Dope on Zeiss Distagon 4/18

[lars_bergquist]

Two questions:

• Does anybody have any practical experience with it?

• Can anybody in the EU code it? Or at least do the milling?

The old man from the Age of the Hologon

[luigi bertolotti]

Only with its historical SLR grandfather...

The old man from the age of Contarex

[hoppyman]

Lars, I just got one and so I can tell you that there are a number of threads here with info on this. I got the replacement flange from John Milich which comes complete with the pits milled ready for coding. It is very well made and I had no difficulty at all fitting it. I coded mine as the WATE with flat black and white paint in the pits and the camera recognises it as the WATE with no issues or reliability problems at all. The default focal length for the WATE is 18mm too, so that is perfect.
John sent my replacement flange very quickly internationally (to Australia for me).

[rafael_macia]

Originally Posted by lars_bergquist

Two questions:

• Does anybody have any practical experience with it?

• Can anybody in the EU code it? Or at least do the milling?

The old man from the Age of the Hologon

I own this lens, and here are a few items you may find use for.
The Milch adapter is extremely well made. I would consider, if I were you, getting the flange for $100 from him. Flat black paint when you code it is a must. Use a tiny tiny bit of Acetone (nailpolish remover is fine), on the screws. Let them sit for a bit before you remove them. Lots of people have broken the screws. Zeiss puts them in with a little Locktite. so I heard. ......

The lens itself is quite wonderful. And the build quality is tops. My results have been very sharp and good with the M8.
The lens translates to roughly just about a 24 on a M8. The 24 Leica finders are costly, and difficult to find. In my hunt for one I finally found a mint one but was so unhappy with the dimness of the bright lines in the finder, I returned it and got a 25/28 Zeiss finder
Wow! like night and day compared with the Leica. Super bright and clear.

An added bonus (for me) was that I discovered the eyepiece cushion on the finder screwed out, and I could perfectly screw in a -4 diopter (a $12 Nikon FM one fits perfect.) As I use a diopter on my M8, having one on the Zeiss finder which matches .... is wonderful.
Now about filters;
The mandatory UV/IR filter made by Leica is a 55 size. The 18 Distagon is a 58 filter size.
The "trend", is to stay with the Leica UV/IR /M8 for firmware considerations etc ........, and people get 58 to 55 step down rings, mount the Leica filter on the Distagon.
I thought to do that. But the Leica UV/IR filters, are, for my taste, not well made. They bind.
I ordered a Heliopan step down ring, but ended getting from Ken Hansen a 58mm "thin" Heliopan "Digital" (UV/IR). Heliopan is brass and does not bind.
The Zeiss lens cap fits fine over the filter.My results are spectacular.
I am 100% happy with this lens.

you should do a search because there has been a lot discussed on this len, and its use with the M8

good luck

rafael

[Philippe D.]

Hi, i got this lens as soon as it became available last year. I use it on M8 and i love it much.
I do no bother about coding, and so on, too much hassle (and cost).
I tried a Leica UV/IR 55mm filter on it, but changed rapidly for an Hoya 1B (mostly to protect the front lens), as i was not happy with the cyan drift. Every changes that have to be done may find a solution with C1 and Toto's shop.
I use the Leica three focal length viewfinder set on 24.