Lens maker Carl Zeiss announces the new Distagon T* 3.5/18 super wide angle lens. It’s a premium prime lens available for Nikon and Pentax mounts. It costs $1,450 and it’s manual focus.
Now, why would you want to mount a manual focus lens on your auto-everything, total TTL digital SLR camera? Because you want to be more creative, that’s why; you want more control over the creative process than your camera allows.
And creativity is the reason why this lens could be desirable. Its siblings in the Carl Zeiss family have won praises; this should too.
It boasts an impressive field of view of 99°; this new, rectilinear lens provides dramatic perspectives for architectural, landscape and close-range photography for photographers utilizing full-frame DSLRs or film-based cameras. The company says the Distagon T* 3.5/18 is a derivative of the ZEISS designs for the Contax RTS series of cameras, but utilizing all modern materials and eco-friendly glass materials.
The Distagon T* 3.5/18 ZF for F-mount cameras is scheduled for delivery beginning July 2008 through authorized Carl Zeiss photo dealers. The Distagon T* 3.5/18 ZK for K-mount cameras will be available within Q3/2008. No Canon mount (understandable), no Sony mount (strange).
[Via: Zeiss.com]