Zeiss ZF-I industrial lens range for Nikon F

[jaadgy akanni]

A new line of lenses aimed at the industrial and scientific sectors but certain to appeal to a certain section of the photographic community with their high performance and retro styling. Zeiss has chosen to release these new optics with Nikon's F-mount as this is "the most commonly used standard camera adapter in the technical area". The first available designs will be the 25mm f/2.8, 28mm f/2 and 35mm f/2 with more to follow. Aside from the rather fetching satin chrome finish and locking screws for focus and aperture, this premium line is also sealed against dust ingress and water spray. Prices and availability have not yet been announced but don't expect them to be cheap.

Peep Distagon T* 2.8/25 ZF-I:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0711/zeiss_zfi-001.jpg

 

[PaulClements]

When are they going to get their act together and just release a nice prime set... including something around the 10mm mark lol

Looks good though.

Paul

 

[jaadgy akanni]

When are they going to get their act together and just release a nice prime set... including something around the 10mm mark lol

Looks good though.

Paul

Funny, that's what I keep asking myself.

 

[Mike Prevette]

Well Cosina (the company making the ZF, ZM, and Zi lenses) already has a bitchen 12.5mm and 15mm for Leica M and F mount.

_mike

 

[jaadgy akanni]

Well Cosina (the company making the ZF, ZM, and Zi lenses) already has a bitchen 12.5mm and 15mm for Leica M and F mount.

_mike

Does that really make any sense? Maybe it does;somebody enlighten me, please. When Cosina manufactures an M or F mount Voigtlander lens, is that lens put together exactly the same as a Zeiss lens of the same focal length and mount, or through a process specific to Voigtlander? I thought the techniques varied among lenses of different names(ie., Zeiss, Nikon, Canon, Leica, etc.) And when a company like Cosina buys the names Zeiss and Voigtlander, don't they have to build the lens according to how the originals were built by their respective former manufacturers?

 

[Mike Prevette]

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-7890-8183

"discusses the decision to contract Cosina in Japan to manufacture ZF/ZS lenses and more"

....later...

"Q. Why are the lenses to be manufactured by Cosina in Japan, and should photographers be concerned about a reduction in optical or build quality as a result?

We want the ZF lenses to be available for as many photographers as possible. This requires a price which - although reflecting the high quality level of the lenses - does not render them luxury items which only a tiny few people ever will find access to. Also, for industrial useage, the price point has to be in line with the Nikon lenses to be replaced by ZF. We therefore decided to use Cosina in Japan, that same factory which is producing the high performance ZM lenses, the ZEISS lenses for Leica M mount. We are sure that ZF lenses made in Japan deliver a performance even better than the ZEISS lenses for Contax RTS. And those were found superior by numerous Nikon and Canon photographers, clearly superior to what they had available for their own cameras."

It does make perfect sense, because thats the way the optics industry works.

_mike

 

[jaadgy akanni]

I guess it's all the same, huh

I guess it's all the same, huh

According to what I read, from here on end, any F mount lens made by Cosina, whether it be a Voigtlander, Zeiss, or Leica is basically of the same quality.

 

[jaadgy akanni]

I guess it's all the same, huh

I guess it's all the same, huh

According to what I read, from here on end, any F mount lens made by Cosina, whether it be a Voigtlander, or Zeiss, is basically of the same quality. But I don't think the Cosina 12.5mm and 15mm already out there share the same optical characteristic(like better straylight suppression) of the forthcoming ZF and Zs lenses, so we'll have to wait for that superwide lens we now crave.

 

[Tony Lorentzen]

I've been e-mailing back and forth with a guy from Zeiss, who can confirm that they're working on wider lenses. However - I feel pretty bummed out that I've invested a great deal of money in my ZF lenses only to find out that they've released the I-series.

 

[Zack Birlew]

I don't get it, what's the advantage of these lenses over the existing ZF lenses?

 

[jaadgy akanni]

I don't get it, what's the advantage of these lenses over the existing ZF lenses?

This is what they say:
ZF-I series is particularly suitable for rough technical applications. The lenses are protected against spray water and specially sealed against dust.

In addition to classical image capturing, the new lenses can also be used for machine vision, quality assurance and near-range photogrammetry. Both the aperture setting and focus can be locked for these tasks. For this purpose, the lenses are supplied with five locking screws which enable reliable locking of the adjustments once they have been set. Measuring inaccuracies and errors are thus reduced, and there is no need to waste time checking the settings

Sounds like there are considerable advantages to me. I'm thinking these would be ideal for stop motion animation.

 

[Mike Prevette]

But I don't think the Cosina 12.5mm and 15mm already out there share the same optical characteristic(like better straylight suppression) of the forthcoming ZF and Zs lenses, so we'll have to wait for that superwide lens we now crave.

Have you ever used those lenses? Frankly they are fucking amazing. I've used both on film and on a digital Leica M8 for some time now, and I can say they are the bees knees. They exhibit a little falloff, but that should be greatly reduced with a 35mm movie size chip.

"straylight suppression" is a BS marketing term. Cosina uses the same coatings for all it's lenses. I have found them all to be very well made as well.

_mike