Zeiss glass: 28 or 35 ?

hiwatt

hiwatt

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Ok, sorry for the dumb question but I really need to make up my mind...

My present lineup:
CV 15, CV 21, CV 40, CV 75
Canon 35/2.8 in the mail...
I-50 & J-8

I like both the 40 and the 21 a lot, so I thought something in between shouldn't disappoint me.

...got scared by the price of a new, or even slightly used, 35 Asph 'Cron, so I was thinking to treat me to a brand new lens: should it be ZM 28 or ZM 35?

I'm going to use it mostly on an M6 (.72 non TTL), so I won't need external finders with either lens...but the M2 would probably "prefer" the 35.

Thanks
 
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Hi Hiwatt,

Don't you think you have enought lenses already?? :D
Seriously though, you do have a good range there - I'd go for the 28 as
its will fit in the middle of 21/40 nicely, although in my eyes thats no such
a big gap as to need filling!
BTW, how are you enjoying my old M2? Hope it all arrived safe.

Thanks,

Andy
 
My suggestion: sell the 21, and buy a 25 - the best Zeiss lens, which is faster than the 21, only a little wider than the 28, and complements the 40 nicely. And it will save you hours switching lenses when you should be taking photos!
 
alegalle said:
Hi Hiwatt,

Don't you think you have enought lenses already?? :D
Seriously though, you do have a good range there - I'd go for the 28 as
its will fit in the middle of 21/40 nicely, although in my eyes thats no such
a big gap as to need filling!
BTW, how are you enjoying my old M2? Hope it all arrived safe.

Thanks,

Andy
Click to expand...

Hi Andy!

The M2 arrived safe and sound, I've had the slow speeds mechanism washed and now is almost like new and a pleasure to use...got a VC meter II that sits permanently on top of it: it's a perfect match.

With all the sunny days ahead, it's going to see maaany rolls of efke25... :)

Cheers, Gus.
 
Paul T. said:
My suggestion: sell the 21, and buy a 25 - the best Zeiss lens, which is faster than the 21, only a little wider than the 28, and complements the 40 nicely. And it will save you hours switching lenses when you should be taking photos!
Click to expand...

That could be a good idea...

...would the ZM 25 bring up the 28mm frameline on the M6 ?
 
The 28 is a stellar lens and WILL bring up 28mm framelines as designed, whereas the 25 will not. We have a member who is fortunate to have, I believe, the entire available zm line-up. I seem to remember he posted a comment on the differences between the 28 and 25 in an earlier post. As for the 35, you already have a 40, which you seem to be happy with.

Is the 25 a better performing lens than the 28? By a nose, yes. I think the real question should maybe revolve around which perspective interests you most, as both lenses are of excepetional quality. This is simply my opinion, of course.

-grant
 
Keep the 21, as its perspective cannot be duplicated by any 25, and it's so small! ;). A 28 will round out your kit nicely.
 
grantray said:
The 28 is a stellar lens and WILL bring up 28mm framelines as designed, whereas the 25 will not. We have a member who is fortunate to have, I believe, the entire available zm line-up. I seem to remember he posted a comment on the differences between the 28 and 25 in an earlier post. As for the 35, you already have a 40, which you seem to be happy with.

Is the 25 a better performing lens than the 28? By a nose, yes. I think the real question should maybe revolve around which perspective interests you most, as both lenses are of excepetional quality. This is simply my opinion, of course.

-grant
Click to expand...


Can you tell us what framelines the 25mm ZM lens brings up on a leica M6? :)
 
hiwatt said:
...got scared by the price of a new, or even slightly used, 35 Asph 'Cron, so I was thinking to treat me to a brand new lens: should it be ZM 28 or ZM 35?

I'm going to use it mostly on an M6 (.72 non TTL), so I won't need external finders with either lens...but the M2 would probably "prefer" the 35.

Thanks
Click to expand...

The real question is why do you want this additional lens? What needs are you trying to meet? Under what conditions will you be shooting with it? Indoors or out?

There are differences between the 28 & 35. The 35 is faster at f/2. So if you're finding that the 40 doesn't give you enough width for indoor shots, the 35 is probably the better choice. The 28 is a little more compact & as an outdoor &/or travel lens, f/2.8 should be fast enough, so it might be better under those conditions.

Just a couple of examples, you might have yet some other use in mind. . . :confused:
 
Andrew Touchon said:
Can you tell us what framelines the 25mm ZM lens brings up on a leica M6? :)
Click to expand...

Yes, the 25mm ZM lens brings up the 28mm framelines on the Leica M Cameras. The field of view of a 25mm is closer to the whole frame of a 0.58X viewfinder Leica or a 0.6X Hexar RF. An external 24 or 25mm finder is best for critical framing, especially distant subjects. The newer brightframe Voigtländer finder is nice and not so pricey as the Zeiss 25/28mm finder.

The 28mm ZM is more compact than the 25mm and almost as good, but does flare a bit more easily shooting into the bright lights. Both are great landscape/cityscape lenses.
 
"Yes, the 25mm ZM lens brings up the 28mm framelines on the Leica M Cameras."

That's nice. I thought someone said otherwise, but you'd know better than I.
 
Good Morning Gus,

I have the Zeiss 28, and can confirm it is an excellent lens! I would post a photo or two, but I do not have a scanner, yet. Back Alley, Joe, went the 25mm Zeiss route, and is very pleased with it as well, although I remember in a later post he was also thinking of adding the 28 at some point. I also have the VC 21, f4, along with the 35, f2 asph, along with a bunch vintage 50's. I personally do not find that the 28 is too close to the 35mm focal length, where some others might.

Regards,
kf
 
I have an M6, I only use two lenses now, the ZM 50 Planar and the ZM 28mm. Both are wonderful lenses, I have a couple of average shots in my gallery. The only reason I shied away from the 25mm was the added viewfinder. I find the 28mm wide enough for my needs.
Cheers,
Nick
 
28 and 35 are different enough to warrant both, if you are so inclined and can afford them both.
i bought a nikkor 28 for use on the cl.

the zm 25 is my new favourite lens. my only complaint is of my own doing, i have problems keeping the horizon line straight where with a 28 i don't.
so, if i were feeling lazy the 28 would be the lens of choice.

the zm 25 is a great lens btw as is the 35/2.

joe
 
When I woke up this morning, I was lying in bed thinking about an assignment I have to do for my photography class. I was a bit disappointed yesterday as I could not get the perspective I wanted with a 35, and I yearned for something wider. I was thinking of adding the 25/2.8 ZM. Then I get online and find this thread. Something tells me I'm going to be about $900 poorer within the next week.
 
Wow! One gets out of RFF to work a few hours and finds so many useful answers...let me tell you first of all that this is and remains THE place for RF enthusiasts!

Huck: you're partially right about the indoors: I find the 40 can be way too tight and the 21 a bit too dark (not to mention the 15...), but I think that I'll rather retain a bit wider field and push the tri-X one more stop ("got Rodinal, will push..."). As of outdoors, I've noticed I started using the 21 a lot but it's just a bit too "artificial" sometimes, that's why I was looking into a perfectly designed wide lens.

Also, having a Canon 35/2.8 coming soon (that'll sit on the M2), probably points me towards the 25 ZM (also the trust I put in a user like Joe is pushing me towards the 25).

So...all in all I'll probably keep the 21 CV for some time and get my hands on the 25 ZM; I can always sell the 21 at a later date...

Thank you all for your answers!

P.S. to all of you that pointed out that I have too many lenses....I know. Also, knowing that I started this RF thing very recently (<6mths), is even worse; but hey! I managed to spend the WHOLE month of March without buying anything :angel:

Huck Finn said:
The real question is why do you want this additional lens? What needs are you trying to meet? Under what conditions will you be shooting with it? Indoors or out?

There are differences between the 28 & 35. The 35 is faster at f/2. So if you're finding that the 40 doesn't give you enough width for indoor shots, the 35 is probably the better choice. The 28 is a little more compact & as an outdoor &/or travel lens, f/2.8 should be fast enough, so it might be better under those conditions.

Just a couple of examples, you might have yet some other use in mind. . . :confused:
Click to expand...
 
Just wanted to share my excitement...

I just ordered a brand new Zeiss 25/2.8 ZM with the Zeiss 21/25 lens hood from PopFlash. I'm so close to Tony that provided they didn't already send out their daily mail, I should have it tomorrow. I can't wait! :D
 
(also the trust I put in a user like Joe is pushing me towards the 25)...

is it because i'm a paisano?

kyle, i want your camera budget!!
congrats, it's a way cool lens.
joe
 
back alley said:
(also the trust I put in a user like Joe is pushing me towards the 25)...

is it because i'm a paisano?

kyle, i want your camera budget!!
congrats, it's a way cool lens.
joe
Click to expand...

Joe,
Just do what I do... live at home while attending a local public university. Not having to pay rent, tuition (thanks dad), or gas (thanks to my job) really helps. It gives me lots of extra money spend on camera gear. Although I don't have a whole lot of extra money to spend on other things. This purchase will ensure that I will not be buying any more camera stuff for a while, though.
 
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