[Leica] Another ZM lens on the horizon

[douglas.sharp at gmx.de (Douglas Sharp)]

In fact the Kyocera (Zeiss branded and Yashica) are some of the best 
performers out there.
Yashica/Kyocera lenses on fixed lens Yashica RF's (Lynx, GX, GSN etc.) 
are almost unbeatable quality, fast and razor-sharp.
The Yashica/Kyocera offerings for CY are a mixed bag of very good to 
excellent lenses at reasonable prices with some fantastic highlights 
like the 2.8/55 Macro and the 3.5/21mm, and the Zeiss branded 1.7/50mm 
is one of the very best standard lenses ever made.
My two Eurocents
Douglas



Geoff Hopkinson wrote:
> Mark, I understand the point that you are making however the lenses made by
> Kyocera under the Contax brand were certainly not junk. I have owned and
> used a number, from the fixed 35 in the T3 and 28-56 zoom in the TVS111,
> through the G series lenses and then some of the N series. I would say, up
> until the later and cheaper AF lenses that were part of the N range, they
> performed extremely well and I could never fault their fit and finish
> either. I have no personal experience with the Contax/Yashica mount earlier
> lenses.
> Similarly to the Kyocera Contax lenses, the Made in Japan Zeiss ZM lenses
> are really well made and designed and perform splendidly. The couple of
> specialized lenses in that ZM range that are made in Germany are
> considerably more expensive. At least equal to Leica pricing, in fact.
> My subjective opinion on the ZM 4.5 C Biogon 21 is that it can hold its 
> head
> up in the company of the spherical Leica designs, regarding accuracy,
> resolution, contrast and saturation. Only in adverse against the light
> scenes do I see performance (wrt flare) below that of my Summicron 28 asph
> for example.
> It doesn't hurt the ZM range that many lenses are of modest maximum
> apertures. Vastly easier to correct. Like the Summarits too, a range of
> compact and more modestly priced options for an M outfit.
>
> Cheers
> Geoff
> http://www.pbase.com/hoppyman/e
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/gh/
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: lug-bounces+hoppyman=bigpond.net.au@leica-users.org
> [mailto:lug-bounces+hoppyman=bigpond.net.au@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of
> Mark Rabiner
> Sent: Tuesday, 25 March 2008 08:26
> To: Leica Users Group
> Subject: Re: [Leica] Another ZM lens on the horizon
>
> If Cosina is making
>   
>> their own lenses with Zeiss advice, then I'm surprised that Cosina is
>> okay with that. Zeiss is obviously getting a chunk of the profits for
>> its "advice". I don't care what the "brand" is, to be honest. Most of
>> my colleagues who aren't shooters have heard of Canon, Nikon, and
>> Minolta. I walked into a reception at the college with a Contax, and
>> nobody had ever heard of that.
>>
>>     
>
>
> Yes I see you are talking about stuff Cosina is doing.
>
> But all I saw was
> "Looks like a new 35/2.8 Biogon..." and then one more sentence.
>
> And if you could get a 35/2.8 Biogon for one fifth the price of a Leica 
> lens
> then there is nothing to think about. No "option".
> Forget Leica!
>
> Leica however does not have a company else ware make its glass at a 
> fraction
> of its normal coast with it not looking anything like a real quality Leica
> lens and with parts interchangeable between lenses.
>
> If they did people might start calling them "Leica lenses".
>
>
> Zeiss had previously had Kyocera turn out junk for it with it's name on it
> and it didn't care what happened if people were going to buy it.
>
> Leica does it with Panasonic point and shoots. Along with Schneider and
> Zeiss.
> But with that new law a yuppie cant buy a point and shoot without a German
> name on the front rim I think they're off the hook.
> Nobody really thinks they're shooting "Leica glass" when they're shooting a
> hundred dollar Panasonic with LEICA on the front rim.
>
>
> Mark William Rabiner
> markrabiner.com
>
>
>
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