We finally got a first review of the Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 FE. Thanks to SLRgear.com (Click here to read it). And the testing show an impressive performance of the lens! SLRgear writes:
Optically, this lens is a stellar performer, as many Zeiss lenses are, with very sharp images on both the new full-frame cameras as well as sub-frame Sony cameras. Other factors like chromatic aberration and distortion are practically nonexistent with this lens, but there is noticeable vignetting, particularly on full-frame cameras at wider apertures — a pretty small price to pay for outstanding performance otherwise.
This lens is a real surprise. I want one, I preordered one 🙂
It will ship in late December and you can get it at (Click on the shop name to check lens price and availability): Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. In Europe at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT.
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Specs and Preorders in US and Canada:
Dedicated Sony announcement page at Amazon US (Click here).
Sony A7r body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony RX10 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 24-70mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 35mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 55mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
70-200mm A-mount at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A-Mount to E-Mount Lens Adapter at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony A to E adapter with mirror at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
A7/A7r leather case at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
A7/A7r vertical grip at Amazon, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony W Series Battery Charger at Amazon, BHphoto.
Sony FA-CS1M Off-Camera Shoe at BHphoto.
Semi-Hard LCD Screen Protector for A7-A7r at Amazon, BHphoto.
Specs and Preorders in Europe:
Sony A7r body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony RX10 at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Zeiss 35mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,
Zeiss 55mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT
Zeiss 24-70mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, SE, PT
Sony G 28-70mm lens at Sony DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO.
Asia:
A7r at Digitalrev.
A7 at Digitalrev, Amazon Cina.
A7 with 28-70mm lens at Digitalrev.
82 Responses
I don’t want to blow good mood, but this review writes what they want – centainly not the true. Other side, this lens could be best prime lens within FE line for years.
Looks like it it not very good wide open on A7r – not especially sharp, and vignetting is off the charts. At f/5.6 it is good – but what is not?
Interesting that the lens is made in Thailand, but the price is still “Zeiss-like” at around $1000. Too bad the manufacturing savings aren’t passed down to us. 🙁
Perhaps it is made in Thailand, but it is designed by Zeiss to extremely exacting tolerances. And, like all Sony Zeiss lenses,it is manufactured by Sony under Zeiss supervision. Just like Zeiss’s MF lenses for Canikon are manufactured by Cosina under Zeiss supervision.
Zeiss doesn’t design these lenses. They simply sell the small blue badge that is glued to them.
this is just a sony lens with a zeiss badge on it.
BS
The Sony-Zeiss have optical design by Zeiss and are manufactured by Sony.
the patent of the sony-zeiss is registered by 2 sony engineers.
refer to the SEL 24 1.8
Umm..no? There has not been a single “Zeiss” lens for Sony/Minolta mounts designed by Zeiss. Every single lens has been designed by Sony. Sony is allowed to use the Zeiss name if the design parameters are within the licencing agreement they have with Zeiss AG (aka the optics manufacturer).
@Babbit…. I have one word for you… TOUIT …. Lenses for the E-mount for sure designed by Zeiss….
http://lenses.zeiss.com/camera-lenses/en_de/camera_lenses.html
What is the source of the claim that Zeiss does NOT design the Sony Zeiss lenses?
Watch this video of a Sony ‘master lens designer’ giving presentation on the 1.4/50 ZA ~
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okl5mwkZ_7s
First half of the video. Do you get the impression that the lens was designed by Zeiss? I certainly don’t. They don’t even present it as a Zeiss lens, the only indication of the fact is the little blue badge on the image of the lens itself.
@Babbit…. I have one word for you… TOUIT …. Lenses for the E-mount for sure designed by Zeiss….
http://lenses.zeiss.com/camera-lenses/en_de/camera_lenses.html
Discussed ad nauseam on dyxum – http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/are-sony-zeiss-lenses-really-zeiss_topic10171_page4.html
They are Zeiss designs.
“Did they really said this, or did you interpret their answer this way? Are you sure they were talking about A-mount ZA lenses, not some of the other Zeiss-branded lenses for Sony?
To the best of my knowledge (and contrary to popular belief), A-mount ZA lenses are not designed by Zeiss, they are designed and manufactured by Sony. Sony is responsible for both, the optical and the electro-mechanical design of these lenses.
Sony, however, works with Zeiss in order to get their design work approved by Zeiss, so that they are allowed to label them “Zeiss”. Zeiss ensures, that the design will meet certain quality parameters defined by Zeiss (and Sony).
According to the information I have been given, this is the situation for all A-mount ZA lenses and more. But even if it would only apply to some of those lenses, it’s in disagreement with what many people seem to believe.
Over at Minolta-Forum we started researching the Sony / Zeiss cooperation four years ago when it became apparent that Zeiss representatives always became very tight-lipped, sometimes ironic or even aggressive, when approached in regard to ZA lenses at shows like photokina. Of course, they know and present them and they will happily answer easy questions, but for any details beyond obvious things, “please ask Sony”. They even did not felt responsible for the various problems with the SAL-135F18Z and SAL-1680Z, “please ask Sony, this is their business and problem”.
Later, through our contacts into Sony, I learned that Sony’s lens design team in Japan would do the optical design of the ZA lenses, something I found rather odd at first, as I was still living under the impression that the optics were designed by Zeiss Germany (and possibly even produced by (or for) Zeiss in Japan, given the two serial numbers on all ZA lenses).
Since I’m not an easy believer, I started to investigate this issue deeper and tried to find hard proof for it one way or the other – and found it in the patent for the optical design of the SAL-2470Z.
The patent is assigned to Sony Japan and all listed inventors are employed by Sony (and former Minolta lens designers). Zeiss is not mentioned in the patent, even not as prior art.
The patent describes several variations of the basic design and one of them is identical up into the details to the optics used in the SAL-2470Z. So, if this patent is valid, Zeiss’ role in the design of this lens cannot have been in any way significant, yet the lens is named Sony Alpha Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 2.8/24-70mm ZA SSM… Gives what?
Knowing this, I approached Zeiss again this photokina, and to my astonishment they were much more forthcoming this time, and while my interview partner couldn’t talk about the exact steps involved in the Sony / Zeiss cooperation in the design phase of a new ZA lens, when I directly asked him if Zeiss would design these lenses, the answer was a clear: No, they are designed by Sony, but Zeiss ensures that they meet Zeiss standards before they get approval to carry the Zeiss label. He continued, the Zeiss label on a Sony lens should not be understood as “designed by Zeiss”, but more like an “as good as if we would have designed this lens ourselves”, and he explained (and it sounded like an excuse somewhat) that Sony would have very talented lens designers themselves in the form of former Minolta optical engineers. I was very astonished to hear that from a Zeiss representative, but I certainly agree.
So, while there are still questions open, we have informally given information from Sony Japan and Zeiss Germany employees, who should know the truth, and we have the patents.
If you recheck Sony’s and Zeiss’ published marketing statements, they are (with very few exceptions) very careful to give some clues about their relationship but remain as vague as possible in regard to who is actually responsible for which part in the cooperation.
The rest is imagination – and given the many positive statements about the “Zeiss lenses” in the net, it works well for them… ;->
Knowing that the ZA lenses are neither designed nor manufactured by Zeiss, does this make them bad lenses?
From my own experience with four of them, I would say: Not at all. They are certainly not perfect and have their set of flaws, but overall they are among the best glass available for A-mount. Personally, I don’t care about labels, but I do care about quality.
For the sake of the truth, I just wished the Sony and Zeiss marketing would not try to raise wrong impressions. However, over the course of the past year or so, I seem to sense them gradually stepping back from earlier statements which were a bit too far out.
Greetings,
Matthias
PS. I would love to point you to the relevant threads at Minolta-Forum, however, we are currently down for maintenance (after a serious hardware failure) and it will take some more time until we can go online again”
According to your link…they’re not.
@Bart Your state of ignorance has reached its maximum level again bro.
Just like apple . Made in China but design in US.
Are you Chairman of ziess?
But I think,you are a troll.
I’m not complaining. I was just surprised to see that this Zeiss lens is made in Thailand, not that it’s a bad thing. But if they use workers that get $2 an hour instead of the normal rate for Japanese workers, I would have hoped for SOME savings. But then again, I studied business and I’m pretty sure I know where the saved money goes.
At least the Zeiss 35 is reasonably priced, imo.
Compared to the ZA 50mm (50% higher price), some savings are passed on.
Thats an f1.4 lens while this is an f1.8 lens. Not the same. Plus the amount of glass in the 50mm f1.4 lens is much higher.
The price is to much for a 1.8. Sure, compared to other Zeiss it’s good, but you have to compare it to all of your alternatives. To much!
Even an opened Tout proofs that the internal built quality justifies the price tag: http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2013/06/really-getting-in-touit So I’m expecting the Zeiss 55mm FE to be similar. It’s expensive and therefore it’s got to behave as outstanding like that review. That simple.
Touit is Zeiss design. This one is Sony.
I don’t mind vignetting, but considering the failure in size control, this should already count as a design flaw.
And made in Thailand, ugh!
I agree, there is just no reason for this to be as large as it is. I mean, it’s only a 55mm 1.8!
I’ve seen plenty of 1.8s which were cheaper, but also terrible image quality. At 36mp, few lenses can actually resolve that. Even fewer at a 1.8 aperture. You’d be hard pressed to find a lens with that resolution at f/1.4. You get what you pay for. A sealed excellent quality 1.8 is better than an okay lens that’s soft at 1.4 in my book.
agree!
I wouldn’t want it any bigger (that’s what she said). That’s the biggest size that camera should have on it IMO. I just wish it was a big shorter by about .5in.
I’m curious how the old Contax 50/1.7 works on this body, it’s rumored to be the sharpest, sharper wide open than the 50/1.4 at f/2.
It seems to have a lot of unused space inside the casing, should be enough to integrate AF without increasing the size(altered into E-mount mechanical couplings would be removed saving even more space).
I have to agree, what’s the point of a super fast lens if you never use it wide open because of lack luster performance. Sony seems to be set on making only compact lenses for this series of cameras that are very good optically but not really fast. This is the only logical compromise to maintain the small form factor.
If sales of the A7/7r are really successful (and there seems to be some indications of that) perhaps a third party manufacturer might fill this niche with an couple of high speed slightly larger primes. It would be a nice alternative.
Are there smaller high quality autofocus lenses of this speed? I don’t know given that my Canon ‘L’ glass is huge and most of my lenses are either ‘M’, or ‘C/Y’ mount.
German made Zeiss lenses are expensive. A well designed lens built in Thailand with strict quality control should be a good combination. I’m not so sure that location of the manufacturing facility is really the issue. I think that the design and manufacturing controls are more relevant.
It’s already expensive enough. As Div mentioned, ” Too bad the manufacturing savings aren’t passed down to us.”
If they use local glass there could be a noticable difference, at least AEJ and MMJ lenses don’t use german glass. There could also be variances within tolerance in for example the quality of the aspherical element.
Anyhow, since there won’t be a Jap or Ger version of it, there won’t be any comparison. Who knows what’s affected?
I want get this lens but it cost too much for a 55mm lens. I hope sigma does a art version that will probably cost half the price and might be 1.4. I would like to see how this lens compares to the 50mm 1.4 A-Mount zeiss.
Agree it does cost to much for a 50mm range lens but the test shot at f8 is the sharpest one I can remember! Looks fantastic.
I bet a sigma art series would be just as good but also cost about $800. It would also be much larger and require an A mount adapter. I asked the sigma USA support site and they said there’s currently no plans for full frame e mount lenses.
Excellent review. Unfortunately, I’ll receive mine AFTER the holidays. I was really hoping to play with this lens photographing the neices and nephews.
Not sure that a 55mm f1.8 can be described as a fast lens
Lets be generous and just say that only fast lens is zeiss 50/0.7.
Everything else is horrendously slow and unfit for low light fotography.
ahah, comment of the day!
1.8 is not fast enough for you? Here is an idea…try lighting.
Perhaps I am from a different age.
Its not age, its your perception. What do you stand to gain and lose between F/1.4 and 1.8?
Gain =
1) 2/3 of a stop, which can be compensated by a higher ISO. ex: ISO400 vs ISO640. Not the best solution, but makes almost no difference in noise.
2) Depth of field capability, which makes it 0.25m vs 0.31m when focused at 3m. Thats about half of the human head at perfect focus of 15cm in front and 15cm in the back.
Lose =
1) Size and weight, the lens will be larger and heavier. Contrary to the whole purpose of E-mount mirrorless cameras at this point.
2) Price, it will be more expensive.
3) Maybe sharpness wide open – it could possibly be softer up to f2.8, depending on the design. Could be sharper too, so its a toss up.
Summary: No difference whatsoever. If you meant f/1.2 or faster, then its just pointless for E-mount. Maybe in a specialty application, but there are plenty more lenses that can be made, before f/1.2 is considered.
Well, “fast” is a subjective term to a certain degree. For primes up to 200mm, in my opinion, f2 and wider is fast. For standard zooms up to 200mm, 2.8 and wider is fast. The difference between 1.4 and 1.8 is about a third of a stop. One could possibly make the case it can be more important in an slt camera because of the light losses to that, but not a mirrorless.
got mine ordered from Sony.it… but delivery is not before 22nd of January 2014!!!! 🙁
Not bad … one intelligent comment. Better than average for this place.
Check out this lens vs. the Leica Summilux – and a few of the other hyper-sharp premium lenses out there. Wwwwwoah!
To say “Oh, 50mm f/1.8 – this should be cheap” reflects a lack of product knowledge. This is why companies throw out “fast” lenses that actually suck and people buy them for a lot of money. Most of them actually give you a transmission of worse than f/2 wide open.
Meanwhile – here is a lens that gives wild amounts of resolution, a well-mannered vignetting, almost no chromatic aberration, very even performance across the field. I’ll give up 1/3 a stop or so for performance like that.
Sure, I’d prefer to spend $700 – but ultimately, this lens gives you very very little to complain about.
Alright, alright- you’ve pequed my interest. Maybe I should recant my previous statement and take a closer look.
You are a gentleman and a scholar!
Really, though – I suspect that this will fast become a favorite and will eventually settle into a $750 price niche. You might fall in love!
It looks like a middle ground between the Macro-Planar (with perfect field at f/5.6-8.0) and a Summicron/Lux with intense center sharpness at the expense of a little field curvature.
The super-sharp and clean-drawing Zeiss 50mm M-P still strikes me as the better landscape lens, and the Summilux ASPH bokeh is simply amazing. But I have to admit Sony is selling this at an amazing price point. Anyone who say the 55mm f1.8 is overpriced should try to find another AF 50mm prime that is as good and cheaper.
i guess the Nikon 50mm 1.8 D is the reference point for – “Oh, 50mm f/1.8 – this should be cheap” – and, on a price/performance basis would, absolutely, still dominate here.
What are you talking about? The typical 50/1.4 is cheaper than this lens, and the Otus 58/1.4 actually is a lot better than this lens.
Now THIS would be killer:
offer this as a kitlens option on the a7/a7R, at about a $400 discount off the price of body+lens sold as separate items.
Do that, Sony… and you couldn’t keep up with the demand!
They already can’t keep up with demand.
@Tom:
> They already can’t keep up with demand.
That often happens with new-release products. Enthusiasts, early-adopters, and those who’re “pre-sold” on the product, all scoop up the few that are first to market.
I’m talking about a sustained demand. With the IQ of these cameras and the IQ of this lens, the combo will have a _sustained_ demand that they IMHO do not yet grasp; I suspect that such a “kit” combo would be scarce . We’ll see, however.
Someone please correct me, but vignetting basically means this lens fails to meet expectations for the target system… it doesn’t cover FF at wide open aperture.
It’s fine for NEX, but doesn’t meet expectations for FF. Amirite?
Vignetting is more about the edges of the frame being darker than the center. You still get a full 35mm sensor coverage, but (particularly at wide apertures), the middle of the image gets more light than the edges and corners.
In extreme examples, the corners of a fast lens are 2-3 stops darker than the center (i.e. f/ 2.8 on an f/1.4 lens). In this lens, the edges at f/1.8 are like they were shot at f/2.8 vs. the center… which isn’t all that bad.
As you stop down, this effect generally decreases.
Thanks for the explanation! Sounds like it depends on how pronounced the effect is.
By way of comparison, the Zeiss Planar 50mm F2 for M mount is $860 on Amazon. Slower lens, no autofocus…. It’s shorter, but by the tme you add an adapter not a lot of difference in length.
& the Planar is the full metal jacket variety – the kind of lens you can give to your grandchildren. Also, your costs are not inflated by sharing between Sony/Zeiss.
Also if you add in the cost of a good adapter the price dfifference becomes very small. The new lens seems to be very well constructed, as Imaging Resource reported: “The new Sony Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 lens, as the name indicates, features classic Zeiss design with a smooth, black metal construction, a buttery smooth focus ring, high-end optical construction, plus a rugged, dust- and weather-resistant build. It also features Zeiss’s T* coating for increased contrast and reduced glare, as well as a 9-bladed rounded aperture for great background blur.”
Whether the build quality is on a par with the classic lenses is difficult to judge; certainly there is less to go wrong with the classic lenses, but of course, you sacrifice the autofocus, aperture control and EXIF data, all of which are extremely useful to have.
Also if you add on the thickness of the M-to-E adapter it becomes very close in size. It is actually smaller than all the high performance SLR lenses (Nikon 58mm, Otus 55mm, & M-P f2.0) that have similar specs but much higher price tags. So compared to a Summilux or Summicron or even a planar it is long but compared to a FF SLR lens there is still a space and weight savings.
Why these brands Zeiss and Leica always fake good products and charge hugely for them? I know there are many dumb wide pockets out there, but c’mon don’t they desire to engineer some perfect products that no other company has anything close to? Zeiss and Leica are two the most bullshit brands in the world of photography. They are lost in their own illusions and reminiscence of the old world when they used to be great or maybe that is also an illusion…
While it’s true the Planar and Distagon designs are only unique in name, they still produce amazing optics. They’ve also resisted the trend toward inferior materials such as plastic for much of their builds. I have to admire that. You’re also paying for the ongoing development costs of future lens designs. That will upset a lot of people, but it’s part of the price like it or not. Otus? Now there’s an example of pushing the envelope. Is it expensive? Damn straight. But so is anything if you want that best.
It’s not for everyone. Neither is a Parmigiana Kapla watch. But isn’t that the point?
I do agree that they need to update some of their ZA line-up no doubt (85mm SSM I’m looking at you). I still think they’re worth what they command for the most part.
I own the 85, and on good bodies, the screw driver is more than adequate. Id rather see Sony throw some new lenses into its lineups then revise its current ones that dont need it. the zeiss is quiet (on my a77) albeit much louder on my shitty a300 but the lens will last for decades. while an ssm motor WILL fry eventually. Id love to give my kids the chance to use that lens, like what my father did with his contax lenses
Pros: very good optically
Cons: big, price no OSS
[shrug shoulders]
seems like the lens is made for photographers…
Awesome lens! But I had no idea it was focus-by-wire…
You know what? As soon as the first MTF charts were published I was expecting such a performer. I even consider buying this lense for hellofanamount of money and exchange my Sel-50f18.
OSS? Screw it! I will use this beautiful lense as portrait/street lense. If you want to do a real sharp portrait, you should always consider 1/100s or less. For street with moving people 1/200s should be the least you use. And guess what, an OSS wouldn’t help you!
FE 55 is an Otus for poor. It got simplified design, slower speed and reduced sharpness. According to DxOMark, Otus peaks at f/2.8-f/4. FE lens is best around f/5.6 and pretty sharp wide open. An excellent lens! Shame it has no infinity stop and proper manual focus.
They both have nothing in common at all. Otus is a Distagon, the FE is a Sonnar design. Distagon is a design used or DSLR which is also one of the reasons why it’s bigger. Sonnar is a preferred design for shorter flange distances like on rangefinder or mirrorless cameras. I think compared to the otus combined with the fact that it’s AF the 55 1.8 is almost a bargain in the Zeiss world…
Hm, than this “Sonnar” is strikingly similar to that “Distagon”.
Very nice lens in a FL that is useless for me sadly.
I am waiting for a nice 35mm f2.
I think you can wait a long time to see this from sony. The difference to the 35 2.8 is just too small. DOF on a 35mm will almost be no difference.
Maybe one day a 35mm 1.8 or 1.4 will come out, but I guess it will take at least 2 years, be expensive and as big as the FE 55mm.
However there’s a chance that Sigma will come out with it’s 35 1.4 for native E-mount
There isn’t that much of a chance for Sigma to make a 35mm in E-Mount. It’s not as simple and just changing the mount ring. It’s an unproven system. You’d be just as likely to have another 35mm by Sony by the time Sigma gets to it.
Economy of scale: if the market is there, Sigma should be expected to do it – but likely Samyang will be there first (MF, of course – the way it should be).
I won’t invest in the A7/R system until a fast 35 emerges. I prefer a 1.4, but 1.8 would be enough for me to jump on board and sell my Sigma 35/1.4 and Canon 6D.
$1000 but made in thailand 🙁
luckily, only $830 here in Japan
Where have you found the 55 at $830?
The best price I found in Japan is $960.
Thanks
http://kakaku.com/item/K0000586362/?lid=ksearch_kakakuitem_image
Your local price not include worldwide warrant.