Etruscello Posted October 18, 2007 Share #1 Posted October 18, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) The Zeiss 18mm ZM f4 Distagon is in the USA – and my camera bag! I got mine from Popflash yesterday -- great stock and fine, fast service. It arrived on time for me to code and prepare for an upcoming photo trip. I had a milled flange from John Milich, WATE-coded and ready to switch. Normally, I’d send the lens and flange to DAG, but time did not allow so for this lens. (Don Goldberg did a fantastic job recently on my 35mm Summilux-M pre-ASPH. It is milled, code-painted very professionally – looks like Leica did it, and adjusted for maximum compatibility with the M8. Bravo Don!) I give special thanks to Steven Miric for his instructions on how to switch flanges. He gave me the confidence to do it and his method worked perfectly. Bravo Steven! (I used a 2.5mm screwdriver, seated it squarely in the Zeiss screw heads and turned firmly and slowly. It works! Under the flange is a metal ring with its own sets of screws holding the lens mechanisms in place; therefore, switching flanges does not affect the lens’ internal workings. I tested the lens before and after and it remains perfect.) I look forward to my use of the 18mm f4 ZM in the Canary Islands. I’ll share a picture or two when I get back. In the meantime, my tests of this lens at home (not as sophisticated as Sean Reid’s) show it to be an excellent performer. I can’t imagine that the WATE could be better at 18mm f4. The Zeiss has excellent micro and macro contrast from corner to corner, even at f4. Its sweet spot is f5.6, but f8 is virtually as good with f11 close behind – I would not use f16 and f22. I detect no back focus on my M8 and no focus shift. I do detect some chromatic aberration. It is mild and does not disappear with stopping down. Flare is very well controlled, but not absent. The sun in the lens, or at an angle close to the image boarder will produce some mild veiling and what I call Zeiss bubbles. I detect no flare when this lens is used indoors and wide-open against bright lights at any angle. It does an excellent job reproducing paintings. It must be quite flat field; nevertheless, the 3-D molding of its out-of-focus area is so good that everything is a display of objects at different distances seem contrasty and sharp at f4. There is some just discernable barrel distortion at the edges -- a Distagon is not a Biogon, but it is better than the barrel distortion of the WATE in pictures I’ve seen on Sean’s site. Cyan corners correct very well on the M8 with a B+W 58mm IR Cut filter. I find that it’s most effective to set the WATE menu to 21mm for the best outdoor correction and to 18mm for the best indoor correction under tungsten light. Finally, I use the Leica 28-24-21 VF with the Zeiss 18mm, set to about “25” for the best framing. I hope this report of my experiences thus far with the Zeiss 18mm f4 ZM Distagon is helpful to those of you looking for an alternative to the WATE. It is also an excellent alternative to the CV 15mm f4.5 if you need range-finder coupling. Tom Pastorello Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 18, 2007 Posted October 18, 2007 Hi Etruscello, Take a look here 18mm ZM in the USA!. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
sisoje Posted October 18, 2007 Share #2 Posted October 18, 2007 Great! I am looking to get this lens, too. Along those lines, if somebody has extra Zeiss flange 28/90 (coded by JM or not) I would like to trade it for my Zeiss 35/24 flange (coded by JM). I was planning to get Zeiss 35mm, but I could not resist a great deal from Mr. Martino on Leica 35mm/2 Asph. (on this forum). I also have 2 extra Zeiss 50/75 flanges (not coded), contact me if interested. Tom, think of me at least when you dip your feet in the pool, and grab that drink of the bar:D . Good luck. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
haribo Posted October 18, 2007 Share #3 Posted October 18, 2007 I just ordered this lens myself. Need an 21mm mount to trigger the correct frame lines, too. Does anybody here know where to get one, preferably ready for coding? Does J.Milich manufacture these as well? Would be awesome. Love his LTM adapters, Also, he probably gets it done faster than Zeiss makes those replacement mounts available. Interesting to know replacing the mounts can be done without shipping it off to some place. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Etruscello Posted October 18, 2007 Author Share #4 Posted October 18, 2007 Harald, Good luck with your new 18mm ZM. You should know that it is not a flange that triggers 21mm lines that you need (I think there is no such thing), you need one that triggers 28mm lines. The purpose of the latter is to access the WATE menu after you code this flange. You will need a View Finder for the proper frame lines. For the M8, a 24 or 25mm VF will do. I think CV makes a relatively inexpensive one. Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
haribo Posted October 18, 2007 Share #5 Posted October 18, 2007 Harald, Good luck with your new 18mm ZM. You should know that it is not a flange that triggers 21mm lines that you need (I think there is no such thing), you need one that triggers 28mm lines. The purpose of the latter is to access the WATE menu after you code this flange. You will need a View Finder for the proper frame lines. For the M8, a 24 or 25mm VF will do. I think CV makes a relatively inexpensive one. Tom Maybe I expressed myself wrong but we are saying the same thing basically. The mount or flange, as Tony Rose calls it, that's on the 18mm Zeiss triggers the wrong frame lines with the M8. Because of that the M8 will not recognize the 18 after coding as a Wate. As far as Tony Rose told me, it needs to be replaced with the mount from the 21mm Zeiss lens which in fact triggers the 28mm lines with the M8. Complicated, isn't it. That I'll need a Viewfinder, i ordered the 25/28 Zeiss, for this lens is obvious. But i wasn't talking about that anyway. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJones Posted October 19, 2007 Share #6 Posted October 19, 2007 Maybe I expressed myself wrong but we are saying the same thing basically.The mount or flange, as Tony Rose calls it, that's on the 18mm Zeiss triggers the wrong frame lines with the M8. Because of that the M8 will not recognize the 18 after coding as a Wate. As far as Tony Rose told me, it needs to be replaced with the mount from the 21mm Zeiss lens which in fact triggers the 28mm lines with the M8. Complicated, isn't it. That I'll need a Viewfinder, i ordered the 25/28 Zeiss, for this lens is obvious. But i wasn't talking about that anyway. I've got the Zeiss 18, 21 and 25 in hand together to compare so here's the skinny on the mounts for and M8. Zeiss 18: pulls the 24+35 Zeiss 21: pulls the 50+75 Zeiss 25: pulls the 28+90 Leica WATE: 28+90 (according to reidreviews.com) Leica 21: 28+90 Leica 24: 24+35 So for coding for an M8, you can see that the 18 needs the mount off the 25. The 25 needs the mount off the Zeiss 18 (or Zeiss 35) - they (18 and 25) could be swapped. And the 21 needs the Zeiss mount off the 25 as well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlm Posted October 19, 2007 Share #7 Posted October 19, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) I'm looking into this...anyone want to send a Zeiss 18 to check out? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Etruscello Posted October 19, 2007 Author Share #8 Posted October 19, 2007 JLM -- I just received an email form Zeiss. The18mm f4 pulls up the 50/75 lines -- sorry if I misled anyone. Harald -- I did misread your post -- we are saying the same thing. Have fun with the 18mm. I hope you get the right flange soon. Tom P. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJones Posted October 19, 2007 Share #9 Posted October 19, 2007 JLM -- I just received an email form Zeiss. The18mm f4 pulls up the 50/75 lines -- sorry if I misled anyone. Harald -- I did misread your post -- we are saying the same thing. Have fun with the 18mm. I hope you get the right flange soon. Tom P. The Zeiss 18 I just received from popflash photo pulls up the 24+35 framelines on the M8. I'll double check again. Maybe Zeiss has changed again. Either way it still doesn't mach teh Leica WATE. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
haribo Posted October 19, 2007 Share #10 Posted October 19, 2007 Harald -- I did misread your post -- we are saying the same thing. Have fun with the 18mm. I hope you get the right flange soon. Tom P. No problem. This is getting more and more confusing by the minute I forgot already. Which frame lines does the Wate trigger? Or differently said: Which frame lines should be triggered in order for the M8 to recognize the lens as a Wate? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwelland Posted October 19, 2007 Share #11 Posted October 19, 2007 No problem. This is getting more and more confusing by the minute I forgot already. Which frame lines does the Wate trigger? Or differently said: Which frame lines should be triggered in order for the M8 to recognize the lens as a Wate? 28mm. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Roberts Posted October 20, 2007 Share #12 Posted October 20, 2007 Great!I am looking to get this lens, too. {snipped}. Steven--don't you have a Leica 21 pre-ASPH Elmarit again? Why do you need an 18 as well? LOL!!! (just kidding... no-one has to explain lens-lust to me ) Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_reid Posted October 20, 2007 Share #13 Posted October 20, 2007 I should have the 18/4.0 here to test on Tuesday. Cheers, Sean Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sisoje Posted October 20, 2007 Share #14 Posted October 20, 2007 Steven--don't you have a Leica 21 pre-ASPH Elmarit again? Why do you need an 18 as well? LOL!!! (just kidding... no-one has to explain lens-lust to me ) My "new" pre-Asph is in NJ, I hope I'll get it for X-mas:) Now, 18 ZM is a "wish"... I just want to be ready... And have the replacement mount. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted October 20, 2007 Share #15 Posted October 20, 2007 Jack and I played with this lens today in Yosemite and actually ran a test on it with a Zeiss 15 2.8 and a Leica 21 asph and it performed very well but this lens had a B+W 58 IR filter on it not coded yet and still had cyan drift so i would be careful of the filter used. Very comparable to both lenses but did not hit the top of the three. But your also talking about extreme wide angles and the difference is very very slight. The design and constructions is very nice and typical Zeiss feel and look. Certainly a lens that has merit in the bag. Personally from my point of view i would rather have the Leica 21 asph. But that is me and the Zeiss 18mm is no slouch whatsoever but i am not going to post lens reviews and rather just say how I feel about lenses and my opinion. I feel it is a notch behind the Leica 21 but comes at a very low cost too. But it is RF coupled and honestly better than the CV15mm that we tested in another test. So looks like a solid choice depending on what you are after. I am sure Sean will give you a full report when he gets chance to fully test it. Here is a shot from a Zeiss 15 2.8 done with HDR technique that Jack and I developed. We are in Yosemite doing our workshop and it is going amazingly well. Just for fun here is the two images merged and our working files than our final output 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! Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/36023-18mm-zm-in-the-usa/?do=findComment&comment=381005'>More sharing options...
Etruscello Posted October 20, 2007 Author Share #16 Posted October 20, 2007 Here is an excerpt from the email I received from Bertram Hoenlinger, Carl Zeiss AG, Customer Support: "all ZM lenses below 28mm that should be used with external viewfinders on film based rangefinder models, bring up the 50+75mm lines in the M8. The 28mm bayonet mount that I offer as spare part fits on all ZM lenses except the C Biogon T* 4,5/21 ZM. " His response addresses the issue of the 18mm's type of flange (rightly or wrongly), but adds an intriguing bit of information about the new 21 f4.5 ZM. As I read it, one won't be able to mill and code an alternative flange for this lens! Tom P. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
atufte Posted October 23, 2007 Share #17 Posted October 23, 2007 Zeiss in Norway aswell... :-) Got my Distagon 18/4 + Biogon 35/2 + Planar 50/2 all in chrome, still waiting for the 25/2.8... but what great lenses this is, i'm really impressed with build quality, which is at least as good as Leica, if not even better, they seem equally good performers optically, so i'm looking forward to working with my new found friends... :-) 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! Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/36023-18mm-zm-in-the-usa/?do=findComment&comment=383750'>More sharing options...
atufte Posted October 23, 2007 Share #18 Posted October 23, 2007 Couple of shots with it...sorry only test shots, nothing fancy... :-) 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! Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/36023-18mm-zm-in-the-usa/?do=findComment&comment=383755'>More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted October 23, 2007 Share #19 Posted October 23, 2007 I ordered a 18mm Zeiss also. Need to try it more. LOL Good excuse as any i can come up with:D I did order a 58 to 55 step down for the Leica filter just need to code it for the WATE is my plan. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
atufte Posted October 23, 2007 Share #20 Posted October 23, 2007 The Planar 50/2: 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! Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/36023-18mm-zm-in-the-usa/?do=findComment&comment=383757'>More sharing options...
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