Hi Sorry for the off topic post , but I cannot seem to find an answer. I am planning on buying a post war zeiss 21mm f4 distagon ( for a kiev 4 camera ) . The negatives from it are very very sharp . Does the new contax G 21mm biogon match up to this quality (sharpness) ? I ask because a used g1 and 21 f2.8 biogon can be had for the price of 21 f4 biogon .

thanks leonid

-- leonid kotlyar (murkacat@hotmail.com), December 27, 2001

Answers

As far as I can tell, Zeiss always uses the term Biogon for its true wideangle lenses, while Distagon refers to their retrofocus lenses. My experience with these lens types is limited to medium format. On that basis, and knowing nothing specific about Bio/Dista/gons for 35mm, I'd pick the Biogon, because of the low distortion and edge-to- edge sharpness of my 38mm Biogon compared to that of the 50mm Distagon.

That being the case, I'd expect the 21 Biogon to be very fine, also. All you need now is someone who has actually used both of them, since my answer is rather academic. Have you tried the equipment forum on Photo-Net?

-- Bob Fleischman (RFXMAIL@prodigy.net), December 27, 2001.

Yes , I have shot with the 'old' 21 f4 biogon and found the negatives to be very sharp ( compared to my olympus 50 1.4) . However , I have never seen any b+w pictures made with the 'new' 21 f2.8 contax g biogon , so I was hoping someone might offer some advice .

leonid

-- leonid kotlyar (murkacat@hotmail.com), December 27, 2001.

I have the 21 Biogon for the G series and it is a stellar performer!! I don't think I've seen a better 21 for a RF and that includes the 21 SA for the Leica. It is small and extremely sharp from center to edge. I have not used a 21 F:4 Biogon so cannot comment. A frequent contributor to this site Andy P. can comment further on the G Biogon and, perhaps, the 21 f4.

-- Todd Phillips (toddvphillips@webtv.net), December 27, 2001.

Leonid: I have the original 21/4.5 Biogon for the Zeiss Ikon Contax (& Kiev) rangefinder cameras & it's an awesome lens. Here's an example:

I don't know whether the modern 21/2.8 Biogon for the Kyocera Contax G series rangefinders is the same design, but I know that's it's also an impressive lens. In fact, it's probably better than the original 21/4.5 Biogon because it incorporates modern multi-coating (& is faster, too). If you want to find out more about the 21/2.8 for the Contax Gs, I suggest you visit the Contaxg.com pages @ http://contax.com.

-- Chris Chen (furcafe@cris.com), December 27, 2001.