Zeiss Distagon T* 2.8/21mm Wide Angle Lens Review

Photographer and Reviewer Dustin Abbott does a complete, thorough real world review of the Zeiss Distagon T* 2.8/21mm prime lens. You can also view an interactive look at the image quality here: (coming soon) To read the full written review, please click here: bit.ly/1DpXzNN
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[@areguly]

Thanks for another great review Dustin.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Absolutely!

[@lintownboy]

Great review. I just got this lens and im blown away with the image quality. While I was waiting for it to arrive in the mail I watched your videos on it, and learned alot. You are a great speaker.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

lintownboy Thanks for the great feedback. Enjoy the lens!

[@bitmastermac]

+Dustin Abbott Btw, the self-described genius Angry Photographer hates this lens. I don't watch him anymore-- it was like trying to drive past a car accident without looking.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Captain Zouave The 2/135 or the 2.8/21mm?

[@lintownboy]

Captain Zouave how can you disslike a Zeiss lens, especially this one? He must be insane

[@bitmastermac]

+Dustin Abbott he hates the 21 but loves the 35f2-- the lens I bought 3 times, then sold each time. I guess if I shot stopped down...

[@girliedog]

I purchased this lens specifically for landscape photography. My preferance is for screw in filters so having settled in on the new Hi Tech Format Firecrest ND filters , this is the perfect set up for me. I am very pleased with this lens and how it renders contrast and color.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Virginia Hoffman You made a solid choice. Zeiss lenses really do have beautiful color rendition.

[@bitmastermac]

+Dustin Abbott They render beautifully. I've got the 15, 21, 28, 50 and 85 milvus 1.4s, 50 and 100 makro planars, and might pick up the 135 soon. I've had a few systems, and Zeiss brings better-than-Leica performance to my Canon bodies. I even have a Zeiss 24-84 N-mount converted for EF. Funny, I just don't like the 35mm offerings.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Captain Zouave I love the 2/135mm. Amazing lens!

[@town3]

Zeiss..... I love All of my Zeiss Lens, would never leave home without them,

[@tedtedsen269]

hai nice presentation i already have the 85mm 1.4 planar for my d810 and i have plans to ad this 21mm distagon to my colection and the 100mm macroplanar also

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

ted tedsen I'm reviewing the Otus 55 from Zeiss right now, but the Makro Planar 100 is next on my list.

[@tedtedsen269]

ok Nice. im waiting on that review but. i was Luckey to test the 55 otus for one day myself it is amazing the gray scale is extraordenery from grey to totaly black collors is amazing the black is so deep black can you imagine acording to dxomarck it resolves 35 out of 36mg pixels on my d810

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

ted tedsen It is amazingly sharp wide open. Stunning.

[@bitmastermac]

+Dustin Abbott You'll love the 100; sharp as a tack, full of saturation and depth, loads of CA, bokeh to die for. I sold a canon 85 1.2 and 135f2 for it with no regrets.

[@zackchoy1969]

Was considering between this Zeiss Distagon 2,8/21mm and the 3,5/18mm. Thanks for the great video!~

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

They are pretty similar in performance, so I would choose the focal length that suits your purposes better.

[@zackchoy1969]

Dustin Abbott thank you Sir!

[@dominicplombier6507]

thanks for the review very interesting all pro and cons. Im thinking to buy it but im wondering if i should buy the polarizer from zeiss or just take the zeiss uv. i read and seen video showing that its more important for landscape to use the polarizer than regular one. so what will be your advice... i know buy both of them will be the perfect choice... but we talk about 500$ for polarize and 300$ for the uv.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Dominic Plombier Dominic, I typically use the higher end Hoya filters or B+W (which are quite a bit cheaper) and have never had an issue. Of the two filters, however, I would say that the polarizer is the more valuable. A UV filter is basically just a protection filter for the front element in the digital era.

[@dominicplombier6507]

thanks a lot for your advise. some person said the zeiss polarizer is good but not slim enough an its create vignetting. you think its true? well thanks again for your useful reviews

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Dominic Plombier I've used a Zeiss UV filter but not the polarizer. I've heard that before, but can't speak firsthand. I didn't have vignette issues using the Hoya Pro-1 polarizer on this lens.

[@dfj555]

Is this lens good for street photography on a Fujifilm X-H1 camera? Thanks.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

It seems a little big for that purpose. I think Fuji has some good lens in that focal length that will be much smaller and less conspicuous.

[@timotheus504]

Hello Dustin, thanks for doing what you do! I have been following these Distagon/Milvus reviews with great interest and can say that I own a copy of this 2,8/21 lens and am truly happy with it. Am wondering what your thoughts on using this lens on a Canon R5 or even the Sony A7rIV? Will the levels of contrast hold up on the higher resolution sensors?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I think they should.

[@jhebert3450]

I have this lens and have used it on my new Sony A7RV with sensational results…….. All of my Distagons perform the same…… Hope this helps.

[@timotheus504]

Thanks j, your reply is most welcome. This lens is beautifully paired with my D850 and am looking to sell it in exchange for a Milvus 1,4/25. I suspected it would perform well with the higher sensors, but DxO did an analysis and stated that it resolves to the 21-23mp level. People read that and interpret that to mean the lens will perform poorly on sensors higher that 24mp. Thanks for your input, it is greatly appreciated!

[@jhebert3450]

@@timotheus504 You're very welcome. FYI, I bought this lens originally for my Canon 5DSR (51mp) DSLR and it performs exceptionally well with that body. I bought my Zeiss 21mm/2.8 off of eBay for $400 in perfect "like new" condition specifically for landscape photography. I wouldn't spend the money on the 25mm Milvus.......cause I doubt there'd be much better results. The 25mm would still be considered a "landscape" lens. At any rate, Ya can't go wrong with any Zeiss lens.......just depends on how much you want to spend. Good luck to you my friend.

[@dvon0134]

Don't know if you see this comment, but would love to have a suggestion for this lens in 2020, does it still hold up? Would it work well for videography as well? Should I invest in RF lens instead? Thanks!

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

The lens hasn't gotten any worse, for sure, but there are more choices now. You might want to consider the well regarded 15-35mm RF lens, as there isn't a big difference in price.

[@dvon0134]

@@DustinAbbottTWI i actually found a seller willing to sell it for $700 aud, or $400 ish usd, due to the current situation never use Zeiss before since I'm quite new to photography + videography, but I guess it would be a great deal

[@julienwillemsettori5156]

Are there EG-S filters for mirrorless camera's, like the sony A7r?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

No - only for certain DSLRs. The a7R has a number of focus aids already.

[@julienwillemsettori5156]

@@DustinAbbottTWI Ok thanks!

[@shayma95]

do you recommend this lens for video use?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

shayma. I feel that just about every Zeiss is a great video lens because of the exceptional fluid and accurate focus. This one is a treat for video.

[@shayma95]

Dustin Abbott got it after a long research haha :)

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Martin Pozzi Take a look here: www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Zeiss_21mm/Ntt/Zeiss%2B21mm/N/0/kw/search/BI/19614/KBID/12112/DFF/d10-v1-t12. I might recommend purchasing the Milvus cap. It is a few bucks more, but should fit fine and is better made.

[@Stephen_Baker]

Hmmmm. Well, I’ll try and follow your excellent or something commentary. I have a couple of these lenses.

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

Thanks

[@Bernard-ux2eb]

I picked one up for £440 a few months ago, mint, probably unused. Goes with the Distagon 2/35 and Planar 1.4/85. It's outstanding.

[@barnkelkss5440]

Hi, do you recommend that lens for astrophotography ? I'm a bit concerned about coma

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

It's pretty clean. Not as good as the 15mm F2.8, but fairly good.

[@barnkelkss5440]

@@DustinAbbottTWI I already have it, I love it for landscape and architecture but didn't have the chance to try it by night yet I was interested in switching it for the new irix 21/1.4, it seems a lot better for astro and I rarely do landscape and archi

[@mikemacfadyen1972]

Have you tried it on an apsc sensor?

[@DustinAbbottTWI]

I don't think I did.