Zeiss slr lens

H.veng.smith · Aug 3, 2011

Hello I have a zeiss 35 2.0 for my canon eos1v
and I cannot find any info on zeiss lens and how they are in the rain,snow,harm conditions?

I have used it in very light rain with no problems but I know the 1v can really take a beating, just asking for any help from you guys on how the zeiss lens hold up.

Diapositivo · Aug 3, 2011

Zeiss web site could be helpful.

If it is this lens:
Dead Link Removed

I don't think it has any particular weather protection, because that would be mentioned.

H.veng.smith · Aug 3, 2011

I have looked at the site and found nothing about weather sealing, it would not make sense to me to offer such a professional product and not have it made to withstand rough weather.
If canon can make great sealed lens I cant see why zeiss couldnt or wouldn't

ic-racer · Aug 3, 2011

I'd use the Canon lens in those condition.

eSPhotos · Aug 4, 2011

No weather sealing but they make up on build quality and of course optical quality.

pcyco · Aug 4, 2011

hallo

i have the 50/1.4 and they are not wheather-protected (says the guy in the shop)
--
thomas

H.veng.smith · Aug 4, 2011

Got an email back from Zeiss in which they say they are not specially weather sealed have no problem getting wet , but should be carful in a very heavy rain.

Jeff Kubach · Aug 4, 2011

As far I'm concern Zeiss lenses are great in any weather conderns!

Jeff

Rol_Lei Nut · Aug 4, 2011

Jeff Kubach said:
As far I'm concern Zeiss lenses are great in any weather conderns!

Their 3-d look looks great in bad weather...

(For diving get a Nikonos!)

Rol_Lei Nut · Aug 4, 2011

Michael R 1974 said:
They're not weather sealed and they are not anything special either, aside from the 21mm. The 35mm f2 is very good.

I made the mistake of buying several of these for my Nikon. Waste of money and now I'm selling them.

Beauty (as always) is in the the eye of the beholder.

It depends on what you like/want from a lens...

Dr.Pain-MD · Aug 6, 2011

Aren't those new Zeiss SLR lenses actually made by Cosina?

jrhilton · Aug 6, 2011

Dr.Pain-MD said:
Aren't those new Zeiss SLR lenses actually made by Cosina?

Yes, and have been for many years now.

Rol_Lei Nut · Aug 6, 2011

My experience of Zeiss lenses is mostly with an older generation, in Rolleiflex mount.

I certainly woudn't describe any of the ones I've had or used as "highly center-optimized".
I've also extensively used Nikkor primes of the AI/AIS generation (many of the better ones too) and can compare them directly to the Zeiss ones: In my experience the Zeiss lenses *are* often significantly (as in somehow visibly) better even using the usual parameters (sharpness across the field, distortion & vignetting). Exceptions being perhaps the 105 2.5 & the 180 ED.
That said, again IMHO, where the better Zeiss lenses shine (pun intended) is in their flare control, colour rendition and 3-d effect. In short, their general "look".
That may sound a bit esoteric, but simply is...

Just a question: it seems that many who are dissatisfied with the new Zeiss lenses aren't using them with film (which adds a whole can or worms of various interactions and so on), is that your case?

Rol_Lei Nut · Aug 7, 2011

The Zeiss lenses I was talking about are for Rolleiflex 35mm SLRs (several models built between c. 1970 and the 1990's). Often, but not always optically the same as the Yashica/Contax lenses...

Some of the new lenses are definitely different (a 35mm f/2.0 didn't exist and the 18mm has a different nominal aperture) and it seems to be debated whether others are exactly the same as their old versions.
That said, apart from the 15mm & 18mm, I have very different results regarding edge sharpness and distortion (15mm - Leica version, 18mm, 25mm, 35mm 1.4 & 2.8, 50mm 1.4 & 1.8, 85mm 1.4 & 2.8, 200mm).

The lack of aspheric elements seems to be part of Zeiss' design philosophy.
While Leica, for example, embraced aspherics and I admit that later Leica lenses are technically better than my Zeiss', I still like the overall "look" of the Zeiss' better.

Rol_Lei Nut · Aug 8, 2011

I often photograph architecture, landscapes and artwork, in the past I was photgraphing archaeological digs and using those photos to help produce maps. So distortion *is* something I find very important (I usually hate most zooms mainly for that reason).

While I haven't done any more "pseudo-photogrammetry" since I started using the Zeiss' (the Micro-Nikkor 55 2.8 was my favorite for that), for my uses, their distortion isn't noticeable (FLs above 18mm - from 25mm on: I have no 21mm).
For example, I use my Zeiss 25mm for achitecture without a thought, while my Nikkor 24mm was practically unusable. The Nikkor 35 2.0 also fared pretty poorly.

The digital crossover intent & poor distortion correction in the newer Zeiss' could be... It'd be interesting to see some reliable measurements (Zeiss does publish thiers, though how reliable they are & how to get other manufacturers' for comparison is the question).

Thingy · Aug 8, 2011

I contacted Zeiss last year about weather sealing and they confirmed that there is none, unless you buy the more expensive, bespoke, industrial series. Having said that, the same lack of weather sealing applies to my medium format Mamiya lenses and my large format Cooke, Nikon, Schneider & Rodenstock lenses, all of which have been used in light drizzle.

Zeiss glass for both medium and 35mm format is excellent but again choosing it is also a personal matter depending upon what you seek to obtain from a specific lens. I also rate certain Mamiya lenses very highly. With the Zeiss ZF series I would avoid the 25mm but think the 21mm and 35mm f2 are superb lenses. The latter is certainly an improvement on the excellent Nikkor 35mm f1.4, and around the same price.

Diapositivo · Aug 10, 2011

Rol_Lei Nut said:
The lack of aspheric elements seems to be part of Zeiss' design philosophy.
While Leica, for example, embraced aspherics and I admit that later Leica lenses are technically better than my Zeiss', I still like the overall "look" of the Zeiss' better.

Just as a curiosity note, my digital has a Zeiss zoom lens with 12 elements in 10 groups, 4 lenses are aspherical.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/R1/R1A6.HTM

This lens is a real jewel .

So the non-aspherical bias might be limited to only certain lens designers

BrianL · Aug 13, 2011

Consider something like a Nikonos if you need something weatherproof.

Zeiss slr lens

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