p.1 #1 · New Zeiss lenses have extreme resolution!
Great news. No need to worry about Zeiss lowering standards on the new range.
From the Zeiss website:
"The new ZEISS ZF lenses went to test for resolving power recently. Attached to a Nikon F6, which was mounted on a Sachtler heavy duty tripod, we exposed our Eastman resolution test chart onto Kodak Imagelink HQ film. The best we had ever achieved before with any SLR lenses was 250 lp/mm.
The new Planar T* 1.4/85 ZF achieved that same resolution at f/5.6, and even down to f/2.
The new Planar T* 1,4/50 ZF went even further: It reached 320 lp/mm in the aperture range from f/5.6 to f/2.8, and 250 lp/mm at f/2.
The resolution test chart was placed in the center of the frame, and the negatives were inspected directly on a research microscope. No other process involving projection (through even the best enlarging lens) or digitizing (in today's best currently available scanners) is capable of transferring such high resolution values."
And this:
"When Hasselblad staff photographer Jens Karlsson took demo photos for the first Zeiss Ikon brochure in 2004, his photo of the carousel, taken with the ZM-Biogon 25 stood out for its enormous detail and clarity. So we used a ZM-Biogon 25 in a recent test to determine maximum resolving power. The high resolution film of choice was the SPUR Orthopan UR supplied and processed by SPUR.
The result was a whopping 400 lp/mm on film, recorded with the Biogon 25 at f/4 in the center of the image. This value, 400 lp/mm, corresponds to the maximum resolution theoretically possible at f/4; in other words it represents the calculated "diffraction limited" performance at this aperture. It is noteworthy that this test was conducted with a production lens on a production camera, indicating that the film was precisely positioned and flat."
p.1 #2 · New Zeiss lenses have extreme resolution!
Guy
If you start collecting "M" mount Zeiss you can get an M to R adapter, use now with DMR and also be ready for the DM. Are we talking 'slippery CLIFF" here? (and yes I know the m registration distance is too small, but I expect you will find a way around that.)
p.1 #4 · New Zeiss lenses have extreme resolution!
Excuse my ignorance, but I've a (may be silly) question: is there the possibility to employ a Zeiss Ikon lens onto a Canon body? Is there a special purpose adapter to do this?
p.1 #5 · New Zeiss lenses have extreme resolution!
that 85 f1.4 is beautiful, and $1000 is throughly affordable, half of the 85 f1.2L. i will wait for the comparative reviews before deciding if i should buy the Zeiss, Canon, or... *drumroll* Leica. yes, i too have DMR envy :)
abramg, an adaptor for the canon should be possible. no AF, and manual aperture, but at least it is possible.
p.1 #7 · New Zeiss lenses have extreme resolution!
oh i know the adapting will be possible. BUT i was dreaming for Zeiss Lenses with a native canon mount, the EF mount :-D. zeiss said they couldnt do that yet because of possible patent infringement? if that is true then how are other 3rd party ( tamron, sigma ) able to produce lenses with a canon EF mount?
im sure ill wind up getting some of the ZF or ZS lenses, as im sure they wont cost as much as the Contaz Zeiss lenses do right now, unless that turns the market around and drives down the prices of the contax ones..
lots to think about and man that 85 sure is tempting, it looks gorgeous too.
p.1 #8 · New Zeiss lenses have extreme resolution!
now i pose another question - Strictly to canon users. But, Guy, feel free to input as well
since those of us that follow the ways of the Canon have only the choice of adapted zeiss lenses -
would you choose the ZF lens, and get a Nikon to EOS adapter? or choose the ZS lens and use a m24 to EOS adapter?
p.1 #9 · New Zeiss lenses have extreme resolution!
guy, personally, i would not switch from canon to nikon (or vice versa) unless something changes dramatically in the next few years; they are too similar. given that i would either stay on canon or switch to leica, should i still consider the nikon-mount, or does that change things? how do the nikon-canon mounts compare to the ZS-canon mounts in quality and availability? are there differences wrt. nikon-leica vs. ZS-leica?
on a sidenote, i thought you were happy to be adapter-less. are you really considering jeopardising that status? :) also, i would have thought the leica lenses would at least be as good as the zeiss lenses, if not better.
a tongue-in-cheek comment: i am working my way through the "war and peace"-sized "leica dmr and 1Ds mk.II" thread you started (i am getting close to page 300, ie. less than half), and i doubt i have heard of anything through whose hands more lenses have passed in less time than you. how do you find the time to use them more than you buy, sell, and consider them? :)
p.1 #11 · New Zeiss lenses have extreme resolution!
AbramG wrote:
oh i know the adapting will be possible. BUT i was dreaming for Zeiss Lenses with a native canon mount, the EF mount :-D. zeiss said they couldnt do that yet because of possible patent infringement? if that is true then how are other 3rd party ( tamron, sigma ) able to produce lenses with a canon EF mount?
as far as i know (and i might be wrong), canon doesn't share technical info on this mount, and whereas sigma et al have chosen to reverse-engineer it, zeiss has chosen simply not to support it. i don't know why, since getting rudimentary support working, without exif and the bells and whistles must be relatively simple. measure the thing, figure out how it stops down before shooting, and done. anyway, zeiss must find that unattractive, for whatever reason. a pity, for people like us.
i wonder if a ZF-mount lens can be changed to a ZS-mount lens, by replacing the back plate? if so, and by extension, one could imagine a third party springing up to fill the gap, and release an EF-mount back plate for these lenses.
---
what would it mean to have a zeiss 85 f1.4 with an adaptor, and use it on a canon eos body? manual focusing, manually stopping down before shooting, but how does one meter with such a lens on?
p.1 #12 · New Zeiss lenses have extreme resolution!
to abram : if you're sure to stay with Canon, chose ZS : m42 adapters are no problem from what I've read, while nikon to canon or contax to canon adapters sometime don't allow infinity focus, or are not parallel to film plane, or not centered, or too lose, or too stiff...
(only from many user reports, never tried it myself)
p.1 #13 · New Zeiss lenses have extreme resolution!
you're right Guy, one can't be absolutely sure to stay with Canon or any given brand, so Nikon mount can be a good solution.
OTOH m42 lenses fit Canon, KM (and so future Sony ) DSLRs and Pentax DSLRs with an adapter. Not a bad solution either.
p.1 #14 · New Zeiss lenses have extreme resolution!
unless nikon were to release a FF body, which they pretty much stated is never going to happen, i wouldnt really want to use these with a FL multiplier. seeing as how the 5D i have ( and the 1Ds coming to me) are both full frame, they are ideal cameras for these types of lenses. So if i understand you correctly. the M42 mount has less of an issue with flange distance, and therefore is easier to adapt to a canon body? is it a guaranteed infinity focus? ( that is the one thing worrying me about getting the contax zeiss lenses for my canons.
i dont see myself converting. i like nikon's ergonomics, but i love canons cameras.
and, like guy, i try to look to the future when i make purchases, not just the present.
im not opposed to nikon, or any other system, i have just chosen canon, and i am invested in canon, and for a young professional like myself, i dont have unlimited funds to switch systems
ill have to read up on the m42 mount a little more then, anyone have any good sources?
p.1 #16 · New Zeiss lenses have extreme resolution!
AbramG wrote:
So if i understand you correctly. the M42 mount has less of an issue with flange distance, and therefore is easier to adapt to a canon body? is it a guaranteed infinity focus? ( that is the one thing worrying me about getting the contax zeiss lenses for my canons.
ill have to read up on the m42 mount a little more then, anyone have any good sources?
I can't guarantee, I haven't got a Canon. I use m42 to contax for some carl zeiss jena lenses and russian ones too. I have read several times that about any cheap m42 to canon adapter is alright. Ask Graham (foto Z), he knows about adapters and gorgeous swedish girls (but that's not the main point).
p.1 #20 · New Zeiss lenses have extreme resolution!
Resale value of the Nikon and M42 mount ZFs will likely be very similar, but I'll be buying Nikon: no chance of unscrewing the screw mount adaptor when focusing. I am so in the queue when they become available.
Here's hoping for some new wide primes - though I think a 17-35mm is more probable.
ahaha. its just a dream for us Cano-philes for now.
