New M-mount lenses by Zeiss Ikon

[brandan]

Zeiss Ikon is developing a new serie of m-mount lenses

 

www.zeissikon.com

 

I didn't know it, so I ask you, wise photographers, some questions

about them:

 

Does anybody have any experiece with this m-mount lenses?

Will they work with Leica MP?

Are they more affordable than Leica? and better?

 

 

Thanks a lot.

[shambrick007]

Very old news. Search the forum for your answers.

[paul t]

They should be available for sale in a couple of weeks - Zeiss say beginning

of March. Here's one <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-

msg?msg_id=00AVQv" >fairly recent discussion</a> . They should be

completely compatible with your MP, and more affordable, for most of the

range. The cheaper lenses are made in Japan, which bothers some people -

but Zeiss do have more experience in lens design, arguably, than Leica, as

they supply optics for many other applications. So, at least, they broaden

everybody's choice.

[bill_marshall1]

They will work with Leica MP

 

They are more affordable than new Leica lenses.

 

Nothing is better than a Leica lens.

 

LOL. Seriously, they are not yet on the market, so no one has had a chance to use them yet. The 25/28/35/50 lenses are expected to be released this month. Keep an eye on the Luminous-Landscape website. Sean Reid is doing the second installment of a review of lenses for the Epson RD-1 this month & he will be including the Zeiss lenses in his review.

 

Cheers . . .

[brandan]

Thank you very much ...

 

I am going to make you another question:

 

If Carl Zeiss makes lenses for Leica. Why will they make worse lenses than Leica's?

 

Thanks

[hugon]

Brandan,

Didn't u get ur MP/Lux asph. yet then?

[jimdesu]

The answer to that is that they don't. Zeiss and Leica (and Cooke) are the best lens manufactuerers in the world, and produce lenses that compete against each other much more tightly than other manufacturers.

 

BUT, all lens manufacturers optimize their lens designs to different fitness landscapes. This gives lenses from different manufactureers different characteristics to them, and many, many people prefer the Leica characteristics. I actually strongly prefer the flavor of Zeiss lenses (and Pentax, oddly enough) to Leica, but it's like arguing that Pistachio ice-cream's better than Black Cherry.

[socke]

Brandan, Zeiss is under the impression their lenses are better than everything else :-)

[mark_ng]

I think the zeiss people were saying how the lenses can resolve 400lp/mm

Then someone else came out and said that film can only record up to 150lp/mm.

400lp/mm sounds a little too optimistic anyways

[derek_stanton2]

PhotoVillage just got their first shipment of the Zeiss Ikon lenses - the 50mm Planar, at

least. Not sure if others are in yet.

[brandan]

My summilux 1.4 asph is arriving in 2 weeks... I am counting the days

 

I used to have, untill someone stole it, a Pentax K1000 with a 50mmm 1.4 Pentax lense. So I supose I will see a big difference with the Leica.

 

I promise to post photos when it arrives.

 

 

Thanks

[icuneko]

400lp/mm ... isn't that something like 400 angels on a pinhead?

[andy m.]

<i>I used to have, untill someone stole it, a Pentax K1000 with a 50mmm 1.4 Pentax lense. So I supose I will see a big difference with the Leica.</i><p>

 

Pentax also know how to make outstanding lenses too, so don't expect too big a difference. Build quality of the Leica will be very nice though.

[andy m.]

400 lpmm <p>

 

I think they used Gigabit film.

[jimdesu]

If you use high-resolution document film like Gigabit-film, and you've attached the camera to a shock-mounted sand-box or block of concrete like you do for holography, then sure, that kind of resoution is possible. Not that it really matters in the real world....

[derek_stanton2]

...until Leica comes out with the Super-Asphericals, with 401 lpmm. Then, they won't be

"angels on the head of a pin."

 

Why is it only valid when Leica improves its own product line?

[mark_ng]

hm i never heard of gigabit film before.

Expensive?

[jimdesu]

It's a lot like the recently discontinued Kodak Technical Pan film, really intended for copying documents. It's got wickedly high contrast, and can only be used for pictorial purposes if special developers are employed. But like Tech Pan, it's VERY high resolution.

[jimdesu]

Actually, Derek, I don't think it matters period. I use an M5, but don't use Leica lenses, so my statement isn't an anti-Leica bias, just a reflection of the amount of effort it would take to acheive this kind of resolution in practice.

 

Now, on the other hand, I am eagerly anticipating seeing what the 400-lpm result implies for contrast at lower resolutions...

[jimdesu]

oops -- I meant anti-Zeiss bias.

[lutz]

<i>LOL. Seriously, they are not yet on the market, so no one has had a chance to use them yet. </i><p>

Bill, I've used at least two of them about five months ago and <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=009fAS">posted some sample shots</a> on this forum (it's *all* in the archives, guys...). My impression was quite favorable as far as built and "fingerprint" are concerned. I especially liked the focus knob, smooth handling and the aperture third stops. Cheers.

[lutz]

Sorry, Bill, I didn't mean to bore you - at close inspection of my 'Kina thread I come to understand that you must have been very well aware of it: you posted six times on it and even had the last word by then! <p>So, if you'll excuse me, i guess it's my turn to LOL. :-OOO

[bill_marshall1]

Lutz, I stand corrected. Sorry, I had forgotten. Thanks for the reminder. I enjoyed looking at the photos again.

 

BTW, my "LOL" was in reference to my own sarcasm: Nothing is better than a Leica lens."

[Alex_Es]

Saw 50/2 Planars in Kobe and Osaka. Saw my first RD-1 in Osaka the other day.

 

James, did you get my last e-mail regarding print?

[mike_elek]

Brandan, the body and lenses were first announced in October of last year (5 months ago). Unlike Canon and Nikon (which routinely release info on products as soon as possible to scoop their rival), Carl Zeiss AG did a good job of building up a little bit of excitement and interest in the project.<p>

 

<b>Will they work with Leica MP?</b> Yes.<p>

 

<b>Are they more affordable than Leica?</b> Yes.<p>

 

<b>and better?</b> That's the big question, now, isn't it?<p>

 

Quite seriously, you would expect a lens maker to say that their product is best. Would you really want them to say, "Our lens is inferior to our competition?"