Lens choice and mounts

[SeanEmer]

Sorry, as I'm sure this has been covered before, but a few searches and some stalking didn't turn up enough info.

I'm looking at investing in a Letus35 Extreme and 3 primes plus a zoom. I've been looking around nonchalantly for a while, but now that I'm considering this seriously, I need to get the facts straight out.

What exactly are Zeiss lenses? I hear everyone raving about them, and their site looks cool, but I had never heard of a Zeiss lens before. Also, is it still true that Nikons are generally more useful than Canons (says the sticky post)?

The real trouble I'm having is figuring out the mounting and technical aspects. I searched for SLR lenses for Nikon on www.nikonusa.com (http://www.nikonusa.com) but it gives me a list of AF lenses, which as I understand need an electrical source to adjust the aperture. So what nikon lenses are being used, and where can I find them? Also, on the Zeiss site I'm seeing stats on 'ZF' 'ZK' and 'ZS', defined as F Bayonet Mount, K Bayonet Mount, and M42 Screw mount, respectivly. What does this all mean? I'm pretty new to interchangeable lenses, so I don't know the terminology - yet.

So how can I tell that a lens I'm looking at will mount on the Letus35 Extreme? Also, where can I get a zoom lens that won't lose its focus? I feel bad asking all this, as I'm sure it has been asked and answered before, but I hope you guys understand.

[Dennis Wood]

Zeiss makes lenses for multiple lens mounts which is why you're seeing all the references to different mounts. AFAIK, the Letus needs a Nikon or Canon FD mount. The F mount is the Nikon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikon_F-mount and K mount is the Pentax K. M42 (S mount) is the older Pentax mount and uses a screw type attachment. We had quite a few requests on the Pentax K and just recently added it to our own collection of supported lens mounts.

Most zoom lenses should be fine with focus as they're zoomed. That said, I have one here (the only one out of about 10) that does not. If you're shopping for lenses (look from f1.4 to f2.8) make sure that you google a few reviews too and see what the still photogs are saying. That alone will avoid wasted dollars.