Pictures taken with Sony Alfa Cameras and Contax Zeiss lenses.

[addicted2light]

I am considering a final purchase to complete my CY Zeiss lens line-up - the Contax Distagon 18mm F/4.0 for my A7II

Does anybody know whether these lenses suffer from the same issues as have been reported regarding RF ultra wide angle lenses?

I look forward to any feedback you may have

 

 

I don't have personal experience with the lens, but I'm considering one as well because from the (rare) examples I've seen online on the A7r it is reasonably good. Meaning that it doesn't seem to suffer from smearing or lateral color cast, but it is much weaker in the sharpness department compared to the 21mm (a giant lens though in comparison, size-wise, and 3x the price) and it suffers from a bit of vignetting, if I recall correctly.

 

Lastly, again just from the examples I've seen in forums etc., it seems a bit prone to flare for being a T* coated lens, but nothing dramatic.

[Johndizzo15]

Some shots from over the last week out of the a7r2 and Conurus modded Contax N 50/1.4 mounted via MB IV T. All wide open. I love that the AF is so much more accurate mounted on the Sony vs my experience on Canon DSLRs with the lens previously.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[addicted2light]

I am considering a final purchase to complete my CY Zeiss lens line-up - the Contax Distagon 18mm F/4.0 for my A7II

Does anybody know whether these lenses suffer from the same issues as have been reported regarding RF ultra wide angle lenses?

I look forward to any feedback you may have

 

 

I now I've one on the way, and I'll be happy to report how it performs on the A7r as soon as the courier manages to drive through the ton of snow that fell the other day

[Marc Contaxtonikon]

I now I've one on the way, and I'll be happy to report how it performs on the A7r as soon as the courier manages to drive through the ton of snow that fell the other day

Hi,

I'm really looking forward to your thoughts. I'm currently also looking at one but have a few days to make up my mind. Any way you could share how much you paid for it?

[addicted2light]

Hi,

I'm really looking forward to your thoughts. I'm currently also looking at one but have a few days to make up my mind. Any way you could share how much you paid for it?

 

 

Sure, I paid 293€ for mine (ebay). According to the seller there should be a slight mark on the rear element (hence the low price), but: 

 

- I was unable to see it in the hi-res pictures he kindly provided

- I shot for years with a 18/3.5 Nikon Ai that had a chipped element, and not a small chip but a good 5mm piece of glass missing, but it was still scary sharp

 

so I'm not concerned with slightly damaged glass because in my experience it does nothing for the results. Decentering, loads of fungus/dust or haze would be a different matter, but a couple scratches or a tiny bit of dust are not even nuisances (unless you're a collector and not a shooter, that is).

[Marc Contaxtonikon]

Sure, I paid 293€ for mine (ebay). According to the seller there should be a slight mark on the rear element (hence the low price), but: 

 

- I was unable to see it in the hi-res pictures he kindly provided

- I shot for years with a 18/3.5 Nikon Ai that had a chipped element, and not a small chip but a good 5mm piece of glass missing, but it was still scary sharp

 

so I'm not concerned with slightly damaged glass because in my experience it does nothing for the results. Decentering, loads of fungus/dust or haze would be a different matter, but a couple scratches or a tiny bit of dust are not even nuisances (unless you're a collector and not a shooter, that is).

Thank you - my feelings precisely. This goes in the same direction as a quote I got from one of the wonderful used camera dealers in Kowloon. I had asked him about Leica vs. CONTAX (he had EVERYTHING from both). His answer was. Leica is mostly going to be behind glass display - CONTAX will be put to use...

[addicted2light]

Leica is mostly going to be behind glass display - CONTAX will be put to use...

 

 

Not a Leica hater (quite the opposite, I love the rendering of most of their glass, especially the "vintage" one), but I'm gonna have this sentence tattooed

[addicted2light]

Ok, about the Contax 18/4 Distagon.

 

Mine finally arrived this morning, so I've had an extremely limited time to play with it, just around the house.

 

But for now can I already tell you a few things (I'll update the findings after a few days of shooting with it).

 

1) there are no discernible colors, i.e. magenta cast, with the A7r, and no smearing whatsoever

 

2) the lens is VERY light and well balanced on the A7r

 

3) I've managed to shoot handheld at 1/4s with sharp results (and no IBIS)

 

4) like most extreme wide angles without a connection with the camera (meaning: lenses for which the processor in the camera compensate this automatically even for raw files) it does have quite a bit of vignetting (this was a yellow-ish ceiling; in actual pictures the effect is basically unnoticeable from f/8). But just shooting a blank, out of focus A4 sheet of paper I created a DNG Flat Field correction file for each aperture. As you can see this eliminates the problem entirely. Besides, in real subjects it is hardly noticeable, and quite often improves them IMO.

 

First picture straight out of camera, second picture after correction with FlatField Lightroom plugin. The few remaining "shadows" are actually imperfections in the ceiling itself)

 

f/4

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

f/5.6

 

f/8

 

f/11

 

5) the colors are super-duper Zeiss, maybe even more so than my other Contax lenses

 

6) it seems to be as well much more contrasty than my other Contax

 

7) it looks decently sharp border to border from f/4 ("decently" for a Zeiss, so really good for other manufacturers), and really really sharp from f/5.6. There is a tiny bit of CA, but Lightroom gets rid of it just using the automatic settings. Besides, it looses just a tiny bit of sharpening at f/22 but it is still great (great news for landscape photographers!). Keep in mind, though, that for now I just took a few shots handheld around the house and out of my balcony. To form a more reliable opinion I will need a few days.

[Marc Contaxtonikon]

I now I've one on the way, and I'll be happy to report how it performs on the A7r as soon as the courier manages to drive through the ton of snow that fell the other day

 

Ok, about the Contax 18/4 Distagon.

 

Mine finally arrived this morning, so I've had an extremely limited time to play with it, just around the house.

 

But for now can I already tell you a few things (I'll update the findings after a few days of shooting with it).

 

1) there are no discernible colors, i.e. magenta cast, with the A7r, and no smearing whatsoever

 

2) the lens is VERY light and well balanced on the A7r

 

3) I've managed to shoot handheld at 1/4s with sharp results (and no IBIS)

 

4) like most extreme wide angles without a connection with the camera (meaning: lenses for which the processor in the camera compensate this automatically even for raw files) it does have quite a bit of vignetting (this was a yellow-ish ceiling; in actual pictures the effect is basically unnoticeable from f/8). But just shooting a blank, out of focus A4 sheet of paper I created a DNG Flat Field correction file for each aperture. As you can see this eliminates the problem entirely. Besides, in real subjects it is hardly noticeable, and quite often improves them IMO.

 

First picture straight out of camera, second picture after correction with FlatField Lightroom plugin. The few remaining "shadows" are actually imperfections in the ceiling itself)

 

f/4

_DSC5092.jpg_DSC5092_ff.jpg

 

f/5.6

_DSC5093.jpg_DSC5093_ff.jpg

 

f/8

_DSC5094.jpg_DSC5094_ff.jpg

 

f/11

_DSC5095.jpg_DSC5095_ff.jpg

 

5) the colors are super-duper Zeiss, maybe even more so than my other Contax lenses

 

6) it seems to be as well much more contrasty than my other Contax

 

7) it looks decently sharp border to border from f/4 ("decently" for a Zeiss, so really good for other manufacturers), and really really sharp from f/5.6. There is a tiny bit of CA, but Lightroom gets rid of it just using the automatic settings. Besides, it looses just a tiny bit of sharpening at f/22 but it is still great (great news for landscape photographers!). Keep in mind, though, that for now I just a few shots handheld around the house and out of my balcony. To form a more reliable opinion I will need a few days.

Thank you - this is very helpful. I may put in a bid for one myself... While waiting I look forward to more input from you 

If you ever happen to come by Frankfurt / Germany - let's get together and talk in person...

[addicted2light]

Thank you - this is very helpful. I may put in a bid for one myself... While waiting I look forward to more input from you 

If you ever happen to come by Frankfurt / Germany - let's get together and talk in person...

 

 

I'm busy for the next couple days, but hopefully this Thursday I should be able to put the 18 through its paces.

 

Germany in general, and Frankfurt in particular, are on my "to visit" list, so who knows, maybe we will be able to have that talk at some point in front of a nice glass of beer!

 

Same thing goes, btw, should you ever come here in Calabria, in the south of Italy!

[Marc Contaxtonikon]

I'm busy for the next couple days, but hopefully this Thursday I should be able to put the 18 through its paces.

 

Germany in general, and Frankfurt in particular, are on my "to visit" list, so who knows, maybe we will be able to have that talk at some point in front of a nice glass of beer!

 

Same thing goes, btw, should you ever come here in Calabria, in the south of Italy!

 

No rush - the auction I was looking at came in way too high anyway...

 

If I go to Calabria - I would have to bring my wife - she is such a fan...

[addicted2light]

No rush - the auction I was looking at came in way too high anyway...

 

If I go to Calabria - I would have to bring my wife - she is such a fan...

 

 

Glad to hear she is a fan! Despite what politicians tried to do for a few decades we're still lucky to have every 20Km or so a radical change in scenery, from 2000m peaks to beautiful beaches and ancient towns and ruins. Do you need to take a guess why I became a landscape photographer? 

 

That said, it has been a long term desire of mine to go visit the Black Forest; a late dear family friend was from there (I can't remember the name of the town) and she used to talk about it and show us pictures (and feed us delicious liver sausages and potatoes salads) when I was still a young boy. I guess I keep postponing this trip just because it is, in a sense, just "too easy" to organize so I will be able to make it whenever I want.

[addicted2light]

As promised a few first shots with the 18mm, and a few thoughts about it.

 

To keep things nice and tidy and for future reference should someone else be searching infos about this lens I started a new thread under the "Showcase adapted lenses" section:

 

http://www.sonyalphaforum.com/topic/3613-contax-18mm-f4-distagon-and-a7r/

 

I wish you luck with the next auction you come across

[Trad]

A7ii + 28 2.8

Point Addis, Victoria

 

PS How are you inserting your images? I set LR to export a 1000kB jpg, as that's the limit the forum sets, but when it's inserted, the size is under just 50 kB, and the edit panel suggests I can upload up to 950 kB, so that adds up, and the image loses the magic it had, that I wanted to share, whereas some of the really impressive images in this thread look like they are way less compressed? Any help on your posting work flow would be appreciated, esp from LR.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[addicted2light]

A7ii + 28 2.8

Point Addis, Victoria

 

PS How are you inserting your images? I set LR to export a 1000kB jpg, as that's the limit the forum sets, but when it's inserted, the size is under just 50 kB, and the edit panel suggests I can upload up to 950 kB, so that adds up, and the image loses the magic it had, that I wanted to share, whereas some of the really impressive images in this thread look like they are way less compressed? Any help on your posting work flow would be appreciated, esp from LR.

 

 

LR limit is an upward limit. Meaning that, if you set it to export a 1000kB jpg, it will export the image at a maximum of 1.000kB, but if there is not that much detail (like in your shot, being it mostly sea and sky) then LR will compress the image much further.

 

Besides, the Wordpress (?) backend of the forum is compressing even more the files, and less "gently", but using the same reasoning. So that a shot of a forest (lots of detail) will not loose much, while a seascape or (like one of the shots I posted here with the 100-300mm) a landscape with a lot of sky will be much more crunched. In the case of my image I was referring to, for example, even up to the point to show posterization and banding in the sky.

 

I'm afraid the only solution would be a new universal format using a better compression algorithm. Plenty of candidates in the past 20 years, but for now not one has gained widespread support like the jpg format.

[Trad]

Many thanks for the clarification. Makes sense. I guess it's easy to forget the bandwidth required, and possibly / probably why some of you tend to have links to sites with your images, rather than posting into forums.

 

Whew....for a second, just a second, I thought maybe, just maybe....It must be me

[addicted2light]

Whew....for a second, just a second, I thought maybe, just maybe....It must be me

 

 

lol, every one experiences something like this more often than we care to admit