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21mm Zeiss Biogon f2.8 ZM Question


TheArtfulLens

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I'm thinking about getting a 21mm lens for my M9. Past reviews have liked the Zeiss Biogon f2.8 ZM lens with great performance at a price significantly lower than its Leica counterpart. Recently Lloyd Chambers has put a warning on his Zeiss ZM lens recommendations saying that Zeiss now adjusts the focus of the lenses for film and they no longer focus properly on the M9. Can anyone substantiate this problem? What experience have other had with the 21mm Biogon ZM on the M9?

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Welcome to the forum, Art!

 

There was a thread on the topic recently at http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/customer-forum/194185-zeiss-lenses-july-2011-a.html.

 

A lot of people like the Zeiss 21 Biogon, so I wouldn't worry about it if you want it. If it doesn't focus the way you want it, Zeiss or a competent lens repair person can adjust it to your taste.

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It is an absurd scare story. Just make sure the 21mm f2.8 you are buying is new stock, with a rebate machined in the mount to take a coding pen, and that the mount has not been modified for an M8 (like you see in Popflash ads on Ebay etc).

 

Steve

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Did you try setting it to Elmarit 21 11134, Bill?

No, I did wonder about getting it coded but tried it first with Cornerfix and never seen the need except for one single image where I could not lose the colour even with Cornerfix. However, since most of what I do is mono I still have not bothered.

 

BUT I am going back to colour a bit more so if you recommend it from personal experience I would welcome the suggestion.

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I tried it out when the M9 just came out. I sold the lens since then, so I cannot repeat.

Elmarit 21 pre-asph works best on the M9, Elmarit 21 asph works best on the M8.

 

It should be OK without further postprocessing hassle.

 

For lenses with a cast I prefer an LCC profile in Capture One to Cornerfix, but that is just me.

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I have the lens for my m9 and absolutely love it. it is coded as 21mm pre-asph 1134. there was a bit of vignetting/magenta corners but the new software has effectively eliminated the rare times that this occurred. as for focusing, never had a problem. and it being a new lens, the 28mm framelines come up. recommend the lens highly.

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No vignetting or red edge at all if it is coded Bill.

 

Steve

 

Agreed (if you have the latest firmware). It is an absolutely superb performer and given the inherent DoF of such a wide angle lens, there are no concerns with front (or back) focussing, not that I have noticed anyway (on M9 and M7).

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I have the lens for my m9 and absolutely love it. it is coded as 21mm pre-asph 1134. there was a bit of vignetting/magenta corners but the new software has effectively eliminated the rare times that this occurred. as for focusing, never had a problem. and it being a new lens, the 28mm framelines come up. recommend the lens highly.

 

Me too. Exactly my experience and conclusion.

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  • 10 months later...
Guest gamincurieux

Maybe I pay too much attention to Ken Rockwell, but for ages now I also thought 11134 was the best code for this wonderful lens. I've always manually set 11134, and lately with my Dremel & enamel model paint I did a proper self-coding of the lens with 11134, but being an older version bayonet it doesn't bring up 28mm lines. Zeiss are currently sending me a new 28mm bayonet flange so I can do it properly & finally have it all automatic (HEAVEN!!), but they've also given me some surprising advice, which is essentially this:

 

"11134 is an ok profile, one of a few ok profiles, but it is not the best profile for this lens in our opinion, please refer to attached information sheet."

 

Both that very interesting info sheet & pic of my self-coding is attached here FYI, and my email exchange with them below to read. You will see that Zeiss recommend coding the lens as one of the 28mm lenses (I don't remember which one exactly, go see the sheet).

 

I've never heard of any profile other than 11134 as being good for this lens, certainly not any 28mm lens profile! Have any of you? I've yet to do some testing of my own to see what works well, but I'm interested to test the water for some opinions before I go definitively coding this new bayonet flange when it finally arrives. Zeiss seem pretty sure that 11134 is not the best profile for this lens... straight from the horses mouth!

 

-----------------------------------

Dear xxxxxxx,

 

Thank you for your inquiry to Carl Zeiss.

 

We did some thorough testings with each of the critical focal lengthes. But just with one individual lens . There can be some slight deviations to our recommendations with your lens . The list should give you just a rough idea for the best setting. So please check out the attached file.

Depending on the lens type there could be some colour aberrations left. In that case use an additional lens profile in Photoshop. But your Biogon T* 2,8/21 should be unproblematic.

 

(See attached file: ZM- Test162.xlsx)

 

Hoping to be of service to you we kindly ask you to contact us again should you need further assistance.

 

Sincerely,

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

 

Carl Zeiss AG

Geschäftsbereich Photoobjektive / Camera Lens Division

Internationaler Vertrieb / International Sales

Kundenservice/ Customer Support

 

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Telefon/Phone: +49 7364 xxxxxxxx

Fax: +49 7364 xxxxxxxxxxx

E-Mail:xxxxxxxxxxxx@zeiss.de

Internet: Startseite

 

 

Carl Zeiss AG, Carl-Zeiss-Straße 22, 73447 Oberkochen

Vorsitzender des Aufsichtsrates: Dr. Dieter Kurz

Vorstand: Dr. Michael Kaschke (Vorsitzender),

Dr. Hermann Gerlinger, Thomas Spitzenpfeil

Sitz der Gesellschaft: 73446 Oberkochen, Deutschland

Amtsgericht Ulm, HRB 501555, USt-IdNr: DE 811119940

 

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Your original inquiry:

 

Comment:

Hello,

 

My question concerns the use of the lens Biogon T* 2,8/21 ZM with the Leica M9 digital camera. When using this uncoded lens on this camera one must manually choose a lens profile from the M9's menu, in order to correct vignetting/color shading/whatever else.

 

I wish to ask please, which lens profile from the M9 menu does Zeiss recommend is the best for this particular lens?

 

I have mostly heard that the profile '11134' works best, but I have also heard other profiles may be even better. It is all becoming quite confusing I must say.

 

Please confirm which profile in the opinion of Zeiss is the best for this lens.

 

I am very much looking forward to your response

 

Many thanks,

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Guest gamincurieux

In short, if anyone has experimented with this Zeiss-recommended 28mm f/2.8 11809 profile against the well-known 11134 profile, I and probably many others would be very interested to read your thoughts/opinions. Thank you!

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