Zeiss M mount lenses

[TZombek]

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Good morning,

I am looking for your thoughts on Zeiss M mount lenses for our Leica cameras.

[pedaes]

4 minutes ago, TZombek said:

Good morning,

I am looking for your thoughts on Zeiss M mount lenses for our Leica cameras.

Not mine, but someone much better qualified,https://photo.imx.nl//styled-10/leica/zeiss/page65.html

If you search the site you will other Zeiss lens tests. Or in my experience, the 50mm Planar outperforms Summicron (but more contrasty) and the 35mm 2.8 Biogon is easily a match for Summilux from f4,  

 

[Knightspirit]

Zeiss is a good fit for Leica M! I have the 18mm F4 and it performs very well. Like many other brands out there (Voigtlander etc.) they are generally cheaper and sometimes perform as well or better than the Leica version. Recommended.

[Ralf]

Highly recommended, I have the 50mm Planar and Sonnar. Whereas in my opinion  the Planar is as good as the Summicron, the Sonnar has a very special look, both definetely worth a try, especially in view of the very reasonable pricing.

[RexGig0]

Several of the Zeiss ZM lenses are quite good. Some were designed in the film era, and, in the case of some of the widest-angle lenses, will show color shift, along the left and right edges. Notably, Zeiss will have “Black Friday” promotional pricing, late each year, with some ZM lenses being priced lower, at such times. 

The Distagon f/1,4 ZM is one of my most-favored M lenses, regardless of the brand name. This is a relatively recent design, about 2015, if I remember correctly. This one is a very well-corrected lens, optically. I favor the bokeh of this one, compared to the bokeh of the Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH FLE. FLE can produce lovely blurred backgrounds, in some conditions, but show “busy” bokeh in other conditions. The Distagon ZM seems to always have smooth background blur. I have test-shot with a demonstrator FLE, alongside my Distagon ZM. Though it is a bit large, I do LOVE this lens! 

Another personal favorite, on a Monochrom, is the Biogon C 21mm f/4,5 ZM. This film-era design shows color shift, when used on color pre-M11 Leica digital M cameras, but the effect does not affect monochrome images. This one may well still have the lowest distortion of any 21mm lens, made by any manufacturer. The eye just cannot detect any distortion, assuming that the camera was kept level and square, at the moment of capture. I do LOVE this little lens!

The seemingly-discontinued Tele-Tessar 85mm f/4 ZM is quite good, for landscapes. I hope to use mine, for a long-postponed trip to the USA’s Interior West region. Leica M camera viewfinders do not have 85mm frame lines.

I also have the Zeiss 25mm ZM lens, which I bought, pre-owned, based upon its reputation, but, have not yet worked with it enough to develop an opinion.

I have decided against buying the 28mm ZM, based upon reviews that I trust. I opted for the 25mm, instead.

[JimmyCheng]

I have had my fair share of exp with Zeiss ZM lenses. Here are my thoughs:
1. 35 f2.8 biogon-c, highly praised, but I found it too contrasty and the silver version feels cheaply made. I much prefer the voigtlander 35/2 ultron or 35/1.5 nokton
2. 35 f2 biogon, a slightly worse summicron asph. Again, much prefer the voigtlander counterparts, which is much smaller
3. 50 f2 planar, fantastic summicron replacement. It renders a bit sharper than the summicron, by far one of the most versitle 50 lens, it's probably the only lens I would say I can safely pick over the Leica version
4. 50 f1.5 c-sonnar, later versions with accurate focus on f1.5 is useful, earlier versions are useless because of focus shift. It's got a muted look, which is quite interesting. I would say it's a great character lens to complement the 50/2. But it is definitely not a summilux asph replacement
5. 35 f1.4 perfect aside from the size. I really wish they could somehow shrink the size a bit, and we will have an ultimate summilux replacement

Edited February 23 by JimmyCheng
typo fix

[lct]

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4 hours ago, TZombek said:

I am looking for your thoughts on Zeiss M mount lenses for our Leica cameras.

Depends on the camera. On M11, as far as my lenses are concerned:
• ZM 21/4.5: Compact lens. MFD 0.5m. Medium contrast. Low distortion. Fairly good resistance to flare. No significant color shift or color fringing on the M11. Only cons, to me, vignetting and soft corners below f/5.6. Example.
• ZM 35/2.8: Compact lens. MFD 0.7m. High contrast. Low distortion. Fairly good resistance to flare. No significant color shift or color fringing on the M11. Only con, to me, vignetting below f/5.6. Example.
• ZM 50/2: Medium sized lens. MFD 0.7m. High contrast. Low distortion. Fairly good resistance to flare. No significant color shift or color fringing on the M11. Only cons, to me, slight tendency to flare when strong light sources are just outside the frame, also slight focus shift at about f/4. Example.
• ZM 50/1.5: Compact lens. MFD 0.9m. Medium contrast. Low distortion. Fairly Good resistance to flare. No significant color shift or color fringing on the M11. Only con, to me, significant focus shift at about f/4. Example.
• ZM 85/4: Medium sized lens. MFD 0.9m. High contrast. Low distortion. Fairly good resistance to flare. No significant color shift or color fringing on the M11. Only con, to me, slight tendency to flare when strong light sources are just outside the frame. Example.

Edited February 23 by lct

[dante]

Could someone comment on the 25/2.8 on the M11? Is it sharp in the corners wide-open-ish? Or does it exhibit softness up to mid-apertures? This is one that I am trying to decide about keeping or selling, given the cost of buying an M11 variant.

Thanks!

Dante

[phojomatic]

All the above, excellent glass. Used it way back in M7 days (but on my M6). 

Somewhere I think on this forum are suggestions for which lens profile to use for each Zeiss lens. For example, if I remember correctly, the 28mm needed the 21mm to get the appropriate vignette corrections (or something similar).

Other than that, great glass but the focus nub takes a while to get used to. Just such a weird design. In my experience, put your index finger on the tab and thumb hight on the barrel, it's a two finger operation versus one finger with a regular focus tab.

One word of caution: I bricked a M11 with a Zeiss uncoded lens in 2023. So this obviously was in the middle of M11 freezing, but I'm not sure what the current firmware does when an uncoded lens is attached. I mean bricked, dead, morte, return to Wetzlar.

[lct]

As far as uncoded lenses are concerned, i did not notice significant changes since the 2.2.1 firmware update. If the lens has an adapted LTM mount, the camera displays "No lens" when the adapter is all black for intance. If the lens has an M mount, the camera displays the last lens profile entered manually.

[01maciel]

I have three Zeiss lenses:

• 50mm/1.4 Distagon
• 28mm/2.8 Biogon
• 50mm/1.5 Sonnar

All of which I think are excellent. Both in terms of the quality of the image results and the manufacturing quality. But Zeiss treats us M users very badly. They put blue dots on their lenses. Somehow that's insulting.

[spydrxx]

The 50/2 Planar, as others commented, is a stellar performer showing a little greater contrast than the Summicron.

[gbpost]

vor 16 Stunden schrieb phojomatic:

...

Somewhere I think on this forum are suggestions for which lens profile to use for each Zeiss lens. For example, if I remember correctly, the 28mm needed the 21mm to get the appropriate vignette corrections (or something similar).

...

Back in 2014 I found this list somewhere on the internet, maybe here:

 

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!

[kkm]

vor 16 Stunden schrieb phojomatic:

One word of caution: I bricked a M11 with a Zeiss uncoded lens in 2023.

Never had this and still asking myself how the camera knows that it was a Zeiss lens 🤔

[Ralf]

vor 5 Stunden schrieb 01maciel:

I have three Zeiss lenses:

• 50mm/1.4 Distagon
• 28mm/2.8 Biogon
• 50mm/1.5 Sonnar

All of which I think are excellent. Both in terms of the quality of the image results and the manufacturing quality. But Zeiss treats us M users very badly. They put blue dots on their lenses. Somehow that's insulting.

😂

[phojomatic]

10 hours ago, kkm said:

Never had this and still asking myself how the camera knows that it was a Zeiss lens 🤔

You make a good point and I should clarify. The M11 had no idea it was a Zeiss…that was poor wording and potential unintended confusion on my end. The camera DIzd know it had a coded Leica lens which was taken off, powered down, and then an uncoded lens put back on (that happened to be a Zeiss 28/2.8 ZM), and then powered on. But the power on didn’t go so well, it froze, ten minutes or so later decided to restart and it just never turned back on. Again this was super early firmware, 1.something and the case was documented to Leica. 
 

FWIW, I also used Zeiss on an M10 with zero issue, also uncoded. 

[phojomatic]

10 hours ago, gbpost said:

Back in 2014 I found this list somewhere on the internet, maybe here:

 

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!

Yes, that’s the one. Thx

[Vanillasludge]

On 2/24/2025 at 2:48 AM, JimmyCheng said:

I have had my fair share of exp with Zeiss ZM lenses. Here are my thoughs:
1. 35 f2.8 biogon-c, highly praised, but I found it too contrasty and the silver version feels cheaply made. I much prefer the voigtlander 35/2 ultron or 35/1.5 nokton
2. 35 f2 biogon, a slightly worse summicron asph. Again, much prefer the voigtlander counterparts, which is much smaller
3. 50 f2 planar, fantastic summicron replacement. It renders a bit sharper than the summicron, by far one of the most versitle 50 lens, it's probably the only lens I would say I can safely pick over the Leica version
4. 50 f1.5 c-sonnar, later versions with accurate focus on f1.5 is useful, earlier versions are useless because of focus shift. It's got a muted look, which is quite interesting. I would say it's a great character lens to complement the 50/2. But it is definitely not a summilux asph replacement
5. 35 f1.4 perfect aside from the size. I really wish they could somehow shrink the size a bit, and we will have an ultimate summilux replacement

I love your channel by the way, lots of great comparisons.   

[steve edmunds]

i own the zeiss 35mm f1.4 distagon , fantastic lens but quite big,, i also have the 85mm f4 which is nice 

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[01maciel]

Am 24.2.2025 um 13:13 schrieb 01maciel:

I have three Zeiss lenses:

• 50mm/1.4 Distagon
• 28mm/2.8 Biogon
• 50mm/1.5 Sonnar

All of which I think are excellent. Both in terms of the quality of the image results and the manufacturing quality. But Zeiss treats us M users very badly. They put blue dots on their lenses. Somehow that's insulting.

Sorry, my mistake, it should actually be: 35mm/1.4 Distagon (there is unfortunately no 50mm/1.4 Distagon)