Zeiss ZF 35mm F2

A short while ago I wrote about my dream lens. I did not think such a lens existed. However, I now think that the Zeiss ZF 35mm F2 might just be the lens I was wishing for. From all accounts this lens seems to be superlative. Like Leica lenses, its widest aperture is fully usable. The lens appears to be extremely well corrected for coma; this is confirmed by Diglloyd. 

The build quality of the lens seems like that of the Leica Summicron. The same all metal finish. Even the texture of the metal focussing ring is the same.

I can't wait to put this lens through its paces. 

I used to own the Zeiss ZF 50mm F1.4, but I sold it because it suffered from severe coma at the widest aperture. 

Leica R-E

I have added a Leica R-E 35mm SLR camera to my film camera collection. Leicas have always been so costly that owning one has been beyond my reach. But in recent years prices of used Leica R equipment has fallen significantly. I was able to acquire a used R-E and a 50mm Summicron-R for less than £450. The M series cameras are way more expensive.

The R-E is a cut down version of the R5. It has aperture priority plus manual exposure, and has shutter speeds upto 1/2000 sec. Spot metering is available in both modes, plus average metering is available in aperture priority mode. The camera is relatively small in size.

The 50mm summicron-r is built beautifully. The focusing is silky smooth. I have yet to develop the first film I shot with it, so can't comment on image quality yet. But holding the lens is a pleasure and you can see straight away that these lenses are built to a very high level of standard.

My first impressions are that the Leica R-E is quite well built - though not as good as the Nikon F2 or F3, both of which feel sturdier. The Summicron-R is, however, definitely better built that the 50mm Nikkors.

Here are some pictures of my Leica:

www.flickr.com dibyendumajumdar's Leica R-E photoset

Nikon F2A and Nikon F3

Recently I acquired a used Nikon F2A, fully serviced by Sover Wong, and a used Nikon F3. I have wanted to own these for more than twenty years ... so I am really pleased.

Sover sent me some pictures of the F2A as he serviced it; this was a unique experience, and made the whole purchase very individual and satisfying. Thank you Sover!

The F3 was a bit beat up - and the seller had not been completely honest about the condition. Anyway, I took it to FixationUK to have it serviced - to my great disappointment, they no longer open up F3s for CLA. All they do is clean from the outside, check that everything is okay, and replace the foams. Wish there was someone like Sover who was willing to service F3s!

Here are pictures of my new beloved toys. The internals of F2A were taken by Sover Wong.

www.flickr.com dibyendumajumdar's Nikon Equipment photoset

Nikon D300 opens the doors to some old manual focus Nikkors

I bought a couple of old manual focus Nikkors from www.peterwalnes.com last week, to use with my D300. This has been made possible thanks to the D300's ability to setup non-CPU lenses so that you can even use matrix metering with these lenses. Amazing freedom! Suddenly the old manual focus lenses are usable again!

The first lens I bought is the legendary Nikkor 105mm f2.5 AI. I have always longed to own this lens; it feels like owning a part of history. According to Robert Rotolini, this (its rangefinder predecessor, to be exact) was probably the lens on which the Nikkor fame was built.

The second lens is also a 105mm, this time the 105mm f4 Micro Nikkor. I had always wanted to buy a micro lens, but the very high cost of the newer lenses had prevented me from buying them.

I haven't had much time to shoot with these lenses, but preliminary results show both are sharp and usable on the D300. With the f2.5, achieving accurate focus at f2.5 is tricky. Once I get a chance to take some real pictures (UK weather permitting) I will post samples.