Zeiss 25mm f/2

[starcam]

Anyone have any experience with this lens? I'm going to purchase a new wide angle and I haven't heard too much about this one. I'm very familiar with this focal length as I frequently use the 24mm end on my 24-105L with my 5D2.

I want a good landscape prime that has other creative potential. Probably gonna get this or the 21mm f/2.8.

 

[Albi86]

It seems to be a nice lens, but inferior to the 28/2 which is cheaper and better at the price of 3mm - and actually offers an amazing value for money for a Zeiss lens. The 21/2.8 is the dream of many landscape photographers but it comes with a certain price tag.

So in the end when I spend a lot of money I like to be sure to pick a lens that won't make me regret purchasing it over others. In this sense I would sooner pick the convenient 28/2 or the amazing 21/2.8.

Another sleeper in my opinion is the Voigtländer 28/2.8. Comes at a very reasonable price, it's a gem of build quality and also very small and lightweight. I can't find any review, but if you look online you can find pictures taken with a D800 and they seem quite good to me.

 

[infared]

Anyone have any experience with this lens? I'm going to purchase a new wide angle and I haven't heard too much about this one. I'm very familiar with this focal length as I frequently use the 24mm end on my 24-105L with my 5D2.

I want a good landscape prime that has other creative potential. Probably gonna get this or the 21mm f/2.8.

Get the Zeiss 21mm...not only is it fantastic and worth the money..it will broaden your focal range of your existing lenses.
I have one...Its so good that I am now saving for the 15mm..another focal length that Zeiss REALLY nailed!

Some lenses Zeiss nails..some not...I would skip the 25mm.

 

[Vossie]

Have you considered the TS-E 24mm? Looking at these ISO-12233 charts, I think it has slighly better contrast and sharpness. It is obviously a bit slower than the Zeiss 21, and a bit more expensive, but it will give you additional creative possibilities with its tilt/shift functionality.

 

[starcam]

Thanks for the responses. I guess there is probably a reason why not that many people are gushing over the 25mm. I've been lusting over the 21mm for quite awhile and I think that's the one for me.

I've heard great things about the 24mm T/S from Canon, but the 21mm is the absolute ceiling of my budget. Besides, any extra money I would prefer to spend on a tripod upgrade or a midrange prime

 

[infared]

Zeiss 21mm

 

[user222]

Super excited...mine just rolled in on the UPS truck.

I sold a very nice canon 24 1.4 II, to switch to this lens. The 24L was great at F2, this lens is even better.
This lens is smaller than the 24L, a tad bit lighter and takes a 67mm filter (vs 77mm). Based on the focal length, size, Zeiss color and contrast this is like a multi-purpose dream lens for me. I was reluctant to unload the 24L, but this lens tops it IMO.

If you look at the MTF charts for this lens, they look almost identical to the Zeiss 50MP. Pixel peepers have dinged this lens for being soft in the extreme corners, but the 50MP exhibits the same properties, and many people (myself included) consider the 50MP the best 50mm for EF mount.

I would say the only thing going against this lens is that it has some stiff competition from Canon and Nikon in their 24 1.4 offerings. I have no experience with the Nikon lens, but the Canon 24 1.4 II is a phenomenal lens. For the price, many will choose the AF and wider aperture of the Canikons.

The 21mm is also, of course, a great lens. Perfect for dramatic views and landscapes. The sharpness and contrast across the frame draws the viewer in to the scene. The 21mm FL is at times too wide for me as a "walk around" lens. Whereas 25 is perfect. So the 21 is my "landscape specialist" and the 25 is my "general" WA.

 

[ksagomonyants]

I don't own Zeiss 25 f2 but here I'll cite some reviews about this lens from diglloyd.com "The 25/2 is a lens with exceptional imaging quality. Color purity and color saturation are outstanding. When combined with exceptionally high lens contrast, the effect is stunning. Sharpness is razor-like.

The MTF chart suggests that the new 25/2 can be expected to be a very high performing 25mm lens, with exceptionally high contrast across the frame that looks nearly as good as rangefinder lenses, quite an accomplishment. It is a beautiful performer, if optimized more for central sharpness and being a bit weaker at the edges and corners.

The 25/2 Distagon is a more compact lens than the 21/2.8 Distagon. Also, 67mm filters are much less expensive than 82mm, and match up with the 50/2 Makro-Planar and 100/2 Makro-Planar. Yet 21mm offers quite a bit wider angle of view, so owning both focal lengths is not unreasonable. Still, as an all-around lens, I’d suggest that 25mm will suit most users better than the ultra-wide 21mm, and the f/2 aperture adds some more flexibility as well".

I hope this helps with your choice. Either one should be an excellent choice!

 

[noisejammer]

I own the ZE 21/2.8, 25/2 and 28/2.

Make no error, (in spite of a comment to the contrary) the image quality of the 25/2 is obviously better than either of the others. It is a great lens with one caveat - I have not been able to extract the 3D look that pops from the 35/2. It may be that I need to play with this lens lot more.

You might give serious consideration to purchasing the ZF.2 model - it offers freedom to choose the body you prefer and glass like this is certainly good enough for high resolution sensors.