Well, you should quote the REST of the text that follows the bit you selectively quote. That reads:
You can see how my second Canon 17-40mm L performed here.
And if you're not yet convinced of its mediocrity, see how a different sample tested in a different continent was outperformed by two Sigma zooms here.
One Canon dealer glumly confided in me that every time they, or one of their customers, test the 17-40mm f4 L against the Sigma 15-30mm, the Sigma wins. "What about the 16-35mm?:" I enquired. "Don't ask", he replied.
The second 17-40mm L tested also failed to impress. No "internet myth" here. The conclusion on the page detailing the test of the second sample reads,
In conclusion, I am hugely disappointed by the second 17-40mm L I have tested in this way,
and hugely impressed by the Sigma 15-30mm - just see how sharp it is at 15mm here. As long
as you don't compare the 12-24mm to a Zeiss prime, I think many people are going to be very
happy with the world's first full frame 12mm lens - the image it produced wasn't
conspicuously soft even at A3 / 300dpi. It's just that the Distagon 21mm is in a class of
its own, and the Sigma 15-30mm goes wider, costs less, and performs much better than the
17-40L - at least this one did....
fourfa wrote:
here we are, watching internet myth being propagated. allow me to quote from the same page linked along with those pictures:
This page was originally built to prove to Canon that I had a bad sample. It's behaviour was curious, however: it was as though the lens was acceptably (but not impressively) sharp at a focal length of 17.85mm, but hopelessly soft (as you see here) at 17.9mm. Quite often it would just pop a stinker for no apparent reason. Eventually, after three months haggling, Canon accepted the lens back and the dealer refunded the money,
you're using images of a lens that Canon admitted was faulty, to prove that the lens is faulty. follow the links on that page to the replacement test. pretty dang good on center, and guess what, a $2000-4000 prime is sharper than $600 zooms in the corners....Show more →
I have a shell adapter at 1.5mm on my CZ21....as that is the thickness Bob Shell said is required. Perhaps mine was worked...I don't know though as it came with the lense. I do have infinity focus though on my 5D. Great lense. $2700 - $3000 USD seems like a fair price depending on condition.
rockitman wrote:
I have a shell adapter at 1.5mm on my CZ21....as that is the thickness Bob Shell said is required.
Yes, the spec'd Canon flange to film distance is 44mm, and for Contax it is 45.5mm, making for a 1.5mm adapter. I have spoken with Bob Shell about this myself. But to merely recite the same rhetoric about the flange to film distances requiring 1.5mm thick adapter without taking into account actual user experiences is just plain living in denial.
As Son so eloquently put it "Theory will only get you so far."
In real world use, only a rare minority of Canon owners report success with a 1.5mm adapter. Since most users need at least 1.4mm adapter or thinner, it would appear that based on that empiracle data, the published Canon flange to film distance of exactly 44mm for all EOS cameras is not gospel, and any slight errors in the distance on Canon's part is easily compensated for in the electronic AF assembly after the camera is put together.
Just look at the threads and you can read about how many Canon users have to send in Canon bodies and lenses for electronic focus adjusts because lenses are front or backfocusing. It seems the Canon flange to film distance in cameras out in the marketplace is all over the place.
Edited by jjlphoto on Jan 05, 2007 at 01:56 PM GMT
For anyone that is willig to take the ridiculously low price of $4,000 for a good (excellent glass) condition, I will send you my Kodak SLR/c. You mount your cz 21mm with adapter on the slrc, take pictures at infinity and at 100ft wide open and at 5.6
send me the pictures.
If they (all 4) are sharp as I see here above (except I do NOT expect as good wide open) I will then send you a cashiers check for $4,000 and you send back the camera, lens adapter and caps (and hood)
really, no lose, and you get to play with a Kodak SLR/c
This is a real offer. I will handle shipping both ways.
regards
Victor
My experience with MY copy of a Canon 5D and MY copy of the CZ21 is that 1.5 mm. would be pretty near to reaching infinity focus.
The adapter I got was 1.57mm. and didn't focus infinity. I tunned/grinded the ring until I reached the correct focus ( quite a lot of time, sanding a bit and trying again ). Now I have the ring with 1.47-1.48mm. thickness and works nicely focusing just at infinity.
If you get a thinner ring ( 1.4mm or less ) there's an added risk of the mirror hitting the rear shroud of the lens, specially with a 5D, and probably you'll focus well past infinity. Not a good thing if you plan to use the lens preset at infinity for shooting landscape.
BTW : As I'm planning to sell all my SLR stuff and take the M8 plunge, you will see very soon an almost mint copy of a CZ21 on sale. ( and a Canon 5D too..)
brainiac wrote:
My nearest used Contax specialist is listing a copy of the lens at UK£3500, without the hood.
Is it published on-line somewhere? That would be a great reference for all CZ21 owners to save. Prices dropped quite a bit smmer/fall, but now, they're climbing way up again. The 55/1.2 was at $9000 USD last year, dropped to around $5000, and now it is way back up again, the 85/1.2 is at its lifetime high also.
jjlphoto wrote:
Is it published on-line somewhere? That would be a great reference for all CZ21 owners to save. Prices dropped quite a bit smmer/fall, but now, they're climbing way up again. The 55/1.2 was at $9000 USD last year, dropped to around $5000, and now it is way back up again, the 85/1.2 is at its lifetime high also.
Might be time to sell mine, anyone want to give me $4K USD for it?
John, I expect it's Ffordes in Scotland.
They get some quite rare lenses from time to time, and at the moment also have a brand new 60yr 85mm f1.2 - quite a rarity - though at the same price as the 21mm.
All Contax kit is listed in the used equipment section: Ffordes
deshojo wrote:
John, I expect it's Ffordes in Scotland.
They get some quite rare lenses from time to time, and at the moment also have a brand new 60yr 85mm f1.2 - quite a rarity - though at the same price as the 21mm.
All Contax kit is listed in the used equipment section: Ffordes
I had a CZ 85/1.2 60th I bought for $4300, and decided to sell it because I rarely used it. I contacted the usual suspects, including Ffords. I takled to Steve Byford, and he offered me a paltry sum for it. I sold it on eBay for $4300. He must be of the +125% mark-up club.
jjlphoto wrote:
I had a CZ 85/1.2 60th I bought for $4300, and decided to sell it because I rarely used it. I contacted the usual suspects, including Ffords. I takled to Steve Byford, and he offered me a paltry sum for it. I sold it on eBay for $4300. He must be of the +125% mark-up club.
I've bought gear from Steve many times and had some good chats with him (in fact I bought my mint 21mm Distagon from him about 3 years ago for £800!).
He is a decent guy, but from what I understand the savage price cutting in the retail sector from chain stores and Hong Kong suppliers has made running an independant shop quite difficult.
I agree that sometimes their prices are a bit optimistic, and they do seem to offer only the usual 40% of market value that most retailers in the UK give on 2nd hand gear.
Certainly for a valuable lens such as the 85mm f1.2 one will get a much better price from a private sale.
Ffordes is ridiculously expensive. On a par with SHPhoto. All the lenses I have been looking at generally go for double the ebay average. I assume that they don't buy lenses for as much as the ebay average either so yes they must be marking them up over 100%.
But hey.. they need to pay for all those endlessly relisted ebay ads somehow
The Contax 21mm is great, however, its difficult to find and very expensive. Other good alternatives are the Olympus 21mm lenses and the Nikon 17-35mm.
I think "difficult to find" is an overstatement. They appear for sale here quite regularly, and if you post a WTB you will have several offers within 24 hours.
Prices are all over the map; generally $2000-3500 depending on condition and seller's pessimism/optimism.
jonboring wrote:
I only tried one CZ21 and it worked perfectly with stunning results. The adaptor came from Pham Minh Son. You do need the thinner adaptor for infinity focus and the Contax lenses do sometimes need to be sent back to the factory for callibration. Many users here have reported stunning results once their lens was callibrated. My CZ21 was callibrated a year or so before I purchased it.
Always nice to hear from a satisfied buyer I've got one more left with adapter, LNIB, and will part with it for a whole lot less than $6k.
tom in mpls wrote:
I think "difficult to find" is an overstatement. They appear for sale here quite regularly, and if you post a WTB you will have several offers within 24 hours.
Prices are all over the map; generally $2000-3500 depending on condition and seller's pessimism/optimism.
Do try to get one of Son's adapters.
They are on ebay from time to time. One recently sold for $2600 from a Japanese seller (I believe Andi was talking about the same one). There are some scammers on ebay too who list Distagon 21 from time to time and ask to contact them directly for a good deal.
Occassionally KEH will have one at about $2500~3000.
