Zeiss Wide Angle 35mm f/2 ZF Distagon T* Manual Focus Lens for Nikon SLR

Comments about Zeiss Wide Angle 35mm f/2 ZF Distagon T* Manual Focus Lens for Nikon SLR:

I loved my Nikon 35mm F2 AIS lens, but it was getting worn out mechanically and parts are NLA. For my needs I didn't feel the current Nikon 35mm F1.4 was what I needed, I use fast film often and need F22 which the 1.4 doesn't have. And I really didn't like the looks of the Nikon 35mm F2 AF lens. So when I found this I was really happy someone was making a 35mm F2 maunal lens with the F mount, and I knew Zeiss makes the Hasselblad lens', so this was my choice for my new 25mm F2.

Now that I have used it a few times, on both commercial and personal work, I have found it's quality is even better than my old 35mm AIS lens. I didn't think it was possible to make a 35mm lens better than that one, but this Zeiss is!

The sharpness is superb, corner to corner everything is as sharp as the center, perfect focus. And what's even better is the eveness of the image. My personal work with this lens has been in B&W with contrast filters. And with my old 35mm, even using the Cokin filter system, contrast filters would accentuate the vignetting of the lens. But with this lens there is no vignetting at all, at least none that I can see, with or without contrast filters.

And in the shots I used this lens for at a wedding reception, when there were lights in the frame, there were absolutely no reflections, flaring or halos of any kind. The light was recorded as a perfect sharp bright spot in the frame.

All shots with this lens have perfect exposure and sharpness corner to corner with none of the aberations that can diminish the quality of the image. It is the best 35mm lens I have ever used.

Comments about Zeiss Wide Angle 35mm f/2 ZF Distagon T* Manual Focus Lens for Nikon SLR:

Bottom line this lens is stunning! the rendition of the colors is typical Zeiss, amazing. Sharpness is extremely good at full aperture, and at reference levels above. It?s built like a tank, let me tell you. It feels sturdy, and precise in your hands. let me tell you what would hav been a horror story with any other lens. I was one day taking a picture of the view outside my window. The window SLAMMED on the lens because of the wind, and I mean rally slammed straight on the lens making a huge impact noise. I thought the lens was done, I was sure that something had to be broken, the focusing, a lens inside , a dent on the lens, and the all of the above plus more .... end of the story NOTHING! I mean nothing, not a dent, not a glitch, nothing on the focusing smoothness and precision, NOTHING! I am not sure how many lenses could pass this test!

the negative:
ONe: weight, it?s an heavy lens and if at first you do enjoy the feeling of precision, and technical quality, it just feels like the amazing lens it is, in the long run it is something that you should consider, not really a lens you can have in your hands for very long time, or in a carry on bag without feeling it. BUt of the two one, either you get this jewel of a lens, or you get a light plastic toy, so not really a minus after all.

The only real minus is not so specific to this lens but characteristic of all manual lenses, focusing is a hit or miss business, especially at wide apertures. The depth of field is so narrow at wide aperture that even a minimal difference in focusing will mean an out of focus picture. This happens more often then not. Once again this is a big price to pay, but not one specific for this lens. I guess the new auto focus version will be a worthwhile improvident if a costly one tough.

My advice, just buy it. YOU will be amazed at what it will do your photographs, and you will finally understand part of the experience of owning a Bently instead of a BMW or a NIssan.

Comments about Zeiss Wide Angle 35mm f/2 ZF Distagon T* Manual Focus Lens for Nikon SLR:

Two reasons for buying this lens:
One: Expectations as I own two other Zeiss ZF lenses (50mm and 100mm) which I love and use a lot
Two: I needed a lens which would provide the approximate normal view on my APS -C sensor D300 and D200
Everything I have seen from using this lens shows stellar performance, color renditions, sharpness, smooth operation.

Comments about Zeiss Wide Angle 35mm f/2 ZF Distagon T* Manual Focus Lens for Nikon SLR:

This lens is sometimes being used as a standard prime on a D2x and quite often as a walk-around lens on a D3x. Being absolutely sharp into the corners even at wide apertures plus its color rendering and contrast this lens lives up to my high expectations and fits therefore perfectly into my long ZF lens line-up. I made a mistake when buying an extra slim UV filter which is a bit wider than the lens' front barrel and doesn't allow to fit the lens hood when mounted first. That filter has been replaced then by a standard filter made by B+W. Since my cameras feature look-up tables giving the possibility to define a couple of non-chipped lenses I didn't see a need to order the latest ZF .2 release. Mechanics, finish and built quality are as always on a very high quality. Definitely a different league.

Comments about Zeiss Wide Angle 35mm f/2 ZF Distagon T* Manual Focus Lens for Nikon SLR:

This is one of four Zeiss lenses I have the pleasure of owning. Incredible optics, bokah and clarity/sharpness. I prefer Zeiss to Leica lenses, as I find them more neutral. I use the lens on a Nikon D2Xs and Panasonic DMC-GF1 with Voigtlander adapter.

Comments about Zeiss Wide Angle 35mm f/2 ZF Distagon T* Manual Focus Lens for Nikon SLR:

Sharp at all apertures - extremely sharp stopped down. Sharper than the Canon and Nikon Pro Lenses. Considering the new Nikon pro lenes are $1,500 to $2,000 This is a good value at [$] I love the precision that this lens allows me - no more finding an auto focus sensor point - holding the focus and recomposing. I can compose and focus at once - and focus on what i see - not a computer chip. The auto focus was making me lazy and the results were hurried and rarely satisfactory. this slows me down slightly like in my film days. This is the non-cpu version - so it works in aperture priority or manual. I only ever use aperture priority anyway. I set the depth of field according to aperture and let the camera do the rest. The shutter speed is less important to me. If i want a fast shutter - i open it up and increase the ASA. I love setting the aperture by the lens ring also. Another throw back to the old film cameras. I can change apertures MUCH easier - as i compose and focus.

Comments about Zeiss Wide Angle 35mm f/2 ZF Distagon T* Manual Focus Lens for Nikon SLR:

I am a fairly serious amature and had read much about how special Zeiss ZF lens are for Nikon (also Canons) especially the 35mm f/2. The lens has more than lived up to every expectation with excellent color, so called microcontrast which I now understand what that means, and image quality in general compared even to some of Nikon's best lens; 17-35mm f/2.8 and 24-70mm f/2.8.

Like nearly all lenses it is noticably soft wide open at f/2 but stop down to f/2.8 and images are excellent with little loss of edge sharpness and only at f/22 does defraction become obvious. Images have a "three dimentional" quality to them that need to be seen to appreciated.

Comments about Zeiss Wide Angle 35mm f/2 ZF Distagon T* Manual Focus Lens for Nikon SLR:

I use this lens with a Nikon D700 for landscape photography. The image quality with this combination is quite high.
This is a very well built lens that is a joy to use - the manual focus feel reminds me of the way lenses felt before the autofocus era.
I like the half stop detents of the aperture ring but the camera does not record them so you must keep track of your aperture setting.
This lens will likely outlast me!

Comments about Zeiss Wide Angle 35mm f/2 ZF Distagon T* Manual Focus Lens for Nikon SLR:

Tremendous Image Quality! Beautiful, Creamy Bokeh! Sharp!

Comments about Zeiss Wide Angle 35mm f/2 ZF Distagon T* Manual Focus Lens for Nikon SLR:

This is the best lens I have ever put on my Nikon D3. In fact it equals the contrast of any of the lenses I have for my Leica M6 or my Mamiya RZ67 or Hasselblad X-pan. It is almost as grand as the Rollei TLR fixed lens.
It has the feel and quality you would expect and smooth focus ring.
There is NO Nikon lens that can come close !!!!!

Comments about Zeiss Wide Angle 35mm f/2 ZF Distagon T* Manual Focus Lens for Nikon SLR:

Although a manual only typical Zeiss lens, this small inconvenience for AF users is more than compensated for the great feel and outstanding IQ of this classic lens.

Comments about Zeiss Wide Angle 35mm f/2 ZF Distagon T* Manual Focus Lens for Nikon SLR:

Superb quality, high end optics, very well built. Excellent color rendition, nice warm tones, crisp images. I use it as a normal lens with my Nikon F6 and this lens stays all the time on the camera. Excellent travel kit lens, very versatile, it covers wide range of situations.

Comments about Zeiss Wide Angle 35mm f/2 ZF Distagon T* Manual Focus Lens for Nikon SLR:

Just picked up this 35 2.0 ZF zeiss and i have to say it is simply amazing. I have a handful of Nikon primes, but this one is special. The bokeh and crispness of this lense is unmatched. The zeiss primes have a special feel to them that has to be seen to understand.

Comments about Zeiss Wide Angle 35mm f/2 ZF Distagon T* Manual Focus Lens for Nikon SLR:

I have the Zeiss 50mm 1.4 but needed something wider on the D200 with its 1.5 crop factor. On paper the 35 and 50 dont seem far apart, but composition wise they are much different. I chose the 35 over the 28 since for me it will be more useful if I ever move to a full-frame sensor, and 28 could then be too wide. This lens has outstanding clarity and colour and sharpness. You can crop a lot and still have excellent results. Manual focus is not a burden, especially in daylight on f8. If you shoot a lot at f2, the bokeh is very nice and the subject is still sharp. I like to focus manually at f2 anyway. A great companion to the Zeiss lenses is a split prism focusing screen you can get from [...]. You can put it in yourself and then no longer have to rely on the little green dot in the Nikon viewfinder. Overall this lens gives great results and the quality makes it a joy to use.

Comments about Zeiss Wide Angle 35mm f/2 ZF Distagon T* Manual Focus Lens for Nikon SLR:

Zeiss is not only a world leader in optical technologies in the field of photography but in high science and technology fields as well. I have used their lenses in Super16 mm film production and medium format photography; and I have always been very pleased with the build quality and sharpness of the optics.

When dealing with a company like Zeiss it's not unusual to pay in the thousands of dollars for a single prime lens. So, to begin with I wasn't expecting the most from this product just simply because of its lower price when compared to their pricier lenses for other formats.

However, I was more than pleased with the results. As far as 35mm format lenses are concerned this is with out a doubt the overall nicest lens I've ever used for a SLR in terms of quality of image, sharpness, color, and tweak-ability. The lens is a solid performer, easy to handle and focus, and yields very little (if any at all) lens warping/distortion. It works great as an every day lens when taking into account the 1.5x digital multiplier. But, could even be used for light duty portraiture work in a pinch.

When comparing the 35mm Zeiss Prime lens to other lenses of similar focal length, there was generally no contest. I've been a long standing proponent of earlier Pre Auto Focus Nikkor Optics due to their heavier build, overall ruggedness, and warm picture rendering, but the zeiss beats them there. It bests the older Nikkors in sharpness and color and minimum focus distance as well. The zeiss 35mm minimal focus is somewhere around 8"... which is not quite macro but better than most lenses. Another nice feature is that the aperture ring moves in half stops as well, which is seems more uncommon amongst newer lenses. Actually - aperture rings themselves are a dying entity.

When comparing it to newer Nikkors, even the nicer more expensive ones, it's stronger, heavier, and easier to focus. They often feel too fragile and are plagued by slippery manual focus rings with lots of play. I've even noticed this flaw in some of the newer manual only lenses from Nikkor which is odd because you'd expect a manual focus lens to have a nice stiff focus ring.

It is important to note however that this is a very specific almost quirky piece of glass by todays standards. It's everything that the other lenses of today are not. And, wide open your depth of field is the shallowest I have seen of any lens on a 1.5x CCD camera. This may be a problem for some people who want a larger Depth of Field. And if you are in that group then stay away, this lens is not for you. Another problem with this lens is its size. Although it's well made, and contains lots of glass... 7 elements in two groups I think , this lens is huge for a 35mm focal length! At first glance you may think that's it's a 60mm or 85mm when judging by its size. It's very big. And this can be a hindrance when you're on the street and don't want to be noticed. I'm switching over from a Nikkor 45mm pancake lens which has been my standby for portraiture and field photography for the past 4 years, and it was small. Probably the smallest 35mm lens I've ever seen. On a side note pentax makes a similar sized pancake lens now.

The bottom line is this thing will destroy any zoom lens in a side by side comparison. But, when dealing with primes everyone has their own preference. There are faster lenses out there and their are smaller lenses out there and there are cheaper lenses out there. But, if you want that shallow depth of field that makes your camera buddies drool, get this thing. It will make you happy.

Comments about Zeiss Wide Angle 35mm f/2 ZF Distagon T* Manual Focus Lens for Nikon SLR:

I don't know what these guys are doing to there glass but I'm blown away by the 3D quality I'm getting. Buy this lens !

Comments about Zeiss Wide Angle 35mm f/2 ZF Distagon T* Manual Focus Lens for Nikon SLR:

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.

Comments about Zeiss Wide Angle 35mm f/2 ZF Distagon T* Manual Focus Lens for Nikon SLR:

Very sharp. Even at edges, wide open. I find some images take on a 3D look. Focus snaps in quite quickly. A step above the Nikon 35 AF F/2.

Comments about Zeiss Wide Angle 35mm f/2 ZF Distagon T* Manual Focus Lens for Nikon SLR:

This is the first Zeiss lens I have bought for my D300, but it won't be my last. First thing I did with this lens was go out to the Four Corners area. I hauled my 12-24mm, 28-70mm, 70-200mm and 105mm - none of which I used. For one week the only thing I shot with was the Zeiss 35mm. The color, clarity, detail are simply amazing.

I love this lens!!!

Comments about Zeiss Wide Angle 35mm f/2 ZF Distagon T* Manual Focus Lens for Nikon SLR:

This lens is the sharpest lens I have ever used on any SLR.It shows no flare, ghosting, or chromatic aberration. It issharp, on my D300's sensor, from corner to corner and showsno visible vignetting in every day use.Mechanically, it is the most beautifully crafted of any lensI have ever owned. The focusing movement is smooth andperfectly dampened. The aperture ring is firm and clicksnicely from stop to stop. The lens feels heavy and solid andthere is no play in any movement.I chose this lens in order to make use of the marvelousD300's new CMOS sensor. There are very few lenses that arecapable of resolving 12 megapixels. The Zeiss ZF linecontains most of those that are capable of resolving 12MP.I plan on buying the 25mm, 50mm macro, and the 85mm.

Expertise: Advanced amateur

Previous Equivalent Item Owned: Nikon 35mm f/2D

Items I Recommend: Nikon D300, B+W multicoated UV filter