Zeiss 21mm Distagon ZF availability in US

<p>I have the official words from Zeiss that this lens will begin shipping in the US in a couple of weeks. Some retailers are already taking orders.</p>

<p>I wish I could find the 35mm ZF for rent somplace. I've been thinking of going up to a 35mm as my all around lense (from my 28mm AIS) but would like to try before I buy.</p>

<p>I am trying to revive this thread with fresh picture taken with new Zeiss lens 21mm ZF Distagon. I recived it today and took some unartistic pictures just to test it. Results are outstanding!:<br>

- Excpetional resolution: a 100% magnification still shows great detail. Actually this lens records more details than my Nikon D300 can detect. It seems to outperform the Nikon 14-24mm AF f/2.8 which in itself is already a Nikon reference!<br>

- Saturated colors with strong contrast makes it perfect for landscape<br>

- slight purple discoloration (sometimes green) when shooting with sun in the frame.<br>

- Very sturdy quality, heavy lens due to 13 optics inside.</p>

<p>Large sample picture visible at:<br>

</div>

<p>I was told that the previous link leads to a sign in page. Sorry. Try this link on flickr instead"<br>

 

<p>Here is another one taken with the Zeiss Distagon 21mm ZF on Nikon D300 hand held with no filter and no post processing other than resizing.... The sharpness blows my mind. I alsp enlarged the shot to a 100% crop.</p><div></div>

<p>Here is the 100% crop of the picture above (no sharpening used).</p><div></div>

<p>Gosh! nobody has contributed since my last posting in April. I hope this thread on the Zeiss 21mm Distagon ZF is not dead as it is a great lens! I had time to play with that lens since that time on a Nikon D700 and test its full frame performance. I have to say that this lens remains sharp and consistent in the corners of a photo taken by a FX camera body.</p>

<p>This picture below shows the excellent bokeh (quality of out of focus area) of the Zeiss 21mm Distagon ZF. I had a chance to compare it with the Nikon 14-24mm AF-S and must say that Nikon has succeeded to make an equally excellent lens in terms of pique/resolution. I have other ZF (35mm, 100mm) and Nikon lenses and have found that in general Nikon cannot match the Zeiss quality in Sharpness except for this incredible zoom 14-24 AF-S f/2.8.</p>

<p>The question becomes then: Since the Nikon is equally good in resolution, why have the inconvenience of the fixed focal length of the Zeiss 21mm lens vs the flexibility and convenience of the autofocus Nikon 14-24mm AF-S? My answer is: for its lighter weight, capability to add a filter in front of the lens, its warmer color rendition and its pleasing bokeh.<br>

I went recently on vacation 2 weeks in Crete and took the Nikon 14-24mm lens in my photobag. It turned out that I left it in the hotel room during the whole vacations due to its weight. The only time I use the Nikon lens the rest of the year is for indoor pictures of buildings and parties where flexibility of several focal length is needed.<br>

Other pictures taken with Zeiss ZF lenses are available on flickr at the following link:<br>

http://www.flickr.com/photos/episa/sets/72157616954611534/<br>

Good Day!</p><div></div>

<p>Pleasing bokeh? Really?<br />....you should try Leica glass.<br>

...and it looks as though there is quite a bit of distortion in the second shot posted.</p>

<p>Can you post photo to show bokeh of Nikon?<br>

I'd very much appreciate it</p>

<p>It is a terrific lens with very little optical or geometric distortion. I've been using it on a Canon EOS-1Ds Mark 3. .</p>