Zeiss Sonnar 85mm F2 ZM lens review with Leica M9

The ZM 85mm Sonnar is one of the two lenses in the ZM lineup that are made in Germany (the other being the 15mm Distagon). The lens elements of this 85 Sonnar are arranged in two blocks. During focusing, the first block moves while the second block stays stationary, creating a "semi" floating element design. This is one of reasons the 85 Sonnar is not manufactured by Cosina in their Japan factory.

Michael Letchford over at http://theintuitivelens.com published a rather detailed review on this 85 Sonnar. In this review, he cited a line from famous lens tester Sean Reid:

it’s really impossible to ignore the exceptional performance of the Zeiss 85/2.0 Sonnar. This is a first rate optic…. (it) may, in terms of technical performance, be the best telephoto lens I have yet tested.

In my humble opinion, this 85 Sonnar is really second to none (except maybe the Leica 75mm APO asph). Perhaps, you could make your own judgement by looking at Michael's review.

Links: Michael Letchford's 85 Sonnar review

Update: More picture samples can be found at the RFF thread http://rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=99743