Leica or Contax zoom lens?

[jbt]

I'm new here as well as to photography. First off I'd like to say hi to everyone and I think this is a great site. I hope one day after I get more advanced in photography I'll be able to help contribute and share some photos with everyone here.

My question is which companies zoom lens would be better when it comes to sharpness and nothing but sharpness Leica or Contax. I'm looking at the 70/80-200/210mm range of lenses and I think there is a total of 5 or 6 different ones I've found so far. I've done a ton of research and lenses on both sides seem to get awesome reviews but I have yet to find anyone that has compare the two however Leica does seem to have the edge from what I've read. Once again all I'm looking for is the one that is better in terms of sharpness. Are there any in this range I should definitely stay away from or are they all as good as I've read? Any advise or info would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Joe

[Lazzaros]

I have the Contax Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 80-200 f/4 and I love it.

Very sharp and good bokeh!

[jbt]

Thanks for the reply Lazzaros. So far I still haven't decided on which one to get. There's a LEICA 80-200MM f/4.5 VARIO-ELMAR-R on ebay right now that I might try to bid on but there's only 10 hours left on it and I'm just not sure yet.

[poilu]

good to know; most Leica R zoom are from Minolta, with 3x more $

[conor12]

The general consensus seems to be that the zeiss 80-200/4 is better than the 80-200/4.5 leica but the newer leica 80-200/4 is the best of the bunch (but much more expensive!)

[wildlightphoto]

The Leica 80-200mm f/4 is much better than the minolta-designed, Leica-branded zooms of similar specs. It's the first zoom I've liked. If you have deep pockets the Leica 80-180mm f/2.8 APO has no peer.

[jbt]

Thanks for the replies. After thinking about it some more I think I'm going to try and get a 100-300mm Contax if I can find one. The new Leica 80-200 sounds awesome but its out of my price range.