Comments on: New redesigend Zeiss Distagon ZF 1.4/35 with floating element

By: MattiasK

MattiasK — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:48:45 +0000

Photozone.de is the best comparative lens review site imo

By: Nj

Nj — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 09:11:48 +0000

DX is for beginners and they use slow zooms, so yeah, more FX stuff.
I shoot Canon though.

By: Bwyan

Bwyan — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:03:04 +0000

Dang! Not really cheap his point of view, u can get a lot of good books for that money. The search goes on;) thanx for the intel though:)

By: ed

ed — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:30:34 +0000

There are a slew of fixed focal length primes, from 20-180, not too fast and all perfectly suited for the DX with the sweet spot accordingly situated for the smaller sensors..

By: ed

ed — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:25:21 +0000

Ditto on FX

By: ed

ed — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:14:17 +0000

Limitation of will on the part of Nikon. I guess their business plan is focused on improving the breed of zooms. Rumors abound about an new 85 and a 35/1.4 AF but these have been percolating for years. Time will tell.

By: ed

ed — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:11:34 +0000

Fully manual. Only the Canon versions (ZF) are chipped but remain manual focus.

By: ed

ed — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:09:37 +0000

He does that in the individual reviews. For example, he compares the 28 and 35 to their Nikkor equivalents (f/2 and 1.4, respectively).

By: ed

ed — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:07:56 +0000

The 40 appears immune to these issues from what I hear.

By: calbot

calbot — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:40:39 +0000

Hey do these even have AF motors or assemblies? I don’t know much about Zeiss lenses.

By: Worminator

Worminator — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:47:22 +0000

I guess Cosina figures if you can affort its CZ range, you can afford a Dx00 that will meter with AiS…

By: Worminator

Worminator — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:46:22 +0000

ed,

My 40/2 Ultron SLII was always spot on, I never figured out what the problem was with the 58/1.4. Seems like a simple calibration error in that the wide open lens let X light through, while the F2 setting did not let 1/2 X through. somewhat less in fact, though the rest of the F-stops were in ok. Remember that while the aperture diameter can be fine tuned, the wide open setting is fixed by the lens design.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:18:09 +0000

There have been nine ZF lenses so far, and not one has a chip. So, smart money would say…

By: getanalogue

getanalogue — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:49:03 +0000

has anyone an idea whether the the new Zeiss 35/1.4 will have chip or not?

By: bwyan

bwyan — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:13:49 +0000

Thanks for the tip ed, that does indeed seem like a good an thorough read. However it only deals with different Zeiss lenses. I was more looking for a test comparing Zeiss with equivalents from say Nikon, Canon, Sigma, Tamron, whatever. Seeing how they perform on pictures shot under equal conditions. How much better pictures do you get for the extra cash a Zeiss usually cost?

By: malvenko

malvenko — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:36:19 +0000

Well…

I see that somewhat from the business perspectve. You need $$ for R&D. Entry level DSLRs and amateurish zooms are Nikon’s big cash cow. Without that cash, there’d be no future for Nikon.

By: calbot

calbot — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:10:47 +0000

Thanks for the info, I’d heard the mount reason before. Question for me is… if the AI-S 1.2 mounts and works on DX and FX, what is the real limitation?

Although I could not afford a new Nikkor AF-S N 1.2 anything right now, I could at least live vicariously through NR and the internets.

By: calbot

calbot — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:06:57 +0000

I personally would love a 35 1.4. Perfect for candids. The new 1.8 is nice, but I am more tempted to use a normal 2.8 zoom. Two full stops and the ability to go full frame would be worth an extra $200 to me. Have considered the Sigma 30 …

By: Adam

Adam — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 05:30:29 +0000

yup, you got it right Tomaocron, eventually I think FX sensor will come down to D300 price and that for those who still want DX mode for the extra crop, can switch to the feature in camera and still get the extra reach

By: ed

ed — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 01:29:17 +0000

I had the CV 20/3.5 and ultimately returned it because of the overexposure issue (also CA at the edges and a lack of sharpness until f/8 or smaller). Same chip issues arose with the 58. That’s a 66% failure rate for chipping F mount lenses. Maybe that’s why they don’t want to be bothered.