Pictures with Zeiss ZF 18mm: Post 'em if you got 'em

Roger the 18/4 distagon for M mount is not the same lens as the 18/3.5 ZE/ZF.2 lens for SLRs.

Their cross sections are significantly different.

I would like to see shots from the SLR one on film though.
 
Thanks for the link, Roger. That is a great discussion!

Actually, I'm thinking of the ZF, rather than the ZM. I have the 15mm f/3.5 Nikkor and the 18/4 Nikkor. The latter is a bit tricky to use because anything I screw onto the lens: hood, filter; filter + Hood will vignette to some degree. The 18 has to be used Naked to completely avoid vignetting. The 15 has no such problems, but flare can easily spoil a shot. So. I sometimes think of dumping them both (and maybe my 20/4 Nikkor as well) for the 18mm Zeiss ZF. Some example shots on Fliker (or however you spell it) show high vignetting with the ZF; while others do not. I thought it would be nice to see some posts from RFF'ers who use this lens.
 
falloff is a reality of shooting with the distagon designs; remember everything is a compromise and that is part of what Zeiss chose.

lack of falloff is either stopped down, corrected in post, a utilization of a center ND filter or perhaps an issue of exposure (e.g. modern negative ala portra/fuji H film overexposed two stops where the overall impression of brightness does not change much from stop to stop.

I really, really like the 18/4 ZM and if it were selling two Nikkors for that it would be a no-brainer for me personally. wish I could help you out but ultimately if you like the Zeiss look then spring it.
 
The designer can accept some falloff as a trade-off, in order to gain something else, like maybe reduced CA or diminished distortion. Funny, though, that a retrofocus lens like the Distagon would exhibit substantial falloff, a thing more likely to occur with a true wide-angle lens like a Biogon. Retro lenses are supposed to be fairly uniform. A typical Distagon such as the 50mm for the Hasselblad is pretty uniform across the field.

So if the 18mm ZF exhibits heavy vignetting, I guess it is what it is: a choice the designers made. Just seems like a strange one. And it doesn't mean I don't want one, but I'd like to view quite a few pictures to see if I can live with it.
 
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