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REVIEWS:  Lenses:  35mm Zoom:
Vario-Sonnar T* 100-300mm f4.5-5.6 Zoom

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Contax Vario-Sonnar T* 100-300mm f4.5-5.6 Zoom


 
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Rating
Reviewed by: John Romanov
 (Expert)

Review Date
October 17, 2003

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.25 of 5,
4 votes

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Review 1 of 7

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:

Worth every penny

Strengths:

Optic nirvana in every aspect of image capture. The note below regarding Canon L lenses is understated. This lens is known to deliver sharpness and color that exceeds FIXED L tele glass, never mind zooms! I don't have direct exerience comparing the end products, but I know that what I get from this Zeiss lens makes me never want to leave the world of traditional color film (Fuji NPC being my favorite). Added value: no compromise macro when used with Canon 500D (I use combo on beanbag atop projector platform on a tripod).

Weaknesses:

No tripod collar (thus the cumbersome support noted above).



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Rating
Reviewed by: SingLO
 (Intermediate)

Review Date
October 16, 2003

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.67 of 5,
3 votes

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Review 2 of 7

Price Paid:  $1100.00 from e-bay

Summary:

This lens has very good wide open aperture performance at all focal settings. It is sharper than Tele-tessar 300 f4 at f5.6. But at f8, the TT 300 f4 is as good as the 100-300 VS. It is expensive but it is known to be sharper than the Canon 100-300L and 100-400L glasses!! I also use the new N 70-300 Zeiss zoom and I think both new and old lenses are close to each other in term of optical performance.

Strengths:

High contrast and sharpness, compact,

Weaknesses:

Orthodox design with no IF, front barrel rotation makes the use of polariser difficult, most expensive 100-300 zoom in the market, f5.6 at 300 is a bit slow

Similar Products Used:

Zeiss N 70-300 VS Canon 75-300 IS Zeiss 300 f4



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Rating
Reviewed by: AlejandroM
 (Intermediate)

Review Date
July 21, 2002

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.33 of 5,
3 votes

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Review 3 of 7

Price Paid:  $1200.00

Summary:

This lense is great. Sometimes i miss wider apertures but the image quality it delivers, even wide open is superb. You may think that the proyected images in the viewfinder could be dim and muddy due to its slow speed, but it is bright, very clean, contrasty, warm colored and can be focused easily. The built quality is great as is usual with all Contax-Zeiss products. Both focus and aperture rings are smooth and well dumped.

Strengths:

Beautiful lense. The photos are very sharp, full of detail with vivid colors. As far as i know, it is the best Zeiss zoom for 35mm SLR, and that means a lot!

Weaknesses:

None about image quality!! Perhaps the lack of internal focusing if you are using a polarizer. The push-pull design can add some dust in its interior, so you have to be careful if you use it in “dusty” places.



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Rating
Reviewed by: Jeff Lorriman
 (Professional)

Review Date
March 19, 2001

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Visitors rate this review
3.50 of 5,
2 votes

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Review 4 of 7

Summary:

Outstanding.

Strengths:

Very sharp and very smooth operation. I feel it's much sharper at 300mm than the CZ 300 f4.

Weaknesses:

Front element rotates when focusing taking longer to set up and shoot with polarizer or graduated filter.

Similar Products Used:

Tamron 70-210 3.5 SP,

Customer Service:

Always great. Not needed for this lens though.



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Rating
Reviewed by: George K
 (Expert)

Review Date
January 16, 2001

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Visitors rate this review
4.25 of 5,
4 votes

Rate this review?

Review 5 of 7

Summary:

The best Optical lens in this zoom range that I have owned. The only drawback is the lack of a tripod which it deserves.

Strengths:

Solid mechanical construction, tack sharp at all focal lenghts

Weaknesses:

No Tripod Collar

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor 75-300,70-300ED



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