Those of you that were not happy with the Zeiss branded Sony FE lenses here comes the big news! On Zeiss’ Facebook page they just unveiled that:
We are currently working on manual focus lenses for these new full-frame CSCs. They will have an interface to provide EXIF data to the camera. They are expected to be in stores by the end of 2014. However, we cannot provide any additional infos right now.
Why launch manual focusing lenses? My guess is they do it to keep them smaller and to purely focus on image quality instead of AF performance. Maybe almost as good as their new Zeiss Otus line (55mm here at BH). Too bad these lenses will come in 12 months only. They should have been here right from the start!
These are the Zeiss “Full Frame” ZM analog cameras:
[shoplink 10875 ebay]Distagon T* 2,8/15 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9803 ebay]Distagon T* 4/18 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9804 ebay]Biogon T* 2,8/21 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9804 ebay]C Biogon T* 4,5/21 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9805 ebay]Biogon T* 2,8/25 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9806 ebay]Biogon T* 2,8/28 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9808 ebay]Biogon T* 2/35 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9808 ebay]C Biogon T* 2,8/35 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9809 ebay]C Sonnar T* 1,5/50 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9809 ebay]Planar T* 2/50 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9810 ebay]Sonnar T* 2/85 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 9810 ebay]Tele-Tessar T* 4/85 ZM (Click here to see price on eBay)[/shoplink].
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79 Responses
Like Otus?
Why not? I would consider a smaller version of the 55 Otus for the A7. The DSLR version is just too big.
The “DSLR” Version is big because it is fast and have a very high quality even wide open.
Its not big just because it have a “DSLR”-Mount, neither are NEX-Lenses small only because they are E-Mount.
So if Otis would be released for E-Mount it wouldn’t be noticeable smaller/lighter than the current version right now.
Isn’t 55/1.8 as good as Otus, also cheaper and having AF?
Otus, essentially, is a 80/1.4 lens with built-in wideangle converter, that’s why it’s so big.
“Isn’t 55/1.8 as good as Otus, also cheaper and having AF?”
Where did that come from? You don’t know that.
“Otus, essentially, is a 80/1.4 lens with built-in wideangle converter, that’s why it’s so big.”
Its PDF shows that its design’s an ordinary retrofocus, but with a lot of special elements.
It would have been amazing if they were going to be available early next year and they filled in the gaps like 15mm, 24mm, and 85mm. I guess photokina will be interesting this year with these lens available.
End of 2014 = 14 months at most, not 21 months. Still a long wait
sorry typo. I meant 12 months 🙂
aren’t those just the ZM lenses with a new mount?
that would be great. also please the same from Voigtländer, they are made in the same place anyway.
I hope not … new lenses should be recalculated to match the digital sensor (telecntricity)
I hope also sigma will jump in producing FF mirorless lenses. Since their apsc are cehap and good.
If all they’re doing is putting new adapter rings on ZM lenses then it’s not worth it to get at all – much better to buy the original ZM – no wait, more versatile, more sell-on value… I see no upside to Z FE lenses via the Sigma new adapter ring route other than a tiny bit more convenience
with adaptors you always loose a little quality because of mechanical impresicion, and I dont need the M mount.
That is not true unless you have an adapter of exceptionally bad quality. It is the not the actual thickness that impacts sharpness – although an adapter too thick or thin will throw the focus scale way off, but they way that the lens might be mounted off center or at an angle to the sensor. This is rare, however, and any of the name brand adapters should not have this issue.
I say no, because it would be stupid to manufacture lenses where most won’t work well with the current sensors.
I would say that it is likely that current ZM production will be scaled down and Cosina will now manufacture ZME lenses as the new thing.
MF Zeiss lenses will be amazing just because of the sheer freedom from AF design constraints, allowing Zeiss to make smaller, faster, more corrected and better performing lenses where, although you still pay a bit, you get more bang for your buck.
This means the era of the digital ZM lenses is coming. God Bless Zeiss.
Please Zeiss and Voigtlander, one of you should bring a small MF f2.0 / 43mm real standard FF focal length lens to complete the Sony A7 idea of small excellence. Thanks!
+1, for sure.
+1.
They should review the Contax-G Planar 45mm f/2 and make it AF on e-mount. That’s a truly incredible lens.
ABSOLUTELY YES!
It works with the Techart adaptor, it’s just a little too slow, you get AF from infinity to around 1m in like 3s, prefocusing may help. The focusing noise is also a bit odd, it grinds in little jittery steps and could be annoying, but the demonstration video was done using the internal mic so it might not be so obvious in real life use. The AF accuracy seems fine, and exceeds the original Contax G1/2 body’s.
This is the best news since the announcement of the A7r. Rather than retrofitting older lens designs from film days, I expect these will be high quality Otus lenses, optimized to take full advantage of this new 36 mp sensor. I am willing to wait a year for an Otus super wide, such as a 21mm or 18mm, for landscape and architectural photography.
The question is if you are also willing to pay the Otus Price, I guess a WA Otus would be something like € 5-7k…
Perhaps, It depends on the speed. I could see a price of $4,000 for an Otus 21mm with a moderate ƒ3.4 speed. The highly regarded Leica 21mm ƒ3.4 is $3,000. And the Zeiss Touit 12mm is no slouch at an affordable $1,200.
But if the goal is maximum IQ from this sensor, price is secondary. The Otus line is clearly designed to take advantage of the best sensor technology and highest resolution available. That is exactly what we have in the A7r sensor which is even improved over the one in the D800e.
Go get Zeiss’s CP2 Super Speeds already, the 50’s only $500 more than the Otus(also about the same weight) and the 35/1.4 isn’t expensive in comparison, and you have many other options in native E-mount(through Zeiss’s own exchangable mount).
I’d rather pay a higher price for an excellent one or two-lens kit than lower prices for a set of mediocre lenses. But if I pay a high price for FE-Otus lenses, I need to know whether Sony is reliable with the FE-mount.
I nthe youtube video that is floating around they said these lenses would be “full electronic compatibility to the camera”. So expect at least exif data, and maybe even aperture display (or aperture control) in the EVF/LCD or focus magnification by turning focus ring. Let’s just hope A7(R) can toggle focus magnifiction on/off from quick access button/Fn menu. In old Nexes menu diving was needed for this, one of nagging things in my Nex-7 UI.
Here’s the Zeiss vid
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P_9yvcxYlc
I love this idea, specially for UWA where AF is quite useless and E Mount lens can be much smaller than an SLR lens. Pure Zeiss smart MF lens at around 18 mm would be brilliant.
+1 here.
Automatic focus magnification is practically useless as you couldn’t see your framing when you focus, I’ve always hated that feature focusing manually on native E-mount lenses, you’re just about shooting blind if your subject moves, and without IBIS, a 50% or 100% magnification isn’t going to help judge where your image plane is, everything would be under constant motion blur.
Why the manual lens is quite simple. These are the lenses that are geared more for Video and Cinema capturing. And why wait until now, because SONY has more future FE mount cameras more pointing to that part of the industry.
Imo, it’s like ¨Back to the future¨. 🙂
Too much compromise with A7 A7r to be good.
Waiting more simple technology like A mount!
As long as they’ll support the DMF-option, I will be perfectly happy! I love it when turning the focusing ring brings up the enlarged image, makes focusing sooo easy.
Andrea, the manual focusing Zeiss lenses for 24×36 E-mount cameras are also addressed in the Korean YouTube video with Winfried Scherle (Carl Zeiss AG Camera Lens Division Senior Vice President and General Manager) you referred to yesterday.
Starting at 0:36, Dr Scherle, speaking about Sony Alpha 7/7R, says:
“The introduction of a full frame compact camera is a major step towards high-end photography. ===We will introduce next year a family of modern manual lenses with full electronic compatibility to the camera===. This is a unique set of features. It will allow ambitious and creative photography and also precise video shooting.”
If Zeiss would introduce completely new designed manual lenses for Sony E-mount I would be very, very suprised. I guess the idea is to launch allready existing lenses for Nikon, Canon etc also for E-mount. But in this case I would buy the lenses for Nikon and use them with a Novoflex adapter.
I have to disagree with this. In the wider end the Canikon lenses include excess glass not needed in the mirrorless and Zeiss already has designed/produced Touits for APS-C E Mount so this is just new Touits for FE. Zeiss is no Samyang and I do not expect them to resort to selling SLR-lenses with built-in adaptors (this is what the FE Samyangs are) as “something totally new”.
This is what worries me most–Otus, Tuits and Samyang, all in a different way.
Well, these manual lenses will be a new family, so no need to worry 🙂
The emphasis Carl Zeiss AG representatives are putting on “full electronic compatibility” suggests the glass part of these lenses is not that new/original.
I presume these lenses will be reshuffled ZM lenses with lengthier casing (to compensate for the shorter register), E-mount, electric aperture command, chip and more.
A bit as they did when they derived ZE lenses (Canon mount) from ZF (Nikon) / ZK (Pentax) / ZS (M42) versions.
The news I want to hear:
Sigma release 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, 105mm and 135mm primes for Sony FE 🙂
Good luck, during this time SONY will release new A-mont bodys that would outperform all your FE body and lens toys. 🙂
you know, there is no best camera, but tere is the best camera for you and your type of photography. so I couldn’t care less if sony brings a bigger camera with even bigger lenses that is much better than the A7r, the A7r is still usable and might be better for you or me or maybe not.
Might be for the new Nikon… http://nikonrumors.com/2013/10/21/the-upcoming-nikon-retro-full-frame-camera-will-not-have-video-possible-announcement-on-november-6th.aspx/
The new Nikon will have standard F-mount and accommodate Zeiss ZF and ZF.2 lenses.
Which is great news for the Nikonusers!
It’s great news for photographers. You know the people who care more about pictures and tools than camera brands.
+1
Great news for still photographers to have a camera not compromised to fit video in. As all of Sony has been from the SLT on.
If true, why has Sony two mounts? It thought it was a technical thing, but Nikon is able to do this their way? How come?
Because it’s just another big and heavy camera.
You forgot it’s retro, it’s gonna be a Fuji killer!
I will take big and heavy with a decent shutter any day over a light and small with a shot gun shutter. I can always by an upcoming 4K Sony cam for videos. 🙂
It’s not a mirrorless camera
Because Nikon will not be compromising with a mount that was originally only designed for APS like the E mount was they won’t have to have a new line of lenses to match that compromise. It’s an error Sony made when they originally planned NEX to be only APS that’s causing the FE line of lenses.
Don’t be silly.
The Sony E-mount is 46.1mm in diameter and the Nikon F-mount is 44mm in diameter. If anything, the E-mount is more suited to full frame than Nikon.
because this nikon will be an SLR, not a mirrorless
No video! Awesome! Now we are talking about a real camera! 🙂
Has anyone noticed that A7 / A7r are missing from DPreviews top camera listing on the right of the page? feels quite crappy :S
Very perceptive, thanks a lot for noticing this fundamental omissis.
If you are going to use my name, try to at least write properly.
Shape the future without AF – lol!
Big lenses with AF… or smaller lenses that are MF only?
Well played Zeiss. I might have to get both.
Oh yeah… Zeiss is famous for their tiny lenses … or do you mean something like this? -> http://de.leica-camera.com/photography/m_system/lenses/photojournalism/132.html
The Leica is definitely an option (for a small 35). Guess we’ll have to wait and see how the various lenses perform on these cameras.
ZM 18 with exif and profile correction on the A7r? Yes!
2/90 apo please …
Sony has 24ZA and 35ZA, so I think they will release Distagon 2.8/21mm and Distagon 2/28mm
If these are re-skinned Canikon versions, then this is good news: Zeiss is integrating the adapter!
No, re-skinned ZM versions, i.e. rangefinder lenses with Leica M mount.
Then Sony better put optimally positioned microlenses on all their FE mount bodies.
Only the Biogons are causing problems. Distagon wide angles as well as standard and tele lenses are fine with any sensor.
Zeiss needs to remake all their lens lines made for the film cameras up to the standards of the XXI century. The problem is that they are unsure for how long the ZF and ZE mounts will live. Otus is a hesitant attempt, which can’t launch still.
I see the new FE line as a great opportunity for Zeiss to start anew and make wonders for the rest of the century. Begin with FE, then make FE.2 and so on, while C and N are contemplating to embrace the mirrorless future!
why they dont just release a 50mm WITH oss!?!
I’ve got a strange feeling that Sony is about to muddy the mirrorless waters. Already there are two bodies with the same mount but completely disparate in their feature set—each requiring a differing optical formula.
Sony is part of the Big Three, alongside Canon and Nikon, but although it has a lot of systems (crop and ff DSLR/DSLT, crop mirrorless and ff mirrorless), those systems are incomplete regarding the lenses and accessories. Not to mention that a lot of A and Nex lenses are mediocre at best.
This new system is promising (and it will be the only ff mirrorless system for the years to come) but they have to build a strong lineup of lenses and I don’t think that Zeiss is the best option. They should have built more on the Minolta expertise!
It’s great news if I understand it right that Zeiss is going to support the new Sony lens mount like it does for Nikon and Canon. One of the reason I purchased a d800e was to take advantage of optics like the 100/f2 and the wonderful new 135mm lens. I ended up selling both of my a850’s and all of my Sony/Zeiss lenses just to take advantage of theses manual focus lens because they were not being made for the A-Mount.
Do I understand this correctly that Zeiss is going to make lenses for the new full-frame E but still no plans for A-Mounts????
I suspect it may be a different licensing agreement. The E-mount is open so 3rd parties get the full spec. A-mount is not (just like Canikon). So while, yes, Zeiss could create dummy A-mounts it would dilute the ZA line of lenses and I’m sure Sony has them sign a don’t compete clause. Meanwhile the open nature of E-mount gives Zeiss a way around that.
Maybe Zeiss just knows already that sensor-shift AF is coming for sure.
You’re right with that one: wih sensor shift focus, we will go back to rangefinder like lenses. Small, light, and faster!
I am getting the A7r to use with a Planar 50mm 1.4 ZF.2. Without the adaptor and built for the a7r, it would be so much nicer.
I think this is the best news I’ve heard in a long time! I much prefer manual focus, and having a nice concise set of moderately sized, modernized Zeiss lenses would be a dream to use on the A7R (or perhaps we’ll have an A9R by then).
This move makes total sense also. With Zeiss stopping production of the Ikon rangefinders, the new FE cameras are a perfect excuse to update/reimagine the ZM lens range.
My only specific request would be a nice 45mm f/2, a revival of the fantastic Contax G 45/2.
Like he said…
The E mount now has a very bright future, so these manual lenses could prove very popular with landscapers in particular, just as the ZF lenses have on the Nikons. I know I have little need for AF.