Thursday, December 2, 2010

its not about your way to the finish line, its your way to crossing it.

Hello !


So I've completed 7 subjects of my SPM examinations. Only 2 subjects remain, Chemistry on Monday (December 6th) and Biology on Wednesday (December 8th). So far, I think its been a smooth ride, with the exception of Physic papers. %#*(@#@) hard. But hopefully I did fine.


SOOO onto the more exciting things. Guess what arrived on my doorstep last Monday (November 22nd - a day before my first paper!) ? The lens I ordered through www.shashinki.com - Carl Zeiss ZF.2 2.0/35. I was supposed to open the box after my exams, but with the circumstances and the stress of exams, I decided not to wait ! I've been using it for a few days now on my D700, and its absolutely phenomenal ! I don't have any pictures of the lens yet, I'm gonna take some now actually, I'll post them next week (promise!). As for the pictures taken by the lens, they are very well balanced. In terms of colours, bokeh, and sharpness, its certainly the best that I have. I also have tested for vignetting, and as for all lenses at their max. apertures, they do tend to vignette, the same goes to this Zeiss 2.0/35. However, the vignetting goes away quite quickly, even at f/3.5, its almost gone. And by f/4, its entirely gone, which is quite good I'd say. I'll make another test and post some shots here and make another verdict.


I forgot to mention that Carl Zeiss only makes manual focus, all-metal lenses. The first thing I noticed when I saw the 2.0/35 is its small ! When I picked it up, it was pretty heavy. But, that is assuring, convincing you that it is not made of plastic. Also, the build quality, is unbeatable. You'd be forgiven to mistake this for a lens used by the military (though I doubt they used these). It is truly exceptional, it just cries out quality like nothing else. Not to forget, the lens hood - which is also metal ! The last metal lens hood I've ever gotten was for the 85 f/1.4D, though the feel of the hood isn't as nice as the one for the Zeiss 2.0/35. Big reminder though, that the Zeiss lens caps (or at least the one for the 2.0/35), don't fit convincingly at the front of the lens with a filter attached. Since I brought this 35 online, I didn't have a filter to go with it at first. At that time, the lens cap fits perfectly. But once I attached the UV filter at the front of the lens, the cap doesn't go in perfectly. So, just be careful with this. Lastly, the focus ring - unbelievable. Although this is the first MF lens for my DSLR, the feel of it just incredible. I've only used manual focus with my film cameras a little over 2 years ago. And the buttery feel of the Zeiss lenses are certainly no match for my old film cameras. Its just pure quality, and very precise. The long focus rotation lets you enjoy manual focusing the lens, even if it seems like you don't. I have to admit, I had some doubts about manual focusing with a DSLR, just days before I got this lens. And I was afraid that it was money down the drain to buy this, but after using it for a few days, all that doubt - gone.


I've had a lot of fun using this lens, so much fun, in fact, I'm starting to take photos of nothing special and I no longer hesitate to worry about creating a breathtaking image every single time. I'm enjoying photography more than ever now, and I really doubt I'll ever need another 35mm in my camera bag - unless of course there's that need to get the new Zeiss 1.4/35 which is way too expensive for me ! Will continue to use this lens more and more, now that my exams are nearing its last phase. I will post some photos next week, maybe during the weekend. Till then, enjoy taking photos, bye !

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