[Fenwoodian]

Hi all.
I've stumbled across a pretty decent priced Zeiss Planar, but it has a certain thing at border of lens and it looks like this:


Anyone knows what it is? Seller claims it has no effect on a photo though.

Thanx in advance for help.

Might be separation of cemented lens elements. Myself, I would not buy this lens even if it were offered for the price of the shipping.

Nicely done Tas. My appreciation for the Zeiss 35 has steadily grown over the last couple of months.

Oh! The 35mm is incredible! Beats the 31mm hands down! SO good! Happy to talk fair price with you...

Kindly,

Rob.

[les3547]

Oh! The 35mm is incredible! Beats the 31mm hands down! SO good! Happy to talk fair price with you...

Kindly,

Rob.

Hey Rob, nice to meet you. I've owned the Zeiss 35 for a few months now (check out my signature). At first I wasn't sure what to make of it, so that's why I said my appreciation has been growing. I agree with you about the 31 Limited. The four Zeiss and two Voigtlander lenses I now shoot with suit my tastes and needs very well.

[serothis]

I must be a blasphemous pentaxian because the FA limiteds never really hooked me like so many others. I got the FA43 at the recommendation of many here, and while it's a good and competent lens, it doesn't often wow me.

I'm still trying to convince myself that my budget won't allow another lens.

[Tas]

I've owned the Zeiss 35 for a few months now (check out my signature).

Sorry Les, I didn't check this and thought you were interested in one. But come to think of it I recall some posts you made here a while back about having a 28 and wondering about the 35. Can I put it down to age?

Please accept my apology as you ponder on why a Wally like me gets to shoot with a K-1 and Makro Planar 2/100 (some would say it's just not right).



Oh, the sun is my spotlight here, I hadn't noticed it initially as I was off to the right of the jetty, it was pure chance that I saw the moment as a couple were approaching the light...er I mean, I carefully prepared for the setting sun effect and made sure I was there for the moment.

Tas

Hey Rob, nice to meet you. I've owned the Zeiss 35 for a few months now (check out my signature). At first I wasn't sure what to make of it, so that's why I said my appreciation has been growing. I agree with you about the 31 Limited. The four Zeiss and two Voigtlander lenses I now shoot with suit my tastes and needs very well.

Hi!

Wow, nice! you have one! I clearly missed that part! hehe. So much to love about it. The colour is incredible. The rendering, the contrast, the build, My oh my I'll miss it no doubts. At least they are still available in other mounts if the future opens the way for me to get another one.

Kindly,
Rob.

[NZ_Ross]

Oh, the sun is my spotlight here, I hadn't noticed it initially as I was off to the right of the jetty, it was pure chance that I saw the moment as a couple were approaching the light...er I mean, I carefully prepared for the setting sun effect and made sure I was there for the moment.

Tas

Mate!!! Either way it is a really good image

I must be a blasphemous pentaxian because the FA limiteds never really hooked me like so many others. I got the FA43 at the recommendation of many here, and while it's a good and competent lens, it doesn't often wow me.

I'm still trying to convince myself that my budget won't allow another lens.

Hi! The Limiteds are certainly good. The 43 certainly has character, especially with the way it seems to render contrast. The 77mm, another gem and then of course there's the 31mm. But these Zeiss, they make these great lenses not look as great anymore easily. For me, there's a lot of sharp lenses out there, but color all too often gets overlooked! The color is where these zeiss really shine. RAW files are basically ready to go without any need for editing. Then in terms of sharpness? The detail they can render wows me every time! I'm sad to have to part with them. But I'm left with no choice if I'm to open new doors in my commercial applications. I have to switch brands for the sake of work unfortunately. Sad to see them go.

Its an opportunity if you are able to scrummage up some funds for one somehow, because these lenses do not disappoint. Both my 35mm and 85mm are still available.

Kindly,

Rob.

[NZ_Ross]

Its an opportunity if you are able to scrummage up some funds for one somehow, because these lenses do not disappoint. Both my 35mm and 85mm are still available.

ZK 2/35 is a lovely lens, I am never disappointed when I use mine.

[Chris Mak]

Might be separation of cemented lens elements. Myself, I would not buy this lens even if it were offered for the price of the shipping.

Absolutely.
I made the mistake myself two times, buying a second hand Zeiss believing that these lenses are made to serve you for a long time, and will be just as good second hand as new. Well, no!
I have four newly bought Zeiss ZK lenses that are just as good as when I bought them 5 years ago, but that is clearly because I take very good care of them. And even then, parts may come loose inside over time.
But when taken less good care of, as with the makro planar 100mm f2 that I bought online second hand, the lenses may deteriorate quite a bit. It had a loose front barrel, and I sent it back to the store that sold me the lens. They promised to take care sending it to Zeiss, but when I heard nothing, I contacted them, and they faced a dilemma they said, because Zeiss would charge 600,- for service, and the lens "was essentially in top shape apart from a little play in the front barrel".
I contacted Zeiss and learned two things: service would cost approximately 250-300,-, and the lens was out of spec regarding image quality, so needed re-assembling/recalibrating, focus mechanism needed a complete overhaul, and there was dust in the lens.....

In short: I returned the lens and will enjoy my ZK85 instead.

Chris

[les3547]

Sorry Les, I didn't check this and thought you were interested in one. But come to think of it I recall some posts you made here a while back about having a 28 and wondering about the 35. Can I put it down to age?

Please accept my apology as you ponder on why a Wally like me gets to shoot with a K-1 and Makro Planar 2/100 (some would say it's just not right).



Oh, the sun is my spotlight here, I hadn't noticed it initially as I was off to the right of the jetty, it was pure chance that I saw the moment as a couple were approaching the light...er I mean, I carefully prepared for the setting sun effect and made sure I was there for the moment.

Tas

No need to apologize Tas. You may have forgotten that we discussed the 28 and 35 in PM exchanges when I was trying to decide about whether to keep both the 28 and 35. I was sort of saying above that it is not getting easier (definitely keeping the 35 tho).

---------- Post added 09-06-17 at 10:42 AM ----------

I must be a blasphemous pentaxian because the FA limiteds never really hooked me like so many others. I got the FA43 at the recommendation of many here, and while it's a good and competent lens, it doesn't often wow me.

I'm still trying to convince myself that my budget won't allow another lens.

I have decided that lens IQ, at least with high end lenses, is a matter of personal taste. Over the last ten years I've tried every DA and FA Limited (sometimes twice), plus more than a few of the * prime lenses and never felt satisfied with any of them. I did like a couple of zoom lenses, but I couldn't figure out why since the zooms weren't as sharp as the Limiteds. The DA 16-85, for example, I preferred to all three of the FA Limiteds I owned at the time. I finally realized that the Limiteds looked "clinical" to me, and that didn't appeal to my tastes, while the softer yet still well-resolved and rich color images from the 16-85 did appeal to me.

I did some research on sharpness and found this great article: "Sharpness, Acutance, and Resolution."



I suspect that high acutance comes at the expense of micro contrast so that one gets ultra-sharp edges like the FA Limiteds give, but which might not appeal to certain tastes when rendered. Zeiss lenses, so my theory goes, seem to have a more "relaxed" edge acutance, yet render colors deeper (coatings obviously affect that too) and retain more micro contrast for the 3D effect. Anyway, I don't think you are blasphemous, but rather just prefer a different "look" than most Pentax lenses offer. I feel the same way. FYI, I found Voigtlander lenses (I've also owned all of them, some twice) somewhere in between Zeiss and Pentax. But the 58 and 90 VII stand out to me. On the K-1 the 58 renders very much like a Zeiss (in fact I owned the Zeiss 50mm for a time and after comparing them far preferred the Voigtlander). And the CV 90 V II is a spectacularly sharp, true APO, close-focus, lightweight wonder that delivers excellent color too (tho it didn't match the Zeiss 85 I compared it to for micro contrast).

[Tas]

You may have forgotten that we discussed the 28 and 35 in PM exchanges when I was trying to decide about whether to keep both the 28 and 35. I was sort of saying above that it is not getting easier (definitely keeping the 35 tho).

Ah yes now I remember. But gee, my memory is really shot. I guess if you plan on keeping the 35 it was a good call to pick one up after all.

[Tas]

Brisbane street scene & GPO captured with the K-1 and Distagon 21/2.8.



Tas

Hi all

I've just lowered the price of my Zeiss Planar T* 85mm f/1.4 from AUD $1400 -> AUD $1200

I've also just lowered my price of my Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm f/2 down to AUD $870

They are listed on both the Pentax Marketplace and on Ebay.

They are pretty much like new, in fact both were bought brand new by me. I can't find cheaper copies of these anywhere thus far.

Kindly,

Rob.

[Tas]

K-1 and the Distagon 25/2.8



Tas