Carl Zeiss presents the Distagon T* 3,5/18 wide-angle lens with EF bayonet mount
OBERKOCHEN/Germany, 14.09.2009.
Whether shooting the elegant lines of the Eiffel Tower or the vast expanses of the Grand Canyon, both situations require a lens field wide enough to reveal the unique and full dimensions of each image. With the new Distagon T* 3,5/18 from Carl Zeiss, EOS camera users now have an ultra-wide-angle lens at their disposal while benefiting from all the other optical qualities that ZEISS lenses are well-known for. The lens’s extremely wide 99°-angle view is suitable especially for full-frame sensor cameras, delivering an array of new creative possibilities. From landscape and architecture photography to advertising images, cameras equipped with the new Carl Zeiss wide-angle lens meticulously capture once-only moments and spectacular perspectives.
Despite its short focal length, the Distagon T* 3,5/18 ZE has an extremely compact design compared to other zoom lenses in its category. Internal focusing also helps to reduce its size while delivering extremely precise and smooth focus control.
To prevent image aberrations during close-ups, internal lens groups are repositioned individually during focusing in what is called a floating elements design. This allows the Distagon T* 3,5/18 ZE to deliver exceptionally high quality—from extreme close-ups to infinity. Thanks to the ZEISS T*s anti-reflective coating and meticulously crafted lenses, the ZEISS T* is not affected by reflections or stray light. The result: razor-sharp images even under the toughest lighting conditions or with wide aperture settings.
Following the Planar T* 1,4/50 ZE and 1,4/85 ZE, already long cherished by photographers around the world, the Distagon T* 3,5/18 ZE is the first wide-range lens with EF bayonet mount on the market.
The Distagon T* 3,5/18 ZE will be available in autumn 2009 at a suggested retail price of EUR 1,049.00 (excluding VAT)*.
Technical specifications
Focal length: 18 mm
Aperture range: f/3.5 – f/22 (half steps)
Number of elements/groups: 13/11
Focusing range: 0.3 m – infinity
Angular field* (diag./horiz./vert.): 99/90/67°
Coverage at close range: 44 x 29 cm
Image ratio at close range: 1:12
Filter thread: M 82 x 0.75
Mounts: ZF (F bayonet), ZK (K bayonet), ZE (EF bayonet)
Accessories: Lens shade included
cr
45 Comments
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“Way” too soft? You seem to have pretty unrealistic IQ expectations unless you happen to have a very bad copy of the lens.
http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/175-canon-ef-16-35mm-f28-usm-l-lab-test-report–review?start=1
http://the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-16-35mm-f-2.8-L-USM-Lens-Review.aspx
“By 20mm, the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM Lens’ barrel distortion is dramatically lower and corners sharpness approaches center sharpness. Sharpness wide open is very good across the focal length range with the longer end being slightly weaker than the wide end. By f/4, this lens is very sharp across the frame.”
Other reviews easily Google-able also seem to contradict your rather dramatic statement.
I have worked with the Zeiss Distagon T* 3,5/18 on Nikon D3 bodies, and it creates beautiful and very sharpe results with little or no CA.
Right its not a lens for for photojournalism, but for interior, landscape etc where image quality is fare more important than AF this lens comes close to any other WA medium format lenses I have seen.
I will be likely to get one for my 5D sometime this year.
So you’re effectively saying the 16-35 f/2.8 is a good 20-35mm lens.
The photozone test you’ve linked to uses an EOS 350D, which makes it completely meaningless for FF users.
“Nother” is not a word.