What new ZM lens would you like to see?

What new ZM lens would you like to see?

  • Total voters
    162
  • Poll closed .
CK Dexter Haven said:
I'd love to see them come up with a Noctilux competitor. A 50/1.0 for under $2000, or a 1.2 for under $1500.

What else? A collapsible 50/2 or 35/2.8?
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No room to collapse a 35 -- it's already small -- and although a Noctilux competitor (beater? Why stop at f/1?) would be possible, I'd be surprised if it were cheaper if it were made in Germany.

Cheers,

R.
 
Why not make use of the long rangefinder base of the ZI and make a 180mm f2.8 version of the old Olympia Sonnar with modern glass and coating!
A Super Sonnar 50mm f1 or 1,2 (the difference in aperture is neglible here and the complexity is increased with the f1.0 versus the f1.2). Modern glass and T* coating.
A fast 28 or 25 (f1.4). It would be large and rather clumsy, but there is a market for it, particularly in ZF mount for the D300/D3 crowd as well as in the rangefinder M-mount .
One lens I would like to see in Rf mount is the 85f1.4. The ZF version of this lens is very good and by putting it in a Rf M mount it could be reduced in size somewhat, though it would still be a substantial lens.
Of course a 21/2.0 ZM is another "monster" sized lens, but attractive for some extreme shooters.
Between Zeiss and CV there is a large pool of optical knowledge and they can do just about anything we can imagine. The problem is the "pool" of buyers. How many of us are really willig to fork out big bucks on "super" lenses and how many of us do really need them?
I would like to see a "seminal" high resolution lens, cutting edge technology that would once and for all establish a benchmark. The Leica 50f1.4 Aspherical is close as is the 50f3.5 Heliar. A 50 or 60 mm f2 or f2.8 which would outperform techPan or the Adox 20 asa. At least it would put a stop to all this"which is the best lens" etc discussions on the various forums!
The 35f1.0 is possible, but if you think the 35f1.2 VC is big!!!! The problem is not the design as such, it is the size of the rear element. When the 35/1,2 VC was discussed, naturally the posibility of a 35f1.0 was considered. Using the sophisticated design that is in the 35f1.2 (and it is cutting edge), the f0,2 increase would have had the rear mount threaded onto to the glass of the rear element! The M-mount restricts the size of the rear element considerably.
 
I'd be thrilled with anything Zeiss and f/2.0 or faster...I'll take f/2.8 for an 85mm if that makes it more affordable.
 
It's been a very long while since I started advocating for a 35mm f/1.4 ZM Distagon or Biogon.

Unfortunately, size economy doesn't seem to be one of their top 2 design considerations. If it's the same size as the new Cosina offering, that'd be super-awesome.

I'm also afraid that a 50mm f/1.2 from Zeiss would make the 35mm Nokton blush.
 
How about a collapsible 85mm f2.8 lens, roughly the same size as the old 90mm Tele-elmarit? Even if rigid, the size should be a major driver in the design, otherwise it's not worth bothering with, as there are plenty of excellent alternatives that are physically large.
 
Roger Hicks said:
No room to collapse a 35 -- it's already small -- and although a Noctilux competitor (beater? Why stop at f/1?) would be possible, I'd be surprised if it were cheaper if it were made in Germany.

Cheers,

R.
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I wasn't specific enough. I meant "collapsible" only with regard to the 50mm.
 
back alley said:
i'd like to see all the current zm lenses in my camera bag...:)
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I went through this same mental exercise with the Zeiss offerings for the ContaxG mount. I already had the 21mm/2.8, the 28mm/2.8, the 35mm/2.0, the 45mm/2.0, and the 90mm/2.8 but everyone was wailing that Zeiss hadn't come out with anything new in quite a while.

I remembered that old "there ain't no such thing as a free lunch" and decided that there really was nothing else that I would buy if it were available. A faster lens was going to be really expensive, bigger and duplicate a length I already had. I realized I wouldn't pay for one. There wasn't a missing focal length in the current offerings.

Now I also have a ZI rf and lenses. And I can't see any holes in the current line up. Could I use a faster 35mm? Maybe but I'd use it so little that I'd probably buy one of the currently existing CV lenses instead.

So after giving realistic consideration to what I actually would buy, I can't find anything that is missing.
 
I wish I could afford the Leica 75mm f2.0. Since its too expensive I would like to see a Zm 75mm F2.0 version of the 85mm lens design. This lens would be very useful on the both the M8 and M film cameras.
 
Bob Michaels said:
I went through this same mental exercise with the Zeiss offerings for the ContaxG mount. I already had the 21mm/2.8, the 28mm/2.8, the 35mm/2.0, the 45mm/2.0, and the 90mm/2.8 but everyone was wailing that Zeiss hadn't come out with anything new in quite a while.

I remembered that old "there ain't no such thing as a free lunch" and decided that there really was nothing else that I would buy if it were available. A faster lens was going to be really expensive, bigger and duplicate a length I already had. I realized I wouldn't pay for one. There wasn't a missing focal length in the current offerings.

Now I also have a ZI rf and lenses. And I can't see any holes in the current line up. Could I use a faster 35mm? Maybe but I'd use it so little that I'd probably buy one of the currently existing CV lenses instead.

So after giving realistic consideration to what I actually would buy, I can't find anything that is missing.
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i didn't say anything about buying...;)

but seriously, i am quite content with the 25/35/50 set up i have.

as to a new lens for zeiss to make...nothing i really want.
 
We also have to remember that Cosina makes the majority of the Zeiss lenses. It is doubtful that a Zeiss lens AND a CV lens of the same focal length and speed would be made.
There are exceptions to this though, the 50f2 Planar and the 50f2 Heliar, but apart from that only 21/4 P VC and the 21/4,5 ZM are "competing" with each other.
The Nokton 35f1.2 is a speciality lens and that market is quite small. An oversized and over priced 35f1.0 is superflous. The performance criteria would be very close and the speed gain neglible.
What Zeiss has done with their designs is established a mid-priced, top quality range with an amazing consistency in performance. I have only shot briefly with the 15f2.8 and the 85f2 so I have really no valid opinion about those. I have a full complement of the Cosina made Zeiss lenses and they are superb optics. The "rendering" or the "draw" of these lenses is consistent and the only difference you will see when looking at negatives is the angle of view. IF they continue to produce more lenses it would be imperative that the new lenses follow this "road".

The need today has to be weighted towards the digital Rf's. Fast wide angles and short tele's with f1.8 or 1.4 speed combined with increasingly sophisticated sensors will allow us to shoot in light that would have a film camera roll over and die!
The 21/2 and the 24/25 1.4's would be interesting on a M, but practical? A 21mm f2 would be big enough to distort the mount!
The big IF in this calculation is: Will there be a full frame. high res (at least 15-18Mp) digital M-mount Rf in the foreseable future? That would be the target market - there are simply not enough Rf shooters around, willing to spend big$ on "super lenses" - they would have to piggy back on a Digital Rf demand to make it possible.
Lenses like the 35f1.0 or the 50f1.0 are "bragging right" lenses from the manufacturer and to a great part, for the consumer "Hey, my lens is faster than yours!". Cosina did it with the 12/5.6 and the 35mm f1.2, neither of these lenses are super sellers, but they are cutting edge technology. Zeiss is using a different approach, take medium speed lenses and build them to the best quality they can within the cost constraints. To up the ante with "Ultra" lenses, be it wide/normal or short teles - the cost goes up substantially. You have to sell a bunch of lenses to recoup the costs!
The Noctilux is a case in point. It is a 40 year old design and when it came out it was cutting edge - today it is plain old! Modern glass technology, modern coating and the latest "modelling" of glass with Computer numerically comtrolled grinders can easily create a lens f1 or even f0,85 50mm lens that would outperform the Noctilux. The catch is volume - The Noctilux is a slow seller, usually 200-250/year and no company can afford to make a lens like this at an affordable price and expect to recoup investment in 2-3 years. Oh. it would also be BIG, particularly if someone wanted to make a 0,85 and truth be told, rather useless at that speed!
Konica made the 60mm f1,2 and later the 50mm f1.2 - both of these lenses are better than the Noctilux, but they certainly did not fly off the shelves. Yes, today they are expensive, but that is on the 2nd hand market, which did not benefit the manufacturer.
A high performance 50mm f1.1 or even f1.0 would be interesting and if it was priced in the $1600-2000 bracket it would sell. Maybe 4-500 units a year. Would I buy one - sure, but only if it outperformed the Noctilux as I have had 1/2 dozen of those over the years and they all were disappointing!
Of course the lens manufactureres are coming up with new designs and improved glass. Even optical designers and engineers get bored doing the same thing every day!
What sets Cosina apart is that the Boss, Mr Kobayashi likes optics and glass - and he is a majority share holder and doesnt really have to explain to a board why he wants to make something. He is also aware of the economics, but occasionally he just does it anyway! Can you imagine the bureaucracy that a lens like the 12mm f5.6 would have had to go through at Zeiss or Leica! Sure, they could probably have made it, but certainly not at a price of $800 with a 5 element, aspherical finder! Most likely it would have been $8000!!!! - and the finder would have been extra! No wonder Zeiss went to him when they wanted to do the ZF/ZM lens line and have a product that was priced right.
Let's hope for a 21/2, a 25 or 28f1.4, maybe a 50 f1.1 and a 85f1.4 and I might be the only one here, a 180f2.8(all right I would settle for a 3.4 or f4 too) - but be prepared, they ain't going to be cheap and they ain't going to be lightweight either. OK, while we are at it, a 75-90mm portrait lens with dial in softness and a
replacement for the venerable Dual Range Summicron in either Zeiss or CV form.
 
Well, Zeiss should do what Zeiss does best: Make a focal length/speed duplicate of what Leica is offering, and sell it at 1/3 of the price. :)
 
50 / 1.1 ASPH (or faster) for 2000 $ :) I doubt that they can produce such a lens for this price but it would be interesting for sure. Other than this: 28/1.4 !
 
" . . . I might be the only one here, a 180f2.8(all right I would settle for a 3.4 or f4 too) . . . "

You very well might be, Tom! 180mm on a rangefinder, hmmmm! (I know, I know, there was a 200. But for me, 90mm is long enough for an RF.)
 
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