Zeiss announces production of F mount lenses for Nikons

this sounds interesting to me. i've seen this news from a few different sources but have

not seen it appear here yet.

 

i don't have any experience with Zeiss lenses but have certainly heard glowing remarks.

this spring, they will begin production on their Planar T lenses for Nikon's F lens mount

starting with a 50mm F 1.4. it seems all of the lenses coming out will be fixed length and

focus manually. probably won't be cheap. how do you think they'll compare to Nikkor's?

 

http://www.dcviews.com/press/Zeiss-ZF-Nikon-F.htm

Put on your flame suit now. Don't ask why!

i want the 85 1.4

... and today's history lesson is ...

i'm with you Eric as i already have the Nikkor 50mm 1.4 and love it. i've heard that the

Nikon 85 1.4 has possibly the best bokeh of all the Nikon's by those who own them and

was on the lookout for a mint specimen. the Zeiss article makes mention of a more circular

design that i'll surely want to test out as i'm big into bokeh...

Ric,

 

This is really old news. As David said, be prepared for a torching. As far as I know, Zeiss lenses have a great reputation for sharpness and contrast and they should be a nice complement for Nikon shooters who like manual lenes.

 

Paul

i haven't heard this news yet. maybe because i'm still in my first year of photography and

this is "really old" news" that might have pre-dated me. but these lenses are coming out

soon and i respect many of the contributors to this forum.

Flames? I can barely work up a moderate sweat over this.

 

If Zeiss (and by "Zeiss" don't we really mean "Cosina"?) wants to make a serious impact here, they should fill the holes in the Nikkor lineup, not duplicate existing lenses. Wanna impress me? How 'bout a Zeiss 17mm f/3.5 tilt-shift lens.

or a 60mm 1.4

or a super wide 2.8 with minimal barrel distortion and creamy bokeh

I was spoiled by the Zeiss lenses on my Hasselblad. Amazing Bokeh. Fantastic resolving power. It's the lenses that make the Hassy great. Period.

 

The only lens on my Nikon that even comes close is the 50/1.2 MF (NOT the 1.4). Actually, it doesn't come close. It just comes closer than any of my other lenses.

 

On the other hand, I see that these are spun off the Contax lenses. I don't know if they can compare to the larger lenses. Anyone have any experience here?

Lex...That's a manual lens I'd buy in a heartbeat!

<i>and by "Zeiss" don't we really mean "Cosina"?) - Lex </i>

<p><p>

Ouch!

<p><p>

I'm going to get the 50mm F1.4 Zeiss lens. I haven't had a 50mm for many years and this one is supposed to be first class all the way. Nikon wide angle primes are really no better than the 20-35mm or the 17-35mm that's why I bought the 20-35mm zoom and sold my 28mm, 24mm and 20mm primes (AF-D's)-why not have a zoom with everything else being equal, right?. I plan on returning to prime wide angles when Zeiss starts selling them for Nikon. Nikon makes razor sharp Macro, Normal and Telephoto lenses but the wide-angles have lagged behind. For if you can say the zoom wide-angle has the same or better image quality as the prime lenses then that tells you something about the prime lenses.

<em>I was spoiled by the Zeiss lenses on my Hasselblad.

--Edward Horn<br>

</em><br>

That can certainly happen.<br>

<br>

Best,<br>

<br>

Dave.

The search function is a wonderful thing.

<p>

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I wish luck for anyone trying to manual focus a 85mm/1.4 Zeiss (or anything MF) at portrait distances through a digital slr viewfinder and shooting at wide apertures. Be prepared for 90% frustration.

I am convinced that most contributors here are very deft. Look at the polished language of very different opinions expressed here!

 

Keep it up folks and don't be dissuaded by any crass admonishments.

 

Yes, it is possible to express strong views without trashing anyone. :-)

<em>I wish luck for anyone trying to manual focus a 85mm/1.4

Zeiss (or anything MF) at portrait distances through a digital

slr viewfinder and shooting at wide apertures. --Umit

Dincel<br>

</em><br>

Not with a Nikon D2H or D2X. Their viewfinders have plenty of

bite and the viewfinder image size is good. It will be no more

difficult than manually focusing with a Nikon F100 and focus ease

is close to a Nikon F5 or Nikon F3HP. Some other popular DSLR

modes will not be so easy.<br>

<br>

The viewfinder is major reason why I waited so long to buy a

DSLR, price was another. I own a Nikon D2H and find manual focus

quite pleasant. The AF performance is great also. You can have

your cake and eat it too.<br>

<br>

Best,<br>

<br>

Dave Hartman.

<p>The 50/1.4 is Cosina's second (at least) f1.4 "standard" lens for Nikon F. The first is rather confusingly called Auto-Topcor and <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=009fB4">is well liked</a>.</p>

As an F6 shootist I stand a reasonably good chance at being able to manually focus

anything Zeiss throws my way. I am anxious to somewhere somehow get hold of a high

performance 50mm prime in the F-mount that doesn't go weak in the knees at wide

apertures. Same with wide angle lenses. Nikon made one up until last month or so when

they discontinued it. That was the the 28mm 1.4 afd. I was really looking forward to that

one and only high performance, fast, wide angle Nikkor lens. I don't need or want zooms

and they're not good enough besides, so I'm feeling a little stuck in the world of Nikon, at

least until around 60mm or 85mm. That's when things begin to seem alright again!

Of course, having chipped Zeiss lenses for optimal flash metering abilities would be

fabulous too, but I will certainly take speedy glass first, yes please!

"I am anxious to somewhere somehow get hold of a high performance 50mm prime in the F-mount that doesn't go weak in the knees at wide apertures."

 

Right on the money. I like my 50mm f1.4 after f2.8 or so, but wider than that it's way too soft.

 

I'd love to have an f1.4 normal lens for my Nikons that comes close to my Leica M lenses wide open. The Zeiss version look very interesting to me. If it does come close, $500 is a bargain.

<i>having chipped Zeiss lenses for optimal flash metering abilities would be fabulous too</i>

<p>

You don't need any chip to meter with an F6.

Hmm. Last week Charlie Barringer (use Google) told me that the new Zeiss lenses in Nikon F and M42x1 are Contax RTS lenses lightly recomputed to be made with lead-free glass. There's no need to spend lotsa bux on 'em, just get an old Yashica body in C/Y mount and then buy used Zeiss lenses to fit it.

Dan, I bet you that the ZF 21mm Disatgon (if it is ever made/released) will be lot cheaper than the used 21mm in C/Y mount!

 

Besides, it is so much easier to use a Nikon camera just for a few lenses instead lugging a dead horse in a Yashica.