> The 35-135 MM zoom is superb. The image quality is great, as good as my best Zeiss primes as far as color, saturation, sharpness and contrast - a little more distortion at 35mm than I would like though and I like the focal range. Keep in mind though that, the lens is quite large. For travel, I like having a wider angle of view so I personally would probably use it in conjunction with a 28mm or 25mm lens. My ideal zoom lens would probably cover 28-135 but Contax doesn't make one. The 28-85, which I have not used is also supposed to be excellent but for me 85mm is a little too short at the long end. I prefer the 135 for candids and for isolating details in a scene. For what it is worth, before buying the 35-135, I spoke to someone in the professional services department at Contax USA asking them, price aside, which of the mid range zooms is the best optically. Although, the 35-70 and 28-85 are both great lenses, I was told that the 35-135 is the best Contax mid range zoom. I do own a 35-70 and find that it is excellent. I like the smaller size and weight and the fixed aperture. However, I would agree that the 35-135 is even a bit better.
Jason
