Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 Distagon T* ZM photos

Great lens, this thread reminds me that I don't use the Zeiss 35/1.4 nearly often enough.

Leica M 240, ZM 35/1.4

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Hi everybody and thanks for the comments and feedback.

As far as the photo of the girl goes, she actually seemed happy and let me take a couple more photos of her. The photo that I posted of her was the first photo that I took and after she saw me, she smiled, well at least I think she did because of the way her eyes and forehead looked. Surprisingly, the woman in the background did not seem to notice me at all.

A couple of more photos from India.

This couple came in from the countryside and went to the local market in Jodhpur to buy some bracelets (bangles) for an upcoming wedding.
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[/url]Jodhpur, India by

Jodhpur, India by

Jaipur, India by

I became attracted to "this look" and started to take a lot of photos of the women wearing this style. When I asked if I could take a photo of them, many of the women said "yes".
Jaipur, India by

I absolutely love this lens, ironically, I only used it for about 10% of my photos in India, my 28mm Elmarit got used about 80% of the time.

cheers, michael

edit: the film I used was Kodak Pro Image 100
 

H 241#7 Ted Grant Day at YVR by T&T and Mr B Abrahamsson, on Flickr

Zeiss ZM Distagon 35mm f1.4 on a Millennium M6. YVR (Vancouver International Airport) had a Ted Grant Day with more the 40 of Ted's pictures exhibited in the Skywalk from the Skytrain Station to the main terminal. Ted is a good friend, but more importantly one of the icons of Candian press photography - and a recent recipient of the Order of Canada - as well as a Honorary Doctor.
 
Tom A said:
Zeiss ZM Distagon 35mm f1.4 on a Millennium M6. YVR (Vancouver International Airport) had a Ted Grant Day with more the 40 of Ted's pictures exhibited in the Skywalk from the Skytrain Station to the main terminal. Ted is a good friend, but more importantly one of the icons of Candian press photography - and a recent recipient of the Order of Canada - as well as a Honorary Doctor.
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Thanks for that info about Ted Grant, Tom. He sounds like an interesting and talented person, and that photo he is standing in front of is awesome.

I also happen to use my 35mm Zeiss on my m6 millennium and they look pretty cool together.

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Jodhpur, India


Jaipur, India


Jaipur, India

A big thanks to Jonmanjiro for introducing me to this lens, before he had sent me a PM, I had no idea this lens existed.

cheers, michael
 
jonmanjiro said:
I'll go out on a limb here and say the ZM Distagon 35/1.4 is technically the best 35mm M-mount lens ever made! But its size (for an RF lens) in a market already flooded with alternatives will result in few people ever trying it.
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I'd agree with all these. It's an absolutely phenomenal lens. It is a bit large, but it's a touch narrower and noticeably lighter than the CV 35/1.2II (which I have as well.)

The bokeh is smoother than the CV as well, IMO (on top of the Zeiss being *much* sharper, poppier, better color, etc etc. Just IMO, of course. ;) ) I still like the CV's look at 1.2, but the Zeiss is just so much better.

Happy to finally see this thread, and post to it soon. :)
 
Excellent photos Michael, and great colour from that film. Hadn't heard of it before, is it still available?
 
Huss said:
Excellent photos Michael, and great colour from that film. Hadn't heard of it before, is it still available?
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Thanks a lot Huss. Yes, I buy that film out here in Bangkok all the time. I saw it in a photo lab in San Francisco about 3 years ago for $8.00 a roll. I buy it in packs of 5 for 550 Baht (about $15.60 USD). I included a link to some info that I found online about the film.

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/e4L/e4L.pdf

cheers, michael
 
wonderful street portraits, Michael.
How do you compare this lens to the Nokton that you had?
IQ? ergonomics?
 
sanmich said:
wonderful street portraits, Michael.
How do you compare this lens to the Nokton that you had?
IQ? ergonomics?
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Thanks a lot everybody, would love to see more photos from other users. Jon brought up an interesting point, I know there are a lot of 35mm fast lenses out in the wild, but I imagine that there are more users of this fine lens on this forum than just a handful of us.

Hello sanmich, thanks for the compliment. As you and others here probably know I used my 35mm 1.2 Nokton a lot and I am very happy with many of the photos that I shot with that lens and I don't have anything negative to say about it. I just wanted to change things up and see what happens. As far as IQ goes, I feel the Zeiss has a really nice 3d look to it and it is sharper and has a warmer look to it. To be honest, I am still getting used to using the Zeiss, it has a small focusing "nub" to it that my 1.2 didn't have and I am slowly getting used to it. The Zeiss does feel a little "smaller" in my hands, but to be honest, the size of either of the lenses have never really bothered me.

Here are a couple of more photos from my recent trip to India, and to be honest, I wish I would of used the lens more in India.

I spent a couple of days in Jodphur, which is a city that is famous for having many houses that are painted blue.
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[/url]Jodhpur, India by

Jodhpur, India by

Jaipur, India by

cheers, michael
 
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Inverary Scotland
Tri-X Pyrocat HD 1:1:100

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Loch Lubnaig Scotland

Foma Retropan 320 Pyrocat HD

Best 35mm in my cupboard but it is a bit big, I know, shoot an SLR or a blad and it's tiny but against a 40mm Nokton that pulls f1.4 as well?
 
Gorgeous stuff, Michael. Almost makes me want to go back to 35mm rangefinders. But, when i saw the price of this lens, i 'remembered' i prefer SLRs.... Wish there were an SLR lens that performed like this.

Great eye, great photography, and thank you for executing them ON FILM.
 
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