Distagon T* 2/28, Yet Another Manual-Focus Zeiss Prime

If you enjoy wide-angle perspectives and manual focus, you'll be glad to hear that Carl Zeiss has announced a new lens for the Nikon F bayonet cameras and Pentax K single lens reflex products.

The Distagon T* 2/28 offers a fast aperture paired with a 28mm focal length, the f/2.0 making it ideal for low-light environments. Although the lens is designed for 35mm full-frame cameras, it can also be used on DSLRs like the D2X, D300, D200 or Pentax K10D. Keep in mind that when mounted on such cameras, the picture angle becomes that of a 42mm lens on a 35mm full-frame SLR. Therefore, if you want truly wide-angle perspectives you'll have to go with something shorter.

As with most Zeiss lenses, this one also comes with a high-quality metal casing and floating elements that ensure a good optical performance at close focusing distances. Moreover, it benefits from the T* coating that minimizes internal reflections and ghosting.

As great as the Distagon T* 2/28 might be in terms of optical quality, there are still no autofocus capabilities. Therefore, only a small number of photographers will find the need to purchase a €1,049.00 (incl. 19% German VAT) lens that has no autofocus.

Autofocus becomes even a bigger issue for Pentax users who have plenty of manual focus glass, but could really use more new AF lenses.

Zeiss introduced the first two lenses for Nikon SLRs back in January 2006, and continued with four more in October 2006. In July 2007, the famous German company also announced the same six lenses for the Pentax single lens reflex cameras with a K bayonet. As a quick reminder, these lenses are the Planar T* 1,4/50 ZK, slated for August 2007, Distagon T* 2.8/25 ZK, Distagon T* 2/35 ZK, Planar T* 1.4/85 ZK, Makro-Planar T* 2/50 ZK and Makro-Planar T* 2/100 ZK. These will be released in the forth quarter of 2007.

The Distagon T* 2/28 will be available at the end of 2007.

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