Two new (to me) lenses arriving at VSL this week. Stay tuned.

 Interesting times for me. I added two Nikon mount, Voigtlander lenses to the equipment inventory this month and learned, in doing so, that I really like the process of manual focusing and that I really, really like some of the quirkier, older (pre-2010) lens designs and resulting optical characteristics that have been floating around for years. 

I did something dumb yesterday. I had a moment between swim practice and lunch with B and I misspent the time looking around mindlessly on the web. I went to a popular website for a camera retailer in the San Francisco area and browsed through their "Recent Drop" offerings. It's a long, rambling listing, with product photos, of used gear that they've accepted on various trades. A lot of Leica, Nikon,  and Sony stuff, and a good number of collectible items as well. 

I was half way down the page of the first 100 listings when two or three lenses just listed caught my eyes. The most important of the them were both Carl Zeiss Biogon lenses for the Leica M mount cameras. After getting re-educated lately about 28mm lenses -- via the tutelage of the Q2 -- I was hankerin' for a manual focusing 28mm lens I could use on my L mount cameras (Leica SLs, Panasonic S5). I wanted a lens that is known to be sharp and contrasty (on all but the Sony cameras with their overly thick filter stacks) and best of all, small in size. A Carl Zeiss 28mm Biogon f2.8 ZM (M mount) in 9+ condition seemed like the way to go. I put it in my shopping cart. I've purchased from this store a number of times before and feel comfortable that they'll stand behind their sales (and product descriptions).

I was about to shut down my impromptu shopping and head into the house but lens adjacent to the 28mm on the page also caught my attention. It was the Carl Zeiss Biogon 35mm f2.0 ZM. And it too was in top condition. Might make a good pairing and both are reputed to share the overall look (color and contrast) of the Carl Zeiss 50mm f1.4 Planar which I also have. I couldn't resist temptation so I dumped the 35mm into the shopping cart as well. (Both are still available new as current products.. .. .. ).

I was about to complete the order online when I was inspired, no doubt by my recent negotiations with GE over the dastardly refrigerator, to go into an available chat on the website to see if I could negotiate even better pricing (although, in all fairness, the items were well priced already). Having spent two years in Turkey I learned to love haggling with vendors. ...  ..

I asked about a discount for ordering both items at the same time, tossed in my "returning customer credentials" and got into a good natured discussion with a real person. But online. They took a couple hundred dollars off the initial pricing and tossed in free 2nd day shipping. I bit. We'll see if the lenses turn out to be as good as I thought they would be..  ... 

Anybody out there have experience with either of these lenses? Chime in if you have the time. 

The guys are here to cut the grass and do some landscaping. I can't stand the sound of mowers and leaf blowers so I'm heading to the gym for some strength training. Hopefully everything will look ship shape when I get back. Funny, I have plenty of lenses and would always like a few more but in 26 years living in this house I've never purchased a lawn mower or other motorized yard work equipment. A case of different priorities I guess..  .... .  .....