copake_ham said:
Mike,
How would Zeiss 'suddenly' adapt their M-mount RF lenses to retro-fit Nikon SLRs? I think that the focal planes would be all screwed up - wouldn't they?
What struck me was that when I went on the Zeiss website today was that they show the Cosina-made "Zeiss Ikon" camera body with no reference to the fact that they do not make it - Cosina does with their license!
Without having any knowledge, I would think that they are reworking the Zeiss lenses from the Contax SLR to the F mount. That would be much easier, because you only have to adjust for the film to flange distance.
I don't believe these are refitted M lenses because of the reasons you state.
Also, Zeiss makes no mention of the Zeiss Ikon as being a Cosina product, because it's not a Cosina product. It's a Carl Zeiss product. Just as when Cosina was the maker for the lower-end SLRs for Olympus, Nikon and others, those were not branded Cosina. It's the same approach.
The Zeiss Ikon is a Carl Zeiss design. Cosina is only the manufacturer. Sort of like when a builder puts up a house. He'll use subcontractors to install windows, pour cement, do electrical work, maybe do all of the work. But in the end, the builder's name goes up on the house -- not the subcontractors' -- because it's his design that is being built to spec. And when something goes wrong, the builder gets the blame, who of course will roll it downhill onto the subcontractor.
Carl Zeiss AG isn't the type of company that would slap their name onto someone else's lenses. The names Planar, Sonnar, Distagon, Biogon still mean something.
Hope I wasn't being too preachy here. Peace to all.
