Where is the ZM 18mm lens, eh?

The price has been announced at $1324 retail from Zeiss. Given that the 21/2.8 is listed at $1430 but sells at $998 from Popflash, I'd expect the 18/4 to also be available for less than $1000 grey market.
 
Quick question -- is this the same f4/18mm lens that was available in Contarex mount and later in Contax/Yashica mount? :confused:

I know those were SLR mounts, but since an 18mm lens would need a retrofocus design in M mount, the Zeiss folks are going with the retrofocus Distagon approach...
 
Mike, they gained some new knowledge in the past decades, some materials have been replaced with others and manufacturing changed too :)

They based the RF lenses on the retrofocus Distagon design so the lenses are better suited for digital sensors, but it's not the design used in the 50s nor the one form the 70s.
 
Socke said:
Mike, they gained some new knowledge in the past decades, some materials have been replaced with others and manufacturing changed too :)

They based the RF lenses on the retrofocus Distagon design so the lenses are better suited for digital sensors,
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Are you referring to the 2 Distagon designs in the ZM line-up or to all of the ZM lenses?

but it's not the design used in the 50s nor the one form the 70s.
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Socke, I haven't been able to find a diagram of the new ZM 18/4. It's not posted yet on their website. I'm interested in seeing one. Do you have a link?
 
Huck, I don't have a diagram as well, OTOH the 15mm Distagon is far from any other Distagon made before. To me it seems very improbable that a lens design from the 50s works with materials at hand today and I'm sure they can't get glass for lenses like that made in the 50s, today. So they have to adapt the design for different refraction and they do that with high end computers instead of slide rules and logarithm tables.

Even in Contax/Yashica mount the older Distagon 4/18 had 10 elements in 9 groups where the newer 2.8/18 had 12 in 11 groups with one aspherical element.
The C/Y 2.8/35 Distagon has 6 elements in 6 groups and the ZF 2/35 Distagon has 9 elements in 7 groups.

The Contax G Biogon 2.8/28 is 7/5 and the ZM 28 is 8/6.

I think that modern designtools lead to different designs and that the ZM 4/18 won't be different.

Ok, the ZM 2/50 Planar looks like a Contax G 2/45 Planar, there they stuck to the design. OTOH, the G-Planar is different to the C/Y Planar.
 
Socke said:
Huck, I don't have a diagram as well, OTOH the 15mm Distagon is far from any other Distagon made before. To me it seems very improbable that a lens design from the 50s works with materials at hand today and I'm sure they can't get glass for lenses like that made in the 50s, today. So they have to adapt the design for different refraction and they do that with high end computers instead of slide rules and logarithm tables.

Even in Contax/Yashica mount the older Distagon 4/18 had 10 elements in 9 groups where the newer 2.8/18 had 12 in 11 groups with one aspherical element.
The C/Y 2.8/35 Distagon has 6 elements in 6 groups and the ZF 2/35 Distagon has 9 elements in 7 groups.

The Contax G Biogon 2.8/28 is 7/5 and the ZM 28 is 8/6.

I think that modern designtools lead to different designs and that the ZM 4/18 won't be different.

Ok, the ZM 2/50 Planar looks like a Contax G 2/45 Planar, there they stuck to the design. OTOH, the G-Planar is different to the C/Y Planar.
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Socke, thanks for your thoughtful & detailed explanation. :)
 
If your in Canada, I have the pricing on my website at $1324 for the 18mm and $1161 for the 21 F4.5.
These are not grey market.
I have both on order and expect the 21 in the next few weeks, the 18 should ship in August.
-Rob Skeoch
 
I'm sure that all of the other ZM lenses have to be new designs from the C/Y line (if for no other reason that the C/Y line was for SLRs), but the D18 just stuck out since it repeats the C/Y line's parameters on general design (it's a Distagon), focal length and maximum aperture. By the way, the original D18 was AFAIK designed in the 1960s, not the 1950s ;)
 
Nachkebia said:
Another news is, 18mm and 21mm 4.5 will be manufactured in Germany (if I am not miss informed)
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That makes sense since there has been no mention of them on the Cosina website. It would also explain th unexpectedly high price.
 
are you sure? typically zeiss announces the specs on its web page first, and then cosina will launch its product page shortly before release. It is doubtful whether Zeiss will manufacture the lens if the lens itself does not involve floating elements. The 15 and 85 have floating elements, and Zeiss think Cosina is not up to it. Floating elements involves very tight tolerance, require spcific machinery etc, and perhaps a trade secret or two.
 
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Nikon brought out their first mass produced floating element lens in 1967, the 24mm F2.8 for Nikon F.....I would think that C/V is up to such manufacturing challenges by now, forty years later.
 
ZivcoPhoto said:
Nikon brought out their first mass produced floating element lens in 1967, the 24mm F2.8 for Nikon F.....I would think that C/V is up to such manufacturing challenges by now, forty years later.
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Apparently not. . . At least not to Zeiss's satisfaction.
 
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