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Zeiss 21mm madness at Ffordes

G

grumpoid

Well-Known Member
Hiya all,

So I know the CZ 21mm is lovely, but is it THREE THOUSAND POUNDS lovely?...I think not, especially as the last known UK new price was exactly HALF that and yet Ffordes the UK Contax dealer thinks so.....how about all CZ 21mm owners spill the beans and tell us what they paid for their own CZ 21mm and has it been worth it?

Cheers Steve....(it seems all the more crazy as CZ 21mm prices have slipped back in recent months to about £1500)
 
Hiya Steve, £3k is very much OTT but, with some of the lenses (like their 55 1.2), they are commission sales and the owner sets the price on top of which Ffordes have to accommodate their profit + VAT. Sometimes, owners of gear can be wholly unrealistic about the market value of an item - it is often lower than the value to the owner. The result - the lens doesn't sell and after a while the price may drop to a more reasonable level or the owner negotiates a private sale. The market usually wins in the end. I'll see what happens when I list my 85 1.2AE, 2 75-210s and my 16mm - I know how much I think they're worth but it's the market that'll have the final say.
Cheers,
Graham
 
Wouldn't it be be more sensible to buy a G 21 and a G2 body for maybe £800 total and still achieve superb results rather than lash out 3 grand on a lens alone?
 
I agree with John.

The other alternative is to get an old Leica M and but a new Zeiss M Biogon 21 2.8.

However, Contax C-Y 21 is unique that it is able to focus as close as 22cm with very good resolution even at corners. The G21 or ZM21 is able to do 50cm.

The last alternative is to wait for 6 months to 12 months. I strongly believe that Zeiss will come up with new wide angle for Nikon F.

They said that they are going to have 6 new lenses. The first one is a normal lens 50 1.4. The second one is a short tele 85 1.4. The third one is again a normal lens 60 but with f2 this time. The forth one is the first member of the wide angles 35 with f2.

We have to guess the fifth and the sixth one. Zeiss do not normally have primes between 60 and 85. The likely candidates for these are

1. 100 macro

2. They will definitely come up with at least one lens wider than 35mm.

Good lens remain being so with time. Sometimes when I shoot with the Biogon ZM21, despite it being a new design, it might not be as good as C-Y 21 but only less so by a small margin.
 
The recent introduction of Nikon F lenses accounts for the drop in the e-bay price for C-Y 21 2.8
 
Hi Joseph, I believe you are wrong about the CZ 21 price drop..I do not think the announcement of the ZF range has had any effect whatsoever, especially bearing in mind there is no commitment from Zeiss of any sort about a potential ZF 21mm. I think it is simply the old case of the laws of supply and demand taking there usual toll. About 12-18 months ago, the CZ 21 was very hard to find even on ebay and the prices were £2000-2500. Then lots of owners of the CZ 21mm saw the mad prices and jumped on the bandwagon and lots of CZ 21mm began appearing on ebay, at one point I saw one every two weeks or so !!! consequently all the buyers who really wanted one bought and the prices very predictably dropped. This happens often on ebay, someone gets a mad price for something, other people who own the same item quickly list theirs, there is a spate of the so-called 'rare' item and then everyone gets bored and the market for the item becomes saturated. This is exactly what has happened over the last year with the CZ 21mm. Cheers all...
 
Well, the price drop happened just after the anouncement. The drop was from USD3400 to USD2222. I knew it because I was involved in it. Once the seller knew about the anouncement, they wish to sell it quick. Once the buyer knew about it, they wish to wait and see if the new series has the magic 21 or similar ones.

OK, the best thing is to wait and see who is correct. It depends on what the new toys will be.

Come on, if Zeiss is going to start a whole new series, it will cover focal length like 21. It happened in ZM series.

Even if Zeiss make a new 21 for ZF, I don't think it is a serious commitment at all to Zeiss. This company is GINORMOUS. Making a new 21 for ZF is nothing, it is just extremely easy for her to do so.

So far, Zeiss has always cover 21 mm in all their 35mm gears. In the C-Y, N, G, ZM all these have 21 no matter primes or zoom. For some unknown reasons, Zeiss is very conscious in making a good 21 for every series. All the 21s, no matter which series, as long as it is Zeiss it must be good. It is one of the strong points of Zeiss which make a difference from the other lens company.

So you think Zeiss will not make a 21 for the new series, how much do you wish to bet ?
 
"how about all CZ 21mm owners spill the beans and tell us what they paid for their own CZ 21mm and has it been worth it?"

I paid £800 for mine and yes, it has been worth every single penny. Next to the 85mm f1.2 it is my favourite lens.

426031.jpg

Penberth, Cornwall. 21mm f2.8, Aria, Velvia 100F.
 
Oh, I forgot to mention, I bought it mint/used from Ffordes about 2 years ago.
How times change (and prices!).

Cheers,
Matt
 
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