New ZEISS lenses for Sony FE mount

[Paulo Bizarro]

Now, this is interesting:

http://www.zeiss.com/camera-lenses/en_de/website/landing_pages/batis.html

I am still waiting on the wide angle from Loxia, as I have no need for AF on that focal length.

Rgds

[E.J. Peiker]

The OLED display for distance readout is pretty cool

[akclimber]

Very, very interested in both of these lenses assuming the image quality is stellar.  The image stabilization on the 85 is a nice surprise.   This announcement could bust my summer lens budget but oh well....

[Telecaster]

Intriguing…but I wish Zeiss would get behind the concept of creating a proper set of lenses using the same tech. Instead there's a manual focus 35 & 50mm pair and now an AF 25 & 85mm pair. How 'bout some properly complementary pairs instead like 25 & 50mm or 35 & 85mm? Oy…

-Dave-

[ErikKaffehr]

Hi,

My take is that it is good news, if the lenses are good enough. Personally, I am very interested in a 85 mm lens that offers excellent performance at full aperture much less intressed in other lenses, so the 85/1.8 may be the lens I am looking for, if it has excellent control of axial chromatic aberration at f/1.8. If it is another lens offering mediocre chromatic aberration unless stopped down to f/5.6, I am not at all interested.

The background is that I have some interest in large aperture short DoF of work. Almost any lens shooting at large apertures will display magenta/green cast on out of focus areas. The both Otuses don't do that, and I don't think 135/2.0 APO does it either.

Best regards
Erik

Now, this is interesting:

http://www.zeiss.com/camera-lenses/en_de/website/landing_pages/batis.html

I am still waiting on the wide angle from Loxia, as I have no need for AF on that focal length.

Rgds

[AlterEgo]

Intriguing…but I wish Zeiss would get behind the concept of creating a proper set of lenses using the same tech. Instead there's a manual focus 35 & 50mm pair and now an AF 25 & 85mm pair. How 'bout some properly complementary pairs instead like 25 & 50mm or 35 & 85mm? Oy…

you have FE55/1.8 and FE35/1.4 from Sony with Zeiss logo...

[sbay]

I have a basic question here: what is the difference between a Zeiss Batis lens and lenses with co-branding (Zeiss and Sony)?

Would I be correct in assuming that Zeiss has full access to the interface so there should be no compatibility issues with future bodies?

[ErikKaffehr]

Hi,

I guess the Batis lenses are designed by Zeiss. The ZA lenses are designed and built by Sony. Zeiss has some involvement, including QA, with the ZA lenses.

I have seen that the Batis 85/1.8 is a quite complex design for an 85/1.8, so it seems that a significant effort was used to develop it. I think that lens holds some promise.

Best regards
Erik

I have a basic question here: what is the difference between a Zeiss Batis lens and lenses with co-branding (Zeiss and Sony)?

Would I be correct in assuming that Zeiss has full access to the interface so there should be no compatibility issues with future bodies?

[AlterEgo]

I have a basic question here: what is the difference between a Zeiss Batis lens and lenses with co-branding (Zeiss and Sony)?

Batis is sold by Zeiss, FE (as in their name, not in their mount) lenses are sold by Sony... I doubt that Sony will leave 85mm piece of pie to Zeiss to eat - we shall expect FE85/1.8 from Sony too... Batis is not Sony FE85/1.8 as it is like Touit not sold by Sony, so Sony get zero dollars from that... so FE85/1.8 might be smaller, might have no OIS now that Sony moved to IBIS, might be cheaper to undercut Batis by $200-$300 at least and might be not as good optically (but who knows - if it will be like FE55/1.8 vs Otus 55/1.4 then it will be simply great)

[Paulo Bizarro]

Sony lenses with Zeiss logo are built by Sony using Zeiss design and QA/QC standards.

Zeiss lenses are built and designed by Zeiss, they basically produce the same lens and designs for several mounts.

[mcbroomf]

Full specs here but no MTF yet.  The 85 has IS

http://www.zeiss.com/corporate/en_de/media-forum/press-releases.html?id=new-full-frame-autofocus-lenses-from-zeiss_2015

[Telecaster]

So far, to my way of approaching things, there's just one complementary non-zoom native lens pair currently available for the FE mount: the Sony 28/2 & Sony/Zeiss 55/1.8. (I intend to pick up a copy of the 28mm shortly. I used a 28/55mm Pentax lens set in the late '80s/early '90s and greatly enjoyed it.) The Sony 90/2.8 macro would complement the Sony/Zeiss 35/1.4 well if it were f/2 rather than f/2.8, and would complement the Sony/Zeiss 35/2.8 if it were non-macro & thus smaller & lighter. YMMV of course. Seems to me neither Sony nor Zeiss have put any thought into this.

BTW, this is the sort of thing I tend to be picky about. While other folks obsess over test chart performance, I obsess over field-of-view & aperture combinations. 

-Dave-

[sbay]

Thanks for the explanations regarding the difference between the Batis and FE lenses.

[scooby70]

I'm quite tempted by the 85mm but I do wonder if there'll be a Sony lens along sometime as 85mm's seems a bit too obvious a focal length to miss. So, I might just wait a while and read the reviews and see if a Sony 85mm gets announced sometime.

Also, I know it doesn't really matter but why 25mm? Why not 24?

[Telecaster]

Also, I know it doesn't really matter but why 25mm? Why not 24?

It's a historical Zeiss thing. Same with 21mm vs. most makers' 20mm. The original 25mm was an f/4 Topogon designed in the 1930s for the Contax rangefinder system. It didn't go into production, though, 'til after WWII. The small number made came from Zeiss Jena (Soviet) rather than Oberkochen.

-Dave-

[scooby70]

Thanks.

I actually own a 25mm Olympus and I used to have a Voigtlander 25mm too but even so I'm still a little surprised by 25 rather than 24

I wonder if anyone has done a 23mm?

[mcbroomf]

Full specs here but no MTF yet.  The 85 has IS

http://www.zeiss.com/corporate/en_de/media-forum/press-releases.html?id=new-full-frame-autofocus-lenses-from-zeiss_2015

Lloyd has now posted MTF for these lenses on his blog (so publicly available)
http://diglloyd.com/blog/2015/20150429_1044-ZeissBatis-85f1_8-MTF.html
http://diglloyd.com/blog/2015/20150429_0952-ZeissBatis-25f2-MTF.html