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Author
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jhsymington
New Member
Registered: January 2010
Location: London, UK
Posts: 6
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Review Date: Fri January 22, 2010
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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In a league of its own
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Cons:
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Size
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I've had Leica Rs & Ms, Canon Ls, Nikon gold whatever-they ares, and Contax Gs all in this kind of focal length and the only thing that was really good was the 21mm Biogon for the Contax G. And then this ZF.
Yes it has a little bit of wave-like distortion but I use this lens a lot for seascapes, lakes etc and in real use it's not a problem at all. Otherwise it really is razor sharp wide open - on full-frame - is beautifully made and it close focuses very well.
Because of its size I sometimes leave it behind and favour the 25mm or 28mm but nevertheless this is the best lens I have ever had. Even better than the 35mm and 100mm ZFs that I also love.
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philber
philber
Registered: October 2009
Location: Paris area
Posts: 10
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Review Date: Sat March 13, 2010
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $1,600.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Tremendous image quality, Zeiss build
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Cons:
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tiny bit of mustache distortion
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The Distagon 21 does not only satisfy, or excel, it delights and thrills. I have called the ZE 35 my most flawless lens, but it is the 21 that gives me the most "Wow!" shots. Not only does it posess the usual qualities of a great lens: sharpness, rendition of colour, contrast and volume, etc... plus a striking absence of CA or flare, but it gives pictures a spectacular and dramatic character that just amazes me time after time.
Not only is it wickedly sharp at infinity, which is after all to be expected, but also very close up, which lets me shoot with great depth.
Because of its short focal length and design, it offers such great depth of field that it makes my Canon 5D MkII into a point-and-shoot camera. Set it at f:5.6, focus for infinity and turn it back just a little bit, and every shot outdoors will be just fine...
This lens is often criticized for its "mustache" distortion. It is there, and I wish it weren't. But it has only ruined 1 out of thousands of my shots, and affected maybe 5% of the total. It can be cured easily with PTLens, a 25$ piece of software. So dismissing the lens because of it is wide of the mark.
The Distagon 21 is a legend among wide angle primes. Some legends don't live only in the past, and can seriously kick a*s..
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