Film_Ruled
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
|
A couple of Zeiss ZF reviews on B&H for in case any of you had any doubts, notice the full motion guys glowing reports on each lens:
85 1.4 ZF:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/441700-REG/Zeiss_1405_176_85mm_f_1_4_Planar_T_.html
"Perhaps the finest piece of glass you can put on the Redrock M2. It's so much more warm and rich than the Nikon glass. The chrominance of the glass is much warmer than the Nikon glass, and it is amazingly fast for its focal length, with is critical when using in conjunction with DOF adapters, which generally eat up 2-3 stops of light. The bokeh is flawless on my Redrock M2, and there is no creep or focus problems, it pulls nice and long, so you can really dial in the perfect plane."
35 F/2 ZF:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/472572-REG/Zeiss_1424_661_35mm_f_2_ZF_Distagon.html
"Zeiss is not only a world leader in optical technologies in the field of photography but in high science and technology fields as well. I have used their lenses in Super16 mm film production and medium format photography; and I have always been very pleased with the build quality and sharpness of the optics.
When dealing with a company like Zeiss it's not unusual to pay in the thousands of dollars for a single prime lens. So, to begin with I wasn't expecting the most from this product just simply because of its lower price when compared to their pricier lenses for other formats.
However, I was more than pleased with the results. As far as 35mm format lenses are concerned this is with out a doubt the overall nicest lens I've ever used for a SLR in terms of quality of image, sharpness, color, and tweak-ability. The lens is a solid performer, easy to handle and focus, and yields very little (if any at all) lens warping/distortion. It works great as an every day lens when taking into account the 1.5x digital multiplier. But, could even be used for light duty portraiture work in a pinch.
When comparing the 35mm Zeiss Prime lens to other lenses of similar focal length, there was generally no contest. I've been a long standing proponent of earlier Pre Auto Focus Nikkor Optics due to their heavier build, overall ruggedness, and warm picture rendering, but the zeiss beats them there. It bests the older Nikkors in sharpness and color and minimum focus distance as well. The zeiss 35mm minimal focus is somewhere around 8"... which is not quite macro but better than most lenses. Another nice feature is that the aperture ring moves in half stops as well, which is seems more uncommon amongst newer lenses. Actually - aperture rings themselves are a dying entity.
When comparing it to newer Nikkors, even the nicer more expensive ones, it's stronger, heavier, and easier to focus. They often feel too fragile and are plagued by slippery manual focus rings with lots of play. I've even noticed this flaw in some of the newer manual only lenses from Nikkor which is odd because you'd expect a manual focus lens to have a nice stiff focus ring.
It is important to note however that this is a very specific almost quirky piece of glass by todays standards. It's everything that the other lenses of today are not. And, wide open your depth of field is the shallowest I have seen of any lens on a 1.5x CCD camera. This may be a problem for some people who want a larger Depth of Field. And if you are in that group then stay away, this lens is not for you. Another problem with this lens is its size. Although it's well made, and contains lots of glass... 7 elements in two groups I think , this lens is huge for a 35mm focal length! At first glance you may think that's it's a 60mm or 85mm when judging by its size. It's very big. And this can be a hindrance when you're on the street and don't want to be noticed. I'm switching over from a Nikkor 45mm pancake lens which has been my standby for portraiture and field photography for the past 4 years, and it was small. Probably the smallest 35mm lens I've ever seen. On a side note pentax makes a similar sized pancake lens now.
The bottom line is this thing will destroy any zoom lens in a side by side comparison. But, when dealing with primes everyone has their own preference. There are faster lenses out there and their are smaller lenses out there and there are cheaper lenses out there. But, if you want that shallow depth of field that makes your camera buddies drool, get this thing. It will make you happy."
This is what I am talking about folks. People laughed at why Zeiss would even bother making manual focus lenses for the Nikon F mount, I knew darn well what they were up to, and I own the 35 and 85.
The 35/2 ZF at F/2 is sharper than the Canon 35L at F/2...it is *that* good.
|
But don't shoot film just to rebel against technology. If you want to do that, you had probably better pick up some paint and brushes 
