Is the 28mm Biogon the ugly stepchild?

[Cron]

I got a ZM 28 one week ago, but no pictures until now.
But I also have a Zeiss 28 in use together with my Contax G2. And this one is really very good - crisp, very fine details and nice colors. I hope and I am sure, the ZM delivers similar performance.

 

[sepiareverb]

ZM 28 shot directly into the sun- it is not too far above the top frame edge- a grab shot, trying to get the snowball impact!

 

[furcafe]

The Ultron is a very good optic for the money & the extra stop does make a difference when shooting in low-light. I don't know about the ZM 28/2.8's size, but the Ultron certainly is not significantly bigger than the Leica 28/2 ASPH 'cron (I suppose greater speed inevitably means a larger lens). The Ultron has also been pretty flare-resistant (in comparison w/the 'cron & other modern lenses) in my experience.

Since I have the 'cron, I could sell you my Ultron (I kept it thinking I might use it w/1 of my LTM bodies, but that looks increasingly unlikely), so send an email if you're interested.

Ted - thanks for info. The flare resistance of the Biogons is particularly appealing. I like the size without a hood.

Jamie - the CV 28 Ultron is a nice optic. Size matters to me though, and it's a bit larger than I would prefer. I also don't anticipate needing the extra speed with a 28. The price is certainly an improvement.

 

[Krosya]

ZM 28 shot directly into the sun- it is not too far above the top frame edge- a grab shot, trying to get the snowball impact!

So, I guess this shows that ZM lenses flare after all, huh?

 

[sirius]

So far, I'm more than pleased with mine.

So far, I'm more than pleased with mine.

The above photo was taken at 1/4 second f2.8 with an M2 on tri-x.

I just bought one but have not had a lot of time with it. It is a lovely lens to handle, solid and well made. The click-stop of the apertures are nicer than all my leica lenses and I like the knob for focusing. It blocks a little of the M6 rangefinder window.

The few rolls I've done have all the characteristics I've heard about the other ZM lense: sharp, beautiful rich tonality, nice contrast, slightly saturated colours, and nice smooth bokeh (when close and wide with this lens). It's strange, but when I get the scanned file there is a lot more information in the highlights than with other lenses. I'm very easily able to pull down the overexposed parts.

I love the 28mm focal length and am excited to have this lens, I think it will be a great performer for me. The 28mm f2.8 Leica lens has too much contrast for my taste and I like what Zeiss does better than the CV lenses, so for a modern lens, it is really my only choice. The 28 summicron is just out of the park for me at that price.

So, there's nothing ugly about this one in my eyes!

 

[cmogi10]

28mm is funny for me, it's not wide enough to have fun with with a wide angle, I'l use 21 for that and it's a little to wide for what I really want which is 35.
I have a version III elmarit that was an outstanding performer it just wasn't my FOV I guess, maybe in the future someday.
And I think all the Zeiss glass is top notch, spending time in time out with the sonnar just proves that. I just developed a ton of film the other day shot with my MP and Biogon and it's really something else.

 

[sirius]

Once I got to know Winogrand's photos, I was sold on the 28mm. I tend to be a fairly static composer. I have not yet learned to anticipate dynamic and moving events that well. The 28 inherently lends some drama to what I photograph and forces me to get close (not the case with the above photo 🙂. Sometimes it still distorts: when the camera is not parallel to the subject or when a person is near the edges (particularly violence inducing reactions when it's a female loved one that ends up seeing her photo).

 

[sepiareverb]

The ZM's will flare, but I don't know what wouldn't flare in the scene I posted.

 

[mfogiel]

sepiareverb, out of curiosity - do you put any extra surface in front of the lens? My ZM lenses flare much less even with the sun in the frame...

 

[ljsegil]

Can anybody offer any direct comparison of the ZM 28/2.8 with the summicron 28/2.0 (cost aside for the sake of academic discussion)?
LJS

 

[sepiareverb]

sepiareverb, out of curiosity - do you put any extra surface in front of the lens? My ZM lenses flare much less even with the sun in the frame...

No, that was naked. I think it was just the angle to the sun, I too have had much less flare generally- should have said this was worst case.

 

[italy74]

Hi guys

while attending at the reportage course in Milan, I tried (even if on a reflex) all the four classical short focal lenghts. This is what I found out.

50mm: see below, for my kind of shots, this is almost a "tele" lens. Of course, the utmost planarity is expected here. F/2 is enough, no need to go to a faster lens.


35mm: probably the nicest to frame a single person inserted on a certain context. The "longer" focal lenght also tend to avoid any kind of ugly distortions at the frame side. In my very personal opinion, it's an "intimate" lens, but I found it a bit narrow for larger views.

25mm: Well, here we are at the opposite. As someone said, you can frame a whole road without any doubt on what or how to take. Keep your camera on your chest, it's not strictly necessary putting it to your eyes, focus at about 3-4 m with F/5.6 and you're done. The problem, here is that you have to be REALLY close to people which otherwise look small (and somehow distorted if on the frame side) if already at 2 - 3 m from you. I'd keep it more for "landscapes" than for street.

So, this is why I too prefer the 28mm lenght. It gives me a bit more air than a 35 while substantially avoiding too much distortions at the sides. It can also be paired with a 50 for tighter framings. As for the 50/2, a F/2 lens would fit nicely everything. I'd pair it with an around 20 lens.

Of course, but this is only a reflex-based statement, a 25-50 F/2 or a 24-135 F/2.8-4 would be two excellent choices to work with.

As you see from my statement, my favourite lens is exactly the 17-35 which I can exploit both for landscapes and reportage, even if here a little more lenght would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Turtle]

The 25 might be a star of the line...as might the 35 but have you used the 50 planar!?!?!!? Fantastic!

I own the 28 and am very pleased with it. If you use this lens and find it inhibits your photography (from a quality persepctive) frankly there is something wrong....(with you!). Sharp, good but not excessive contrast, smooth tonal rendition, and OOF. not too big, but not too small to handle, well built. The 28 fl might not hit you between the eyes like wider lenses but that is of benefit as often as it is a hindrance, depending on the creative intent. If you want a 28, you will not feel let down by the 28 in terms of image quality I am confident of that.

 

[sirius]

sepiareverb, I don't know about that photo. It looks very different than any I've seen from this lens. Everything seems to be fuzzy like an old vintage lens. Something really seems wrong with it. Is there snow on the surface? I doesn't look like what the lens should be doing. I've shot directly into the sun with the ZM and it didn't flare and was much sharper than that.

 

[SDK]

Looks like fog (condensation) on the lens, plus overexposure to me, but that's a guess. Shooting with the sun just outside the frame is a challenge for almost any lens though.

 

[DaveSee]

I have used ZM 28 and 25, and CV Skopar(LTM) 28 and 25, and Leica 24, BUT not Leica 28s: I still use Leica 24(sold the ZM 25), both CV(Skopars are great!), and ZM 28; the ZM 28 is very easy in hand, great contrast, great size(for moving about) and most of all, great FL, film and cropped digital.

Having some older Leica glass, I might agree that the 28/2,0 has a certain rendering because it too is of this "Old School(Mandler) Character", but Zeiss has a rendering that should not be discounted, at all!

While the ZM28 may not be praised as highly for its object, Zeiss did not produce a /bad/ lens at this FL. However great the CV 28 for its price, the ZM28 renders a bit more, ah, cleanly(distortion,CA,flare), thus more predictably and as expected. Good color and tone. I am not the reviewer type(saying exactly something about everything), but if 28 was my sweet spot, I might consider the Leica 28/2,0... not the newer 28/2,8.

I use the CV 28 for its size, the ZM 28 for its result. Compared to the ZM 25, it's got the air, color and tone from f4 up, with a tad less contrast below f8. Not knowing what you shoot, at this FL, the ZM 28 is not ugly, but speaks quietly(more quietly than one, well respected--and you must pay to read--reviewer felt his WA+mid-tele kit should[sic] afford). A truely plain dealer, this lens.

rgds,
Dave

 

[rivercrew]

28mm f2.8 Zeiss Biogon ZM

28mm f2.8 Zeiss Biogon ZM

Ted - thanks for info. The flare resistance of the Biogons is particularly appealing. I like the size without a hood.

Jamie - the CV 28 Ultron is a nice optic. Size matters to me though, and it's a bit larger than I would prefer. I also don't anticipate needing the extra speed with a 28. The price is certainly an improvement.

Robert

I had the 28mm CV Ultron and found it too flat for my tastes. Sold it and bought a Zeiss 28mm, absolutely love it. I also own a Zeiss 21mm f4.5 which I use a lot, so the 25mm wasn't a FOV that fit for me.

 

[Honus]

Dave, Roy - Thanks for the input. I ordered the 2,8/28 Biogon. I'll be using it on both an R-D1 and M6. I'm looking forward to using it.

 

[ampguy]

You'll like it

You'll like it

Robert, I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy it. I enjoy my 28/2.8 Biogon on both the RD1 and the M6. Haven't used the Elmarit or Hexanon 28's, but from the photos I've seen it's up there with them, if anything it might have a tad more contrast, which I like especially for color. It's definitely a modern look, not the look of a '30s piece of Leitz glass.

Dave, Roy - Thanks for the input. I ordered the 2,8/28 Biogon. I'll be using it on both an R-D1 and M6. I'm looking forward to using it.

 

[dcsang]

I'm reviving this thread to see if Robert's got any photos from the ZM 28 with the R-D1 🙂

I'm mulling a 28mm again for the M8...

Cheers
Dave