On 3 Jan 2004 at 11:25, Charles Wilson wrote: > Just wondering if anyone has had experience with Carl Zeiss lens. How do > they compare with Pentax and does anyone know where I might find reviews of > them.
I (and a few other listers here) have had a fair exposure to CZ lenses for Contax SLRs. There is quite significant similarities between the Pentax C/Y mounts as they were developed when there was some co-operative ventures between the two companies. The mount diameter is the same and the mounting flange to film plane distance is the same however the aperture feedback and activation levers work in opposite directions and the bayonet has been made incompatible. Similarly specified lenses from both marques of similar age have very similar performance and in some cases share lineage (such as the 15/3.5 designs). Optical performance is very similar and the *T coatings from Zeiss are very close in performance to that of the Pentax SMC AR coatings. The exceptions are that the Contax macro lenses may provide a performance advantage over similarly spec'd Pentax glass. In operation the CZ lenses are often slightly larger but most do have a better operational feel, the only problem is that both the focus rings and aperture rings turn the opposite direction to Pentax lenses, this can be a little disconcerting if you use both systems. Contax also has a range of very nice bodies, the RTSII being nearly as nice to use as the LX. I've no experience with the new N series bodies and lenses but I'm sure that they'd be very good performers. Cheers, Rob Studdert HURSTVILLE AUSTRALIA Tel +61-2-9554-4110 UTC(GMT) +10 Hours [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://members.ozemail.com.au/~distudio/publications/ Pentax user since 1986, PDMLer since 1998
