Difference between Zeiss ZF and ZF.2 series?

EDV

EDV

Well-known member
I am trying to decide between a
[h=1]Zeiss Planar T 85 mm F/1.4 ZF and a ZF.2

both are the same focal length, and they look almost identical. Is the ZF.2 optically superior or are they basically identical?[/h]
 
Also... why are some vendors listing the Zeiss as "Planar" while others list it as "Distagon" ? What are the differences between those two?
 
ZF had no electronic connection to the camera. ZF.2 has some sort of connection, presumably it tells the camera what iris the lens is set at or some such. They are optically identical as far as I know.

"Planar", "Sonnar", "Distagon" etc are the names of the lens designs and apply to different focal lengths. "Distagon" is their name for their wide-angle lenses, for example.
 
14d0t5d.jpg


I am wondering whether that metal lock is helpful or not in video. Many reports of people "De-clicking" their Zeiss lenses to make them more usable in film, and I wonder whether that metal lock has something to do with that. It's supposed to be helpful in photography but maybe not in film. Can't say that I've dealt with these before, but the Zeiss I own, does not have the metal lock and has not given me any problems so far. But I have a Zeiss ZF.2 ( pictured on the left )
 
The old Nikon cameras had a pin which locked into the notch in that metal tab that you're circled in the photo on the right. When you twisted the aperture ring on the lens, that metal tab pulled the camera's pin along with it, thus mechanically transferring info of where the aperture was set. The camera's exposure meter used that info. Remember, the lens stayed wide open (for easier focusing) until you pressed the shutter release. So if you set f/5.6, but the aperture was wide open at f/1.4, what's the poor exposure meter going to do? The exposure meter used the aperture info from the position of that metal tab, along with the brightness reading (at wide open) and shutter speed setting, to tell you if the exposure would be high, low, or right on.

P.S. -- I doubt that any video camera uses that metal tab.
 
Last edited:
I personally like the clicking on my lenses and I guess I got use to them, but that's just me. I can ensure that I get back to the exact same apeture no matter how many times I change lenses, or how many hands my lens goes through. On rare occassion I might have to go half way between stops, but you can still do that with the non-de-clicked lenses.

I'm using an old Nikon 85mm 1.4 by the way and it's probably my favourite lens.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top