Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 Distagon T* ZM photos

Great lens, this thread reminds me that I don't use the Zeiss 35/1.4 nearly often enough.

Leica M 240, ZM 35/1.4

20884570889_50d8743ccc_c.jpg
 
Hi everybody and thanks for the comments and feedback.

As far as the photo of the girl goes, she actually seemed happy and let me take a couple more photos of her. The photo that I posted of her was the first photo that I took and after she saw me, she smiled, well at least I think she did because of the way her eyes and forehead looked. Surprisingly, the woman in the background did not seem to notice me at all.

A couple of more photos from India.

This couple came in from the countryside and went to the local market in Jodhpur to buy some bracelets (bangles) for an upcoming wedding.
26014579633_cfa552adb3_h.jpg
[/url]Jodhpur, India by

Jodhpur, India by

Jaipur, India by

I became attracted to "this look" and started to take a lot of photos of the women wearing this style. When I asked if I could take a photo of them, many of the women said "yes".
Jaipur, India by

I absolutely love this lens, ironically, I only used it for about 10% of my photos in India, my 28mm Elmarit got used about 80% of the time.

cheers, michael

edit: the film I used was Kodak Pro Image 100
 

H 241#7 Ted Grant Day at YVR by T&T and Mr B Abrahamsson, on Flickr

Zeiss ZM Distagon 35mm f1.4 on a Millennium M6. YVR (Vancouver International Airport) had a Ted Grant Day with more the 40 of Ted's pictures exhibited in the Skywalk from the Skytrain Station to the main terminal. Ted is a good friend, but more importantly one of the icons of Candian press photography - and a recent recipient of the Order of Canada - as well as a Honorary Doctor.
 
Tom A said:
Zeiss ZM Distagon 35mm f1.4 on a Millennium M6. YVR (Vancouver International Airport) had a Ted Grant Day with more the 40 of Ted's pictures exhibited in the Skywalk from the Skytrain Station to the main terminal. Ted is a good friend, but more importantly one of the icons of Candian press photography - and a recent recipient of the Order of Canada - as well as a Honorary Doctor.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that info about Ted Grant, Tom. He sounds like an interesting and talented person, and that photo he is standing in front of is awesome.

I also happen to use my 35mm Zeiss on my m6 millennium and they look pretty cool together.

26014831953_cd16ed843c_b.jpg

Jodhpur, India


Jaipur, India


Jaipur, India

A big thanks to Jonmanjiro for introducing me to this lens, before he had sent me a PM, I had no idea this lens existed.

cheers, michael
 
jonmanjiro said:
I'll go out on a limb here and say the ZM Distagon 35/1.4 is technically the best 35mm M-mount lens ever made! But its size (for an RF lens) in a market already flooded with alternatives will result in few people ever trying it.
Click to expand...

I'd agree with all these. It's an absolutely phenomenal lens. It is a bit large, but it's a touch narrower and noticeably lighter than the CV 35/1.2II (which I have as well.)

The bokeh is smoother than the CV as well, IMO (on top of the Zeiss being *much* sharper, poppier, better color, etc etc. Just IMO, of course. 😉 ) I still like the CV's look at 1.2, but the Zeiss is just so much better.

Happy to finally see this thread, and post to it soon. 🙂
 
Excellent photos Michael, and great colour from that film. Hadn't heard of it before, is it still available?
 
Huss said:
Excellent photos Michael, and great colour from that film. Hadn't heard of it before, is it still available?
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot Huss. Yes, I buy that film out here in Bangkok all the time. I saw it in a photo lab in San Francisco about 3 years ago for $8.00 a roll. I buy it in packs of 5 for 550 Baht (about $15.60 USD). I included a link to some info that I found online about the film.

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/e4L/e4L.pdf

cheers, michael
 
sanmich said:
wonderful street portraits, Michael.
How do you compare this lens to the Nokton that you had?
IQ? ergonomics?
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot everybody, would love to see more photos from other users. Jon brought up an interesting point, I know there are a lot of 35mm fast lenses out in the wild, but I imagine that there are more users of this fine lens on this forum than just a handful of us.

Hello sanmich, thanks for the compliment. As you and others here probably know I used my 35mm 1.2 Nokton a lot and I am very happy with many of the photos that I shot with that lens and I don't have anything negative to say about it. I just wanted to change things up and see what happens. As far as IQ goes, I feel the Zeiss has a really nice 3d look to it and it is sharper and has a warmer look to it. To be honest, I am still getting used to using the Zeiss, it has a small focusing "nub" to it that my 1.2 didn't have and I am slowly getting used to it. The Zeiss does feel a little "smaller" in my hands, but to be honest, the size of either of the lenses have never really bothered me.

Here are a couple of more photos from my recent trip to India, and to be honest, I wish I would of used the lens more in India.

I spent a couple of days in Jodphur, which is a city that is famous for having many houses that are painted blue.
26651201875_2710049bc5_b.jpg
[/url]Jodhpur, India by

Jodhpur, India by

Jaipur, India by

cheers, michael
 
24171717781_63e4a36c3a_c.jpg


Inverary Scotland
Tri-X Pyrocat HD 1:1:100

20848451660_554fc27776_c.jpg


Loch Lubnaig Scotland

Foma Retropan 320 Pyrocat HD

Best 35mm in my cupboard but it is a bit big, I know, shoot an SLR or a blad and it's tiny but against a 40mm Nokton that pulls f1.4 as well?
 
Gorgeous stuff, Michael. Almost makes me want to go back to 35mm rangefinders. But, when i saw the price of this lens, i 'remembered' i prefer SLRs.... Wish there were an SLR lens that performed like this.

Great eye, great photography, and thank you for executing them ON FILM.
 
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