Zeiss 35mm f2 and Zeiss 100 f2 macro

[Stuart Richardson]

One thing, just make sure the aperture ring moves freely before you tighten down the mount! I managed to freeze the aperture ring on my 180/2.8 APO, even after I had done two mount changes successfully. You need to make sure the little ball bearing is in the right place, but also that it is properly seated in one of the notches on the inside of the new bayonet. This is in the instructions, just make sure you pay close attention to them!
I don't mean to scare you, it is not difficult, you just have to not be dumb like me...

 

[Steen]

It's quite all right, Stuart, acc. to GetDPI it's your day today
Cheers :thumbup:

 

[Stuart Richardson]

Thanks Steen!

 

[Lloyd]

Happy Birthday Stuart.

 

[Stuart Richardson]

Thanks Lloyd! Now show me some Zeiss 35mm and 100mm photos! I don't want to take over the thread here....

 

[deepdiver]

Well, I hope I don't disappoint you, but the 80/1.4 will not be anywhere near as sharp as the 50/1.4 ASPH is at 1.4. It is an older lens design. It is not that sharp from f/1.4 to f/2.5, but after that it is really sharp. However, it has a really beautiful character and is one of the nicest lenses you can buy. I do not own the 80/1.4, but I have the 75/1.4 M lens which is basically the same optical design. It is my favorite M lens. I don't think you will be disappointed at all, but it definitely has a different look than the 50/1.4 ASPH. If you want a look like the 50/1.4 ASPH, the R lenses to get would be the 90/2 APO ASPH or the 100/2.8 APO Elmarit.

Hi Stuart
Happy Birthday
I already finished the conversion of lux 80/1.4
i Tried it on my D3X... i gues u are right
this lens is not sharp at F1.4 - F2, starting from F2.5 this lens is super sharp.
Zeiss 85/1.4 is starting to get sharp at F2.
Now I need to go out, and try to take a lot of pictures using this combo.
I want to see the "magic" bokeh

 

[Lloyd]

Thanks Lloyd! Now show me some Zeiss 35mm and 100mm photos! I don't want to take over the thread here....

I'd love to show some, if I had either lens. I'm here to see them too.

 

[episa]

One thing, just make sure the aperture ring moves freely before you tighten down the mount! I managed to freeze the aperture ring on my 180/2.8 APO, even after I had done two mount changes successfully. You need to make sure the little ball bearing is in the right place, but also that it is properly seated in one of the notches on the inside of the new bayonet. This is in the instructions, just make sure you pay close attention to them!
I don't mean to scare you, it is not difficult, you just have to not be dumb like me...

Stuart:
I happened to have had some hang up of the black aperture ring latch of the 180mm/2.8 APO which was not always moving freely when I rotated the aperture ring. I had to solve the problem by filing the inside of the bayonet which was rubbing against this latch. David from Leitax said that he is checking the tight tolerances he gave to his part manufacturer and there are also some small tolerance variations from lens to lens. Converting the Leica lens was a very easy process despite what he may appear.

To come back to this thread (35mm and 100mm ZF) I should be in a position to give my feedback soon. I already played with the 35mm (incredibly sharp) and will receive the 100mm in 2 weeks.

 

[Stuart Richardson]

Hi Episa,

Thanks for the advice, but I think it was a different problem here. When I installed the bayonet the first time, it worked perfectly. Only when I was putting it back on, I did not do it correctly. I tightened it down when the ball was not properly situated, and it drove the ball completely into the hole. It is stuck in there and will not come out for anything (not even a neodymium magnet). My local mechanic cannot fix it, so it will have to go to Germany. So like I said, you have to be careful!

 

[Steen]

(...) I already played with the 35mm (incredibly sharp) and will receive the 100mm in 2 weeks.

Great, episa, I'm convinced you're going to like the ZF 2/100. Are you going to get the 2/35 as well ?

Nikon D300 • Zeiss ZF 2/100mm • 1/500 sec. at f/5.6 ISO 200

Nikon D300 • Zeiss ZF 2/100mm • 1/1600 sec. at f/5.6 ISO 200​

 

[episa]

Great, episa, I'm convinced you're going to like the ZF 2/100. Are you going to get the 2/35 as well ?


Great picture bondo. Yes I will receive the 2/35 as well - actually for the second time. I was able to play with my first acquisition for 2 months around Christmas until I got it stolen from my luggage by the security people of the Kiev airport. I lost also the Nikon D700 attached to it. That was a disaster day for me. I should have known better to keep all camera equipment with me in the airplane. It was a costly lesson. I guess I became too confident living and traveling safely 14 years within the US.

I tried to save since that time and will receive the 2/35 and Nikon D700 replacements at the end of this month. I can't wait to try the 100mm ZF.
I attached a snow picture taken In January with the 2/35 ZF before it got stolen. I am very pleased with the color rendition, sharpness and contrast.

I have some exciting news!
I took delivery today of the new Zeiss 2.8/21mm ZF!. Just by taking some casual shots out of the store in the street I could see already that it is an astounding performer in sharpness. I took some unattractive brick shots and flare shots. This lens is sharper than my Nikon D300 can resolve and seems to be sharper than my Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 which is a reference for Nikon (I will test it with my D700 next month).

With sun in the frame, I got some color cast purple and sometimes green but it was reasonably controlled compared to other wide angle lenses. The colors are extremely contrasty and I am not experiencing this kind of result with a wide angle or normal Nikon lens (I often have to use a polarizer to have a dark blue sky with a Nikon lens: not with this ZF lens!). I guess the 13 lenses that are built in it make that happen.

I will have more time to test it this coming week end, not before unfortunately as I am leaving abroad to a business trip tomorrow.

In the mean time I posted a picture taken today with the ZF 2.8/21mm without any filter nor any post processing correction: only resizing, compressing to 80% jpeg and reducing resolution to 70 dpi to meet the posting limitations.

For those of you interested in getting more details on this test photo, I posted a larger resolution file on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37067061@N05/3463463934/sizes/o/

 

[Steen]

Episa, I'm sorry - and angry - to hear about your loss. Getting your D700 + ZF 2/35 stolen by the security people in the airport ... aargh :banghead:
Your ZF 2.8/21 shot looks very promising. The above link only leads to a Sign In page but I found your photo collections via the link you posted in the "New Life :Leica R lens on Nikon D3" thread p. 5 post # 97 and I used the slideshow to see your photos in larger size.
Nice collections :thumbup: and made with some nice gear. I'm looking forward to see your comparison of the ZF 21 and the Nikkor 14-24.
Welcome aboard.

 

[episa]

Re: Zeiss 35mm f2, Zeiss 100 f2 macro and Zeiss 21mm f2.8

Sorry Bondo for the incorrect link for the detailed photo of the ZF21mm and thank you for your compliments and help to redirect viewers to the right place.

Here is the link to my photostream:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37067061@N05/

These 2 photos below were taken with ZF21 at f2.8 to see DOF at close range:

Will play and compare 21mm ZF with Nikon AF 14-24mm this Sunday. See you then.....