lens, Zeiss are very big on uniformity these days. So probably not for me, but they might surprise us with some artistry.
Feb 08, 2018 at 03:27 PM
rvh23
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p.2 #20Zeiss Loxia 25mm f2.4 is a distagon
I think many would disagree that the Loxia 21 is lacking 'artistry', and it would be more surprising to me if the 25 wasn't also something special.
Feb 08, 2018 at 06:20 PM
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