Mike Rott , February 18, 1998; 07:12 A.M.
A couple of comments. I don't know why you think it *probably* would be a good sports lens. 300/ 2.8's *are* good sports lenses. I know a guy who made his living shooting the pro downhill ski circuit around the world with a zeiss APO-tessar.
This lens has very little flare, but that is typical of almost all zeiss lenses with a few exceptions and has more to do with the T* coating then anything else.
The lens has a relatively small tripod collar mount compared to other such lenses and in my opinion could be bigger and more solid (compare it to the older leica 280/2.8 which is rock solid for example). Mine has had to be replaced once because it had gotten too loose. Luckly this is easy to get fixed.
The lens mount is the same for other zeiss lenses, ie somewhat fragile. Because of the extra weight of this lens you have to be more careful not to accidently damage it. I damaged one after only a year of use and had to get it replaced. Again, this is easy and inexpensive to replace. I dropped by Zeiss Oberkochen to get it fixed and toured their optical museum which is in the same building while it was getting repaired. They also gave me a spare mount so that if I should be so clumsy and ruin it again, I can easily replace it myself.
As mentioned the lens takes 111mm front filters, however, neither zeiss or anyone else that I know of makes 111mm filters. Not that anyone would make a habit of buying such a thing, but it would be nice to get a front screw on protection filter for it for cirtain situations. You could get one custom made by B&W I suppose. The metal screw on lens cap is very nice, however, I think I now know why most manufactures don't offer this. With this size of lens, contraction and expansion due to temperture changes is significant enough that it can cause the lens cap to seize on. This is not a problem if you are careful not to screw it on tight and always leave it a bit slack. Logically, you would use the drop in filter holder if you where planning on using filters with this lens. Catch is, there aren't any. The UV filter it comes with, is screwed into the holder and can't be exchanged. I think ziess will sell you a sparate holder for other filters, but they don't make any for it, and they are will warn you that you can't just put any filter in it as it has to be of the right thickness not to screw up the optical properties of the lens (this goes for all lenses with internal filters). There is a prototype polarizing filter made for zeiss by B&W, but B&W won't make one for you and neither will anybody else. Good thing I am not a big fan of filters. There is a myth I have heard several times, that zeiss APOs are corrected for IF. If the IF marking on the lens barrel is any indication, then this is not true. I havn't tested it myself, because I am still trying to figure out how/where to mount the red filter ).
The mutar II was specifically designed for this lens and gives good results. The mutar III however is really excellent with this lens. Stopped down to f4 you can't tell the difference with or without in 8x10 enlargements.
I don#t any experience with other 300mm lenses to compare it against except the zeiss 300/4. The 300/2.8 wide open is noticeble better then the 300/4 at any aperture. Stop the lens down to f4 and you get another jump in quality. Warning, after you have used it, you won't be satisfied with the 300/4 anymore. As another example, the 300/2.8 plus mutar II is as good or better then the 300/4 alone.
Why is it so expensive? Simple economics. If we assume that it was priced the same as the nikon equivalent, how many do you think they would sell compared to nikon? Nikon has a much bigger user base and can sell a lot more, making back their investment sooner. Zeiss would lose a lot on each one sold at that price, so their price is higher. This lens first can out in 1982 and was priced a lot less then it is now. They couldn't sell enough of them at that price to make it worthwhile and discontinued making it. It was brought back into production in 1992 at the much higher price.
Is it worth it? Is any lens worth that much? Most people think you are nuts spending $1000 on a lens. For me, it isn't worth $12,000, but then I was lucky enough to pick up a used one for a good (??!!) price :).