35mm f/2 Distagon

[Amin Sabet]

Anyone have thoughts regarding the 35mm f/2 Distagon? Would love to see some samples as well. I'm considering purchasing this lens for use with with the Nikon D700.

[lawa]

Have you seen these samples (with the D3): http://tinyurl.com/57tct5

[Amin Sabet]

Thanks, I didn't realize that Pixel Peeper allowed one to choose samples based on camera. I had come across most of those on Flickr searches, but it was good to see them organized that way!

[Olivier]

The 2/35 Distagon is gets maybe 60% duty from me. At first on the D80, and now on the D700.

I wrote a subjective review on my blog (http://ogiroux.wordpress.com/2008/04/15/my-quest-for-the-nikon-digital-fifty-the-story-so-far/) a while ago. That was back in my D80 days.

[mstudios]

Would have loved it if Zeiss had made the lense a 1.4 ( always loved the 35 1.4 on my contax) , but great as a full "eye" view lense ( has the same ratio as your eye views). What will you be doing with the lense as it's great for street photography ( hence my love of the 1.4) but a 28mm would be better for landscapes?

[Olivier]

People always wish lenses were faster, but personally I wouldn't want the 35mm Distagon to be any faster if it meant a loss of quality at any point. The main reason to get this lens over other 35mm lenses is that it is without doubt the best.

The way I see it the Zeiss SLR family has 3 masterpieces: 2/100 Makro-Planar, 2/35 Distagon and 2.8/21 Distagon. The other Zeiss SLR lenses are good-to-great lenses but they are not unique in the industry like these 3 are unique. They are unique for several reasons, but the most important one for me is that their performance is virtually invariant across the full 24x36mm frame. Most lenses run out of steam 2/3 of the way across, but these 3 are indomitable.

On the fast-lens side I'm eagerly anticipating the day when Zeiss will reclaim their crown on the 50mm focal length. Yeah they have the nice 2/50 Makro-Planar but Leica really holds the masterpiece here with the Summilux-M ASPH, Canon has a fair presence with the f/1.2L and out-of-nowhere came Sigma with their huge aspherical f/1.4 HSM that managed to approach the Summilux-M wide-open for the first time. I want Zeiss to make us a 50mm f/1.2 Planar ASPH and show them how it's done. :)

[Amin Sabet]

I was reading the reviews at B&H for the ZF 35 Distagon (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/472572-REG/Zeiss_1424_661_35mm_f_2_ZF_Distagon.html#reviews), and came across this one:

I am a photographic technologist for NASA, I use this lens for Particle Image Velocimetry. I have adapted a motorized, two-axis Scheimpflug focussing mount for the lens and digital camera and found that it has the best image quality of any lens of any focal length I've used to date, much less the 35mm. No coma or spherical aberations. Fantastic contrast. I'll be buying new Zeiss lenses for each focal length they sell. No down side for us.

I don't have a clue what velocimetry is, but I imagine that this review helps explain why the lens had to be as large as it is :).

[Amin Sabet]

The 2/35 Distagon is gets maybe 60% duty from me. At first on the D80, and now on the D700.

I wrote a subjective review on my blog (http://ogiroux.wordpress.com/2008/04/15/my-quest-for-the-nikon-digital-fifty-the-story-so-far/) a while ago. That was back in my D80 days.

Olivier, I enjoyed reading your blog. I've decided to go ahead and purchase the ZF 35/2 to use on a Nikon D700.

[Olivier]

Olivier, I enjoyed reading your blog. I've decided to go ahead and purchase the ZF 35/2 to use on a Nikon D700.

Thanks, Amin. I'm sure you'll enjoy the lens. :)

I wish the D700 wasn't so bulky and heavy. The balance of the 35mm Distagon on a 25-year old FE-2 is really sweet.

[Amin Sabet]

Thanks, Amin. I'm sure you'll enjoy the lens. :)

I wish the D700 wasn't so bulky and heavy. The balance of the 35mm Distagon on a 25-year old FE-2 is really sweet.

I agree with you about the size/weight of the D700. However, if the D700 were a lot more compact, I think I would have given more consideration to buying the CV 40 Ultron instead of the 35 Distagon. Part of my rationalization for buying a big/heavy 35mm prime is that if I'm going to be lugging a D700, what's another 500 grams :). I recently picked up a Nikon EM though, and I'll be sure to use the ZF lens on that body as well. Hopefully I won't be depressed by the EM, a $50 30-year-old beginner's camera, having a better screen than my D700 for manual focusing.

[Olivier]

Focusing the 2/35 is a piece of cake compared to the 2/100. I recently got a focusing screen from Brightscreen (http://www.brightscreenstore.com/store/) for my D700, called "P795H" as I recall. That matches what I have in the FE-2, pretty much.

As for weight/size balance, the 2/35 is still on the good side of the weight threshold. I would still be happy handling it on smaller cameras because it mostly disappears in my left hand. I never shot the 2/100 on the FE-2 but I fear that may be over the top in that case, that lens feels right at home on the D700.

[Amin Sabet]

I actually bought my D700 from Brightscreen with one of their custom screens installed, but I had problems achieving accurate focus with that screen, so they swapped my D700 for an unmodified one.

So far the stock screen has been okay for focusing a 135/2 AIS, ZF 50/2, and 24/2.8 AIS. Way better than my experience trying to focus fast manual focus primes on a Canon 5D with the Ee-S screen.

As for weight/size balance, the 2/35 is still on the good side of the weight threshold. I would still be happy handling it on smaller cameras because it mostly disappears in my left hand.

That's good to hear. I haven't yet handled the 2/35 yet, but this photo (http://www.flickr.com/photos/59177039@N00/1042302856/) had me a bit apprehensive about the size :). Especially since the Biogon isn't known as a small lens!

[Olivier]

Hehe, then maybe I have big hands. Still, the Biogon is a very small lens by [D]SLR standard. The short flange distance of rangefinders makes for very small lenses for the shorter focal lengths.

Consider an 18-55 plastic kit lens... everyone would agree that these are some of the smallest [D]SLR lenses, yet they all are much bigger than the Biogon. That's roughly the size you can expect, it's just a bit bigger than an 18-55 VR.

BTW, thanks for the link, I was looking for a 2/35 -vs- 2/50 picture and there's one right next in that photostream.

[DAllshouse]

I just got the Zeiss 35 and it is more long than wide as the picture above shows. Also quite hefty. Massive compared to the Nikkor 50 1.8D for example which is plastic and glass as opposed to brass and glass.

[Olivier]

True. About the 50mm f/1.8D... the size/weight/price are basically perfect, but the reflective coatings on it are really weak. I've gotten used to T* lenses which can be shot against the Sun with relative impunity, where contrast and color are retained even when the Sun is in the frame.

In comparison if there's any light striking the front of a 50mm f/1.8D, even from outside the frame and at any useful aperture, it veils and flares like a Holga. It makes for a nice artisitic effect sometimes but usually it bothers me.

I know the 50mm f/1.8D is the fundamental element of comparison for Nikon shooters because everybody has one, but I'm not a member of its fan club. I think it has its uses, but they are ever fewer as time goes buy.

[Amin Sabet]

I just got mine also, and I was pleasantly surprised to find it not as large and heavy as I had expected. It helps that the hood is so small. I tried it out today. This was at f/2, close to the minimum focusing distance:

http://ziforums.com/picture.php?albumid=25&pictureid=160

100% crop:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3009/3108593582_be29a814d9_o.jpg

[Specularist]

It's not a huge lens, but I'm a big fan of small lenses, and it's not small either. It's certainly one of the larger 35 mm f/2 lenses around. But perhaps its optical performance earns it the right to be whatever size it wants. :)

I've thought on and off about getting this lens. At the moment a shop in Paris has a new one on sale at just over 600 euros (it's usually around 800 in this part of the world). I'm sorely tempted, but if I go for it then there's no chance of my getting the new 21 mm for a long time. Even 600 euros is a fair bit of cash, and my DSLR is DX-format so there's that whole issue too.

[Amin Sabet]

Have you considered the Voigtlander 40/2 Ultron? It sounds like an excellent little lens by all accounts.

[DAllshouse]

Just wanted to throw this out. Is it me or is the lens cap kind of fiddly? I find the springs are on the weak side so it's hard to tell when the cap is seated and fixed in place. Especially difficult if you trying to cap the lens while the lens shade is on. It's doable but really awkward. I've taken to removing the shade before capping the lens, even though this is an operation that really should be done with three hands ;) On the other hand the lens shade is great. Bayonet style very positive and yet easy to mount and dismount. Otherwise I"m very pleased with the handling and image quality. I'm using it on a D300.

[ashok522]

Just wanted to throw this out. Is it me or is the lens cap kind of fiddly? I find the springs are on the weak side so it's hard to tell when the cap is seated and fixed in place. Especially difficult if you trying to cap the lens while the lens shade is on. It's doable but really awkward. I've taken to removing the shade before capping the lens, even though this is an operation that really should be done with three hands ;) On the other hand the lens shade is great. Bayonet style very positive and yet easy to mount and dismount. Otherwise I"m very pleased with the handling and image quality. I'm using it on a D300.

Actually the Zeiss lens cap is a piece of crab. most annoying thing..

[ashok522]

Have you considered the Voigtlander 40/2 Ultron? It sounds like an excellent little lens by all accounts.

Yeah, good price too.. I'm thinking of getting one.

[Amin Sabet]

Actually the Zeiss lens cap is a piece of crab. most annoying thing..

+1. The two ZF lenses I've purchased, the 35/2 and 50/2, have both been absolutely fantastic, but the lens caps are awful. My Nikon AF 35/2, which is an old design and cheap by comparison, has a far superior lens cap.

[mikmik]

i am using cv ultron 40/2 as well as distagon 35/2 zf on D700. distagon is better optically i think but ultron is great for handling, it's nice small and focus ring can really be operated with one finger. cap is perfect compared to zeiss.

[HansV]

The way I see it the Zeiss SLR family has 3 masterpieces: 2/100 Makro-Planar, 2/35 Distagon and 2.8/21 Distagon. The other Zeiss SLR lenses are good-to-great lenses but they are not unique in the industry like these 3 are unique. They are unique for several reasons, but the most important one for me is that their performance is virtually invariant across the full 24x36mm frame. Most lenses run out of steam 2/3 of the way across, but these 3 are indomitable.
The three lenses you mention are top-quality indeed. However, I think the 2/28 is nearly as good as the 2/35.
I use the other ZF's for consistent color reproduction and their excellent optical quality as well.