Hamish’s Zeiss ZM Lenses

Zeiss ZM M-Mount Lenes – The Lenses I “Need”, and not just “Want”

Over the last 6 or so months I’ve really bought into the Zeiss ZM system of lenses. I’ve gone from owning 2 of them to 5, and in combination with film and digital cameras they mount to, I now feel like I have all I “need” from my photography equipment. Significantly, the last three of these lenses have been bought at a time that I’ve been describing as a bit of a “low ebb” in my photography. So I thought I’d write a bit about which lenses I’ve chosen and why I’ve chosen them at this particular point in my photography journey.

Extreme GAS! I don’t need a new camera, I need a new Helicopter!

For Christmas last year, my wife bought me a flight in a helicopter – it was one of those “red-letter day” gifts. I’ve always quite liked the idea of going for a ride in such a machine, but it’s not an opportunity that arises particularly frequently. As such, I was thrilled with the gift and excited about the potential photographic opportunities!

Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 ZM

Zeiss 35mm 1.4 ZM Distagon Review – Optically Awesome!

There’s quite a few lenses I’ve been asked to review by readers of this website over the years, but there aren’t many that I’ve been asked about as much as the Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 ZM Distagon. Ironically, it’s one lens that I’ve always been absolutely certain of the outcome of me writing about it. This lens was almost undoubtedly going to be optically awesome, the only real question that hung over it related to its larger-than-average size. In fact, this is pretty much the narrative of every review, blog post and forum thread out there. It’s incredible, but it’s big! What more is there to say? Of course, what I’d failed to comprehend prior to trying it is that I might stumble upon a character trait I’d really love…

Zeiss 28mm 2.8 ZM Biogon Review

The Zeiss 28mm ZM Biogon is a Zeiss’s answer to the m-mount 28mm lens. Its reputation precedes it as an excellent piece of glass, but however objectively good it is, that’s not the sum total of what I’m interested in. What I’m also interested in discovering is just how much of the character I see and love in my 50mm Sonnar can be found in other Zeiss M lenses…

Zeiss 50mm 1.5 ZM C Sonnar Review

It took me so long to commit to the idea of buying a Zeiss ZM 50mm Sonnar. I must have hanged my mouse over a buy-it-now button of some sort countless times. Something just kept changing my mind at the last minute. Just recently, I decided enough was enough, I was going to end this cycle of indecision, bite the bullet and just try one. And you know what, my only regret was not buying the damned thing sooner.

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