Luminous Landscape Forum
Equipment & Techniques => Medium Format / Film / Digital Backs – and Large Sensor Photography => Topic started by: FredBGG on September 07, 2012, 07:29:04 pm
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Ziess announced it's new Zeiss 55mm 1.4 Distagon
(http://media.the-digital-picture.com/Images/News/2012/Zeiss-55mm-f-1.4-Distagon-Lens.jpg)
The design of the lens and it's name has me thinking.... speculating...
Could this be an early sign of larger than 24x36mm DSLR cameras from Nikon (or Canon) soon.
The sheer size of the lens for a 55mm 1.4 leads me to believe that it has more coverage that 24x36mm
I think there is a chance that we might see an electronic viewfinder DSLR from Nikon that will fit into the bayonet to film plane space of current bodies.
A larger than 24x36 sensor with a 55mm 1.4 Carl Zeiss lens infront of it with the dynamic range of a Sony sensor would be quite a camera.
The distagon label hints to wide angle. 55mm would be a slight wide angle on a 33x44mm sensor.
Keep in mind that The Pentax 645D's standard lens is a 55mm...
It will be interesting if the lens tech Zeiss has been using in it's electronics manufacturing equipment is spilling over into these lenses....
To give a better idea of the size here it is compared to the 50mm 1.4
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8438/7952354476_8668fb3755_b.jpg)
Also what's interesting is that Zeiss also just announced the 135mm f2 that has a totally different barrel look to the 55mm
(http://www.thephoblographer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Apo_Sonnar_T_2_135_ZF.2_side1-451x595.jpg)
Leads me to "speculate" that the 55mm is a different family of lenses. Design looks similar to Sony Zeiss lenses.... could accomodate autofocus maybe..
OK that's enough speculation for now..... ;)
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The looks kind of reminds lenses from the H series by Hassy. It looks massive indeed an bayonet mount is very MF'ish
Eduardo
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The lens also has no aperture ring.... or at least it looks like that.
Camera controlled aperture with more camera integration.
It also looks like it may have AF.
I wonder what the price tag will be...
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Or
It's the same lens as the 55mm/f3.5 Distagon they made for the 645AF...
But with a larger aperture since 35mm sensors only use the centre of the lens so won't bring up issues of CA, vignetting and softness towards the edges at full aperture
The aperture ring is probably at the base of the barrell close to the body
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It's a new design, "opening up" an existing design by 2.5 stops is not possible...
I hope that they finally got some common sense and produce this lens themselves - compromising another design by mediocre mechanical quality or sample variation for a so-called reference line-up makes little sense, since the target audience already accepts bigger, heavier and expensive lenses - no need for compromises...
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It's a new design, "opening up" an existing design by 2.5 stops is not possible...
Unless the original design was already capable (mechanically & optically) of going to f1.2 but was physically limited to f3.5 due to vignetting/ CA/ soft edges...which won't be so much of a problem with the 35mm chips...
The 45mm, for example, was an f2.8 lens and it used the same basic barrel as the 55mm/f3.5...
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That is very unlikely, the aperture wouldn't open up fully on a 1998 (?) design for Kyocera to make a fast high-performance lens for an entirely different system 14 years later...
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So maybe they took the barrel and the front part from the 55mm/3.5 and the rear part from the Planar 55mm/1.2 ??
I just think that it is unlikely for Zeiss (as well as other lens makers) to develop a new lens for 35mm that is so big without using an MF design from the drawers...2 examples are the Schneider PC 90mm/4.5 and PC 50mm/2.8...
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High-quality lenses are made with various grinding and machining processes not even capable of large quantities, usual aspects of "economy of scale" (like making .02€ plastic parts with a 50000€-mold, or semiconductor-lithography) don't matter as much, so rather low volume production is economically feasible.
With very few exceptions (e.g. Leica SX21 & 24) these high-end/low-volume designs are proprietary for each lens element - so this Distagon most likely doesn't share optical component from any previous design, sometimes the design is inspirated by other designs - but that doesn't make it identical.
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Or
It's the same lens as the 55mm/f3.5 Distagon they made for the 645AF...
But with a larger aperture since 35mm sensors only use the centre of the lens so won't bring up issues of CA, vignetting and softness towards the edges at full aperture
The aperture ring is probably at the base of the barrell close to the body
No.
Totally different lens. I have the 55mm Contax lens. It's smaller. Total barrel diameter is 81mm at the focusing ring. Filter is 72mm
Front element of the 55mm 1.4 is significantly larger.
I find it rather ironic (if not inappropriate) that someone from Mamiya would say that Carl Zeiss with it's stellar reputation would be recycling very old designs and selling them
for a smaller format while peddeling them as new family of advanced lenses. ;)
Zeiss is a company with $5.36 billion in annual revenue that has more than doubled in two years. I really don't think that they are rehashing old designs to survive.....
While many companies are contracting they are having quite amazing growth.
I think that Zeiss has recognized the strength of the new Sony sensors and probably knows of the next ones coming out that improve even on the current 36 MP sensor.
It looks interesting that Zeiss is making a series of lenses that do not limit themselves in order to be compact. These will be interesting lenses for a photographer looking for
the best look from 36 MP plus 35mm DSLR sensors and who knows maybe even a 24x36 plus sensor in a Nikon mount.
If they came out with a lens that has the same look as the Contax 120mm, but 85mm/90mm it would be on my shopping list.
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On the other hand... An aperture of f1.4 is beyond MF. That would be the equivalent of a Noctilux I think, and certainly the filter thread would be much bigger than 82mm. My bet is that it is a 35mm lens with Leica IQ and (less) possibly AF.
Eduardo
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On the other hand... An aperture of f1.4 is beyond MF. That would be the equivalent of a Noctilux, I think. My bet is that it is a 35mm lens with Leica IQ and (less) possibly AF.
Eduardo
Image Quality could be exceptional as it looks like they did not let size limit the design.
Often the very special look of large format lenses is in part due to little limitations in the size of the design due to the ergonomics of the front of the cameras
and that they are not really hand held designs.
The new Zeiss lenses while big and most likely heavy would still be quite nimble if you only have to add the small d800 body to it.
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Press release stated the new lens was manual focus. I suspect some of the usual giveaways were airbrushed out.
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I find it rather ironic (if not inappropriate) that someone from Mamiya would say that Carl Zeiss with it's stellar reputation would be recycling very old designs and selling them
for a smaller format while peddeling them as new family of advanced lenses. ;)
Oh please...we're all speculating here (and you're the one who started this thread with a speculation about a new family of lenses...). I can promise you that I shot more with the Contax 645AF than many here and my kit lens was the Zeiss 55mm/f3.5 and it was a fantastic lens, just like the other 3 I had on that camera at the time.
There's nothing wrong with recycling old and good designs, quite the opposite...If it's a proven formula which can be tweaked and improved and can bring certain performance/ characteristics to cameras that are often crippled by mediocre lenses than why not???
But as you said, we're speculating...
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From the press release itself from Zeiss
A must-see attraction is a high-performance, full-format SLR camera lens with manual focus. With a focal length of 55 mm and aperture of f/1.4, this lens is the first model of a new product family designed for demanding users. Thanks to a newly developed optical design, this lens is superior to conventional full-frame lenses, and it achieves with powerful full-frame, full-format cameras an image performance that until now has only been seen with medium-format systems. The first pro- totype of this new range will celebrate its world debut at photokina. The family of lenses is ex- pected to be on the market in the second half of 2013 for EF bayonet (ZE) and F bayonet (ZF.2).
Clearly stated full frame DSLR. Now speculation is it could be a bigger sensor than 24x36. As long as the 3:2 format is retained in a 35 mm world does not mean it could be a bigger sensor used by Canon , Nikon. Pure speculation here but did Zeiss let the cat out of the bag. Very big lens for 35mm if you ask me and they already have a 50 1.4. Makes you wonder a little but very much the same size as ala S2 glass.
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Zeiss is relying on Distagon-designs for various FOV on their cinematography-lenses, which they re-designed over the past years and brought to entirely new standards.
Their "Master Primes" for example are high-speed (T1.3/~F1.2) from extreme wide (~100°) to longer focal lengths with astounding image quality (~85% contrast @40lp/mm and T1.3!). But they are also quite big/ heavy and very expensive due to the complex designs and meticulous manufacturing done in-house in Germany.
So we will see what this Distagon 55mm is about - maybe just a downgraded cine-technology design to be manufactured by Cosina/Sony or a lens that is truly meant as a new reference for D800 and beyond...
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Or
It's the same lens as the 55mm/f3.5 Distagon they made for the 645AF...
But with a larger aperture since 35mm sensors only use the centre of the lens so won't bring up issues of CA, vignetting and softness towards the edges at full aperture
Yowza! I'm surprised to see this "35mm sensors only use the centre of the lens" myth coming from you, Yair.
This is a common misconception. The sensor uses the entire lens. It only uses the center of the image circle.
If I may reproduce something I wrote previously on another forum:
Light rays arrive at the central region of the image circle (the area captured on a smaller format sensor) from nearly all parts (zones) of the glass, especially the front elements, and especially at longer than "normal" focal lengths. So using a smaller sensor is not like cutting cylinders through the lens elements, throwing away the outer perimeter (annulus) of all the glass, and just using "the center of the lens". In fact, the full diameter of the entrance pupil of the lens is always employed, regardless of how tight a sensor crop you take, because the entrance pupil diameter D defines the focal ratio f in conjunction with the focal length F (f = F/D). Since cropping doesn't change focal length, and doesn't change the image brightness, it cannot change the entrance pupil size either.
Or look at it this way. When you stop down the aperture of a lens, you are indeed using only the central zones of the lens. This is the reason why stopping down reduces zone-dependent abberations like spherical and longitudinal chromatic. But does stopping down come with a shrinking of the image circle - do the corners go black? No; on the contrary, corner falloff tends to improve with stopping down. This proves 2 things:
(1) The "center of the lens" doesn't just send light to the center of the image (aka the cropped sensor area); it sends light to the full image circle.
(2) The outer zones of the lens send more light to the center of the image than to the edges. Stopping down is reducing the amount of light; you cannot make something brighter by taking light away; so if the corners now seem brighter with respect to the center, it's because it is the centre which has been worst hit by the loss of the light from the outer zones. A cropped sensor will therefore "see" those outer zones at wide apertures, just like the non-cropped sensor does.
These outer zones aren't there to illuminate the outer zones of the image; they are there to improve the wide-open f-ratio mainly at the center of the image circle.
Unless the original design was already capable (mechanically & optically) of going to f1.2 but was physically limited to f3.5 due to vignetting/ CA/ soft edges...which won't be so much of a problem with the 35mm chips...
Why on earth would someone make an f1.2/f1.4 medium format lens with huge expensive elements, which (aberrations or not) would be in a sensational class of its own, and then cripple it by 2.5 stops, actually making it half a stop slower than its competitors (cf. 55mm f2.8 lenses for Mamiya and Pentax)? Sorry, that doesn't get past Occam's Razor.
The 45mm, for example, was an f2.8 lens and it used the same basic barrel as the 55mm/f3.5...
Divide 55 by 3.5, and 45 by 2.8. You get essentially the same answer: the entrance pupils are 15.7 mm and 16.1 mm respectively.
Ray
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On the other hand... An aperture of f1.4 is beyond MF. That would be the equivalent of a Noctilux I think, and certainly the filter thread would be much bigger than 82mm. My bet is that it is a 35mm lens with Leica IQ and (less) possibly AF.
Eduardo
Why would an aperture of f/1.4 be beyond MF?
Just for reference, here's a crop of a Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 on an IQ180, wide open.
(http://08.ae/imgs/8512crop.jpg)
The crop is to roughly 63.5 megapixels. Sensor coverage here is 48x36mm.
Heavy vignetting of course...
Regards,
Gerald.
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Zeiss announcement is a bit ( 1 year) early ... a new trend?
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Yowza! I'm surprised to see this "35mm sensors only use the centre of the lens" myth coming from you, Yair.
This is a common misconception. The sensor uses the entire lens. It only uses the center of the image circle.
If I wrote ""35mm sensors only use the centre of the image circle" would that make you sleep better Ray?????
Either way an image from a smaller sensor is less likely to show issues such as soft edges, CA and vignetting because it uses the "better" part of the IMAGE CICRLE....
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i want one with contax645 mount ;D
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Maybe they can do a Leica S mount and get a wide 1.4 on the Leica, at a savings over wide Leica lenses.
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Hi, I just found some more info about this lens:
"Who’s it for?
I asked Dr Pollmann precisely that question. He told me Zeiss is aiming at medium-format shooters migrating to the new breed of high-pixel-count 135-format SLRs"
http://chromaticabrasion.com/blog/2012/9/27/new-zeiss-distagon-t-star-1-4-55-at-photokina-2012
http://chromaticabrasion.com/blog/2012/10/thoughts-zeiss-distagon-t-star-1-4-55-at-photokina-2012
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"Who’s it for?
I asked Dr Pollmann precisely that question. He told me Zeiss is aiming at medium-format shooters migrating to the new breed of high-pixel-count 135-format SLRs"
Very smart move. Personally I think they will have a larger market than most would expect. As the high end enthusiast camera and pro camera become more and more
the same camera lenses will be more of the distiction. The electronics get better and better while being very affordable there is more of a budget for stellar lenses.
There is also a perception among photographers that cameras are short term investments while "glass" you keep for years and years.
However I think that another segment of the market are people with high-pixel-count 135-format SLRs that may have been considering MFD or have already ditched MFD and
want to make the very most of their cameras.
I think this is particularly relevant as it is a very different approach to where Hasselblad is going.
Hasselblad is making new lenses that are lighter, but sacraficing distortion and vignetting to then correct for this in post.
Carl Zeiss on the other hand is taking advantage of the lightness of for example the D800 letting them still have a reasonable overall camera/lens weight despite making large lens designs.
Their large lens designs let them reach new heights in lens quality.
This announcement by Carl Zeiss is probably the smartest move in the high MP count high quality pro camera areana of Photokina.
Zeiss that used to be the lead player in MF lenses has moved on and seems to be making a lot of right choices.
Their motion picture primes are selling very very well.
The Carl Zeiss group is doing very well indeed.
From 2009 to 2011 Carl Zeiss doubled it's revenues that are now 4.24 billion Euros.
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Fred
as you said. Zeiss has committed completely to full format 35mm and Video, dropping MF as a whole .
It is only logical they use the best technology available on their side as they do not build (Digital)cameras and chips.
I believe they are right, the market numbers show their growth and this will be the new "professional class" of equipment which will substitue
larger systems, whatever names they were called.
I am sceptical about the move of both Hasselblad and Phase/LeafMamiya to invest in new lenses for their Mf Body portfolios as long as they cannot support
a functioning lifeview. But then if they could they would not need the longer flange focal distance which makes the lenses extraordinary expensive (especially wideangles).
So you can just guess if this is strategy by will or just out of necessity because they know there will be no change to that situation in the next time.
The problem is, that when the user base scales down even more (with maybe a Canon High pixel body) the number of the sold MF lenses will go down even further and thus
become even more expensive.........and so on.
It will be interesting to see who is right in the end. But I have a favourite.......... :)
Regards
Stefan
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I am sceptical about the move of both Hasselblad and Phase/LeafMamiya to invest in new lenses for their Mf Body portfolios as long as they cannot support
a functioning lifeview.
And that won't happen as long as some MF users keep blindly accepting the current limitations of their backs... as some posters here seem to.
Cheers,
Bernard
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So Schneider went for the MF lenses and Zeiss went 135? Seems to me the Schneider lenses I've used are better than the Zeiss MF lenses anyhow. Less distortion and nicer bokeh.
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Personally I'm pleased to see that Zeiss are committed to the 35mm form factor (although truthfully I'd love to see new Zeiss options for my DF system!). Ultimately with 35mm we're pretty much done with the cameras at this point and the smart money is investing in the glass for image quality improvements. I'll buy glass vs bodies now every time as a route to better image quality.
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Hi,
Zeiss usually worked with a partner, like Hasselblad. I don't think that Zeiss were in large format. No Zeiss works with Cosina who manufacture most ZF and ZE lenses in Japan.
Zeiss strategy seems to make a lot of sense.
Best regards
Erik
So Schneider went for the MF lenses and Zeiss went 135? Seems to me the Schneider lenses I've used are better than the Zeiss MF lenses anyhow. Less distortion and nicer bokeh.
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Hi,
A system like the Hartblei or the Alpa makes more sense to me than an MF SLR. It's more like equipment for precision work.
On the other hand there is nothing wrong with MF SLRs as long as the users are happy, it's their $$$ and if they feel those $$$ were well spent, it is quite OK.
Best regards
Erik
And that won't happen as long as some MF users keep blindly accepting the current limitations of their backs... as some posters here seem to.
Cheers,
Bernard
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Personally I'm pleased to see that Zeiss are committed to the 35mm form factor (although truthfully I'd love to see new Zeiss options for my DF system!). Ultimately with 35mm we're pretty much done with the cameras at this point and the smart money is investing in the glass for image quality improvements. I'll buy glass vs bodies now every time as a route to better image quality.
Same here, I'm slowly changing my lens line up and ditching those below par (24-70mk1, 40T-se) and investing in lenses that will be up to future high mp 35mm bodies like the 135f2 and a 50mm f2 macro Zeiss.
High quality lenses are usually in the £1-2k bracket but seem good value compared to a lot of MF lenses.
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I have thought about this for a long time - in 2005 when I started the Hartblei -Optics by Carl Zeiss project.
Hartblei has just been a bit early. It was difficult back then to explain to people why they should pay 10000$ for a set of 3 lenses for 35mm.
but now it shows my Idea was absolutely right. Schneider has copied our lenses, Zeiss is investing again in new 35mm Constructions,
even Canon and Nikon have now recognized that the key factor to further devellopment are the lenses.
They normally represent the largest single investement in a photographers portfolio (with the exception of MF Backs!) and of course
the mainstream producers have now identified that the better margin of the highend market is also welcome for them, they can
even reach broader markets if they supply cheaper "base" bodies (like a D800E or a future Canon High res 35mm), but earn most of their money
with the lenses. MF on the other side probably has a half half strategy, lenses AND Backs with bodies as a replaceable lesser item.
The problem is: the CCD backs limit the further devellopment of more competitive Bodies and lenses.
It´s again a hen and egg situation. There has to be a strict cut to break that scheme and this is what I demand since several years.
But none of the MF Makers with the exception of Leica (+HCam-B1 and now ALPA with the FPS ) has read the writings on the wall correctly I think.
regards
Stefan
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Hi,
Zeiss usually worked with a partner, like Hasselblad. I don't think that Zeiss were in large format.
Hi Erik,
Zeiss made some large format lenses (e.g. 135/3.5 Planar, 75mm Biogon aerial camera lens), but were never a major player.
Of course in large format, you don't need a partner - lenses and camera bodies are completely separate entities, and all you need for compatibility is to fit your lens design into a standard leaf shutter size like #0, #1, #3...
If it were only so simple in smaller formats!
Ray
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If I wrote ""35mm sensors only use the centre of the image circle" would that make you sleep better Ray?????
Either way an image from a smaller sensor is less likely to show issues such as soft edges, CA and vignetting because it uses the "better" part of the IMAGE CICRLE....
I already sleep like a baby, Yair...but knowing that you are no longer saying the wrong thing would make my dreams even sweeter! :-*
Ray
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I had the opportunity to make a few pictures during a few seconds with it on my D800 during photokina.
An incredible lens - had to check the metadatas 3 times to believe the result at f1.4.
Incredible clarity, wonderfull bokeh.
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Agree. I saw the demo pictures. If they are "untouched" as Zeiss claims, this is the first 1.4 that delivers such results.
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I had the opportunity to make a few pictures during a few seconds with it on my D800 during photokina.
An incredible lens - had to check the metadatas 3 times to believe the result at f1.4.
Incredible clarity, wonderfull bokeh.
Would love to see your test snaps..... Can you post one or two
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Who would like to have a leaf shutter in this lens?
Carl Zeiss has made leaf shutter lenses so they should have the capability to do this.
Two versions would be nice. One with LF and one without.
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Prontor made the shutters and barrels for the V lenses for Zeiss
Also you need the electronic coupling/ protocol to control a leaf shutter, so Canon/ Nikon will also have to invest in it...
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>>>>>>Who would like to have a leaf shutter in this lens?<<<<<<<
there is already global shutter technology available on smaller resolution CMOS´s.
With this ANY shutter will become unneeded. You will be able to sync to full speed of the chips readout. If any there only will be one shutter plane.
So shortly before availabilty of such a technology it does not make any sense to invest in this (at least not for large volume makers like Canon, Nikon or Sony).
Regards
Stefan
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Why would an aperture of f/1.4 be beyond MF?
Just for reference, here's a crop of a Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 on an IQ180, wide open.
(http://08.ae/imgs/8512crop.jpg)
The crop is to roughly 63.5 megapixels. Sensor coverage here is 48x36mm.
Heavy vignetting of course...
Regards,
Gerald.
Ok Gerald, now you have to tell me how can I mount my canon ef 85mm 1.2 into my phaseone camera ;D
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Prontor made the shutters and barrels for the V lenses for Zeiss
Also you need the electronic coupling/ protocol to control a leaf shutter, so Canon/ Nikon will also have to invest in it...
Coupling could easily be done with sync directly from the lens. Just sync the leaf shutter to the the focal plane shutter and use the focal plane shutter
at a slower speed so it does not get in the way. For low ISO settings there would be no quality loss. Shutter speed could be set on the lens.
This scenario would be manual exposure. It could also be kept simple with just the high speeds above focal plane flash sync.
I have experimented with this using a D800 behind a Fuji gx680 body..... however the Fuji lenses max out at 1/400th.
I contacted Carl Zeiss and they told me that a leaf shutter is not presently in their plans, but that they have the capability.
Sigma has a leaf shutter program, but they would not say when it would be available.
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>>>>>>Who would like to have a leaf shutter in this lens?<<<<<<<
there is already global shutter technology available on smaller resolution CMOS´s.
With this ANY shutter will become unneeded. You will be able to sync to full speed of the chips readout. If any there only will be one shutter plane.
So shortly before availabilty of such a technology it does not make any sense to invest in this (at least not for large volume makers like Canon, Nikon or Sony).
Regards
Stefan
This will be interesting as it makes it's way to higher resolutions and FF.
Nikon already had a high flash sync camera... the d70. Flash sync at 1/2000th if I recall correctly.
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Sorry to up this topic but I was thinking about this future 55 mm.
Is that possible that ZEISS is trying (like SIGMA start to do) to up his game and decided to rework formulas and bodys of all existing DSLR Zeiss glass, to fit the future (and actual) high pixel sensors ??
This is just a though. Might be possible they are trying to craft two DSLR line-up of lenses : Conventional (actual line-up) and professional (like this future lens).
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I think that Zeiss sees the opportunity to sell very high end lenses for the D800 and D800E as well as new sensors that will be coming out for 35mm DSLRs
at a faster pace than MF.
Carl Zeiss has a very wide knowledge base. While they are lens makers they like Nikon are leaders in micro electronics fabrication equipment.
As suppliers of micro electronics manufacturers they know very well what is in development a long time before it reaches the market.
If you consider the huge price difference between the D800 and an IQ140 choosing a D800 leaves a lot of cash for high end lenses for the D800.
I think that Carl Zeiss's significant departure from MF has a lot to do with their deep knowledge of the Micro Electronics industry.
http://smt.zeiss.com/semiconductor-manufacturing-technology/en_de/home.html (http://smt.zeiss.com/semiconductor-manufacturing-technology/en_de/home.html)
Regarding Sigma. I suspect they are upto something. If one looks at what comes out of the compact Merril can you imagine
what a FF sensor would be capable of. I think this is in part why Sigma is coming out with higher end lenses like the new 85mm 1.4.
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I think this is exactly what the plan of Zeiss is. Their current activities in MF are Zero. Hartblei is the last supplier of Zeiss MF Glass and we did a transformation
to 35mm mounts with it. We still can use it on the HCam -and now also ALPA FPS , but the most lenses we sell now go out with Nikon mount for the D800E.
I doubt very much that there will be much more devellopment of completely new lenses for MF.
The numbers of sold lenses are going down and the cost of devellopment per new lens is going up.
Now everybody can count 1+1 and decide what will probably happen.
Regards
Stefan
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Totally different lens.
Correct.
At the Photokina, Dr. Pollmann told me that they asked their engineers to develop the best 55mm, without limitations in size or budget. This is the result.
Next to me, someone was trying the lens on a D800E and he couldn't believe the results.
By the way, this is only the fist lens of a range of superlatives. :)
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Stefan,
Correct me if I'm wrong, but why is it that Sigman, Tamron, etc. can make autofocus lenses for Nikon and Canon mounts, but Zeiss only makes autofocus for Sony?
Seems strange since looking down the hole of these little plastic covered cameras and trying to manually focuses requires the eye acuity of a eagle.
IMO
BC
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MF on the other side probably has a half half strategy, lenses AND Backs with bodies as a replaceable lesser item.
The problem is: the CCD backs limit the further devellopment of more competitive Bodies and lenses.
Hi Stefan,
Please bear with me... Are you suggesting that MF makers should morph there digi backs and camera bodies into one unit? And use CMO chips?
Thank you,
Jeffery
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Hi Stefan,
This is highly unfair to Pentax which after 3 totally new prime designs (55mm, 25mm, 90mm) will roll out three totally new zooms (including the first one to start with a 2X mm).
Regards,
Radu
I think this is exactly what the plan of Zeiss is. Their current activities in MF are Zero. Hartblei is the last supplier of Zeiss MF Glass and we did a transformation
to 35mm mounts with it. We still can use it on the HCam -and now also ALPA FPS , but the most lenses we sell now go out with Nikon mount for the D800E.
I doubt very much that there will be much more devellopment of completely new lenses for MF.
The numbers of sold lenses are going down and the cost of devellopment per new lens is going up.
Now everybody can count 1+1 and decide what will probably happen.
Regards
Stefan
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Stefan,
Correct me if I'm wrong, but why is it that Sigman, Tamron, etc. can make autofocus lenses for Nikon and Canon mounts, but Zeiss only makes autofocus for Sony?
Seems strange since looking down the hole of these little plastic covered cameras and trying to manually focuses requires the eye acuity of a eagle.
IMO
BC
I asked a Zeiss rep about the new lens and he confirmed that it would be manual focus at least to start with.
He said that the advanced support for manual focusing in new and future DSLR cameras is one of the reasons why they are going
with manual focus.
He also told me that Zeiss is also working on miniaturized high res display systems and that there are huge innovations
coming in that area from various companies. Sonys digital viewfinders are just the tip of the iceberg.
Live view and live view with face recognition fine focus zoom in (right into the corners of the image if needed)
2K live view over HDMI
Focus confirmation on large number of focus points in the viewfinder.
All features that support critical focusing better than even the biggest pentaprism
viewfinders, even with limited eyesight.
And what does plastic covered bodies have to do with focusing?
The whole D800 chassis is alloy:
(http://wetpixel.com/media/D800%20review/D800%20images/D800%20Mgbody.jpg)
Card slot door is plastic, Grip is Rubber, pop up flash is plastic.
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i'd wish for an HC 24mm equivalent for my c645 :-[
what do you think how much a private order would cost? :P
the 1700mm also seems to be a single copy
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Or
It's the same lens as the 55mm/f3.5 Distagon they made for the 645AF...
But with a larger aperture since 35mm sensors only use the centre of the lens so won't bring up issues of CA, vignetting and softness towards the edges at full aperture
The aperture ring is probably at the base of the barrell close to the body
@georgl It's a new design, "opening up" an existing design by 2.5 stops is not possible...
I hope that they finally got some common sense and produce this lens themselves - compromising another design by mediocre mechanical quality or sample variation for a so-called reference line-up makes little sense, since the target audience already accepts bigger, heavier and expensive lenses - no need for compromises...
that opened up an existing design by a couple of stops:
http://www.tested.com/tech/photography/453105-metabones-speed-booster-lens-adapter/
@yaya is correct about the placement of the aperture ring, http://brianhirschfeldphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/1CarlZeiss55mmMontageSML.jpg
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Radu
You are right Pentax is about the only one who seems to still push into that direction, but I am pretty sure, compared to their 35mm business this is marginal.
Jeffrey
Yes that´s the logical consequence, sooner or later the further improvements in chips will demand tuned and synced systems that are diminishing maechanical tolerances as far as possible, also a live view will be essential. Look at Pentax and Leica, they already started going this way.
BC
Zeiss does not make any Autofocus, they do not have the technology, Sony Minolta supplies this part of the lens.
But - Zeiss could of course have Cosina make autofocus lenses, the problem is not technical, it´s a licensing, a payment for this and also a logical problem, actually the
targeted customers probably use these lenses more in manual mode than in AF mode, so it does not make too much sense. It also has technical advantages, you can
use a much better mechanical focusing if this does not have to be coupled with AF.
Regards
Stefan
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BC
Zeiss does not make any Autofocus, they do not have the technology, Sony Minolta supplies this part of the lens.
But - Zeiss could of course have Cosina make autofocus lenses, the problem is not technical, it´s a licensing, a payment for this and also a logical problem, actually the
targeted customers probably use these lenses more in manual mode than in AF mode, so it does not make too much sense. It also has technical advantages, you can
use a much better mechanical focusing if this does not have to be coupled with AF.
Regards
Stefan
I guess that makes sense, though the Sony/Zeiss lenses I use on my fs100 are beautiful and focus amazingly well. They're big but good.
I'm not knocking 35mm, just find a lot of them boring. Sony at least is trying new things.
What I miss is the ability to manual focus. I can take a Nikon F5 and run with a model backwards and hit focus set on manual. Can do the same with my Contax and an H series blad.
My D3, D700, All my Canons with manual focus through an optical finder is just hit and miss with way too many misses.
BTW: If Zeiss doesn't do autofocus who made it for the Contax lenses?
IMO
BC
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>>>>>BTW: If Zeiss doesn't do autofocus who made it for the Contax lenses?>>>>
Yashica/Contax did it. Todays highend Autofocus is a (nearly exclusive) japanese Technology (I don´t know who supplied it for the HY6).
Regards
Stefan
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Kyochera lisenced the Contax brand and optical designs from Zeiss.
Kyochera designed and made the Contax system and manufactured all the lenses.
Kyochera decided to get out of the camera business including mf and focused
on electronics and specialized scientific and industrial optics.
Kyochera has grown significantly and currently has a market capitalization of $16 billion.
As an electronics company thet predicted the drop in profitability and future viability of MF as a volume
product.
While it is very sad that the Contax 645 went away and was no longer improved on it is
quite clear that Kyochera made the right long term choice.
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>>>>>>Who would like to have a leaf shutter in this lens?<<<<<<<
there is already global shutter technology available on smaller resolution CMOS´s.
With this ANY shutter will become unneeded. You will be able to sync to full speed of the chips readout. If any there only will be one shutter plane.
So shortly before availabilty of such a technology it does not make any sense to invest in this (at least not for large volume makers like Canon, Nikon or Sony).
Regards
Stefan
Commercial products have even been on the market Nikon D70s being one of them.
Also current high end Nikon and Canon have HSS that can sync to 1/8000th.
Add to that the arrival of strobes that have advanced HSS support leaf shutters are looking
slow and old tech. Reliability is also an issue with phase one / mamiya leaf shutters.
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Kyochera Kyocera also left the 35mm and P&S markets so following the same logic these markets are also doomed....better flog your DSLR, quick...
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While it is very sad that the Contax 645 went away and was no longer improved on it is quite clear that Kyochera made the right long term choice.
AFAIK Kyocera did not "choose" at all to discontinue the Contax 645. Supposedly the Contax N1 killed Contax ...
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Hi,
Why not? Just because Oscar Barnack invented 35, should that format live forever? The way I see it APS-C is quite competitive. Michael Reichmann seems to use APS-C a lot and Micro 4/3 a lot. So, Jack Dykinga switched from 4x5" film to D800, Tim Ashely switched from IQ 180 to D800E. Michael Reichmann doesn't use his Alpha 900 any more but shoots a lot of Micro 4/3.
There is little reason for fixed formats, now that we don't have film.
The P&S market is by and large taken by phone cameras, and I saw more folks shooting iPads in Yellowstone and Grand Teton than folks shooting MFDs.
Are DSLRs doomed? In the long run, I think so. The question is how long the run is
Best regards
Erik
Kyochera Kyocera also left the 35mm and P&S markets so following the same logic these markets are also doomed....better flog your DSLR, quick...
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The P&S market is by and large taken by phone cameras
Yes Nikon have just announced 7 new P&S's....
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Yes,
I was thinking about that. And I have seen a lot of PS&S cameras in the national parks. But I pretty much think that PS&S are going upscale.
But lets look at DSLRs...
The pro DSLRs were then D3 and D1xxx series. Nowdays many photographers use D800/D800E, 5DIII because they are good enough and in part because of lesser weight. Sports shooters and concert photographers probably will use DSLRs for a long time. For landscape and portrait other solutions may show up.
Now, SLRs have been around since the 1930-es, I think. It's a well developed and proven concept. But the reason for the mirror is just to show a "what you see is what you get" image. An EVF is doing just that, and they have just been around a few years.
Best regards
Erik
Yes Nikon have just announced 7 new P&S's....
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Also current high end Nikon and Canon have HSS that can sync to 1/8000th.
Add to that the arrival of strobes that have advanced HSS support leaf shutters are looking
slow and old tech. Reliability is also an issue with phase one / mamiya leaf shutters.
That is your opinion. And very bad advice to give to professional photographer. Who must get the shot every-time. The best way to freeze action is with a leaf shutter lens and a bi-tube strobe. The (LS Schneider Lenses with V-grip on a phase one body) leaf shutter allows you to shoot at 1/1600. A bi-tube combined with a short duration power pack such as a Broncolor, Einstein pack or a Profoto 8 and you will have consistent power. Not to mention the ability to use a large modifer such as a Profoto 8" giant.
In regards to Phase one / Mamiya leaf shutter reliability useless you have spoken to the vast amount of MFDB owners out there how can you know? I have never received a questionnaire or survey. Where is the empirical data? Why do professional rental houses through-out the country stock Phase one digital backs?
Furthermore. You talk game. But you never show any of your own photos taken with 1/8000 flash sync. What is your website address. I would like to see what type photography you do.
Thank you,
Jeffery
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[quote author=Stefan.Steib link=topic=70406.msg594914#msg594914 date=135945302
It also has technical advantages, you can
use a much better mechanical focusing if this does not have to be coupled with AF.
Regards
Stefan
[/quote]
I wondered why I didn't share the focussing problems with my D200 and D700, using manual Nikkors, that others seem to report using, I presume, af lenses. Of course, that's not taking into account my later problems with my own eyesight, hardly the fault of Nikon!
Frankly, I always like focussing manually and my single af lens - a 2.8/180 - is also focussed by hand, but feels a bit less precise in the mechanics.
Rob C
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Hi,
It is my understanding that the advantage of the leaf shutter is that it can pass the full output of the flash in the time the shutter is open. With FP flash the flash duration must be longer than focal shutter travel time. So with short shutter speed a significant part of the flash exposure will be lost.
I thought the discussion was about Distagon 1.4 ;-)
Best regards
Erik
That is your opinion. And very bad advice to give to professional photographer. Who must get the shot every-time. The best way to freeze action is with a leaf shutter lens and a bi-tube strobe.
In regards to Phase one / Mamiya leaf shutter reliability useless you have spoken to the vast amount of MFDB owners out there how can you know? I have never received a questionnaire or survey. Where is the empirical data? Why do professional rental houses through-out the country stock Phase one digital backs?
Furthermore. You talk game. But you never show any of your own photos taken with 1/8000 flash sync. What is your website address. I would like to see what type photography you do.
Thank you,
Jeffery
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Sorry for going off topic.
A short flash duration is used to freeze action. A bi-tube strobe or flashhead allows you connect two power packs for maximum power. The leaf shutter opens to capture the strobe when it reaches its peak flash intensity.
Thank you,
Jeffery
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Back OT: I've been wondering, if this new Zeiss is so pro-high-quality, why don't they make it weather sealed?
If not for practical reasons, surely they could benefit marketing wise because for example landscape photographers will be interested in this high res lens (or a wide angle version in this new range) and they'd be wanting some protection from the elements.
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That is your opinion. And very bad advice to give to professional photographer. Who must get the shot every-time. The best way to freeze action is with a leaf shutter lens and a bi-tube strobe. The (LS Schneider Lenses with V-grip on a phase one body) leaf shutter allows you to shoot at 1/1600. A bi-tube combined with a short duration power pack such as a Broncolor, Einstein pack or a Profoto 8 and you will have consistent power. Not to mention the ability to use a large modifer such as a Profoto 8" giant.
......
Jeffery
While the V-grip is nice, It's not required for shooting flash sync at 1/1600th. A simple flash sync cable will work.
There was an earlier thread regarding High Speed flash sync and alternatives to the Phase One LS method.
Consistent and reliable results are possible using FP mode. Just requires a little more technique.
I use the Elinchrome 6,000 and 3,000 packs as well as their twin tube heads, in particular the overlapping twin tube
that produces cleaner light when used direct or through fresnel lens modifiers. Overlapping tubes produce a single light source
compared to side by side twin tube heads. They work well in the 6ft octa as well as the SL35 large fresnel spot.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8161/7628134412_b9a5e4b6bc_c.jpg)
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8022/7628132006_554ec22b25_c.jpg)
(http://media.vistek.ca/prodimg/200/111443.jpg)
This was shot with the Fresnel SL35.
(http://photos.modelmayhem.com/photos/091225/19/4b35809404744.jpg)
Anyway here is a thread that goes into more detail on the subject of high speed flash sync.
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=71679.0 (http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=71679.0)
Plenty of examples there.
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Zeiss have some new info about this lens on their blog:
http://blogs.zeiss.com/photo/en/?p=3307
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Zeiss have some new info about this lens on their blog:
http://blogs.zeiss.com/photo/en/?p=3307
I m almost becoming impatient! :)
Now, obviously, MF lenses at f1.4 on a D800e are probably impossile to focus accurately in many of the applications where you would benefit from this lns qualities...
Chances are that a 50mm AF-S f1.4 will end up delivering sharper real world results thanks to AF.
Cheers,
Bernard
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Bernard,
Don't you think live view MF works?
Best regards
Erik
I m almost becoming impatient! :)
Now, obviously, MF lenses at f1.4 on a D800e are probably impossile to focus accurately in many of the applications where you would benefit from this lns qualities...
Chances are that a 50mm AF-S f1.4 will end up delivering sharper real world results thanks to AF.
Cheers,
Bernard
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Bernard,
Don't you think live view MF works?
Not hand held at 1.4 on anything but perfectly static subjects.
Cheers,
Bernard
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Yes, shooting at f1.4 manual focus does have a few challengers.
But one benefit of the 55mm is that it will be very high contrast and well corrected at f1.4 than compared to the Zeiss 35mm f1.4 which is difficult to focus due to high LOCA.
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Why don't Zeiss make these new lenses with af?
Henrik
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Why don't Zeiss make these new lenses with af?
Henrik
Patents ?
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Hi,
Sigma, Tokina and Tamron make AF-lenses. I think that Zeiss is more in optics then AF-mecatronics.
Also, I guess that both the customers and the lenses are a bit MF oriented. Optimal focus is best achieved by live view, I think.
Sony's Zeiss lenses are AF but they have slightly different optical construction and they are built by Sony.
Best regards
Erik
Patents ?
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I agree live focus is perfect for static objects, but eith the new sensors now MF is getting less interesting for
most people. I know can make very nice AF (Sinaron AF). Hope they will make AF for some of the coming
high quality lenses.
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Why don't Zeiss make these new lenses with af?
Henrik
I can understand it with the existing lenses, there expensive but not THAT expensive, add in AF aswell and I'm guessing you increase the size and cost a significant amount. Seems to me most Zeiss users are likely to shoot static subjects anyway so by upping the price you might reduce the market.
The new 55mm 1.4 seems a bit more questionable to me, its not nearly as competitive when it comes to price or indeed size so would adding a little more to both increase the market?
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Personally, I look forward to the release of this lens and real-world testing. The lab shots are encouraging, but I want to see something outside a controlled atmosphere.
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It will be interesting to see if Sigma comes with an ART 1,4 50mm lens...
Autofocus and easier to make very well at the same pricepoint as the 35mm ART lens
If that happens... Nikon and Canon have a problem becoming third and fourth in quality...
A good reason for them to make a good standard lens too - better than their 350 euro plastic stuff...
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Hi,
i 've talked to Mr Dr. Nasse from Zeiss who is the leading engineer of this lens. This lens is designed by Zeis but build by Cosina in Japan. And he said, that Cosina build several lenses for other big photo companies. This lenses have AF!!!! And they have an agreemant with this big companies that cosina dont build lenses with AF. Then they dont loose there partners..
cyron
Why don't Zeiss make these new lenses with af?
Henrik
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D800E @1.4.....
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It will be interesting to see if Sigma comes with an ART 1,4 50mm lens...
Autofocus and easier to make very well at the same pricepoint as the 35mm ART lens
If that happens... Nikon and Canon have a problem becoming third and fourth in quality...
A good reason for them to make a good standard lens too - better than their 350 euro plastic stuff...
Canon and Nikon have been focusing on their zoom lenses making significant progress.
Just compare the new Canon 24-70 with the lauded Sigma ART 35mm 1.4.
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=787&Camera=453&Sample=0&FLI=2&API=3&LensComp=829&CameraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=5 (http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=787&Camera=453&Sample=0&FLI=2&API=3&LensComp=829&CameraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=5)
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Hi,
Much of the effort is going into making f/1.4 workable and getting rid of color fringing. Most good lenses are good at f/5.6.
Best regards
Erik
Canon and Nikon have been focusing on their zoom lenses making significant progress.
Just compare the new Canon 24-70 with the lauded Sigma ART 35mm 1.4.
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=787&Camera=453&Sample=0&FLI=2&API=3&LensComp=829&CameraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=5 (http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=787&Camera=453&Sample=0&FLI=2&API=3&LensComp=829&CameraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=5)
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Is this lens for sale somewhere yet?
Henrik
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Is this lens for sale somewhere yet?
Henrik
No but there people using them as tester's for Zeiss...