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Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar 100-300mm f/4.5-5.6 first samples
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 10:43 am    Post subject: Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar 100-300mm f/4.5-5.6 first samples Reply with quote
Hello ! Last week, thanks to this great forum, I have found a lens that I wanted to try since a long time.

After months of hesitation about which zoom to buy in the 200-300mm range, I finally decided for the mighty Vario-Sonnar 100-300mm. The other finalist was the modern Fujinon XF 55-200mm. Autofocus or manual focus ? 55mm and 85-90mm portrait capability, or 300mm and great Zeiss image quality ? Difficult choice.
Finally I decided to go for the Zeiss, and wow, this is quite something. All you have read about it is true, this thing is a beast. And not just about the weight ! I have also read that the picture quality is a bit lower at 300mm, but I didn't notice anything different, the lens is really as sharp and contrasty.

The lens outresolves my X-E1 sensor, at every focal length. I have 16 million pixels, and I need more for this thing. The contrast is excellent, I have no problem focusing with the viewfinder. Here are a few pictures of the first walk with the lens, not very interesting subjects... 100% crops are included after each one. Pictures straight out the camera, in JPEG.

At around 250mm :



Look at the net... Shocked







300mm





300mm.









And the lens on the camera. The Fujinon 55-200 was lighter, but not much smaller. I expected the Vario-Sonnar to be bigger.



PostPosted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 2:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
The performance is certainly impressive. Congrats on the purchase. May I ask you what the price tag on the lens was?


PostPosted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 3:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
My favourite tele lens demonstrated nicely, congrats!


PostPosted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 4:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
A lens with great reputation, here clearly confirmed.
Also, I've seen quite some images from the xe1 recently, and I am always impressed by the jpeg output.


PostPosted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 4:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
congrats, impressive samples!


PostPosted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 4:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Impressive! Are these taken hand held ?


PostPosted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 7:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Yes they were taken handeld. Iso was certainly set to 800, and all pictures taken wide open or at f/8.

The price for a good one is usually between 650 and 900 euros, depending on the condition. Ebay prices are insane, the lens can be found cheaper if you take some time and make contact with people or specialized second-hand shops directly.

And I forgot to mention... No CA at ALL. Impressive.


PostPosted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 7:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Billou wrote:
The price for a good one is usually between 650 and 900 euros, depending on the condition. Ebay prices are insane, the lens can be found cheaper if you take some time and make contact with people or specialized second-hand shops directly.

Thank you!


PostPosted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 9:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
It is impressive, that's for sure. Cool


PostPosted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 11:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Very sweet. That classic Zeiss pop is priceless. You made the right choice.


PostPosted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 5:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Billou wrote:
The price for a good one is usually between 650 and 900 euros, depending on the condition. Ebay prices are insane, the lens can be found cheaper if you take some time and make contact with people or specialized second-hand shops directly.

And I forgot to mention... No CA at ALL. Impressive.


Actually I was just checking on US Ebay. Prices range from $923 from Australia to $1359 (or best offer) from Japan. When you do the $ to euro conversion, the prices seem quite similar. There is also one at $975 from China and the only one from the USA I consider to be a statistical outlier at $1850 or best offer. So it appears that the going asking prices of this lens on US eBay at this moment in time are about what you would expect. All are Buy-it-Now offerings. I'm sure if an auction were to come along it could be had for quite a bit less.

I got a question, though. My search turned up several 70-300 f/4-5.6 Vario-Sonnar Lenses for Contax "N". It looks like some are AF and some aren't, but they're all being offered in the $300-430 range. I've heard of the 100-300's reputation before this, but I'm not at all familiar with the 70-300. So I'm wondering -- given that they have the same aperture values as the 100-300 and that they are also Zeiss lenses for Contax, 1) why are they so much cheaper and 2) are they as good as the 100-300? On, and 3) -- is the Contax "N" mount different from the regular Contax SLR mount?


PostPosted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 5:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
cooltouch wrote:
Billou wrote:
The price for a good one is usually between 650 and 900 euros, depending on the condition. Ebay prices are insane, the lens can be found cheaper if you take some time and make contact with people or specialized second-hand shops directly.

And I forgot to mention... No CA at ALL. Impressive.


Actually I was just checking on US Ebay. Prices range from $923 from Australia to $1359 (or best offer) from Japan. When you do the $ to euro conversion, the prices seem quite similar. There is also one at $975 from China and the only one from the USA I consider to be a statistical outlier at $1850 or best offer. So it appears that the going asking prices of this lens on US eBay at this moment in time are about what you would expect. All are Buy-it-Now offerings. I'm sure if an auction were to come along it could be had for quite a bit less.

I got a question, though. My search turned up several 70-300 f/4-5.6 Vario-Sonnar Lenses for Contax "N". It looks like some are AF and some aren't, but they're all being offered in the $300-430 range. I've heard of the 100-300's reputation before this, but I'm not at all familiar with the 70-300. So I'm wondering -- given that they have the same aperture values as the 100-300 and that they are also Zeiss lenses for Contax, 1) why are they so much cheaper and 2) are they as good as the 100-300? On, and 3) -- is the Contax "N" mount different from the regular Contax SLR mount?

Then Contax N series is auto-focus camera which the aperture is controlled by the camera. They can be converted to Canon EF by sending them to Conurus but it is costly. Someone has already made a adapter use on NEX with aperture control and very slow AF.


PostPosted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 8:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
A little nose-heavy setup, isn't it? Very Happy Congrats anyway!


PostPosted: Wed Sep 18, 2013 9:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Hell yes ! You don't even feel the Fuji anymore Smile It is strange but you get used to it. I'm really happy with my choice, and will upload more pictures soon, hopefully with more interesting subjects !


PostPosted: Wed Sep 18, 2013 3:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Nice lens, really has that Zeiss feel to it!


PostPosted: Wed Sep 18, 2013 7:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Edited

Last edited by bernhardas on Mon May 02, 2016 6:40 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Sun Feb 23, 2014 1:44 pm    Post subject: Vario-Sonnar T* 100-300mm Reply with quote
Hi,
very nice pictures. They really have the Zeiss look.
I have a question; does the Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 100-300mm has a lenscollar?? I really doesn't want to handhold the lens with my D800.
If it has no collar do you know somebody who can make one for this lens?

Regards

Hans


PostPosted: Sun Feb 23, 2014 1:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
No, it doesn't. But custom collars pop up on ebay occasionally. What I will say is that the lens is reasonably light, and hand holding is fairly straightforward (although I've "only" shot at 20MP).


PostPosted: Sun Feb 23, 2014 2:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
thank you Graham for your quick reply


PostPosted: Sun Feb 23, 2014 4:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I would recommend a novoflex adapter which will take the Novoflex Astat-Nex tripod collar. A bit expensive yes, but worth it especially if you have several Novoflex adapters.


PostPosted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 9:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
+1 for the Novoflex tripod collar.. you don't even have to buy a expensive Novoflex adapter to use it, a lot cheap chinese adapters will work with it too.

But it won't help Hans with his D800 Wink
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