Carl Zeiss ZM Distagon 35/1.4

[Hari]

Hey all,

my new toy is here and here are some thoughts on my first impressions:

1. Beautiful build quality. Probably the best ZM lens i've handled so far, possibly because all my ZM lenses are black and this is the first silver/chrome ZM lens I handled.

2. No 6-bit coding grooves on the flange. I've been shootign with lens detection turned off but no funky colors on the edges. Or anywhere.

3. Well dampened Focus movement, the throw is short - which is to my taste. The lens does not extend/contract while focusing.

4. Aperture mechanism is also a pleasure to use. I am subconsciously in tune with Leica's 1/2 stop increments, the 1/3 stop increments screw with my brain.

5. Not front heavy on the M240, feels well balanced. Does not tip over when left on a table.

6. VF blockage is more than with my 35Luxes (i haven't mounted the ZM hood on to the lens yet) but since i'm used to shooting with the Noctiluxes / 90 crons / 75Lux, this does not bother me.

7. Zeiss included a distinct bump on the focus wheel. Took a minute to get used to but now I like it, it lets me know where i am (distance) simply by feeling the bump.

8. Both the front and back elements are concave, like the 35LuxASPH v1 and v2

9. The length difference between the 35Luxes and the ZM35/1.4 is more pronounced without the hoods on the Leicas. With the hoods on the Leicas, the length difference seems trivial. The width difference is also clear but i like the Zeiss Bump and the focus throw is short so the increased difference is not bad.

10. To my eyes, there is a slight difference in color between the chrome M240 body and the chrome ZM 35/1.4 lens. The M240 seems a few shades colder whereas the lens seems a few shades warmer.

11. Whatever images I took around the house were impressive. High contrast, saturation, sharpness, neutral bokeh at short distances and the legendary T* coating needs no introduction. The first thing that came to my mind was how similar this lens performance appears to be to my favorite APO50/f2.

12. The dreafully cheap Zeiss front cap hasn't changed. I'm sure Zeiss can allocate Cosina a few extra pennies to improve the quality.

13. I miss a leather carry pouch for the lens. I take good care of my equipment and I wouldn't want bits and pieces inside my bag scraping against each other.

14. The filter size is 49mm which is great news! My APO75/2 also has a 49mm filter size and 35-75 happens to be my fav combo so I can carry single set of filters and use on both the lenses.

15. The T* coating is simply incredible. Reduced flare, ghosting, improved contrast even shot contre-jour. This has tangible benefits in the form of better light transmission, thereby slightly faster shutter speeds. This is the first ZM lens made for Digital cameras but I have a feeling this lens will rock with Film too. I bought a few rolls of Delta400 and Portra400, waiting for an opportunity to get out and shoot.


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14. [img]http://forum.mflenses.com/userpix/20152
/2221_IMG_1361_1.jpg[/img]


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[cyrano]

Looks so so, what lens did you take the pics with?

[Hari]

[cyrano]

Is that the latest I-phone? I'm impressed.

[Hari]

[IAZA]

Congratz mate,
Waiting for samples

[duckrider]

Congrats to Your new & nice toy!
It's concave front lens reminds me at the very first 35 asph. with handpolished lenses...
(ooops, alredy mentionend in pt 8, but I had the same impression!

[Hari]

A very famous online blogger will release my images through his website soon

It will be a 3 part release:

1, Thoughts on the lens and sample images of the lens mounted on the M9, MM and M240 as well as size/weight comparisons between the ZM35/1.4 vs. Leica 35/1.4 ASPH vs. Leica 35/1.4ASPH-FLE.

2. Sample images off the M9, MM and M240 with thoughts accompanying the images.

3. Shoot out between the ZM35/1.4 and the two aforementioned Leica 35mm’s.

Till then, here's a sample processed through LR. Uploaded full size, full res - enjoy!

[kds315*]

Nice toy Hari, congrats!!

I like my iphone6 too, great images it does (I have the all manual camera app installed)

[Hari]

[kds315*]

[Nordentro]

Fantastic piece and sample!

[rbelyell]

congrats hari. the contax version was my favorite ever lens. how is this similar/dis-similar to that legend in rendering/design?
tony