[Parallax]

Hello all. I have been lurking for a while, and a recent event prompted me to join. I started with photography nearly 40 years ago. My first SLR was a Pentax so I have somewhat of an emotional tie to the brand. Over the years I have also had a Canon A-1 and a Nikon F-3. Last year I decided to go digital and bought a K100D followed a few months later with a K10D and a Tamron 28-75 xR Di. A few weeks ago I bought the K20D and, as much as I like the Tamron, old ways die hard and I decided I needed a high quality prime. So now to to the recent event. I was on B&H's site looking at lenses. There I was, just minding my own busuness, 99% convinced to get the 31mm, when I decided to look at the others in that section when the word Zeiss jumped out at me. I now have the Zeiss Distagon 35mm f/2. (K-Mount). What an incredible lens. I expected to see a difference in sharpness between it and my other lenses, but I did not expect it to be as dramatic as it is. I don't need to do side-by-side or "flash card" comparisons to see the difference. The fact that it is a manual focus lens is, for me anyway, a "so what?" as I usually focus manually anyway and if I need autofocus I have other lenses. In reality, I know I probably would not see much if any difference between the Pentax 31mm and the this one, but I have wanted a Zeiss lens for many years because a Zeiss lens is..........well,.........a ZEISS!

[Ole]

Congratulations with your purchase! I agree, these "old fashioned" lenses are something special, not only are they excellent optically, they are also a pleasure to handle!

[thePiRaTE!!]

Parallax, you might enjoy our thread on the modern, manual Voigtlanders as well -

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/13248-voigtl-n...-thoughts.html

Perhaps the lens sections needs a thread to compile shots and information about the Zeiss as well.

[Parallax]

Parallax, you might enjoy our thread on the modern, manual Voigtlanders as well -

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/13248-voigtl-n...-thoughts.html

Perhaps the lens sections needs a thread to compile shots and information about the Zeiss as well.

That was an intersting trip down memory lane. Voigtlander is a name I haven't heard in many years. The 125 f/2.5 is particularly interesting. What is the price range on that one?

That was an intersting trip down memory lane. Voigtlander is a name I haven't heard in many years. The 125 f/2.5 is particularly interesting. What is the price range on that one?

Prices are ranging somewhere between a kidney and a kidney and leg

[aegisphan]

That was an intersting trip down memory lane. Voigtlander is a name I haven't heard in many years. The 125 f/2.5 is particularly interesting. What is the price range on that one?

It's a discontinued product. So now, even at Camerquest, which is the only official Cosina/Voigtlander USA seller, the price increased to $1000 compared to the old price at $750 or so.

Personally, out of the ZK line, I'm interested in the 35/2 the most. But at the moment, I still have some other higher priority lenses to buy (partly because I already have my 31LTD), so I've not made up my mind yet.

If you plan to obtain more ZK line, I might want to check out Lloyd Chamber review of the entire ZF line to get yourself familiar with some the minor problems that the current Zeiss lenses have (most notable is the focus shift in the Planar line). The author has done an extensive 6-month shoot out with these lenses, so it's quite thorough and insightful. He only compared to his Nikon and Canon lenses collection, but the Zeiss always came out ahead or at least equal to what Canon offers (I guess Nikon is somewhat weaker in this range).

[Parallax]

aegisphan, I see you have the 85/1.4. That is the other one that has my attention. How do you like yours? I appreciate the referal to the reviews, but if it is digilloyd that you are referencing, I think I would have trouble convincing myself to pay someone $48.95 for their opinion, even though it may be worth it in the long run.

[aegisphan]

LOL, mine is the Contax version, not the current Zeiss. This and the new one are the same optical design. However, the new one has better coating, so you can expect a little improvement there. As far as I know, the old Planar doesn't have the same focus shift issue as the new Zeiss does.

Here is my recent thread on the Planar 85/1.4:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/24198-contax-z...-1-4-k10d.html

I decide to sell this Planar since I already have the FA* 85 and FA 77. I need the fund for my other purchases.

[Parallax]

I'm not certain what you mean by "focus shift" on a manual focus lens. Does this mean that when it appears focused in the viewfinder it is not actually focused at the sensor plane, or does it mean that the auto focus indicator, being active even with a manual lens, is giving a false focus indication?

[aegisphan]

With manual lens, I focus at max aperture, then stop down and meter. Apparently, the focus plane slightly shifts when you change the aperture from 1.4 to 2 or further down. The shifting is very slight, but it's there. The problem is confirmed by Zeiss. It is virtually gone from f/2.8 on. So if you focus, meter, and shoot at the same aperture, you're fine.

[Parallax]

Got it! Thanks.

[Eaglerapids]

Congrats on your purchases Parallax!
It sure is nice to see more and more K-mount lenses available at B&H and elsewhere and those Zeiss lenses look very very nice:-). I can't wait to see you posting pics taken with it (hint, hint):-).
Welcome to the forum.

[Parallax]

Here's one. A 100% crop. The first one is as shot, the second processed in Photoshop CS3.

[aegisphan]

Nice shot. Can you post the original shot as well?

[Tdo0003]

Does anyone know what (if any) differences exists between Contax Zeiss (Planar T* 85mm 1.4) lenses made in west germany versus lenses made in japan? price/ quality?