Customer Reviews

Zeiss 21mm f/2.8 Distagon T* ZE Series Lens for Canon EOS Digital SLR Cameras

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I purchased this lens to use with my 5D MkII, although I really wanted a wide angle zoom. I decided to try it, and after getting it in the mail, I took it to my local camera shop and did a test against the 16-35 L (Mk II) and I could hardly believe the difference. Keep in mind that the 16-35 II is supposed to be superior to the 16-35 I and the 17-40. For my tests, I shot two different scenes, one in sun and one in shade, at various apertures, and evaluated the results on my laptop (laptops are not great for images but it worked fine for this comparison). In every case, the Zeiss images were MUCH sharper and had MUCH better contrast, both in the center and at the edges. In one case some river stones, which were near the edge of the frame, look like blurry brown shapes with the Canon, and they looked sharp and contrasty with the Zeiss. Even the salesman was very, vary surprised at the difference (he went around telling the other salesmen about it). I love my other Canon lenses (especially the 400/5.6L), but in the wide angle department Canon does not measure up. If you are set on a wide angle zoom, you can buy an adapter for the Nikon 14-24, which is said to be a great lens as well. But don't waste your money on the Canon. BTW, the lack of autofocus on the Zeiss is not a big deal. In fact, I have been using LiveView to focus manually and the sharpness I can achieve is much better than I get with autofocus using my 24-105L or 400L. As long as your subject stays put for a few seconds, manual focus is the way to go.

I am using thie manual focus lens on a Canon full frame system. It will meter with the Canon SLR's without a problem and when the image is in focus, you can see (or hear) the focus confirmation. The lens exhibits amazing sharpness. I think this lens is particularly good for landscape photography. After putting this lens through it's paces, below is my list of pro's and cons:

Pros -
1 - Amazing sharpness across the aperture range and from edge to edge.
2 - No noticeable flare
3 - Amazing construction (puts my Canon L's behind) and fun to use manually.

Cons -
1 - This lens shows heavy vignetting at f/2.8...sometimes, I actually REALLY like the look but sometimes it makes the image not look quite right. I think for the typical situation, I may actually overexpose f/2.8 images by a 1/2 to 2/3 of a stop to compensate for the vignetting which seems to cover about 2/3rd of the image. This light falloff is mostly gone f/4 and completely gone by f/5.6.
2 - There is a "mustache distortion" on this lens.

I am definitely happy to have this tool in my kit. Highly recommend!

Every now and then a product comes along that eclipses everything else in its class ... such is the Zeiss 21mm Distagon f/2.8. This lens is sharp to the corners wide open where other super wide angle lenses are mush. The color correction of this lens is extraordinary ... virtually no fringing nor ghosts ... even at the edges of the field. Of note to astroimagers ... this lens has an infinity stop ... no fumbling for focus in the dark. It is a solid lens ... all metal construction. It has a nine blade diaphram that makes beautiful out-of-focus detail ... in short ... this is a superlative product worth every penny of the price. Highly recommended.

I just bought one of these lenses a couple of weeks ago. I thought it would be a nice lens to add to my small collection of Canon L-series lens. I knew it would be a good lens, but I'm surprised at its high quality. I never imagined a lens could be so clear and produce such good colors. It's the best lens I now own.

When I first bought the Zeiss Distagon 21mm, I took a few shots near my home with my daughter (see the customer images) to try it out. I was impressed. However, a few days later we went on a short trip out-of-town for the day. I took my Canon 5D, II camera and only two lenses with me: the Zeiss 21mm and Canon EOS L 24-105mm f/4. I ended up shooting all of my photos with the Zeiss: I just got closer to my subjects instead of switching to the zoom lens. The pictures were awesome. When I loaded them on my computer and into Adobe Lightroom, they needed almost no adjustments. Mostly, I just added some fill light to some of the images. They were extremely clear and full of color on their own. There was no need for adjusting clarity, saturation, vibrance, or anything. Nothing beats taking great pictures in the camera. I thought my Canon 5D, II was spectacular before. Now, it's even better.

If you decide to buy this lens, and you have a Canon 5D, II camera, you should change your focusing screen to a Canon Eg-S Focusing Precision Screen since it's a manual focus only lens. It may sound complicated or scary to do, but it's easy once you've done it once. Just don't touch the screen. You'll get a finger print on it and never get it clean and only scratch it and ruin it when you try to clean it. Once you change the focusing screen, using the manual focus is much easier and not a problem at all. I was reluctant to buy this lens originally because it didn't have auto-focus. I've found that I don't need it after all.

The first thing you notice when picking up the Zeiss 21mm f2.8 distagon is the amazing construction. This thing is built so much better than even the spectacular lenses in the Canon L lineup. You can just feel the quality in the construction and weight of the lens. It feels like it's twice as heavy as my Canon 24-105mm L. Even the hood feels like it's a step above the cheap plastic hoods that Canon makes for it's lenses. The manual focus ring is so amazingly smooth and almost stiff to the point where you can really be precise with your focusing.

As far as image quality, I can't say enough. As with many other Zeiss lenses, the color and contrast this lens produces is just out of this world. I loved the color I got out of a lot of my L lenses, but as soon as I got a hold of this Zeiss, I was blown away. It produces an almost 3D effect in images and really brings out colors that you might have not noticed otherwise. It really shines in outdoor photography... it's almost like this lens has a built in polarizer. Grasses are greener and skies are bluer than you get with other lenses. And it handles flare better than any lens I have used in the past. Distortion is present and visible on horizontal lines though, so it probably isn't the best lens for architectural shots.

As with all Zeiss lenses, this one is manual focus only. That is a big downside for most people, but ultimately, if that's what it takes for Zeiss to produce lenses of this quality, so be it. IMO, it's actually kind of fun being forced to manually focus everything... it really gets you more involved in your photos, and it really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be either. I just wouldn't rely on this lens for action-type shots. I actually find myself setting the focus to infinity and using the camera like a point and shoot very often. Even though it's constructed very well, it is also heavy and that might be a negative consideration for some people as well.

This is a lens I really would suggest renting at some point before buying. If you can deal with the manual focus necessity, it's a spectacular wide angle for full frames and actually was fun to shoot as a standard prime on my 7D. 21mm is a very versatile focal length and this lens produces some of the most beautiful images I have seen.

Pros: Beautiful color and contrast, Sharp, Quality construction, Amazing flare control
Cons: Expensive, Some distortion, Manual focus only, Heavy

I have a Canon 5D MKII and bought this lens instead of the 16-35mm Canon lens. I like the clarity of prime lenses and didn't think I would like the the short end of the Canon lens (too wide for my taste). 21mm is just right. Because picture size is constant from lens to lens, things in the picture get relatively smaller as the shots get wider. I like walking up closer (making the subject bigger) and getting more in the shot. It's nice to have a wide angle lens in the line up and it's definitely cool to have a Carl Zeiss lens. Easy to hand hold and focus and sweet on a tripod with a remote trigger. I manual focus most of the time anyway, so that was not a problem. Great combination of camera and lens.