By Golly This Lens Isn't Sharp...

Said no-one about a Zeiss lens - ever...

While the politics and the business structure of the Zeiss optical and camera firm might have been convoluted in the Cold War - East and West Germany both claimed to have the fragments of the true optical kreuz... We charitably assume that they have now either kissed and made up or at least buried the jurisdictional bodies and tamped down the mounds. As it seems to be now, they are going full steam both in Germany and Japan and supplying superb optics for a number of cameras.

Some of them are blockbusters. Ah, I think I could have phrased that better...Some of them are large lenses that may be considered the epitome of technology for their focal length. We're thinking of the Otus range here. Lenses for the seriously rich who wish to carry heavy weights. The reward is perfect images.

Some are discrete little things - designed to go onto Leica M mounts. Of course the Leica people frown on this but many photographers feel that they are able able to bear the contumely anyway - and they can do so in a wide variety of focal lengths. Of course it gets worse - the Fujifilm X camera users can buy an M mount adapter from Fujifilm and then go off on a Zeiss binge themselves. The fact that the Zeiss also make silver-finish lenses is wonderful - if one had a silver L____a or a silver F______m one could look as flash as anything.

And if you use the f:1.4 version and turn the ISO up to 3200 you don't even need to flash.