Zeiss ZM 50mm f/2 Planar on M9?

[d2mini]

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Who has experience with this lens?

When used on the M9, what do you do about the lack of 6 bit coding?

Using my 90 Elmarit is not a big deal because the frame lines are already there.

 

Would you consider this lens over the 50 'cron?

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[joshtpa]

At 50mm coding is not an issue. Frame lines are not an issue and are the same for the 50 regardless. Quality with Zeiss lenses has never been an issue with me. I have the Summicron - but highly doubt I'd be able to tell the difference between it and the f2 planar. I've heard it's a wonderful lens.

[akiralx]

I don't have this lens but am thinking of getting it. The framelines will be correct and simply input the lens data as a 50mm Summicron.

[d2mini]

wait, i thought the default frame lines were 35 and 90?

[joshtpa]

Frame lines are 28/90, 35/135, and 50/75 on the M9.

[kkochheiser]

I have it and it does bring up the 50 frame lines just like a 50 Cron. Mine is one of the later ones with the groove in the mount which allows you to hand code it without it wearing off. So far I haven't needed to recode it. The lens is very very sharp on my M9 (my other lenses are the Leica 35 1.4 ASPH Lux and the 90 2.8 Elmarit. I'm more a 35 type than a 50 type of shooter but I really like the lens a lot, regardless of the price. The look is a bit more "3D" and the color a bit warmer it seems to me but I still find it a good match to my Leica lenses.

 

Highly recommended.

 

Kent

[d2mini]

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Oh ok. For some reason I was under the impression that the lens needed to be coded to bring up the correct frame lines.

[lars_bergquist]

Coding does not change the frame lines. Since the M3 in 1954, these have been keyed in mechanically by a tab on the lens bayonet acting on a lever behind the camera lens mount. This is also coupled to the frame preview lever on the camera front -- watch it move as you mount a lens.

 

Coding is used to identify the lens for the EXIF data, and for input to data algorithms in the camera electronics that compensate for vignetting and 'rededge' (and, with the M8, cyan corners). This is important especially for wide angle lenses. Yes, you can get away with using a 50mm uncoded, because without coding, the camera applies a standard minimum level of correction. But I won't use a shorter lens than 90mm uncoded.

 

Off the shelf, the ZM lenses are adapted to the Zeiss Ikon RF camera, which has the M bayonet and also the same frame line system, so that lenses from 25 to 50mm are fully compatible. The Zeiss Ikon uses 85, not 90mm lenses. Shorter wide angle ZM lenses key in the 50/75 frames.

 

Now the M8/M9 do use input from the frame system, in that the wrong frames can deceive the camera into an incorrect lens identification -- frames and coding must be compatible. With the ZM lenses, this affects the 21mm lenses, because here the M demands 28/90 frames. But Zeiss can deliver a 21 coded "for M camera" on special order. Pulling the bayonet and having it milled for permanent coding is your own headache -- Leica coding is patented so Carl Zeiss can't do that.

 

The old man from the Age of the Enigma

[shootinglulu]

I have a little used, very nice copy for sale.

[vish]

Superb lens, great results on M9.

 

6-bit coding? Quoi?

[d2mini]

Thank you, Lars.

I feel like an idiot, but I learned something new today. lol

Lots of great info.

 

So it seems that the Planar is worth looking into.

I like it's price point, that's for sure. And from what i've seen here and in other reviews, pic quality is very favorable.

 

What about the way it feels/functions? Focus ring, weight, etc

[tele_player]

Lars' explanation is good, but I'll add one detail. Unlike the M8, the M9 allows you to manually select the lens from a list, which gives the same effect as if the lens is coded; it just takes a moment to set this when you change lenses.

 

-Robert

 

Thank you, Lars.

I feel like an idiot, but I learned something new today. lol

Lots of great info.

 

So it seems that the Planar is worth looking into.

I like it's price point, that's for sure. And from what i've seen here and in other reviews, pic quality is very favorable.

 

What about the way it feels/functions? Focus ring, weight, etc

[lars_bergquist]

Thank you, Lars.

I feel like an idiot, but I learned something new today. lol

[ ... ]

 

There are no idiotic questions, just idiotic answers. Happy to be of help.

 

I have no personal experience of the Planar. But people whose judgment I respect -- eminently, Sean Reid -- have given it good marks. Like all Zeiss ZM lenses, it is very well built, and well built lenses are nearly always nice to handle. Like when you hear the door of a classical Mercedes slam shut.

 

The old man

[kkochheiser]

Since this thread began I've been shooting with this lens again and I can confirm that it handles and feels just like my Leica lenses. Whether this will still be true years down the road I can't say. The only difference besides cosmetics (color of the markings, font, color of dot, logo on lens cap) is that the f-stop ring feels a little "clickier" and of course it clicks in 1/3 stops rather than 1/2. Also the tab on the focus ring is different. It focuses as smoothly as my Leicas and has no slop in either focus ring or f stop ring.

 

Oh yes, the lens cap is as dumb as everyone says!

 

If you haven't read Reid's and Puts' reviews they are a great source of information. Certainly worth the money in my opinion.

 

Kent

 

P.S.: You have to buy the lens hood separately, which is too bad.

 

K

[vish]

What about the way it feels/functions? Focus ring, weight, etc

 

I feel the focus ring on mine is too stiff, but I'm assured it loosens up with use. Great flare control, annoying lack of lens hood, but the price is right.