Advice and recommendations!

[JeffGreene]

After much soul-searching and numerous direct conversations and information arrived at through lurking involving knowledgeable RFF'ers sharing the benefit of their experience, I have decided to purchase a Black ZI from Tony Rose this month to take advantage of his free shipping offer for all orders placed in March. I realize that I am violating Raid's March GAS request, but I have made no other purchases, will be able to live with my guilt.

I have ruled out an M6 after seeing and handling both. I prefer a new camera, and the MP and M7 are out of my price range. My current camera is a Mamiya M6 with all three lenses, although I seem to always use the 50mm. I like WA's and would like your advice regarding a first lens purchase. I currently own no M mount cameras or lenses.

I plan to purchase the lens from Steven Gandy, and have identified the following as candidates. Please confine your comments to the list below. Thanks in advance.

CS 40 Nokton 1.4
CS Ultron 35 1.7
CS Aspherical Nokton 35 1.2
CS Ultron Aspherical 28 1.9
Zeiss ZM Biogon 25 2.8
Zeiss ZM Biogon 28 2.8
Leica 35 2 summicron (used)

 

[Stephanie Brim]

28mm Ultron or 35mm Nokton. Then again, I'm one of those people who believes faster is better. 😉

 

[Huck Finn]

Jeff, as you can see, I own none of the lenses on your list. So, I will only comment on the 35 Ultron. To me, its minimum focus distance of 0.9 m is a serious limitation. The advantage of this lens is its fast speed so that it can be used in low light situations. Since this often means indoor shooting in confined quarters where you can't back up from your subject. Even with 0.7 m, I sometimes feel imited compared to the closer shooting capabilities of my WA SLR lenses. The extra 8 inches of minimum focus distance on the Ultron stikes me as a serious disadvantage & in certain circumstances negates its speed advantage. From all other reports & pictures IU've seen it is optically a very good lens.

Just my 2 cents . . .

Huck

 

[back alley]

from your list, the only lens i have is the 25/2.8 zm.

it's a great lens with a high fun factor.
seems sharp as i need, well built and focus is smooth. i like the quick but firm click stops.
my normal wide lens is a 35 (also the zm for the zi camera) and it rates the same. the difference between the 35 & 25 fov is greater than i thought it would be. this is the first 'really' wide lens that i have been comfortable with and i can see tons of potential for impacting my output.

 

[Kyle]

I don't mean to take anything away from Stephen Gandy, but I believe if you order a ZI and a ZM lens together from Popflash they will give an additional discount. Just something to look into.

Having no experience with any of your lenses, I'd choose the ZM 25/2.8. It looks to be a stellar lens, and the entire viewfinder can be used to approximate the 25mm fov. Its going to be my next lens purchase.

 

[Tony Rose]

$50.00 Off The Lens....

$50.00 Off The Lens....

Yep, you are correct. We give $50.00 off the lens when you purchase the a body at the same time.

TR

 

[Sonnar Brian]

> I am violating Raid's March GAS request,

I think Raid was the first person that made the "pledge" that ended up buying a new camera in March...

 

[hth]

I own none of the lenses you list, but I would go for a Leica Summicron IV (35/2). A very small, light and wonderful lens and fast enough.

I use a Konica UC-Hexanon 35/2 (which is similar) and these days it is what I use for more than 50% of my pictures.

If you can resist GAS for a while, stay with one lens for at least a year, then you will now what to add (if any). I think having a 35/2 and then considering whether you need something wider and/or longer will do quite fine. You might end up with a maximum of 3 lenses that you actually need. Then you can always add some more for character or special occasions.

/Håkan

 

[lawrence]

I am also going to purchase a black ZI, though I haven't yet decided from where. I have already bought a lens for it -- a 4th Gen Summicron 35mm. I notice that you are also considering the 'cron as opposed to the Biogon 35mm.

I think a real issue is what focal length is best. The ZI doesn't have built-in 40mm frame lines so I think that rules out the Nokton and in my opinion the 25mm is too wide for general use, so that leaves a 28mm and three 35s. Personally, I find 28mm a nice focal length for occasional use and I carry around a 28mm Color-Skopar f3.5 as it's small and light and very sharp. So one option would be to go for the 35mm Ultron and spend the money you save on a 28mm like mine. That way you'll be able to experiment with both and decide which focal length is most useful. Moving on to the 35mm Nokton f1.2 -- it's not exactly compact, is it? Personally I would put such a lens into the 'specialist' category -- and I would guess that it's happier on a Leica M than on the lighter ZI. So that leaves us with the obvious choice (which I have already chosen!), the 4th Gen 'cron, though you might go for an ASPH if you plan to shoot a lot at f2.

 

[Palaeoboy]

My Choice would be the 28mm Bogon. The ZI has about the best viewfinder for 28mm lenses. 28mm I feel is about as wide as you go before you get unatural distortions. I dont think your first lens like the 25mm should require a seperate viewfinder. The 28mm Biogon is also excellent value. I wouldnt consider the 40mm Nokton either without a camera with 40mm framelines. If you can get an extra 50 dollars off the Biogon 28 thats even better!

 

[Kyle]

The entire viewfinder of the ZI can be used for the 25mm lens, no finder needed. Also, the 25/2.8 is being highly praised, as it does not exhibit much distortion at all.

 

[35mmdelux]

the 40mm nokton f/1.4 without a doubt. The 35/1.7 and the 35/1.2 are humongous. W/ the 40mm you'll have a super fast lens w/ small footprint.

 

[Mazurka]

the 40mm nokton f/1.4 without a doubt. The 35/1.7 and the 35/1.2 are humongous.

I wonder how you would describe the 75mm lens which sits next to the 35/1.7?

 

[triplefinger]

lenses...

lenses...

Hi about your lens quest. http://www.imx.nl/photosite/japan/indexj.html

good reading there.

I have the CV 40 1.4 mixed emotions, sharp, lousy bokeh under brighter lighting conditions.
I suggest you take a look at that link. about some other topics. esp regarding the faster CV lenses.

one of my favorites is actually a cheap russian 50mm the industar-50 3.5 ( a zeiss copy) sharp and full of character.

you also may be better off with a summaron 35/2.8 than an early 35 summicron. i read the crons developed later, i love my summaron.

one more thing about the CV lenses( I own the 15/4, 40/1.4 and just sold my 50 1.5) i always found myself moving the aperture by accident with the 50 & I hear its similar on the fast 35's (read tom abram... review on gandy's site)

good luck!

Mike

After much soul-searching and numerous direct conversations and information arrived at through lurking involving knowledgeable RFF'ers sharing the benefit of their experience, I have decided to purchase a Black ZI from Tony Rose this month to take advantage of his free shipping offer for all orders placed in March. I realize that I am violating Raid's March GAS request, but I have made no other purchases, will be able to live with my guilt.

I have ruled out an M6 after seeing and handling both. I prefer a new camera, and the MP and M7 are out of my price range. My current camera is a Mamiya M6 with all three lenses, although I seem to always use the 50mm. I like WA's and would like your advice regarding a first lens purchase. I currently own no M mount cameras or lenses.

I plan to purchase the lens from Steven Gandy, and have identified the following as candidates. Please confine your comments to the list below. Thanks in advance.

CS 40 Nokton 1.4
CS Ultron 35 1.7
CS Aspherical Nokton 35 1.2
CS Ultron Aspherical 28 1.9
Zeiss ZM Biogon 25 2.8
Zeiss ZM Biogon 28 2.8
Leica 35 2 summicron (used)

 

[JeffGreene]

Tony Rose or Steven Gandy

Tony Rose or Steven Gandy

Great advice and useful information as always! I'm currently leaning towards the 28 Biogon, after having handled it at a local dealer.

Any thoughts regarding Tony or Steven? Both offer the black ZI. Steven gives a $50 discount on the body and Tony gives a $50 discount on the lens when both are purchased together. Shipping is free for Steven for RFF'ers. It looks like shipping is only free until the end of March for Tony. I am liquidating an investment, and won't have access to the funds until the end of April or early May. That may rule out Tony! What are your thoughts?

 

[Tony Rose]

Steve is the yongest......

Steve is the yongest......

Steve is the youngest of us two and it is his turn to buy be coffe on Friday when we meet at Starbucks. We live about three miles apart so whom ever you decide to give the sale will also decide who pays for ALL the coffee in April.

We will always be here to answer all your questions and it will not cost you a dime.

Tony

 

[Kyle]

Trying to pick between CameraQuest and Popflash is like choosing which child you love more. Both are top notch businesses and wonderful to deal with.

Ultimately I chose Tony at Popflash because his prices included sales tax (it would have cost me an extra 7.75% sales tax at CameraQuest).