Anyone tried Zeiss lenses for Nikon ?

[faustotesta]

Hello everybody,
i'm a happy owner of Contax gears. I'm thinking to move to Nikon due to the "death" of Contax brand (spare parts are not available) .
Most of the times i use the Planar 85 f/1.4.
Zeiss has released a similar lens ( see http://www.zeiss.com/c12567a8003b58b9/Contents-Frame/8e8ae439a3fd6101c125711b005a77c4).
Has anyone used it ? What is your opinion ? Has anyone made comparison wih the Contx Zeiss ?
Thank you

 

[Marcust101]

Faust

I picked up a 85mm F1.4 ZF from a seller in Hongkong. It sits really nicely on a F3 and operates beautifully. The glass appears to have a 3D quailty, working very well for portrait shots. I can't comment on the contax version in comparison but this is easily the best made and performing lens I have bar a 50mm summicron.

Hope this rather subjective opinion helps

Marcus

 

[Vanishing Point Ent.]

T* coating ?

Are these lenses T* coated like the lenses for Contax ?

 

[John_Nikon_F]

All recent Zeiss lenses are T*.

I haven't personally tried the Zeiss ZF mount lenses yet. But, I have tried the Voigtlander Ultron 40f2. Nice little lens.

-J

 

[takef586]

I only use the ZF lenses on Nikon, the 25, 35, 50 MP, 85 and 100 MP. They are all great lenses, and having tested them against Nikkors of the same kind I have no doubt they are superior in sharpness, colour rendering, flare suppression, 3d effect and bokeh, but they are not autofocus, so your mileage may vary. The main differences between the Contax line and the ZF line according to Zeiss are the coatings and the diaphragms (ZF has more elements for a rounder shape). The one lens that stands out in this line in my opinion is the MP 100/2 ZF which comes from the Cine Master Prime line, and is just stunning in every aspect. You can see some of my ZF shots here:http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=59177039@N00&q=++ZF&m=text

 

[Rob Skeoch]

I've used the Zeiss lens a bit.... I think they are better than the Nikon primes but also heavier... again they are manual focus only. In you want Zeiss lenses in AF you have to go with the Sony Alpha cameras... in the Sony mount they make the 135mm F1.8 and 85 F1.4 and a couple zooms including a 24-70 F2.8.
-rob

 

[Vanishing Point Ent.]

In you want Zeiss lenses in AF you have to go with the Sony Alpha cameras...

Are these Full Frame, or APS-C ?

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I looked at the new Zeiss 85/1.4 in EOS mount, and it's a really nice lens. Just from a look through the viewfinder it seemed to have nice contrast and sharpness and very smooth out-of-focus rendering.

I have the Zeiss 35/2 in ZS mount (M42), and I've been very happy with it for its fine rendering of color, excellent sharpness, and smooth out of focus rendering. The build quality is very solid, and they are designed for precise, positive manual focusing.

These new Zeiss SLR lenses are all the same optically, but in various mounts.

 

[Java]

In you want Zeiss lenses in AF you have to go with the Sony Alpha cameras...

Are these Full Frame, or APS-C ?

All Sony digi cameras are APS-C apart from there new flagship machine the Alpha 900 which is a 24Mb full frame.

 

[mudman]

The zeiss lenses are mostly full frame however I believe.

 

[Hamster]

You can also go the cheap route and try the Korean 85/1.4 instead. Cheap enough to be disposable.

Seem there are a lot of positive review about it. I am thinking about one.

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/...9-review-samyang-85mm-f1-4-aspherical-if.html

 

[Vanishing Point Ent.]

All Sony digi cameras are APS-C apart from there new flagship machine the Alpha 900 which is a 24Mb full frame.

Let me re-phrase. Will the Zeiss lenses for Sony, work
with the new Alpha 900 Full Frame Camera ?

This is for a friend.

 

[Rob Skeoch]

Yes, I have the Sony A900 full frame camera. Sony has one lens that will only work on the smaller sensors... the rest work on Fullframe... these are the ones I have 85 F1.4, 135 F1.8, 24-70 F2.8 and I have used the new 16-35 F2.8 but don't have one. All of these are full frame.

 

[nicefor88]

You could as well get rid of your old lenses and buy Nikkor. They are so good. Otherwise, there are adapting rings to fit a Nikon camera with your Zeiss lenses.:rolleyes:

 

[Rob Skeoch]

The new Zeiss lenses do come in the Nikon f mount... as well as the Pentax K and Eos1 mounts.
They work great but are manual focus only.
-rob

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

The new Zeiss lenses do come in the Nikon f mount... as well as the Pentax K and Eos1 mounts.

And M42/Pentax screwmount (ZS mount). I opted for ZS for the 35mm so I could use it on both my EOS and FD mount bodies.

 

[ajuk]

In you want Zeiss lenses in AF you have to go with the Sony Alpha cameras...

Are these Full Frame, or APS-C ?

You can use Minolta bodies, I once started a thread asking if anybody here has used these lenses on a film body, does give me hope that there may one day be a Zeiss Nikon lens that is AF.