![\"DSC01741\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/DSC01741.jpg\")
The “Hollywood-Distagon” 2\/28 is one of the few lenses with a nickname. It is an adapted cinematic lens design for the Contax SLR cameras, but does it’s performance live up to the cool nickname?<\/p>\nThe “Hollywood-Distagon” 2\/28 is one of the few lenses with a nickname. It is an adapted cinematic lens design for the Contax SLR cameras, but does it’s performance live up to the cool nickname?<\/p>\n
![\"DSC09416\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC09416.jpg\")
![\"DSC09424\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC09424.jpg\")
![\"DSC09441\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC09441.jpg\")
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More information in Zeiss\u2019 official data sheet (german).<\/a><\/p>\n The younger MM version usually sells for a little bit more than the older AE version.<\/em><\/p>\n There are two versions of the Zeiss Distagon 2.0\/28 T* for Contax.<\/p>\n The older AEG-version<\/strong>\u00a0introduced in the mid 70\u2019s\u00a0 won\u2019t allow\u00a0program and shutter-priority with film cameras.\u00a0\u00a0 The younger MM-version<\/strong> can be identified by the green color of the f\/22 marking.<\/p>\n This review is about the AEG-version of the lens which was made in Germany. Unlike some other Contax lenses, the 2\/28 only has Ninja-star shaped aperture blades at f\/2.8. The other stops are not affected and don’t show Ninja-star shaped aperture blades.<\/p>\n Some people claim that the coatings and the optical design have been improved when the MM version was introduced but I couldn\u2019t find any reliable source to back it up. Zeiss still services\u00a0the MM version but not the AEG version.<\/p>\n One largely unknown version of this lens is the Pentax branded clone SMC Pentax 2\/28<\/a> for the Pentax K-Mount, a result of an only 12 month lasting partnership between Zeiss and Pentax.<\/p>\n The later Zeiss Z-Series <\/a>Distagon T* 2\/28 for DSLR-cameras is based on this lens. The differences are discussed at the FM Forum<\/a>.<\/p>\n Build quality is superb and the lens feels amazingly solid. All Contax Zeiss lenses have top notch build quality, among the best of all legacy lenses.<\/p>\n The barrel is made of metal with very tight tolerances. Both focus and aperture ring are rubberized and easy to grip. All markings are engraved.<\/p>\n The Zeiss Distagon 2.0\/28 is pretty long but thin for a 28mm lens and reminds me of slow tele lenses like the Sonnar 3.5\/100<\/a>. It is a bit front heavy on the Sony A7II. The weight of this lens is 530g which is nearly twice the weight of the Distagon 2.8\/28<\/a><\/strong>. Compared to it’s smaller brother, the Distagon 2.0\/28 is also 26mm longer. Both lenses share the same diameter.<\/p>\n The focusing ring<\/strong> travels about 100 degrees from 0.25m\u00a0to infinity. The transmission is reasonable, but a bit steeper than the transmission of the 2.8\/28. Focusing was a joy at every distance. The focusing feels very precise. The\u00a0aperture ring<\/strong> has full stops from f\/2.0 to f\/22. It is possible to select half-stops between the clicks. In my opinion, the Zeiss C\/Y aperture Rings\u00a0 are the nicest aperture rings for photographers<\/strong>. Resistance is just right and every stop very distinctive.<\/p>\n Despite the weight and the length with an adapter, the handling of\u00a0the Distagon 2.0\/28 is flawless.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t own a hood for the Distagon 2.0\/28 but according to mir.com<\/a> there were two different hoods: The\u00a0Metal Lens Hood No.1 <\/em>and the\u00a0Soft Lens Shade 55mm G-12.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n The 55mm filter thread is made from metal. The front of the lens does not rotate so polarizers are easy to use.<\/p>\n Vignetting wide open is very pronounced. At f\/2.0 it is 2.7 EV. Stopped down to f\/5.6, the vignetting is reduced to a value of 0.9 EV.<\/p>\n The Distagon 2\/28 shows a small amount of barrel distortion, a setting of +4 corrects it very well in Lightroom.<\/p>\n I took this aperture series with the Sony A7R.<\/p>\n f\/2: <\/strong>Good contrast and sharpness in the center. The mid-zones show a visible dip in sharpness, the corners suffer from astigmatism and spherical aberrations.<\/p>\n f\/2.8: <\/strong>Contrast and sharpness in the center are excellent, the rest of the image is slightly improved.<\/p>\n f\/4: <\/strong>The midrame improves dramatically, the corner contrast is improved.<\/p>\n f\/5.6: <\/strong>Excellent in the center and in the midframe region with very good contrast. The corners show good sharpness.<\/p>\n f\/8: <\/strong>Excellent sharpness in the center and in the midframe region. Very good contrast across the frame. The corners show very good sharpness<\/p>\n f\/11: <\/strong>A little softer and less contrasty across the frame due to diffraction.<\/p>\n I’d prefer f\/8 for landscape photography. Great contrast and sharpness across the frame.<\/p>\n f\/2: <\/strong>Good resolution\u00a0but low contrast<\/p>\n f\/2.8-f\/5.6: <\/strong>Excellent sharpness and contrast in the center. Thank’s to floating elements, the close up performance of this lens is very good. At f\/2.0 the resolutionis decent but the contrast is very low. This gives the images a dreamy look, just look at the whole image under the crops. Contrast and sharpness improve significantly at f\/2.8 from where\u00a0they are on an excellent level.<\/p>\n The Distagon shows a significant amount of field curvature. The plane of focus is comparable to a sphere around the camera. The extreme\u00a0corners are focused significantly behind the center which will result in a greater subject isolation towards the edges (in comparison to a lens fith a very flat field of view). The impression of depth of field is more shallow than the f\/2 value may suggest. This property of the lens defines it’s character and is great for close-up photography with shallow depth of field since it conveys a three dimensional impression.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, this attribute is challenging when it comes to landscape shots. Careful focusing is needed to achieve even sharpness across the frame stopped down.<\/p>\n Lateral CAs are moderate\u00a0in the extreme corners. 75% of the image is\u00a0mostly free from lateral CAs. Here is a corner crop:<\/p>\n Longitudinal CAs are low for a fast lens like this although it is possible to find some if you do the paper test:<\/p>\n In a real life situations, loCAs are not very pronounced. The sample below shows that in a nice way.<\/p>\n The Distagon 2.0\/28 has two faces when it comes to the bokeh. At closer distances it has a creamy and dreamy look, which is outstanding for a lens from that time. Other sample images in this review confirm that impression.<\/p>\n However, with mid-distance subjects and distant backgrounds, the bokeh suffers a bit. The situation below is exemplary for that:<\/p>\n The 100%-crop of the bokeh shows more pronounced lines, I would rate it as neutral. Although the aperture blades show a ninja star shape at f\/2.8, I can’t find an image where that shape is reflected in the bokeh balls. They are very soft and simply not well defined at that aperture. Stopped down, the bokeh balls take on\u00a0a hexagonal shape.<\/p>\n The Zeiss Distagon 2.0\/28 only has 6 aperture blades so sunstars only have 6 strokes. Their shape is never very defined although they are quite visible at f\/11. The sunstars don’t differ much from the ones that are found in the Distagon 2.8\/28.<\/p>\n Thanks to effective T*-coatings, I could not find significant veiling flare. Ghosting is visible, although the size of the artifacts is nice to handle. In general, I would rate the flare resistance as very good.<\/p>\n The following image is exemplary for both phenomenons:<\/p>\n The Zeiss Distagon 2.0\/28 shows significant coma at f\/2.0 and f\/2.8. It is greatly improved at f\/4 and mostly gone at f\/5.6.<\/p>\n Due to it’s bad coma performance, low corner sharpness wide open and the high vignetting, I don’t recommend this lens for astrophotography<\/strong>.<\/p>\nVersions<\/h1>\n
![\"DSC01694\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC01694.jpg\")
<\/p>\nBuild<\/strong> Quality<\/strong><\/h1>\n
![\"DSC01671\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC01671-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSize, Weight and Handling<\/strong><\/h1>\n
![\"DSC01689\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC01689.jpg\")
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\n<\/span><\/p>\nLens Hood<\/h1>\n
Filters<\/h1>\n
Image Quality<\/h1>\n
Vignetting<\/h3>\n
![\"Contax_28_Vignette\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Contax_28_Vignette.jpg\")
<\/p>\nDistortion<\/h3>\n
![\"DSC01784\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC01784.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSharpness<\/h3>\n
Infinity<\/h5>\n
![\"Blendenreihe_28mm_II\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Blendenreihe_28mm_II.jpg\")
<\/p>\nClose Up<\/h5>\n
![\"Contax_28_Close_Up\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Contax_28_Close_Up.jpg\")
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\n<\/strong><\/p>\nField Curvature<\/h3>\n
Chromatic Aberrations<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"LaCA\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/LaCA.jpg\")
![\"LoCA\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/LoCA.jpg\")
![\"LoCa_II\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/LoCa_II.jpg\")
Bokeh<\/h3>\n
![\"DSC01715\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC01715.jpg\")
![\"DSC09194\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC09194.jpg\")
\n<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Bokeh_far\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Bokeh_far-1.jpg\")
![\"DSC01765\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC01765.jpg\")
Sunstars & Flare Resistance<\/h3>\n
![\"DSC09413\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC09413.jpg\")
Coma & Astrophotography<\/h3>\n
![\"Contax_28_Coma\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Contax_28_Coma-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nConclusion<\/h1>\n
![\"DSC01727\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC01727.jpg\")
![\"DSC01748\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC01748.jpg\")
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![\"DSC09206\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC09206.jpg\")