ZM 21/2.8 Biogon Images - M8

[Benjamin Marks]

I recently posted some images from an Olympus EP-2. The pictures were a good indication of what that camera does. However, the Zeiss 21 on the M8 is just magic. I hand coded this lens as a 21 Elmarit and I used an IR-cut filter on all of them. These are converted to jpgs in CS5, down-res'ed considerably and, in a couple of cases, cropped. Where there was a minor vignetting in the corners, I attempted to fix in ACR. In the pictures with blurred motion, the camera was braced against a balustrade. The amazing thing about the M8's image files is a detail representing about 1/4 of the image area could be isolated and the rest of the image cropped and still provide a usable image.

 

[ljsegil]

I've never had the pleasure of shooting with the ZM 25 or 28, but currently use, and very happily, the ZM 2.8/21, 2/35, and 1.5/50 and don't feel I have a problem with the gap between the 21 and 35mm focal lengths, although it is substantial. I had the Leitz Elmarit 24/2.8, Summicron 28/2, and Summilux 35/1.4 (Asph) and sold them all as I felt I was well served with the ZM lineup, didn't much use the intermediate focal lengths, and the considerable cash raised by the sales could be more productively used in other ways. No regrets looking back. I find the ZM 2.8/21 a gem but have not used the 4.5/21 for a comparison. In a previous life I had and eventually sold the ZM 2.8/15, I found it just too wide for my shot visualization and was never very happy with my results, no fault of the optic which is absolutely remarkable. I think I just see best at 21mm, for whatever arcane reason, and love the results from the 2.8.
LJS

 

[borrel]

Also good for making spherical panoramas: http://abdallah.hiof.no/photography/M9-pan/20100422_162434_21mmZM-pan.mov on the M9. But it does indeed excel as a standard wide-angle on the M8 as it did in the majority of the wide-angle shots here: http://abdallah.hiof.no/2008-florence/

- Børre