Zeiss

I'm a bit distressed these few days, checking the Internet every few hours. It's not the politics this time around but shopping.

I'm currently bidding on this fine piece of East German Carl Zeiss Sonnar lens for my Zenit-E and when I have the right adapter soon, for my Nikon D40 on eBay.


Carl Zeiss lens is comparable to maybe Ferraris if you look at it through the usual automobile analogy. Those Nikkor and Canon glasses are like their Japanese counterpart, Honda and Toyota. That being said, Carl Zeiss glasses cost a hell lot. This second hand lens I'm bidding on is, on the other hand, costs just a bit more than RM50.00. Add shipping and the total should be a bit more than a hundred.

Yeah, it's an older lens with an older mount. There's no autofocus and I have to meter the light manually but comparing all that to the fact that this Sonnar 135mm f/3.5 is capable of producing some of the sharpest and most vivid images, I'll take all that trouble.

The problem I have with photography is that the equipment are expensive. A comparable, spec-wise, lens to the Sonnar would cost me thousands. Of course, there are those cheap Tamron and Sigma lens which autofocus and meter well on my Nikon but at the expense of picture quality? I'm not interested.

I've taken a good look at my photo library and I noticed that most of my photos are of landscapes, inanimate objects, closeups and not many of those are from things that require me to be able to focus my lens as fast as I focus my eyes. So with all that taken into accounts, I'm taking a serious look at these older lenses particularly the M42 mounts.

Photography shouldn't be a one way road. It's okay to experiment, it's okay to be different. That's is probably why I have this respect for Lomographers for their attitude towards photography though I somewhat disagree with the company's policies. 

At the end of the day, people are not going to talk about what lens you use to take the photo but about the photo itself. Many people are suppressing themselves from their potential because they are told to believe that they are doing photography wrong because of this and that. That goes for everything else too I guess.

To those who have never tried eBay, please do. You'll probably be saving a lot of money on really really cool items, some which are not even available in Malaysia. Of course, that is if you are not one of those people who have a strong disbelieve of second hand items and held on the the idea that second hand items will break down 3 days after you bought it. And you people who love opening shrink wrapped packages and the smell of fresh styrofoam. Yummy. The rest of you, go ahead and give it a try. Not everyone in the world is trying to cheat you of your money.

So yeah, I'm down to 3 more days. Pray that I win will ya? Thanks.

P/s: No, Carl Zeiss is not a product of Sony. They've been making lens for Pentax and Nikon long before Sony came into the picture.

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You’re currently reading “Zeiss,” an entry on pelangi hitam putih

Published:
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
by amerhadiazmi