21mm C Biogon

[TJV]

I keep hearing great things about this little lens but have read no real reviews and can't remember a thread devoted to it here. Anyone care to throw some photos up and talk us through them?
I've been getting back into my street photography and have really been enjoying playing with my Leica 28mm Elmarit ASPH and relying on its wide depth of field for focus - eg zone focusing. I wonder how the 21 would be and how much more distortion it introduces compared to a 28mm for casual, close people street shots.
T

 

[Doug]

It's a nice compact lens that I end up using wide open a surprising amount of the time. It's very crisp and clean, and on my M8 it's the equivalent with about the same angle of view as a 28mm on a film body. It has virtually no rectilinear distortion, but of course perspective distortion appears as with any wide lens. Here's Kris painting our bath (M8, 21 C-Biogon wide open)...

PS: Suggest you look at Alan Soon's remarkable street photos of Istanbul using a 21mm Skopar. This illustrates it's possible to produce excellent street shots with a 21, but in my experience it's difficult not to make "wideness" the subject. See http://photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=322503

 

[back alley]

 

[kdemas]

I believe Tom A. had some nice things to say about this lens if memory serves me right. You might search the forum a bit for his feedback.

Kent

 

[Al Kaplan]

It depends on how you see the world. Some of us just seem to "see wide". Right now I'm trying to wean myself away from several years of using mostly a 15mm Heliar. I'm attempting to adapt to the "telephoto feel" I get shooting with my 21mm Super Angulon. I just felt that I needed the change.

 

[Tom A]

If I only (god forbid that) could have one 21mm lens, it would be the 21f4.5 C Biogon!. It is small and compact and it out performs any other 21 I have ever used- and being a bit of a 21 freak, I have used most of them made for rangefinder cameras over the decades.
I did check Flickrs "Zeiss C Biogon 21mm f4.5" site and there are several hundred shots done with it. Good resource to check out.

 

[Krosya]

If I only (god forbid that) could have one 21mm lens, it would be the 21f4.5 C Biogon!. It is small and compact and it out performs any other 21 I have ever used- and being a bit of a 21 freak, I have used most of them made for rangefinder cameras over the decades.
I did check Flickrs "Zeiss C Biogon 21mm f4.5" site and there are several hundred shots done with it. Good resource to check out.

A while back I asked about this lens and still, I have to say the same - from the photos I have seen so far - I just dont see how ZM 21C outperforms ZM 21/2.8. Or 21/2.8 Kobalux/Avenon for that matter. Maybe I'm not seeing something, but ZM 21/2.8 has a lot more "pnch" to me and Avenon has a far more pleasing signature to my eye. The only thing - it's compact. But so is CV 21/4. And for a 2.8 21mm lens Kobalux/Avenon is pretty short as well. So, in other words - for me I really dont see why I'd even consider ZM 21C lens.

 

[Krosya]

It's a nice compact lens that I end up using wide open a surprising amount of the time.

well, it is after all f4.5 lens. 😉 I use my 21mm often at 2.8 and it's great too.

 

[horosu]

I think it's the distortion part that makes the difference...

 

[Turtle]

A while back I asked about this lens and still, I have to say the same - from the photos I have seen so far - I just dont see how ZM 21C outperforms ZM 21/2.8. Or 21/2.8 Kobalux/Avenon for that matter. Maybe I'm not seeing something, but ZM 21/2.8 has a lot more "pnch" to me and Avenon has a far more pleasing signature to my eye. The only thing - it's compact. But so is CV 21/4. And for a 2.8 21mm lens Kobalux/Avenon is pretty short as well. So, in other words - for me I really dont see why I'd even consider ZM 21C lens.

Photos in the flesh or web images? I have seen nothing on the web to indicate that there are any major differences in imaging aside from better distortion control from the C biogon (compared to the 2.8). Many users/testers of the 21 4.5 suggest that it is one of the best performing ZMs of all, with outstanding outer field performance. This is one area where the CV 21 f4 persistently comes in for criticism, but is is cheaper and tiny so take your pick. I think most agree that the performance advantage of the 4.5 over the 2.8 is marginal and of little to no real significance. The 4.5 is smaller and cheaper and there is the real advantage.

 

[TJV]

Thanks for the replies. It seems it has its advantages over the 2.8 ZM offering in size but more importantly has less distortion - which is an important thing to me. I've never shot with a 21mm before but what draws me too it is the possibility to use it to good effect for street work where I need to portray a large sense of open space and dominant foreground - not unlike Back-Alley's example above. Like others, the f4.5 limit puts me off a bit seeing as f2.8 is already rather slow in my world. having said that, it would be a day time lens and usually stopped down to f8 or 11. The sun is harsh down here!

Totally different subject, deserving a thread of its own... I've always liked the look of the Zeiss 25mm but the size looks crazy in pictures! Is the size of it about the same as the 21mm f2.8? How does its performance compare to the C Biogon 21mm?

 

[Tom A]

Of course. if the 21f2.8 is too slow - how about the Summilux 21mm f1.4 Asph. from Leica. It is actually not that large - about the size of the Elmarit 21f2.8 - but at $6500 I think I will let it pass!

 

[TJV]

Of course. if the 21f2.8 is too slow - how about the Summilux 21mm f1.4 Asph. from Leica. It is actually not that large - about the size of the Elmarit 21f2.8 - but at $6500 I think I will let it pass!

Amen to that! At the end of the day, f4.5 for a lens I'd probably not use as much as the 28mm - 50mm range is okay for me. I'm just so used to the little size of the Leica 28mm ASPH Elmarit. It's lovely and discrete compared to my 35mm Summilux ASPH and chunky hood. Leica's f1.4 21mm offering looks great but I'll have to put it in the realm of post credit crisis fantasy.

 

[mervynyan]

Do you guys also use external viewfinder or just guessing?

 

[back alley]

right now i use the lens on a r4a, before that i had the zeiss finder and before that i used the entire finder of the zeiss ikon.

 

[Al Kaplan]

A 15mm f/1.4 would be nice but I manage to survive with f/4.5.

 

[mervynyan]

right now i use the lens on a r4a, before that i had the zeiss finder and before that i used the entire finder of the zeiss ikon.

thanks,
if i guesstimate, how far would the vof extend beyond 28mm?

i plan to buy one and look at vc's 21mm viewfinder as an alternative.

 

[back alley]

thanks,
if i guesstimate, how far would the vof extend beyond 28mm?

i plan to buy one and look at vc's 21mm viewfinder as an alternative.

i must have been drinking...sorry, i was thinking about the zm 25.

with the 21, i used a cv finder and then the r4a.