I bought this lens years ago and I was very happy with it . Sharp from f2 in my 5DIII. Then I bought the 50mm Makro Planar f2 … wow even better !! It’s like shooting with a Medium Format. Then I bought the 25mm f2 which is very nice for close distances ( not good for landscape) Now with my R6II focusing is way better and those lenses shine!! ( all of then was secondhand)
Bijan K Choudhury
June 10, 2024 3:15 am
One of the best lenses I have used … now very very good with the Nikon Zf …
Doug W
November 22, 2023 2:49 am
Thankyou for a wonderful review. Your images convinced me to buy one for a Z7II as a walk about lens. Your images really show the Zeiss look coming through.
Pierre L
August 14, 2023 11:37 am
I bought a used Distagon 35mm f:2 last year. Though it can give very good images at intermediate distances (using the “green” – actually white – spot in the Nikon D850 viewer), my landscape images taken at infinity are of unpredictable quality, sometimes good or very good, sometimes blurred. I just understood the problem : focussing at the “infinity” position on the focus ring (at its extreme stop) , at large openings, the image is clearly out of focus ! When I use the white spot in the viewer, the image is perfect ! Thus, the focus ring seems to have a mechanical problem. It is a pity, since an advantage of those objectives was the possibility to block the focus ring at “infinity” for landscapes. Did anybody encounter such a problem ? Should I try to have my Distagon revised or repaired ? Is it definitively damaged ? Many thanks for your advices.
I think that it is not uncommon for lenses to focus ‘beyond’ infinity when aligned with their infinity marking.
Perhaps though, a more important thing to consider would be why you are actually trying to focus at infinity at all. Normally, you are just wasting available DOF without gaining any advantage, so it might be worth reconsidering this for your landscapes.
Briefly, here is an example for a 35mm lens on a full frame camera. If you are using an aperture of f11, and you are focussed at about 6 metres, you should have acceptable sharpness from ABOUT 2.5 metres to infinity. You can use the DOF markings on the Zeiss lens to help with this.
However, be careful! This subject is riddled with different theories as to what is or is not acceptable sharpness, how this is defined and under what viewing conditions! The debate started in the 1850s and is still ongoing!
It still remains a fact though, that even if your image will be sharpest AT the point of focus (it will be!), there will always be a range of distances on either side of this point where DOF will extend this sharpness. The debate is normally just about how this is defined and it is a veritable minefield! Spencer (and others) have a very effective real world way of assessing depth of field that by-passes much of the complexity! You can find this here:
Thanks, David, for those comments. OK, I was aware of this, and I fully agree with you. We have just to remember that for any subject mainly at infinity, don’t forget to focus a little ! However, it seems that – at least for my Zeiss35 specimen – the DOF is unusually narrow for such a focal length. I was surprised with that, my photos sometimes are near “top notch”, and others frequently somewhat blurred. Of course, we are now accustomed to control our photos at 100% crop, and certainly it is not (and never was) the best or sole criterion for a “good” photo. However, sometimes, I wonder whether my used Zeiss-35- Distagon, bought at Fall 2022, is in perfect state. At least the most difficult to use among my lenses! Again, thanks for your comment.
Sameer
May 16, 2022 10:02 am
I am using this lens in Canon ZE mount ,which does not have an aperture ring, initially on Canon 7D and Canon 5D Mark III and now on Fuji X T3 with an adapter. Various focus assist tools in Fuji X T3 help in achieving accurate focus though there is some flair when there is side light. I love this lens. I have 100mm F2 Makro Planar and Milvus 50mm F 1.4 too. Images do have a different pleasing look. Your reviews (and other contributing reviewers reviews on this site) are very good and the supporting images are top notch.
Jacky Lee
March 20, 2021 9:36 pm
Hi
Can I ask if this lens can work on older Nikon film SLR like FM3A? Will the meter in the body still work?
Why it would not? It is metering through the lens, not via the lens. Your fm3a does not need a lens to meter light.
Ben
September 14, 2020 9:18 pm
Hi Nasim, I have this lens for many years, and know it by heart, so I am stunned by the quality of your review, it is extremely accurate, and it’s like you pulled words out of my month to write it… A while ago I realized that most of my best shots were taken with this lens, and never really understood what makes it so special. And now I’m struggling because my kid is just always running away from the lens… so I kept this one and bought another one with AF haha. In the same category of unexplicably-great-to-use lenses, I also have a 58mm from Voigtlander that you could review for your readers ^^ www.flickr.com/group…v58nokton/
sergio
July 29, 2018 10:32 am
The lens specs you posted is missing the number of aperture blades and if they are rounded or not
10. Mass: 530g
Kai-Loke
March 29, 2018 6:27 pm
Hello Nasim Thanks for wonderful review and example photos. I just got this lens, the ZF version, i.e. no CPU for use on a Nikon D800. I find that when focussing with the green rangefinder dot for close up objects, it is spot on, but when focussing at things further away e.g. more than 1.5 meters, the green dot is way out….it back focusses by a lot. And the green dot says on for a quite a bit despite turning the focus ring. Do you know why this might be? I find I’m having to stop down to f4 to get sufficient DOF to work round this, or use live view, which is not ideal. I know that as my version of the lens doesn’t have a CPU, I can’t do AF fine tune. But in any case, I realise that AF fine tune might be a problem because if I adjust the green dot for far focus accuracy it will likely mess up close focus accuracy. Do you have any suggestions?
No, that’s ZF.2. If it’s just ZF without the 2, that means no chip. The press release you linked to is very careful to include the 2 every time. Notice that the very first sentence says “upgrading” — from the original ZF line which had no CPUs.
I have several Nikon mount manual focus lenses and have run, with some of them, into the same issue. On my Nikon D750 I use live view for most of my shots. I have spent a lot of time trying to find a less cumbersome solution to shooting in live view but eventually I came to the conclusion that modern DSLR’s are not designed with manual focus in mind. I accept this reality and now I am waiting for Nikon to release a mirrorless full frame camera (rumored this year). I say this because using an adapter for my Fuji XT-10 in combination with focus peaking allows me to enjoy manual focus photography at its fullest! So to wrap things up a bit I can say that the solution for this problem is either by purchasing one of Sony FF mirrorless cameras or wait until Nikon releases the FF mirrorless system of their own. Hope this helps! Regards, Val
John Sarkar
May 12, 2017 2:34 am
Hi, Got it after reading your review. Loving every bit of it. A quick question. Can you explain why the texture of the photos is so stunning when shot with this lens. Have always been a prime fan. But this one is different. Very curious. Thanks, John.
I bought this lens years ago and I was very happy with it . Sharp from f2 in my 5DIII. Then I bought the 50mm Makro Planar f2 … wow even better !! It’s like shooting with a Medium Format. Then I bought the 25mm f2 which is very nice for close distances ( not good for landscape) Now with my R6II focusing is way better and those lenses shine!! ( all of then was secondhand)
One of the best lenses I have used … now very very good with the Nikon Zf …
Thankyou for a wonderful review. Your images convinced me to buy one for a Z7II as a walk about lens. Your images really show the Zeiss look coming through.
I bought a used Distagon 35mm f:2 last year. Though it can give very good images at intermediate distances (using the “green” – actually white – spot in the Nikon D850 viewer), my landscape images taken at infinity are of unpredictable quality, sometimes good or very good, sometimes blurred.
I just understood the problem : focussing at the “infinity” position on the focus ring (at its extreme stop) , at large openings, the image is clearly out of focus ! When I use the white spot in the viewer, the image is perfect ! Thus, the focus ring seems to have a mechanical problem. It is a pity, since an advantage of those objectives was the possibility to block the focus ring at “infinity” for landscapes. Did anybody encounter such a problem ? Should I try to have my Distagon revised or repaired ? Is it definitively damaged ?
Many thanks for your advices.
I think that it is not uncommon for lenses to focus ‘beyond’ infinity when aligned with their infinity marking.
Perhaps though, a more important thing to consider would be why you are actually trying to focus at infinity at all. Normally, you are just wasting available DOF without gaining any advantage, so it might be worth reconsidering this for your landscapes.
Briefly, here is an example for a 35mm lens on a full frame camera. If you are using an aperture of f11, and you are focussed at about 6 metres, you should have acceptable sharpness from ABOUT 2.5 metres to infinity. You can use the DOF markings on the Zeiss lens to help with this.
However, be careful! This subject is riddled with different theories as to what is or is not acceptable sharpness, how this is defined and under what viewing conditions! The debate started in the 1850s and is still ongoing!
It still remains a fact though, that even if your image will be sharpest AT the point of focus (it will be!), there will always be a range of distances on either side of this point where DOF will extend this sharpness. The debate is normally just about how this is defined and it is a veritable minefield! Spencer (and others) have a very effective real world way of assessing depth of field that by-passes much of the complexity! You can find this here:
photographylife.com/hyper…nce-method
If you already were aware of all this, my apologies! If not, it is well worth looking into. Good luck!
Thanks, David, for those comments. OK, I was aware of this, and I fully agree with you. We have just to remember that for any subject mainly at infinity, don’t forget to focus a little ! However, it seems that – at least for my Zeiss35 specimen – the DOF is unusually narrow for such a focal length. I was surprised with that, my photos sometimes are near “top notch”, and others frequently somewhat blurred. Of course, we are now accustomed to control our photos at 100% crop, and certainly it is not (and never was) the best or sole criterion for a “good” photo. However, sometimes, I wonder whether my used Zeiss-35- Distagon, bought at Fall 2022, is in perfect state. At least the most difficult to use among my lenses!
Again, thanks for your comment.
I am using this lens in Canon ZE mount ,which does not have an aperture ring, initially on Canon 7D and Canon 5D Mark III and now on Fuji X T3 with an adapter. Various focus assist tools in Fuji X T3 help in achieving accurate focus though there is some flair when there is side light. I love this lens. I have 100mm F2 Makro Planar and Milvus 50mm F 1.4 too. Images do have a different pleasing look.
Your reviews (and other contributing reviewers reviews on this site) are very good and the supporting images are top notch.
Hi
Can I ask if this lens can work on older Nikon film SLR like FM3A? Will the meter in the body still work?
Thanks!
Jacky
Why it would not? It is metering through the lens, not via the lens. Your fm3a does not need a lens to meter light.
Hi Nasim, I have this lens for many years, and know it by heart, so I am stunned by the quality of your review, it is extremely accurate, and it’s like you pulled words out of my month to write it… A while ago I realized that most of my best shots were taken with this lens, and never really understood what makes it so special. And now I’m struggling because my kid is just always running away from the lens… so I kept this one and bought another one with AF haha.
In the same category of unexplicably-great-to-use lenses, I also have a 58mm from Voigtlander that you could review for your readers ^^
www.flickr.com/group…v58nokton/
The lens specs you posted is missing the number of aperture blades and if they are rounded or not
10. Mass: 530g
Hello Nasim
Thanks for wonderful review and example photos. I just got this lens, the ZF version, i.e. no CPU for use on a Nikon D800. I find that when focussing with the green rangefinder dot for close up objects, it is spot on, but when focussing at things further away e.g. more than 1.5 meters, the green dot is way out….it back focusses by a lot. And the green dot says on for a quite a bit despite turning the focus ring. Do you know why this might be? I find I’m having to stop down to f4 to get sufficient DOF to work round this, or use live view, which is not ideal. I know that as my version of the lens doesn’t have a CPU, I can’t do AF fine tune. But in any case, I realise that AF fine tune might be a problem because if I adjust the green dot for far focus accuracy it will likely mess up close focus accuracy. Do you have any suggestions?
Kai
ZF lens are supposed to have CPU. I don’t own one but I have read about it.
www.dpreview.com/artic…rlzeisszf2
No, that’s ZF.2. If it’s just ZF without the 2, that means no chip.
The press release you linked to is very careful to include the 2 every time. Notice that the very first sentence says “upgrading” — from the original ZF line which had no CPUs.
Kai-Loke,
I have several Nikon mount manual focus lenses and have run, with some of them, into the same issue.
On my Nikon D750 I use live view for most of my shots. I have spent a lot of time trying to find a less cumbersome solution to shooting in live view but eventually I came to the conclusion that modern DSLR’s are not designed with manual focus in mind. I accept this reality and now I am waiting for Nikon to release a mirrorless full frame camera (rumored this year).
I say this because using an adapter for my Fuji XT-10 in combination with focus peaking allows me to enjoy manual focus photography at its fullest!
So to wrap things up a bit I can say that the solution for this problem is either by purchasing one of Sony FF mirrorless cameras or wait until Nikon releases the FF mirrorless system of their own.
Hope this helps!
Regards,
Val
Hi, Got it after reading your review. Loving every bit of it. A quick question. Can you explain why the texture of the photos is so stunning when shot with this lens. Have always been a prime fan. But this one is different. Very curious. Thanks, John.