Zeiss ZF Distagon 21mm f/2.8 tested on APS-C by Photozone

Photozone published a review on the ZF Distagon 21/2.8

This is what they say:

The Zeiss Distagon ZF T* 21mm f/2.8 is a legendary lens, and in this review it certainly shows why. The sharpness is impressive at any aperture and across the whole DX frame. Lateral CAs are very low and as such contributing to the high resolution perception. Vignetting and distortion are also well controlled and not a field-relevant issue for most subjects.

However, as a Biogon user myself, I find the distortion is rather pronounced on APS-C. Everything else seems exceptional though.
Probably a full frame review will follow soon.


Links: Photozone.de

Zeiss CP2 50mm Test : the $4500 Prime Lens

Do you ever wonder how does a $4500 CP.2 lens compare to its ZE counterpart? Here is a comparison review between the CP.2 50mm and the ZE 50mm f/1.4. Look at how much more you get for paying x5 the price....(not?). You will decide:

Links: Original review at Methods blog http://methodikalgee.blogspot.com/2011/01/4500-prime-lens-test.html

Price hike on some Zeiss lenses

Rob Skeoh over at apug.org received a notice of Zeiss lens price hike, this is what he says in the post:

I just received notice that a couple Zeiss lenses are going up on Feb. 1, 2011.

These are in either the Canon or Nikon mount. You can still order them at the old price until Jan. 31st.

The 35mm F2 Distagon is changing from $1004 to $1117.

The 21mm F2.8 Distagon is changing from $1732 to $1843.

With the current weak US dollars, it isn't surprising that Zeiss will raise their price tags. Leica did so already, so why not Zeiss?

Links: Rob Skeoh's original post, bhvideophoto.com (our sponsor).
Update: We are very sorry for forgetting to give proper credits
Credits: This rumour has been sent to us by oneANT, one of the bestest Street photogs from Down Under

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