[Rich M]

Well done - we will enjoy seeing the images you make with it.

Ross

Took it out for a spin (ZK 2.8/21)

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I LIKED it!

[DogLover]

Well, you certainly did it justice!

[Tas]

Took it out for a spin (ZK 2.8/21)

See, I told you it's a terrible lens.

A nice series Rich, I look forward to seeing some more from you and the 21.

Tas

[Rich M]

See, I told you it's a terrible lens.

A nice series Rich, I look forward to seeing some more from you and the 21.

Tas

Thanks Tas........it's your fault

[Ketsuppi11]

Hello,
Great thread and amazing photos!

my first post after acquiring this lovely lens (CZ 2/35mm). It's also my first manual focus lens.

What I have seen so far from this lens has impressed me.
Especially bokeh and sharpness at close distances keep impressing me. Haven't had many opportunities to use it on interesting landscapes yet.

Seems like manual focusing should not be a problem for landscapes since turning focus ring all the way to the end seems to give accurate focus for infinity.
But manual focusing to moving targets and in low light has been challenging for me.

I have a few question for more experienced users.

1) Is manual focusing much easier on K-1 compared to K5?
2) I REALLY like this lens but I miss AF in low light portrait situations and on moving targets. Wondering whether it would be a good idea to try to trade this lens to used 31mm ltd. I have never had 31mm ltd and wouldn't have a chance to try one before trying to make a trade. I feel like 31mm would be more versatile because of AF.
And I wonder how easy it would be to find some one who would be willing to make the trade.
In the other hand I would prefer selling this and buying a new 31mm ltd but I probably could not get enough for new 31mm.
Or maybe I should just try to get better at manual focusing.
Any input is welcome


CZ 2/35mm at F2.0

CZ 2/35mm at F11

[jeffreybehr]

Took it out for a spin (ZK 2.8/21)


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I LIKED it!

This one I really like; VERY well seen and shot.

I have my ZF.2 21/2.8 and 135/2 lenses* AND my Leitax adapters but have been too busy to install the adapters. Maybe tomorrow, since I've just made dates with my buddies for sunset and then nitetime shooting in and around Phoenix.


* which will make my collection a 21, 25, 35, 85, and 135.

[Rich M]

This one I really like; VERY well seen and shot.

I have my ZF.2 21/2.8 and 135/2 lenses* AND my Leitax adapters but have been too busy to install the adapters. Maybe tomorrow, since I've just made dates with my buddies for sunset and then nitetime shooting in and around Phoenix.


* which will make my collection a 21, 25, 35, 85, and 135.

Thank you.

Let us know how the conversions go.........eager to hear, especially if they can nail infinity focus!

[Tas]

This one I really like; VERY well seen and shot.

I have my ZF.2 21/2.8 and 135/2 lenses* AND my Leitax adapters but have been too busy to install the adapters. Maybe tomorrow, since I've just made dates with my buddies for sunset and then nitetime shooting in and around Phoenix.


* which will make my collection a 21, 25, 35, 85, and 135.

Good luck with adding the adapters, I'm keen to see how effective the conversion is and how much extra work it is to use the adapted lenses.

Oh, and I see we're pretty close in lenses: 21, 25, 35, 50(MakroP), 85 and 100.

Tas

[Fenwoodian]

I was installing my Leitax adapter on one of my Zeiss ZF lens, and the little ball bearing under the aperture ring fell out and I could not find it. I really don't need it anyway as I was considering "de-clicking" this lens anyway. But just for my information, I contacted the Zeiss USA repair center in NY. I was told that they will not under any circumstances provide any Zeiss lens parts to a Zeiss lens owner. Just thought you might like to know their policy before you consider doing a Leitax conversion yourself.

[Rich M]

I was installing my Leitax adapter on one of my Zeiss ZF lens, and the little ball bearing under the aperture ring fell out and I could not find it. I really don't need it anyway as I was considering "de-clicking" this lens anyway.

I am a little surprised........usually David includes the ball bearing in the mounts that he sells, specifically for this reason. I know that all of his Contax (C/Y) kits have it.

Not that it would be a help to you right know, but maybe e-mail him for future bayonet kits.

Eager to hear how the rest of the conversion goes.......

[Fenwoodian]

Rich, nice to hear that you have an interest in how my home-made Leitax conversion is going. Since you asked, here's the highlights so far:

1. I'm currently in the latter stages of converting a Zeiss ZF 21mm f/2.8 and a Zeiss ZF 28mm f/2 lens.
2. It's important to have the following tools and supplies on hand: digital calipers, small screw drivers with hardened magnetic tips, Q-tips, fine tweezers, digital camera with macro lens (1:1), micro fibre cloth, white silicone lens grease, can of compress air, and a magnifying headset.
3. Need to be really careful that you don't drop a small part into the lens as it might get wedged into an undesirable spot.
4. While the Leitax instructions are good, they are not thorough enough. I learned a number of things on my own while converting these two lenses that were not covered in the instructions (e.g you need to completely remove all 3 pieces of the "aperture lock" as it is not needed at all with the Leitax conversion and if you leave it in place it will actually cause your aperture to lock up at f/22 for no good reason).
5. I'm going to be "de-clicking" all of my lenses. That way they will work better for video, and more importantly, I'll be able to make an infinite number of "micro adjustments" between each aperture stop. But you will need to "dampen" the inside of the aperture ring on a de-clicked lens so that it's not so loose that it's sloppy and has too much play (there are 3 different dampening methods).
6. Watch out for the 3 tiny TINY washers that will immediately fall out upon removal of the Zeiss mount (Leitax instructions don't cover this either).
7. It would appear that there are some minor, yet important differences between the different models of Zeiss ZF lenses. These differences may have an affect upon your Leitax installation procedures.

Tomorrow I'll be sanding down the aperture rings the required .2mm. If you are interested, I can post how that goes too.

P.S. I have a bunch of old lenses that are worthless. I think that I'll remove some of their aperture ring "ball bearings" and see if they fit on the Zeiss ZF lenses.

P.S.S. Why am I doing this Leitax conversion myself when I can afford to send my lenses in to Leitax and have them do it? First, it's faster if I do it myself. Second, I don't care to risk having my lens being lost or damaged during shipping to Spain. Next, I like learning new things and understanding how things work. Finally, I'm a landscape photographer who is often in the wilderness, and I live in northern Wisconsin USA - either way, there are no camera or lens repair facilities within hundreds of miles so I figure it wouldn't hurt to understand how to do rudimentary repairs to my equipment myself.

[Fenwoodian]

I just finished converting my slightly used Zeiss ZF 21mm f/2.8 Distagon lens. Attached is a photo of it on my Pentax K1 camera.

It fits onto my K1 as smoothly as an FA Limited lens! It's rock solid on the K1 with no play, wobble, or looseness of any kind. My hat's off to Leitax for designing and building an adapter with seemingly perfect tolerances.

I took some quick photos with it, including at infinity. Have not edited them yet. I'll let you know how they turned out.

---------- Post added 07-06-16 at 08:42 PM ----------

By the way, at the last minute I decided not to "de-click" this lens. I found that the aperture ball bearing from an old, inexpensive "Auto Chinon Multi-Coated 50mm f/1.7" is a perfect fit in the Zeiss ZF 21mm lens!

---------- Post added 07-06-16 at 08:53 PM ----------

Also, I did email David at Leitax about loosing my original aperture ball bearing. I encouraged him to consider sending an extra aperture ball bearing along with the adapters that he sells in the future.

If he does not do that and you end up loosing your Zeiss ball (50/50 chance of that happening even if you are careful), then just buy yourself a bargain Auto Chinon Multi-Coated 50mm f/1.7 lens on Ebay and canabalize its' aperture ball bearing.

---------- Post added 07-06-16 at 09:11 PM ----------

I suppose that I put in about 4 hours into my first conversion. Now that I've got that behind me, I expect that I'll be able to convert my next Zeiss lens (Zeiss ZF 28mm f/2 lens) in an hour or two.

[Fenwoodian]

Here's another tip that I just remembered... Leitax says to remove .20mm from two locations on the aperture ring. I accidently removed about .25mm . In other words, I sanded a bit too much off. After mounting my Leitax adapted Zeiss ZF 21mm lens onto my Pentax K1, I found that indeed, it is better to remove a bit more than the .20mm from the adapter. Doing so creates no problem at all. Where you will run into a problem is if you remove less than .20mm from the aperture ring. So, if you are going to err, err on the side of taking off a bit more than is recommended.

HOWEVER, if you remove more than the recommended .20mm from the aperture ring, you may not be able to reverse the installation and again mount your Zeiss ZF lens onto a Nikon body. This possiblity is of absolutely no concern to me as I will NEVER use my adapted Zeiss ZK 21mm lens on a Nikon body ever again!

[Rich M]

Here's another tip that I just remembered... Leitax says to remove .20mm from two locations on the aperture ring. I accidently removed about .25mm . In other words, I sanded a bit too much off. After mounting my Leitax adapted Zeiss ZF 21mm lens onto my Pentax K1, I found that indeed, it is better to remove a bit more than the .20mm from the adapter. Doing so creates no problem at all. Where you will run into a problem is if you remove less than .20mm from the aperture. So, if you are going to err, err on the side of taking off a bit more than is recommended.

HOWEVER, if you remove more than the recommended .20mm from the aperture ring, you may not be able to reverse the installation and again mount your Zeiss ZF lens onto a Nikon body. This possiblity is of absolutely no concern to me as I will NEVER use my adapted Zeiss ZK 21mm lens on a Nikon body ever again!

Bravo!!!!! Excellent!!

[Fenwoodian]

Here's a few hand held shots I quickly took when the light was fading with the Leitax converted Zeiss ZF 21mm lens on my K1. Because of lack of full electronic communication between the lens and the camera I have no way of knowing what the aperture was on any of these photos.

By the way, with one of these adapted Zeiss ZF lenses, you can only shoot in the M (manual mode) and use the "green button". This is not a problem for me at all. I've done it so much of it that I actually enjoy using the green button.