Testing the Zeiss ZM 15mm 21mm 25mm & 28mm f/2.8 Lenses for Leica M

[@jackoho5703]

I love the biogon 25 so much I am never using another lens again until someone beat the biogon man. It’s the best lens ever

[@singinginthegrain4412]

I have the 25mm. It’s bitingly sharp and the microcontrast is incredible. Love Zeiss especially for black and white photography

[@GBB70]

Own the same. Totally agree! Love it.

[@erichung9043]

I have the 28mm Biogon. It 's one of the sharpest lenses I have ever used. There is literally no flare when shooting against the sun.

[@GodfreyMann]

Much appreciated your time on this, but a suggestion for the future: when you’re shooting landscape shots and you notice the lens at f/5.6 is not sharp into the edges and corners, then please, please try stopping down to f/8 and preferably f/11 as these are the starting apertures for landscape photography.

[@rdog77]

Great review and those seems like a great set of lenses. Benj always does the equipment justice and doesn't get into the impracticality often. Subscribers . I watched this because I love using manual lenses and the experience they offer.

[@jz8638]

Love Zeiss ZM lenses! Got myself the 35mm 2.8 C Biogon and the 50mm 1.5 Sonnar. Highly recommend!

[@ucprof2008]

Did you use the matched center filter with the 15mm Distagon? Is it necessary?

[@benjhaisch]

I did not

[@rexgigout1472]

Good presentation! Your tests confirm the homework that I had done, in deciding to buy my Zeiss Biogon 2,8/25mm ZM, a few months ago. I wish that you had tested a better copy of the 2,8/15mm Distagon ZM, as it is so difficult to find information on that one, being used on M10 cameras.

[@1983nbn]

I have a few Zeiss zm lenses and love the 21mm, the 28 is so so i bought it used with a slight wobble. The 35 f/2 and 50 f/1.5 are both absolutely amazing. The colors of Zeiss glass is blue'er than Leica which tends to be slightly warm.

[@alternatereality7713]

Just pulled the trigger on a used M10 and I have a ZM 25mm in my collection. Looking forward to testing it out on a full frame after resting the lens of Ricoh GXR A-16 use a decade ago. 📑

[@thomas.kovacik]

can't go wrong with Zeiss! those ZM lenses look so great! I would love to build a Zeiss classic kit at some point, either doing ZM or ZF

[@benjhaisch]

Only downside to the ZMs is MFD usually at 0.7m they do make closefocua adapters though I believe

[@magiccarpetrider4594]

I’m a 28/50 guy with 21 and 90 as extended. When I first went to the M system, I purchased a Zeiss 25mm. It may have been sharp, but it was the most boring rendering I could imagine. I also have a canon R system (R and R5) with 8 Zeiss primes and I love them. I now have the 21 SEM, 24 Elmar, 28 and 50 Summilux’s, and 90 APO Summicron asph. I’m sort of looking for a smaller 28mm and considering the biogon for minimum focus and the e46 filter.

[@slee4079]

Great review! 👍 Also would like to know about the straps you are using! Where can I get them from??😇

[@benjhaisch]

benjhais.ch/clever 🙌🏼 BENJ as a discount code too ;)

[@GBB70]

My Voigtlanders come close but I love the Zeiss 21,25,35 and 50 on my SL2S.

[@GBB70]

How are the corners of the Zeiss 21 on the SL2S? Smearing or vignetting? Thanks

[@asimplefarmer]

love the side by side shots to show what each focal length looks like. These ZM lenses are screaming sharp too.

[@linjicakonikon7666]

I'll keep my Voigtlander 21 and 25mm Color Skopar/ Snapshot Skopar lenses. Compact and modern performance. Perfect with seperate viewfinders with NO obstruction.

[@PhilJohnston]

Greetings from PDX - I have the 28 2.8 (Biogon), such a lovely lense that is great for kids. I recently also picked up the 35 2.0 (Biogon) that I'm beginning my appreciation for. I'd highly suggest the 28 2.8 for anyone reading this.

[@davidkieltyka9]

I’ve owned & used the 21, 25 & 28mm ZMs since not long after they came out. IMO the 25mm is the star performer of the trio. I like using it on an M8 as well as on newer Ms ‘cuz that camera has a 24mm frameline (and it frames the 25 accurately too). Downsampled via a fixed jpeg compression setting to 3240x2160 for 4K TV/monitor viewing, files from the 25 are consistently among the largest byte-wise of any M lens I own. And of course visually it’s super sharp and sparkly. I like the 28mm and really like the 21mm. Never tried the 15mm since I’d rarely use it if I had one and I do have the old LTM Voigtländer f/4.5 (and rarely use it…never use it on digi-Ms due to magenta color contamination). The Voigt does best at f/8-11, and the Zeiss may do better at f/8 too.

[@shy-guy5544]

Nice video. Do you think that is possible to use these lenses on a Fuji xt3 with an appropriate adapter? Thanks

[@benjhaisch]

Absolutely

[@johnkasianowicz6536]

I recently got back into photography after a very long hiatus and enjoy primarily using Leica kit (other brands make great kit too). I’ve been happy with Leica and Voigtländer lenses, but your and Generic Photographer’s videos on Zeiss lenses for M cameras have certainly piqued my interest. I had picked up a used Leica Super-Elmar-R 15 mm f/3.5 and a Leica R to M adapter. It looks like a beast compared to the Zeiss Distagon 15 mm f/2.8. Hmmm. The Zeiss 21 mm f/2.8 looks intriguing too.

[@Hector_Malot]

I once had a Zeiss 35mm biogon f2 for my Leica MP. I would say it is a very sharp lens but difficult to compare it with a Summicron. I did not find these micro-contrasts and this scale of tone in black and white typical of Leica. I sold it.

[@bora8254]

It is nice to hear that Zeiss wanted to send their ZM line for the reviews. Because this MAY mean that Zeiss is planning to build more new ZM lenses in the future. Unfortunately Zeiss has not announced any new ZM lens after the 35 distagon 1.4 and has no roadmap for the ZM line. Hoping to see new ZM lenses that fixes some coma / soft edges problems of the ZM models in the market. I have ZM 25 and ZM 85 mm lenses and happy so far !

[@MB-or8js]

Cosina-Voigtlander is the new Zeiss for M-mount ;). But seriously, the Zeiss M lenses are great also but haven't been updated by Zeiss for quite some time, and Zeiss seems to have deserted the M line since a while. Maybe their focus shifted to make Sony-Zeiss E-mount lenses for full-frame?

[@jacobh5817]

Actually, the Zeiss VM lenses are made by Cosina-Voigtlander too. To my knowledge only the Otus and Milvus lenses are still made by Zeiss itself, but the rest is outsourced to either Cosina or Sony (co-badged). It indeed seems that they’re not putting in any more effort in the VM line.

[@MB-or8js]

@@jacobh5817 Yes, but the Zeiss VM lenses are still made by Zeiss specs and manufacturing procedures. The Cosina-Voigtlander lenses are made by Cosina using their own design. Cosina also manufactures lenses for other brands which are then rebranded.

[@filmhowyalike]

Great deep-dive, Benj. I have the Voigtlander 15mm Heliar. I absolutely love that lens but I had to trade a slow f4.5 aperture for a smaller size lens in comparison to the Zeiss. My Heliar is also an older model made specifically for film. When placed on a digital body, it sits very close to the sensor which causes purple fringing on the sides. It can be corrected in Photoshop, but it's a bit tedious. I appreciate your coverage of the f2.8 Zeiss, it seems like it could be a good option.

[@benjhaisch]

I had the version 2 of that lens as well. Was fun to use on my M9, but had too many issues and I sold it off

[@jameskezman]

I've circled around the Zeiss 21 for years. I have the Voigtländer Color Skopar 21/4 (which is *terrible* on digital bodies) and have used the Leica Super-Elmar 21/2.4 (which is lovely), but just never acted on a replacement. You've got me thinking again… 🤔

[@leeguanxue]

I have just recently bought a voigtlander 50mm apo lanthar vm from a camera shop in Singapore and they mentioned that Zeiss have stopped producing zm lenses and shifting their focus onto zeiss E mount lenses. Since both zeiss and voigtlander belong under cosina, the zeiss zm team have been shifted to focus on voigtlander lenses and thats why we see more lenses coming out under voigtlander. This is apparent since everywhere I looked, I could not find any new zeiss zm glasses, only second hand ones. Are you able to confirm this with zeiss, Ben? Thanks for your videos, really appreciate and enjoy all your reviews :)

[@benjhaisch]

While I can’t confirm, it actually doesn’t seem like I’ve seen much from Zeiss in any mount recently…

[@leeguanxue]

@@benjhaisch Thats really intriguing. I wonder what their roadmap for the whole of Zeiss photography is like given that they might not even be producing new stocks but still engaging with youtubers like yourself for publicity. I would have gotten the Zeiss planar 50mm if not for what the shop owner said and gotten instead the apo lanthar.

[@simonkimber1152]

I have the zeiss zm 18mm f4 it’s good but heavy….No issues on the m10 but too heavy for casual carrying around

[@florianmickel8673]

what do you think of the focus tap?

[@benjhaisch]

Not a fan, but it's not enough of an issue for me to avoid them altogether

[@RYANPARKPHOTOGRAPHY]

Always tempted to get those 15mm 21mm lens but I havent tried yet... it is tempting again...

[@MarcLerchs]

Thnak You so much for sharing. Greetings from Belgium. :)

[@Qihua]

How would they perform on GFX then?

[@benjhaisch]

Good question!

[@patrickjclarke]

For future reference, the f/stop in the bottom right hand corner is pretty light and not too noticeable...took me a second to realize that's where you were putting that information.

[@roderickfield1855]

Have you tried the ZE for video? Just perfect if you can do without AF.

[@twinspowertv1078]

How do you think the Zeiss 28mm compared to the new Voigtlander 28mm V2 if you could only choose one? Ive been very curious about this.

[@benjhaisch]

If the Biogon was f/2 it'd make the comparison a lot closer, but for the added low light I'd go with the Ultron II, but both lenses are different in rendering so it depends on your preferences

[@twinspowertv1078]

@@benjhaisch how so in the rendering? I’ve heard the ultron ii is everything the Biogon is + more?

[@TheWutangclan1995]

I'm not much of a fan of how clinical the zm line of lenses look. Although back in the 90s when zeiss made lens for the contax g's, they were regarded as bondafide leica killers. I own the 21 for my g2 and absolutely love how it renders.

[@junchen164]

what lens profile you use on Leica? I have the 21 zm on M240 and find it sometimes produce color edges...

[@benjhaisch]

oh interesting! I didn't notice that at all and didn't set a profile in camera.

[@jacobh5817]

I still use my Biogon 25 (from my M7 film days) on the M10-R. To be honest, the VM lenses are not the best under all circumstances, but they have great character and when stopped-down they’re very sharp corner-to-corner with beautiful contrast. The APO-Summicrons are visibly better, but they’re priced differently too.

[@danieldewaard6657]

great review! love the music!

[@boostedgixxer]

📚

[@thedondeluxe6941]

Great video! I've never really been a fan of the Zeiss M mount lenses, but it's interesting seeing them compared like this anyway. I rarely use wide angles, but I have a 21mm F1.8 Voigtländer Ultron that I like a lot. I prefer the rendering of that one to the Zeiss ones, plus that extra speed is very handy.

[@fellowcitizen]

ZM25, now that's a name I've not heard since.... oh, before you were born.

[@benjhaisch]

I think my uncle had one... he said they were out of production... ;)

[@KgerShyang]

The 15mm f2.8 is so small as an ultrawide lens

[@williamchan8866]

You did a beautiful job in presentation.

[@williaminbody205]

Voigtländer lenses looking like better decisions after this review. That Zeiss 15mm lens is $4700dollars. I thought it would do better. It’s been on my list for a super wide but today I’m thinking maybe not… I’ve been cherry-picking M lenses and the wide I bought was the Voigtländer 21mm f1.4, a spectacular lens. The Zeiss distigon 35mm f1.4 I bought. I have nothing in between and so far nothing at 24/28 interests me. There’s a lot of interest in that 15mm distigon, how about a review of that lens alone.

[@benjhaisch]

I haven't mailed back the 15mm yet, but after messaging with Zeiss it seems like the lens is most likely decentered which would make a ton of sense.

[@williaminbody205]

I’ve become aware that the Voigtländer 21mm f1.4 was used exclusively in the filming of the cockpit scenes in Top Gun 2. Now that’s a positive review, when it’s reported that the flight time paid by Cruise was over $11000 per hour. It’s the wide angle I bought , and yes it’s that good.

[@-grey]

I love the idea of Zeiss lenses like this, but I can't live with the nervous character in the bokeh. It reminds me of the artifacts from digital sharpening the tiny sensors on old handicams. Strange threshold outlining to contrasting edges.

[@jklphoto]

That longing. That reputation Zeiss once had Benj, came from a precision product, manufactured in Germany. All of my Hasselblad 500 Series lenses were (real) Zeiss lenses. In fact, my 40mm CF FLE was marked "Made in West Germany". Similar to the premium Leica puts to their "proper" lenses, compared to those made in Portugal. Or God-forbid...Canada. That being said, these modern day Zeiss ZM lenses are lovely. Enjoyed my 50mm Planar very much. One could build a very fine rangefinder kit with the 28-35-50mm ZM lenses for a fraction of the Leica equivalent.

[@firdausmalek8686]

📖

[@garychen7000]

Zeiss我有ZF21/2.8、ZF50/2、ZF100/2和一个ZM25/2喜欢蔡司

[@john240881111]

I find the grading in this video is a little too flat. Too bad looks like a great place to be doing landscape shots.

[@benjhaisch]

Haha fair, still learning the color grading stuff in video. Always experimenting

[@john240881111]

@@benjhaisch All good! most of your videos are on point, just this one i find a little off. Keep up the awesome content! PS. coz of you i shoot leica on my gigs and events! Thanks for the inspiration and info!

[@benjhaisch]

Thanks! First time trying a new setup too. Loved the use, but the rec709 LUTs I was using were way too contrasty so I probably swung too far the other way

[@john240881111]

@@benjhaisch All good. im sure you’ll have it perfected in no time! Keep up the awesome work.

[@john240881111]

@@benjhaisch Sent you an email btw. :)

[@carlosmcse]

Another 28mm lens that proves the Voigtlander 28f2 Ultron II is the king. 😀

[@cameraprepper7938]

"Bokeh" is not just out of focus "balls", bokeh is the overall out of focus rendering.

[@jameskezman]

📕

[@parkermillican]

📖📚

[@DannyChau7]

That ZM15mm is a bad copy, my copy is perfectly sharp from full aperture edge to edge.

[@benjhaisch]

that was my thought as well!

[@jerrylee7737]

Benj, I assume your grandmother still spoke Yiddish, so on her behalf, please learn to pronounce Zeiss correctly. It's an old German traditional brand and your pronunciation is pulling my ears. Otherwise great content!

[@benjhaisch]

Why would my grandmother speak Yiddish? Also, I pronounce Zeiss the way that people in the United States pronounce Zeiss, it’s all just nativization, in the same way that I say that Berlin is Germany and not Deutschland and Madrid is in Spain and not Espana. I took Japanese in high school and college and still say “bokeh” in the way that it’s colloquially known to my audience and not the way that I would have said it in Japanese class. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@benjhaisch]

Same with Nikon :)

[@woutdezeeuw1604]

The greens look so dull and flat, yuck. The blues in the sky and water in comparison looked great.

[@benjhaisch]

haha I mean, that could just be the opinion of the preset ;)

[@benconover72]

To use a Leica RF camera without an external finder for the 21mm and 25mm lenses is simply idiotic.

[@benjhaisch]

Ok, or you use those focal lengths for so many years that you can already compose without one?

[@Narsuitus]

When I have forgotten to bring my 21mm external finder or I do not have time to mount it on my Leica rangefinder, I simply compose using the entire viewfinder image. Works for me.

[@_willfunk_]

📖

[@zguy95135]

📖