Zeiss TeleApotessar T 400mm f4 N First Impressions

[Guest]

Simon -

Thanks for posting -- it's great (for those of us who would be sleeping under the stars with our cameras if we came home with such a lens particularly) to get a hands-on review (with pictures, no less!) of such an exotic lens -

John

 

[tessar_man]

Simon:

Did you actually buy the N4/400? Or are you still planning to? I am very interested in buying this lens as my second lens for N1 (after 24-85).
Jan

 

[sclamb]

Jan

No, I didn't buy the 400mm. In fact, I got so disallusioned with Contax that I have now sold all my N kit.

Simon

 

[tessar_man]

Simon:

Thanks for quick reply. This is highly interesting and concerning, since I was about to switch from Contax MM (Aria + 4 C/Y lenses and many 3rd party lenses) to N1.
Would you mind sharing what you main reasons were? Was it technical or just Kyocera's current sluggish support of their system? Do you still hold on to a C 645?
Thanks, Jan

 

[sclamb]

Jan

It was a number of things. First, the lenses for the N mount took a long time coming, and even now there is a limited selection. Once they did arrive I felt they were overpriced, although one would expect to pay a premium for Zeiss glass.

I didn't have a Contax 645 so there was no option to use those lenses on the N body.

The N Digital trod new ground with the full frame sensor, but now Contax is so far behind the state of the digital art they will never recover and assume any lead position.

The killer blow was seeing images from a Canon EOS 1Ds with Canon L lenses. Simply stunning quality, and all for less than the equivalent (and inferior) Contax N. I wanted a camera system that would suport a future move into digital, and is was not, and remains not, Contax. Even Leica made a bold move with the digital back for the R camera, although by the time it comes to market it will be old technology. It will sell though, because so many people have big money invested in R lenses and they don't want to lose that investment and start investing in another system.

I would hang on to your MM kit. I see no point in investing in a niche system like the N that has no foreseeable future, especially if you want the future flexibility of digital imaging.

It is your money so feel free to spend it how you see fit. For my money, it is going on Canon kit, because they have a future, they invest in development, they have got digital down to a fine art and the imaging capability is stunning.

Simon

 

[tessar_man]

Simon:

Wow, you are paying WAY too much in the UK for camera equipment! And this may explain why you hesitated buying this lens. Look at todays prices from a popular mail order dealer in the US (B&H). For fairness I included the Canon 5,6/400 and the 100-400 Canon zoom to show that you do have more options with Canon (esp. for digital cameras where speed doesn't matter so much):

Contax 400mm f/4 N-AF Zeiss Tele-APO Tessar T* AF US $ 2,999.00 (Price After Rebate: US$ 2,749.00!)

Canon Telephoto EF 400mm f/4.0 DO (Diffractive Optics) IS USM US$ 5299.95
Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM AF Len - US$ 6199.95
Canon Zoom EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM AF US$ $ 1,389.95
Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM US$ 1,099.95

Now I would really like to see a test of the Zeiss 400 and the Canon 4/400 IS DO lens, which it should really be compared to!
Jan

 

[dirk]

Jan,

this is the burden we have in Europe. Prices are way more expensive than in the US or Asia. And it is not only because of different sales taxes

Comparing your prices, it is easy to decide for the Zeiss lense

 

[sclamb]

Yes, we do pay too much in the UK! Youcould compare the Canon IS DO lens but only in terms of image quality, not price. The Canon costs more because it is stabilised and has DO optics. One thing is for sure. Action shots will definitely be sharper with the IS lens.

Simon

 

[tessar_man]

I agree, the IS DO lens is very attractive and compact. I heard mixed reviews about its optical quality though.
However, the point I was making was that when you get to professional lenses in almost all brands there is hardly a price difference to the Zeiss lenses. Same also with C 645 and Mamiya 645 telephoto lenses.
Jan

 

[sclamb]

Jan

I agree. But there is a technological difference. The Canon 400mm f/2.8 is both one stop faster and has IS, both of which can make a massive difference in telephoto photography. The Zeiss glass may arguably be better, but if you don't get the shot, clean and clear, then the glass quality doesn't matter.

Simon