philip_pj Offline Upload & Sell: On
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The wheels started wobbling on the CZ management car about ten years back. They abandoned all pretence at producing new full ranges, except for Milvus which was an ill-fated end-of-DSLR effort. Even that had some remodelled lenses.
The f1.4 Milvuses and the last Otuses should scotch any notions of others catching up however, for *photographic* purposes and the Zeiss look. As if it was a measure in the first place, like your bank account. These are magnificent lenses, some are likely to be 'best ever' optics, up there with the SL lenses.
In particular, the 35/1.4 and Otus 100/1.4, 28/1.4. To my vision, the CZ colour model has always been better than that of Leica, with greater subtlety and photorealism and tonal depiction. It's simply that these qualities are not valued as highly as some other new age features people desire. So that is what we lost in the narrowing of the modern age.
Even in the older days of the late 20C, they were never significantly interested in commercial market success, no MF lens maker could be. So they simply produced their best efforts and whatever happened, happened. I like that about them. Sounds like an obit, doesn't it? But their place in history cannot be erased, among the cognoscenti at least.
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