tom_madilao Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 I have finally owned a Distagon 15mm f/2.8ZM! It is a solid lens, and well build! The external view-finder is extremely bright. I shot a roll of slide yesterday and now waiting for the lab to process. In my opinion, the lens is better than the rest of Zeiss ZM lens such as the 28, 35 mm, etc. in terms of workmanship/ built. It comes with the centre filter. Same as my X-Pan II, I will attach the centre filter to the lens at all times. The lens hood is part of the lens. The focusing ring is not coupled with camera's rangefinder, so focusing cannot be done using camera rangefinder. Since the lens has large DOF, focusing should not be a problem. Regards Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshroot Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 If it weren't $3700, I would be jealous. But there is no way I'm paying $3300 more for an extra 1.5 stops over the Voigtlander lens. I like speed, but not at that cost. However, congrats to you and I hope the lens treats you well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivek iyer Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 Tom, Post some samples. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_marshall1 Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 Tom, given the size of the lens, does it intrude in any way into what you see through the auxiliary viewfinder? Thanks. - Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nasmformyzombie Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 Tom, just curious, how did you make your first million? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathaniel_pearson Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 With the center filter on, is the lens then an evenly lit 15mm f/4 or so? In that case, it promises less vignetting and half a stop more light than the CV wide open -- but at far greater $ and bulk costs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymond_tai Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 Zeiss made a mistake to not have it rangefinder coupled. Even though it is a 15mm the dof at f/2.8 and up close is not much at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymond_tai Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 >Tom, just curious, how did you make your first million? Don't know about Tom but I invested in real estate using my credit cards. Don't you watch the late night info-mercials 8v) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_white2 Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 How can they possibly justify not coupling the lens to the rangefinder? That's absurd! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew robertson Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 I was also hoping for a coupled lens. Darn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_white2 Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 It didn't bother me that the 25mm Cosina lens wasn't coupled. It's a very inexpensive lens. But for this kind of money, what the heck are they thinking of? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_marshall1 Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 Raymond, I'm not sure what you mean by "up close" with this lens since it focuses down to about a foot. But no rangefinder camera is rangefinder coupled down to such a distance for any lens. The closest any RF camera focuses at its minimum is 0.7 meters (27.6 inches). Even at f/2.8, the DOF at this distance is 15 inches for a 15 mm lens. I too don't know why they didn't couple the lens for the heck of it, but I doubt that it's an impediment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymond_tai Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 Bill, That's a good point. So the limitation is .7m anyway, coupled or not. Very good point indeed. I have the 15mm for the R and was only relating to experience but didn't think of the .7m limitaion on the M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew_hall1 Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 >With the center filter on, is the lens then an evenly lit 15mm f/4 or so? http://www.zeissikon.com/files/0512_DB%20Distagon%202.8_15%20ZM_EN.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frederick_muller Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 I think Josh has summed it up ... this lens had better be the mother of all lenses to justify the premium to the VC 15mm. Even a Pentax-M 15mm f3.5 with an adapter gives you a speed pick-up to the VC at a fraction of the cost of the Zeiss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_marshall1 Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 Mother of all lenses, Frederick? Nah, there are a ton of such specialty lenses that sell for way more than $3700. Leica's own R version of the 15/2.8 sells for $7000. Canon & Nikon have a bunch of telephotos that cost a king's ransom like the 600/4, which goes for $7200 from Canon & $9000 from Nikon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_madilao Posted January 20, 2006 Author Share Posted January 20, 2006 Thanks all for your comments. I have not seen my slides yet (currently away on a trip). The view from the external viewfinder is not obstructed by the lens. I am not a millionaire, but heck, you only live once! I know if I do not buy this lens, someone else will (supply is very limited). Now that I have a good lens, it is up to me to improve my skills and to produce good pictures - no excuses! Look forward to sharing the pictures.... Regards Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger_michel Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 better to get the excellent voigtlander 12mm, no? also great build quality, extremely sharp & has the capacity to use 77mm filters, including center filter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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