NEW Zeiss Biogon 35mm F/2.8 just announced

Yikes! Five hundred and ninety Euros???????????

No thanks. I'll keep using my ultra compact Canon 35/2.8 and 35/2.0 UC-Hexanon lenses with a combined cost far below 590 Euros.
 
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Do you think there is much of a market for a slower, small 35 given the presence of so many f/2 small 35mm lenses available? At ~ same price as the F/2 biogon? That being said I'm sure it'll be a fantastic lens.

JB
 
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many prefer a smaller 35 and my guess is that this one will be a knock out!
street price will likely be somewhat lower, maybe $800?
it might be nice to have a smaller, slower zm along with the fast cv 35.
 
What really bugs me is that I am at the moment laid up with pneumonia and if I hadn't caught that, I would have been in Tokyo and playing with that lens!
The C- series for the ZM lenses is quite interesting, small compact and very high optical quality. We now have the 21/4,5 C-Biogon, the 35/2.8 and the C-Sonnar 50f1.5. Is it only me or does anyone else see a 85/2,8 C lens in the near future?
 
Tom,
you're right, this is a perspective I hadn't considered. It's possible that Zeiss releases a compact tele lens soon.
 
Not so compact really if you put it in perspective. Looks like about the same size as the new CV 35/1.4. Same filter size, too.

Marketing can explain everything.
 
There is a certain logic to Zeiss product line. We have the faster, larger lenses for those who use film with its limited range of ISO and the more compact, slightly slower lenses for DRf's.
Imagine a Nikon Rf with the D3 sensor and the extreme ISO that sensor can achive. Full frame and 6400 ISO with very little noise. I am speculating here, but a Digital rangefinder with the much improved sensor technology of the D3 sensor would be a formidable camera. Even the M8 with its 1250 ISO would work well (at 2500 it is noisy).
Hat's off to Zeiss and CV for making lenses that are a/affordable and b/very high quality.
It will be interesting to see what the new 35/2.8 Biogon performance will be like. Based on the previous lenses, it should be stellar. I doubt that it will outperform the 35f2 Biogon though. Hmm, a test of the 35/2,8 Summaron, the 35f2.8 Biogon and the 35/2,5 Summarit would be a worthwhile project for the summer.
It is fun shooting rangefinders these days - we have NEVER had so many lenses to choose from and with optical quality that we only could dream about in the past.
 
Beware Zeiss's weird lens length measurements. They don't measure from the bayonet flange to the front of the lens. They measure from the rear element to the front of the lens. If you look at the Cosina website, they call the Zeiss 35/2 a 43.3mm long lens. According to the Zeiss stats, that lens is 56mm long! So, the new 35/2.8 is probably more like 42mm long. That is a small lens.
 
35mmdelux said:
sure it must be nice but a tad too slow. guess I'll keep my 35/2.0 IV and 35/1.4 ASPH.
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I have a IV also and I think it's pretty useless at f2 but OK at f2.8. But it is compact compared to most 35s so maybe the new ZM will be a useful alternative to the IV...
 
I have a friend that is a Magnum shooter and he primarily uses two lenses on his M6. During daytime he shoots with a 35f2 Summicron (currently the Asph version, but he is thinking of going back to the version IV) and as the sun sets, he switches to a 35f1.4.
Zeiss seems determined to fill in gaps in their line-up. We have 15/18/21/25/28/35/50 and 85 at the moment and several variations within those focal lenghts, two 21/s, now two 35's, two 50's so either more compact, slower lenses or faster, bigger lenses are logical.
I would suspect that a faster 28 or even a 25f2 would be the next step, possibly an ultrafast 50 ("bragging" rights lens). The 28 most likely depends on what Cosina is going to replace the f3.5 and f1.9 with. If Zeiss puts out a 25f2 and Cosina a 28 f1,4 that would solve the problem on the wide end (well, all right, a 21f2 would be a possibility too).
The 85f2 ZM is too big and too expensive, at least for my needs. A smaller,compact 85f2.8 would be tempting though. The other alternative would be a M mount version of the 85f1.4 that now exists in the ZF mount. It would be big and heavy, but it would fill a void for "wide open" fanatics. The 75f1,4 Summilux is out of production and I shudder to think what a Leica replacement of that lens (probably a 75f1,4 Asph) would cost!
These are speculations, but there seems to be a pattern here, both as to focal lengths and avoiding an overlap between the ZM and CV lenses.
I suspect that a ZM 35f1,4 must have been thought of, but I doubt that it would be noticably better than the 35f1,4 VC and it would be quite a bit more money too.
As for the price of the new Biogon 35f2.8 - have you checked the prices for used Summaron 35f2.8's lately!
 
Tom,

I always read with great pleasure and consideration your thoughts here. However, I'm not sure if a <25mm F/2 is the right way to run. I mean, a 28 F/2 can be used without any external viewfinder... and it should be quite cheaper than a 25 F/2.. in this case I think that if Zeiss would ever do that, they would go straight to an ultrawide lens like a 18 or a 21 mm, not a 25 (if they do the 28 F/2 too, I mean), like they did with the Distagon 15mm F/2.8. Moreover, as they did a F/2.8 C version, maybe they could think of a faster F/2 too...

What do you think?
 
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Tom A said:
What really bugs me is that I am at the moment laid up with pneumonia and if I hadn't caught that, I would have been in Tokyo and playing with that lens!
The C- series for the ZM lenses is quite interesting, small compact and very high optical quality. We now have the 21/4,5 C-Biogon, the 35/2.8 and the C-Sonnar 50f1.5. Is it only me or does anyone else see a 85/2,8 C lens in the near future?
Click to expand...

Pnuemonia makes one see many things. I just got over it myself. Get well Tom, and yes I'd love to see a 85/2.8!
 
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