Amazing savings on Zeiss

[Big John]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I have a 24-90 SL lens for my SL 601 - great IQ but heavy!  So I use adapted Zeiss ZM lenses for smaller, lighter package. Already have the 35 1.4 and 50 f2 but yesterday came across the 28/2.8 for £499, reduced by £400 at Park cameras in U.K.; it arrived today. They have other ZMs with amazing discounts. 

[pedaes]

3 minutes ago, Big John said:

They have other ZMs with amazing discounts. 

I guess they are selling off their remaining stock now Zeiss have stopped manufacture of Zeiss lenses.

If you want a bayonet lens hood I can recommend Amazon or ebay for about £40. Thet are very good quality.

[Big John]

Thanks, do want a hood. 
Had not heard Zeiss stopping ZM series, are you sure?  Any idea why?

[pedaes]

6 minutes ago, Big John said:

are you sure

I don't think we will see any official announcement. Robert White, who were a big Zeiss ZM dealer, only has a few lenses listed (including yours at £900+) when they used to have the full range.

Cosina own Voigtlander and made all the Zeiss lenses apart from the 18mm. There hasn't been a new ZM Zeiss, apart from the 35mm, for years and Voigtlander seem to be developing all the new 'digital' standard ZM lenses (apart from Leica of course), and it is reported to be the pet project of Cosina's owner. All from internet gossip!

The latest Voigtlander lenses are excellent and very good value.

[lct]

2 hours ago, pedaes said:

The latest Voigtlander lenses are excellent and very good value.

Sure but lenses like Planar, Sonnar, Biogon or Distagon are pretty well unique in their own rights. BTW interesting prices are offered by excellent dealers like Jo Geier on e**y.

[Gobert]

They might be unique, but unique lenses are a small market.  I think most people who are not buying Leica lenses buy Voigtlander or Chinese stuff.

[lct]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

1 hour ago, Gobert said:

They might be unique, but unique lenses are a small market.  I think most people who are not buying Leica lenses buy Voigtlander or Chinese stuff.

M lenses are not a large market either in general and i like much my CV lenses but i hardly find a CV competitor to my Planar 50/2 and Biogon 35/2.8, let alone the somewhat special Sonnar 50/1.5. I can only hope there will remain enough photogs, if not consumers, to buy those little gems but i may be wrong in my expectations.

[JimmyCheng]

21 hours ago, lct said:

M lenses are not a large market either in general and i like much my CV lenses but i hardly find a CV competitor to my Planar 50/2 and Biogon 35/2.8, let alone the somewhat special Sonnar 50/1.5. I can only hope there will remain enough photogs, if not consumers, to buy those little gems but i may be wrong in my expectations.

you have the voigtlander 50mm apo to easily crown planar 50/2 (I own both and I love planar too). As for 35mm, the nokton can't be beaten in terms of aperture/size ratio and the ultron 35/2 is easily one of the best value for performance lens, as sharp if not sharper than bigon at 2.8, not much bigger with one stop advantage

[lct]

2 hours ago, JimmyCheng said:

you have the voigtlander 50mm apo to easily crown planar 50/2 (I own both and I love planar too). As for 35mm, the nokton can't be beaten in terms of aperture/size ratio and the ultron 35/2 is easily one of the best value for performance lens, as sharp if not sharper than bigon at 2.8, not much bigger with one stop advantage

I don't own the apo that i find too bulky for my taste but i like much the Ultron 35/2 asph indeed. Its merit is mainly f/2 in a small package but IQ wise Ultron and Biogon are different beasts to me. YMMV. 

[sometimesmaybe]

On 11/20/2022 at 8:50 PM, lct said:

I can only hope there will remain enough photogs, if not consumers, to buy those little gems

doing my best... but im currently trying to support 3 camera systems 💸

[rsolomon]

I wish they would:

1.  6 bit code these lenses

2. Offer a 135 3.4 to compete with the leica version, I want this lens but expect only occasional usage so always looking for an alternative 

[Anbaric]

9 minutes ago, rsolomon said:

2. Offer a 135 3.4 to compete with the leica version, I want this lens but expect only occasional usage so always looking for an alternative 

How about the Tele-Elmar? It's not that much slower and it's optically excellent, and probably cheaper today than what Zeiss or Cosina could sell an equivalent lens for.

[lct]

10 minutes ago, rsolomon said:

I wish they would:

1.  6 bit code these lenses

2. Offer a 135 3.4 to compete with the leica version, I want this lens but expect only occasional usage so always looking for an alternative 

6-bit coding is protected by Leica patents i guess but hand coding ZM lenses is not that difficult. Just did it on a ZM Biogon 21/4.5. Took me hardly more than 5 minutes and i'm not a tinkerer. As for alternatives to the Telyt 135/3.4 apo, focusing such a focal length is tricky at f/3.4 with a rangefinder. The Tele-Elmar 135/4 referred to by @Anbaric is more than decent at f/4 and on. 

[rsolomon]

16 minutes ago, lct said:

6-bit coding is protected by Leica patents i guess but hand coding ZM lenses is not that difficult. Just did it on a ZM Biogon 21/4.5. Took me hardly more than 5 minutes and i'm not a tinkerer. As for alternatives to the Telyt 135/3.4 apo, focusing such a focal length is tricky at f/3.4 with a rangefinder. The Tele-Elmar 135/4 referred to by @Anbaric is more than decent at f/4 and on. 

only 5-10 mins , wow..... did you use a template and Sharpie ? 

[lct]

57 minutes ago, rsolomon said:

only 5-10 mins , wow..... did you use a template and Sharpie ? 

Match Technical Coder Kit + Zebra McKie extra-fine black + Markal Dura-Ink permanent marker black for a better recognition.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[rsolomon]

7 hours ago, lct said:

Match Technical Coder Kit + Zebra McKie extra-fine black + Markal Dura-Ink permanent marker black for a better recognition.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

sure wish I could find one to buy

[jimmielx]

On 12/12/2022 at 12:41 AM, rsolomon said:

sure wish I could find one to buy

You could just download a template, print it out, cut out the relevant holes where you need the black bits and then fill them in on the lens mount. Doesn’t take long at all. I have just used a thin black sharpie and gone over the marks a few times. The newer Zeiss and Voigtlander lenses have a recess in the mount where the marks can be applied, so they won’t rub off in general use, but at the same time could be removed easily if desired. 
 

I have done this to most of my Zeiss lenses, but found on the Distagon 35mm that I preferred the results with the lens uncoded. So it would be worth doing some tests manually coding the lens first to check that you’re happy with the results, before adding the 6 bit code. 
 

In any case, it can be quickly and easily done. There is a link to a downloadable template here. https://lavidaleica.com/content/leica-lens-codes