If you (like me) cannot attend the PDNshow in New York just click over at Sony’s newly launched virtual tour. And you can also watch some “real” videos from the Sony stand: RX10 on Vimeo. A7r On Vimeo.
Steve Huff was also at the PDNshow and reported that there may be a chance to see the Otus 55mm Zeiss for E-mount. But Zeiss answered on Twitter that this will not happen.
And a SAR reader reports from the PDNshow:
I have to say that the 35mm 2.8 feels really tempting now! It is small and also the fastest focusing lens there was to test (55mm, 28-70 and 35mm). It was really snappy, and image quality is great. I also liked the 55mm 1.8. Focusing speed isn’t super compared to the best MFT cameras, but good enough. However, I think it is the best normal lens image qualitywise that I have tested. Good contrast and sharpness, and bokeh is pleasing. Otus could be good too but I don’t count that. Ridiculously big lens.I tested Otus with metabones adapter, and it was quite easy to focus using the focus peaking. They also had a canon 24-105mm lens there to test with the metabones adapter, and it was really usable, I was surprised. For some reason auto WB produced a lot yellower results with metabones than the native lenses, though.
Feel free to share your PDN pictures and hands-on reports at sonyalpharumors@gmail.com. Thanks!
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Specs and Preorders in US and Canada (Click on store name to see direct preorder page):
Dedicated Sony announcement page at Amazon US (Click here).
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Zeiss 24-70mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
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Zeiss 55mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
70-200mm A-mount at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
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Asia:
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37 Responses
I’ll bet Zeiss are working on it in secret 😉
Oh, and for those that didn’t see it, Steve Huff shot the Zeiss Otus 55/1.4 on the A7R today at PhotoPlus in NYC!
Saw some samples, it does look outstanding, but 1 kilo?
For quality it’s either that or the Leica 50mm f/2 APO. Weight or cost?
And F1.4 🙂
What are the 5 white lenses on the a-mount stand? 500, 300, 70-400, 70-200 and?
good eye. And why is A7 and A7R on the A-mount stall?
Please let it be a 200/2.0.
+1! Don’t think it’s big enough… More likely 70-200 f4 I think.
FE 70-200mm f4 ?
This is in the A-Mount section, though…
No Otus. Zeiss, why don’t you just post a picture of yourself on here giving us a big middle finger salute. How hard can it be to slap an E or A mount on a MANUAL lens? Only reason your not doing it is you think the money isn’t worth it. If I was Sony I’d be pissed off. What’s wrong Zeiss, we aren’t lucrative enough for you over here?
Buy an Otus in A mount and glue it permanently to LA-EA3 adapter. Problem solved.
Your marketing for this lens states, “With the highest contrast performance over the entire image field, even at an aperture of f/1.4, this lens offers the spectacular medium format look when working with a modern SLR camera. Phenomenal detail and exceptional performance, regardless of whether it’s using available light or in the studio, the Otus 1.4/55 is the absolute best lens in the world today” (Zeiss, n.d.). A7R not modern enough for you?
If this is “the best lens in the world today” what the hell does that say about your existing planatar, distagon’s? Are those now overpriced second rate quality? 36MP A7R sounds pretty modern to me. Get it together and support your ZA line-up with this lens.
Lots of passion, not much sense.
I think you mean, “lots of sense, not much passion.” Your welcome for the correction.
LOL +1
It was correct the first time 🙂 Yes, I imagine a 4000USD 55mm lens that weighs one kilo is a rather niche product. So, yes probably not lucrative enough, not sure what’s so surprising here. Meanwhile, there are quite a few Zeiss lenses exclusive to the Sony lineup, so not sure why Sony should be pissed. So, I don’t see what is so horrible about Zeiss’ statement. Same goes for the “the best lens in the world today”. By what logic would that make other Zeiss lenses “second rate” or “overpriced”?
And, if you so need to attach a 1 kilo prime lens to your A7r, just use an adapter.
What Vlad said. Zeiss isn’t going to make it for the A7(R) because it makes no sense ergonomically or economically. No one wants a huge honking prime on those tiny cameras. For the few people who do, just adapt the Nikon version with the aperture ring. And it wouldn’t make any sense for Zeiss to make a new version of the lens with a different optical formula optimized for the A7 form factor. They’d never recoup the investment. On the other hand there’s a bazillion full-frame Canon and Nikon DSLRs out there, enough to where Zeiss felt there was a market for a $4000 prime.
they waited for the APS-C Emount to mature first before coming out with the Touits. they might do this again with the FF Emounts.
Good point. I hope this is the case. However, from the few statements I found in comments from them on there main website I get it might not happen at all. Here’s to hoping.
“.. It balances on your head, like a mattress on a bottle of wine — your brand new leopard skin pillbox hat …
Well the lens is designed specifically for high MP sensors, not just 24, but D800 type sensors. If you want to use it, I don’t see a problem with just adapting it from another mount, after all, it is after manual focus.
I want to meet the one jerk out there that mounts a $4k lens with a $15 adapter.
Hi
So now it’s a $4,015 lens. What does it matter if it’s on a cheaper adapter? Your changing the lens mount, not the optics. Maybe I would be a jerk if I put a $15 UV filter on a $4,000 lens.
If you need that level of quality and you see the lens as an investment, why skimp on the adapter? The chance is probably small, but I’d be terrified of damaging the mounts. It’s heavy!
It’s a little bit like replacing a pin in the band of your Rolex with a paper clip.
You should be terrified that you scratch front lens and put filter on it. You should be terrified that even expensive filter will degrade 4k lens quality, and you should be terrified that filter can damage filter screw and not put filter on it. So you will just leave front cap on lens.
You should be terrified that you can scratch back lens, even dust on it would be terrifying. So you just leave back cap on lens.
You should be terrified that when you try to put lens on camera you make a mistake and skew lens in process and damage mount without any adapter. So you dont even think about putting lens on camera.
You should be terrified that when you try to at least admire that beauty of 4000$ lens it will slip from your hands, because they shaking from excitement. So you just put lens in safe and lock it there.
Better safe than sorry.
No, really, if 4000$ zeiss lens has such weak construction that it can be damaged by simple adapter…
And as i have mentioned lower – you should look at sigma 200-500/2.8 that comes with 2x teleconverter in package. Additional mount, additional weakness…
You say “It’s heavy!” about this zeiss.
That sigma weights 17 kg.
And its ok with that additional mount.
Some tolerances are tighter than others. Some fears are better founded than others.
SAR has the most pedantic commentariat on the Internet. Endless entertainment.
That’s the thing- you don’t. You don’t buy a 4k lens and use an adaptor. Just out of basic principle you don’t do it. It’s like slapping Ford rims on a BMW. You don’t do it.
Lots of people do. They are just usually made by Leica. Isn’t that what half the internet is talking about? M-mount to E-mount on the A7? $4k isn’t even half of Leica’s top offerings…
Who are you Tom, and why you are telling me what to do?
I would put everything on everything with everything (except when putting process inherently damages things). Its interesting.
What the problem with 4k lens and adaptor? Will it be ok with cheaper lens? Or expensive adapter? Where is the border? 1827$ is ok, but 1828$ is suddenly not?
You have, for example, old film camera with old rare 4k lens that you love. But no one makes film for that camera format. And you cant get other camera, film or digital, with that specific mount. But you have new digital camera with short flange range. To adapt lens to that camera you just need to adjust flange range and something to connect different mounts. There are no optics in adaptor, you dont need them – its just extension tube, there are no mechanical parts – lens has manual aperture and focus, and no electronic parts obviously. Its just a sturdy piece of metal with two mounts.
So whats wrong with it?
And if you say something about having two mounts instead of one – loook at sigma 200-500/2.8. It comes with 2x teleconverter – so you can get same two mounts. And it weight 17 kgs. And its ok with two mounts.
“We have no plans for that right now. Sorry!”
Doesn’t mean they won’t make it ever. Just not right now. Can you blame them for not making a $4k lens for an unproven system? Patience.
A-mount isn’t an unproven system. I can blame them for it. It can’t be that hard to put an a-mount on this MANUAL lens. It can’t, I refuse to believe this. There is no way it can even be that much of a cost issue…no….freakin…..way.
The comment in the title and my reply were in regard to FE mount as being unproven. Not A mount.
This is 360 degree view. Move to the left or right if you want to see the Nikon booth.