Zeiss 35mm f/2 Distagon (and Canon 1D Mark III)

2007-07-22 • SEND FEEDBACK |
Related: Canon, Canon 1D Mark III, Canon DSLR, Zeiss, Zeiss 35mm f/2 Distagon, Zeiss Distagon, Zeiss DSLR Lenses, Zeiss Lenses

I continue to shoot my Zeiss ZF lenses on the Canon EOS 1D Mark III (see my previous entry), and my appreciation for both the camera and the optics only increases with use—they are a magic combination. The 35mm f/2 Distagon is a workhorse on the 1DM3, being equivalent in field of view (1.28 X 35) to a 45mm lens on full-frame—a nice slightly-wide view.

Zeiss 35mm f/2 Distagon [MTF]
(photo used with permission)

The flower image below was a quickie shot at f/2 with the 35mm f/2 Distagon. I often shoot the 35mm Distagon at f/2, and the results never disappoint, displaying biting sharpness across the frame (barring mis-focus!). I did nothing to the flower image except to resize and sharpen it—no tricks—lazy is better.

To be clear, I always shoot RAW. I process Canon RAW images using Digital Photo Professional, using Picture Style=Neutral, Saturation=0, Sharpening=2. Like this. Yes, I know my approach is primitive—there are so many other fancier ways to process RAW images. But I’m usually content with the results I obtain using the simplest methods, and the Canon 1D Mark III encourages that attitude.

Great-looking “wow!” results with negligible effort are a huge plus for a digital camera, and a trick that I’ve never experienced before (and I’ve owned the Nikon D1x, D2H, D2x, D200, Canon 5D, EOS 1Ds Mark II previously).

The Canon EOS 1D Mark III produces the most appealing and pleasing images I’ve yet seen from any digital camera, and that includes the medium format Hasselblad 503CWD and Hasselblad H3D-39 (click those links to read my reviews). Those two cameras can produce superior results in multiple ways, but their images equal the 1D Mark III in visual impact only by expending effort in the RAW-file converter and/or Photoshop.

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