A7s with Otus 85mm. Image courtesy: Jorge Torralba
Otus 85mm Preorders:
BHphoto with Nikon mount (Click here) or Canon mount (Click here) version.
Adorama with Nikon mount (Click here) or Canon mount (Click here) version.
In Australia at CameraPro.
Jorge Torralba (Click here) posted a review of the Zeiss Otus 85mm used on the Sony A7s. It’s very interesting to read the part concerning the handling of the Otus on such a small camera:
As stated earlier, although the lens is large and heavy, it did not feel too bad on the A7S. In fact, it was a pleasure to use. It is only slightly larger than the Zeiss 135mm 1.8 ZA which I currently own and have no problems with whatsoever on an A7. It feels well balanced and if you don’t need the lens hood, its even more friendly. My only concerns regarding the weight of this lens on the A7S with the adapter were really how secure and solid the adapter was and whether the lens would come off crashing to the ground leaving me with a very expensive bill and ruining the upcoming Christmas shopping season. Let me just say, I use the Fotodiox adapter and am thinking of upgrading to something more substantial. I did find myself holding on to the camera by the lens rather than letting it dangle from my neck on the camera strap as I walked the streets of Portland taking pictures. I think this is a valid concern for people if they throw this on a small body camera. I could be over reacting but better safe than sorry.
But does it actually work fine?
Throw in the focus peak feature and EVF of the Sony Alpha cameras like the A7S and you are golden on the intended focus area. A little side note. Amazing lens and camera! By the time Nikon or Canon start using mirror less technology like Sony or Fuji, they will have been left in the shadows. One cannot deny that the future is in this technology and EVF’s. Sony is on a steam roller.
Read the rest fo his very long review at Jorge Torralba’s website.
DxOmark tested the Otus 85mm lens performance and it actually shows once again how great…the FE 55mm lens is 🙂 Just check the graph comparison below:
Preorders:
BHphoto with Nikon mount (Click here) or Canon mount (Click here) version.
Adorama with Nikon mount (Click here) or Canon mount (Click here) version.
In Australia at CameraPro.
More Otus test on the Nikon D800 at ThePhoBlographer. and at BHphoto.
0 Responses
I think, a $5K lens is best used for 4k shooting with the $5K (A7s + 4k recorder) set-up. May be a Samyang 85/1.4 will also yield stunning 4k videos. I am not seeing anything special.
Every lens is capable of 4K shooting, so I don’t think that this is the special Purpose of that lens. It would be photography with fullframe sensors.
Yup. 🙂 There is a 36mp cam called A7r. 🙂
This is lens for high definition like 36mp, and you say it should be used on low resolution :-D? 4k is only 8mp 😉
I am just going by the price. They all fit together price wise. Add, a proper processing platform and a suitable monitor then everything is just perfect! 😉
For video the lack of chromatic aberrations is very useful. Much harder to remove them in video than in stills. So it’s not just the resolution.
Links not working!
http://jorgetorralba.com/2014/09/11/zeiss-otus-85mm-f1-4-hands-on/
Nice captures but not really sold on the bokeh in some of those shots, some look like the franken child of the mitakon 50, mostly medium close distance, could be due to too much reduction of highlights, some are quite nice though which should be the case considering the gargantuan size and pricing and “Worlds Best” label. Good variety of samples, interesting concept but I still wish it were cheaper and smaller.
The size of the lens is fine for Nikon/Canon DSLRs it is made for. Zeiss are coming up with the Loxia line for the A7 cams with a special emphasis on ergonomics.
This lens is a waste on the S, and balance my ass.
Biased for sure.
To me it only makes sense using the A7S with that lens in very low light situations (ISO 6400 and above) where the loss in image quality compared to the A7R is less.
During my tests I determined that adapting the lens to the A7R and mounting it on the camera’s tripod mount will cause torsion of the camera body with degrading quality in the edges. You sould choose an adapter that carries it’s on tripod mount.
So, best leneses in the world resolution-wise resolve around 33-35 Mp. Why is everybody so excited about a 46Mp Sony sensor?
Its not that simple. On 46MP the Otus could be able to resolve Maybe 42MP.
The best lenses resolve 35MP on DXO because they test with a 36MP sensor. Otus 55mm resolves about 100MP according to Lenscore, they use a 200MP sensor for testing.
How much were you expecting it to resolve on a 36MP exactly?
I don’t get it… The 55mm Otus resolves 33Mp out of 36 in this picture, so, it doesn’t even resolve the full 36Mp, right?
But JJ down here says it resolves 100Mp on 200Mp sensor.
This is not simple math. 33MP on a 36MP sensor actually seems very good considering that these are Bayer sensors. DXO probably does some “tweeking” to make the results match expectations.
The ceiling for such tests is limited by the sensor resolution. For instance, go on dxo and compare the otus 55 on a d800 and a canon 5d3. When a 48mp sensor is released, the sharpness scores will rise.
Maybe Jorge has generous hands.
Some months ago I handled a Nikon 35mm 1.4 on my mate’s A7r and that was awkward already.
For anyone interested…that lens is not so great.
Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART lens is the solution. 🙂
But the Nikon is cheaper and smaller for small IQ loss.
The Nikon 35 f/1.4G in the US is $1700, The Sigma is $900. The Sigma is MUCH less expensive than the Nikon and much sharper at large apertures.
he may be referring to the old manual 35/1.4 AIS, which is indeed not that great.
this ($)hit is HUGE and UGLY !
ops.. i mean this huge, ugly thing is awesome !
No way that combo feels natural. I’ve used the 135mm F1.8 on the A7r and you basically put all the weight in your left hand holding the barrel. Focusing is awkward because you’re balancing it with your palm while your fingers turn the ring.
Ha, so you know what an advantage one-touch zoom has on small bodies.
I don’t believe this combo will be comfortable to use. The lens is optimized for handling with DSLR body and too heavy and too large for mirrorless.
Plus, I don’t think 85 OTUS will be successful on F mount and for Nikon users. Nikon already has 85/1.4G nano which is highly praised in its price range. Although OTUS is better in terms of optical result, it’s not worth paying double.
The Nikon fringes and color shifts all over the place. This is a know fact.
He can buy the Otus but only uses a $20 fotodiox adapter. That’s bold! Those adapters work OK but I wouldn’t trust them with heavy glass at all.
It says “Pro” on the adapter. It must be a special version made in China and rebadged as fotodoix for more cash. May be with this adapter, the Otus handles quite well on the A7s?
He’s putting monster high-resolving lens on a7S so does it really matter? The good news it looks like it balances so well on a compact body… but wait…
You are forgettiung the fact that the A7s has an AA filter! 😉
Monster High resolving?:-)
He also doesn’t know how to focus on the near eye of his daughter.
I don’t understand why DxO scores the 85 lower than the 55. The 85 matches or beats every spec of the 55. There must be some weighted benefit to having the same result at a shorter focal lenght.
This happened before with other lenses, we don’t know their criteria.
Because DXO doesn’t actually test the lenses and sensors. They only run models and calculations. They lost my trust when they lied about the FE55 on the A7r vs the Nex7. Leica Boss wrote a blog about this.
If Sony FE mount version come I will place order in B&H in no time. This lens will be amazing in studio mounted on A7R …
I’ve tried the 135mm 1,8 and it doesn’t work. This, along with the 85mm is doable but that’s about it. Not comfortable at all.
Does this come in E Mount?
i think you could use a high density sensor like on the compact nikons to see atleast what the center part of the lens will resolve to
+1
Or the Nokia Lumia 41mp sensor without the built in Carl Zeiss lens. 🙂
Jorge is a strange writer. “Proof of the pudding is in the eating” “Focus is as easy as taking candy from my greedy kids and giving it to the dog.”
I sense a little humor in is style. I have to give him credit. He did use the proper proverb “Proof of the pudding is in the eating” and not the derived modern day “The proof is in the pudding”
The sense of humor is obvious from the contraption shown in the picture. 🙂
something is anyway insane about this lens. Price and overweight. What can justifie 4K lens when you have in that same focal range lenses that are as good in real live photography?
Do I really need to see nose haires of the model? And all the craters on the super model skin?
And the f…. bulky shape and kilos of it. Studio? OK. Landscape? You need a mule to carry it arround all the day… but even here people find an excuse to have it. Oh! I do not mind… but in reality they sweatting while carrying it. If it was 2Kg, some would still say, oh no problem it is like my 600 f2.8; I can handle… bul shi********
Street photography? forget it. Reportage? forget it. Even mentaly, when you shot with this you always, think: F**** I have such an expensive best lens, instead of thinking about your light and composition, not forgeting the subject.
Well, anyhow I can certainly imagine that chirurgical precision is needed is some cases, but this seems to be only some rare cases. Even landscape, if you are serious about it you do not shoot in 35! Dear Lord! Large format if you are a big big printer person.
“Even mentaly, when you shot with this you always, think: F**** I have such an expensive best lens”
This is very funny, I catch myself thinking this at times…but every time I do, it is because of the image I’m looking at, not because I’m standing there looking at the lens itself. I enjoy the feeling of using what I consider to be an instrument, not just a tool.
It sounds to me like Jorge is making an excellent case for full-sized mirrorless A-mount, and with that, I agree wholeheartedly.
Because other 85’s tend to suck wide open. This one doesn’t.
Westy, you don’t need 10 reasons just the one we all know is very obvious – you can’t afford the lens.
That texture-free rubber focus ring is one big let down.
Nasty scratches and smearing will appear soon even on a careful usage basis