Cosina Zeiss VS West Germany Zeiss

Henessy · 10th November 2008

Hi, may I know is that really a lot of dispaity in the quality of the photos taken by Zeiss lens made by Cosina and Zeiss lens(CY mount) made in west germany?

The reason I am asking this is cos I often hear from some clubsnappers that the Zeiss Made by Cosina are really far away from those older ones made in germany.

May I know is this true?

Thanks

fuwen · 10th November 2008

I do not quite believe, and to me Zeiss design and quality are consistent whether their lenses are manufactured in Germany or Japan. I have been a long time user of Zeiss products from Rolleiflex 35mm, Rolleiflex 6x6, Contax C/Y to the lastest Cosina made ZM series. They are all good lenses for photography. Other people may have different views.

The only problem with me is that I buy lenses to take photographs, and not do lens tests, shooting walls, etc etc.

You can also refer to the following website/bloc/forum for more information:

http://forum.contax-club.org/index.p...87c1553a7fb3bf

http://www.zeissism.blogspot.com/

http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/jw!ddtNjcORBBQUDbGbMQ.H

I do have some photo samples of the various Zeiss lenses I used in my gallery
http://www.fuwen.net/photos_gallerybylens/index.php

cocoa · 10th November 2008

Analogy:

Nikon D700. Same price, one made in Japan, the other made in Thailand. Which would you choose and why? (actually no need to ask why, the answer is obvious.)

Even for C/Y zeiss lenses, many go for the German-made version for IQ difference (google some chinese/HK/TW sites to verify my claim). Go figure.

well, YMMV and I am fine with that.

fuwen · 10th November 2008

I have the German made Rollei HFT 85/1.4 and the Japan made C/Y 85/1.4. They are all good lenses and are of the same quality for most practical purposes. For me I shoot only colour negatives and enlarge only to 8x12.

My Japan made Contax Zeiss and German/Singapore made Rolleiflex Zeiss all serve me well. But I buy lenses to use and not to sell later on, or to collect. I do agree that the made in Germany ones have better collector or re-sale values.

Comparing my made in Germany ZM 15/2.8 and the rest made in Japan ZM 21/2.8, 28/2.8, 35/2 and 50/2, the performance is consistent. Only mechanically the ZM 15/2.8 focusing movement feels smoother and with more damping, the Japan ones are more rough, but those things do not affect picture quality.

Even the Cosina designed and manufactured Voigtlander lenses, they are by no means low in performance, and in fact many of them if not all are good performers, and for those who have a budget constraint they definitely represent good value for money, and they will take good photographs under good hands.

cocoa · 10th November 2008

Another analogy: call it Rollei 35RF all you want, it is basically a Voigtlander Bessa R2 .

Call it zeiss ikon all u wan, it still sports that noisy Bessa shutter. so.. a Zeiss is a zeiss, but "cosina zeiss" is ???

(at the least, the russians call their zeiss clone Jupiter

BTW, some Jupiters are reported to be great performer (reads: good for taking pictures, not just MTF charts.) and best of all, they are cheap.

fuwen · 10th November 2008

Not quite agree with some of the analogies.

Made in Germany and made in Japan is different compared to made in Japan and made in China/Thailand. To me German and Japan production standard and quality is way different from Thailand and China. We all know that Japan has one of the best control in terms of production, and also mass production.

Henessy is asking about MIG/MIJ lenses, not body. Yes Rollei 35RF and Zeiss Ikon are Cosina designed and manufactured bodies. But all Zeiss lenses are/were designed by Zeiss Germany. Only the manufacturing part is not in Germany, but still under Zeiss QC specification and manufactured to Zeiss specifications.

cocoa · 10th November 2008

Does anybody reeeally believe that tiny Carl Zeiss Tessar lens on a sony ericsson handphone has anything to do with Zeiss? or, anywhere near the quality of a Tessar lens on a made-in-Singapore Rollei 35? (BTW, we all know that the Tessar on any rollei 35 has real Zeiss glass in there).

OTOH, some experts/historians claim that some Jupiter has real zeiss glass elements rob from German plants and assembled in USSR. So for all we know, clone is real zeiss and MIJ "zeiss" is actual Hoya glass

(another case in point: D-summilux 25/1.4 lens sure aint no German glass. can call it summilux or what-lux, but it is just not the real thing, period.)

photobum · 10th November 2008

Originally Posted by cocoa

So for all we know, clone is real zeiss and MIJ "zeiss" is actual Hoya glass

You are right. Hoya Corporation did supply glass slabs to Carl Zeiss Meditec AG during the 1990s.

merelyok · 10th November 2008

Built quality is one thing, but image quality-wise..

Anyone care to guess which lens was used for this shot?

photobum · 10th November 2008

Originally Posted by merelyok

Anyone care to guess which lens was used for this shot?

Possibly, looks like Russian optics to me.

merelyok · 10th November 2008

Originally Posted by photobum

Possibly, looks like Russian optics to me.

hehe. anyone else?

photobum · 10th November 2008

Originally Posted by merelyok

hehe. anyone else?

Hold on a minute! Not so fast.

Let me guess again.... Judging by the skin tone and color gradations, it could be a Voigtlander.

merelyok · 10th November 2008

Originally Posted by photobum

Hold on a minute! Not so fast.

Let me guess again.... Judging by the skin tone and color gradations, it could be a Voigtlander.

haha! okok, i'll wait for another guess to come in before i give you guys the answer!

gooseberry · 10th November 2008

russian lens ? colours look like kodak film.

photobum · 10th November 2008

Originally Posted by gooseberry

russian lens ? colours look like kodak film.

Yes, I believe it was shot on film.

Parchiao · 10th November 2008

Originally Posted by cocoa

Analogy:

Nikon D700. Same price, one made in Japan, the other made in Thailand. Which would you choose and why? (actually no need to ask why, the answer is obvious.)

Even for C/Y zeiss lenses, many go for the German-made version for IQ difference (google some chinese/HK/TW sites to verify my claim). Go figure.

well, YMMV and I am fine with that.

Your illustration is not quite correct, in fact, it's baloney.

Henessy · 11th November 2008

Pls reveal the answer leh

merelyok · 11th November 2008

Originally Posted by Henessy

Pls reveal the answer leh

Haha ok la ok la. Its russian glass. Jupiter 3 to be exact. Cant remb what film was used.

cocoa · 11th November 2008

what else could you use to shoot a russian general? HAHA...

Dream Merchant · 11th November 2008

Let's see...if I had the money to buy Zeiss in the first place...and had a choice between a XYZ Made in Japan, and a XZY Made in West Germany, for the same price, I would of course take the MIG version.

If I really needed that lense to shoot, and only the MIJ version was available, no need to think or worry liao.

10th November 2008	#1
Henessy Advertiser Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Bishan Posts: 5,915	Cosina Zeiss VS West Germany Zeiss Hi, may I know is that really a lot of dispaity in the quality of the photos taken by Zeiss lens made by Cosina and Zeiss lens(CY mount) made in west germany? The reason I am asking this is cos I often hear from some clubsnappers that the Zeiss Made by Cosina are really far away from those older ones made in germany. May I know is this true? Thanks __________________ Mass Order: 7th B+W filter,[color="Blue"][b]Pop Up Diffuser,whaletail,Gaffer Tape

10th November 2008	#2
fuwen Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Singapore, Woodlands Posts: 1,974	Re: Cosina Zeiss VS West Germany Zeiss I do not quite believe, and to me Zeiss design and quality are consistent whether their lenses are manufactured in Germany or Japan. I have been a long time user of Zeiss products from Rolleiflex 35mm, Rolleiflex 6x6, Contax C/Y to the lastest Cosina made ZM series. They are all good lenses for photography. Other people may have different views. The only problem with me is that I buy lenses to take photographs, and not do lens tests, shooting walls, etc etc. You can also refer to the following website/bloc/forum for more information: http://forum.contax-club.org/index.p...87c1553a7fb3bf http://www.zeissism.blogspot.com/ http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/jw!ddtNjcORBBQUDbGbMQ.H I do have some photo samples of the various Zeiss lenses I used in my gallery http://www.fuwen.net/photos_gallerybylens/index.php __________________ Contax Aria - Rolleiflex 3003 - SL66 - Rollei 35RF / Voigtlander R4M - Carl Zeiss My website Last edited by fuwen; 10th November 2008 at 01:25 PM.

10th November 2008	#3
cocoa Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 175	Re: Cosina Zeiss VS West Germany Zeiss Analogy: Nikon D700. Same price, one made in Japan, the other made in Thailand. Which would you choose and why? (actually no need to ask why, the answer is obvious.) Even for C/Y zeiss lenses, many go for the German-made version for IQ difference (google some chinese/HK/TW sites to verify my claim). Go figure. well, YMMV and I am fine with that. Last edited by cocoa; 10th November 2008 at 01:35 PM.

10th November 2008	#4
fuwen Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Singapore, Woodlands Posts: 1,974	Re: Cosina Zeiss VS West Germany Zeiss I have the German made Rollei HFT 85/1.4 and the Japan made C/Y 85/1.4. They are all good lenses and are of the same quality for most practical purposes. For me I shoot only colour negatives and enlarge only to 8x12. My Japan made Contax Zeiss and German/Singapore made Rolleiflex Zeiss all serve me well. But I buy lenses to use and not to sell later on, or to collect. I do agree that the made in Germany ones have better collector or re-sale values. Comparing my made in Germany ZM 15/2.8 and the rest made in Japan ZM 21/2.8, 28/2.8, 35/2 and 50/2, the performance is consistent. Only mechanically the ZM 15/2.8 focusing movement feels smoother and with more damping, the Japan ones are more rough, but those things do not affect picture quality. Even the Cosina designed and manufactured Voigtlander lenses, they are by no means low in performance, and in fact many of them if not all are good performers, and for those who have a budget constraint they definitely represent good value for money, and they will take good photographs under good hands. __________________ Contax Aria - Rolleiflex 3003 - SL66 - Rollei 35RF / Voigtlander R4M - Carl Zeiss My website Last edited by fuwen; 10th November 2008 at 01:47 PM.

10th November 2008	#5
cocoa Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 175	Re: Cosina Zeiss VS West Germany Zeiss Another analogy: call it Rollei 35RF all you want, it is basically a Voigtlander Bessa R2 . Call it zeiss ikon all u wan, it still sports that noisy Bessa shutter. so.. a Zeiss is a zeiss, but "cosina zeiss" is ??? (at the least, the russians call their zeiss clone Jupiter BTW, some Jupiters are reported to be great performer (reads: good for taking pictures, not just MTF charts.) and best of all, they are cheap.

10th November 2008	#9
merelyok Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 1,035	Re: Cosina Zeiss VS West Germany Zeiss Built quality is one thing, but image quality-wise.. Anyone care to guess which lens was used for this shot?

10th November 2008	#14
gooseberry Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Central West Posts: 1,913	Re: Cosina Zeiss VS West Germany Zeiss russian lens ? colours look like kodak film.

11th November 2008	#17
Henessy Advertiser Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Bishan Posts: 5,915	Re: Cosina Zeiss VS West Germany Zeiss Pls reveal the answer leh __________________ Mass Order: 7th B+W filter,[color="Blue"][b]Pop Up Diffuser,whaletail,Gaffer Tape

11th November 2008	#20
Dream Merchant Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 4,134	Re: Cosina Zeiss VS West Germany Zeiss Let's see...if I had the money to buy Zeiss in the first place...and had a choice between a XYZ Made in Japan, and a XZY Made in West Germany, for the same price, I would of course take the MIG version. If I really needed that lense to shoot, and only the MIJ version was available, no need to think or worry liao.