A couple of weeks ago Zeiss announced on their Facebook page that they are already 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.”
One of our sources told us that they plan to launch five(!) FE prime lenses at Photokina 2014. They will be expensive but also top quality lenses. This is my wishlist: 15mm f/4.0, 21mm f/2.0, 35mm f/1.4, 50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.4. Thanks in advance Zeiss for following my wish list suggestions 😉
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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103 Responses
I just want a 15mm , fast 50 and 85mm =)
They will probably be ZM lenses reworked a bit for the e mount flange distance. I wonder if they would release the ZM 15/2.8 as it has color casts on the M9.
High chances they’ll follow what’s offered with their ZM line except the UWA probably need some rework to fix the smearing and or color cast issues.
Without rangefinder calibration, it will be alot cheaper. remember the hyperprime with rf coupling costs $4288, while the non-coupled version for e-mount costs only $2988. Thats an automatic savings of 30% off.
Extra calibration = extra costs. But you dont even need it for the FE-mount, so now you won’t have to pay for it.
The 15mm ZM is not coupled. Zeiss couldnt fit one in with all the glass packed into it.
Brilliant.
If Zeiss really do get out five more ZE primes by the end of 2014, together with whatever Siny bring out themselves, nobody in their right mind will be able to complain about a “lack of lenses”.
(BTW Forget about the Biogon designs ~ they probably wouldn’t work all that well.)
Are you kidding me. Not everyone is appreciative of expensive manual focus lenses. In fact the lack of inexpensive prime lenses is quite a big drawback when Canon and Nikon have plenty of cheap FF lenses like 85mm f1.8 50mm f1.8 and 35mm f2.
I’m using Nikon. Yes they are cheap, but I didn’t like it.
Agreed. If there is approx 10 available autofocus FE lenses (From Sony, Zeiss and Sigma) within 2014 I’m pleased.
I don’t count manual focus lenses, there is already plenty of them available.
Agreed. Why would I need more mf lens when i can just use my m-mount with an adapter? I want more af lenses, preferably fast primes.
They can already use just about every lens made and still complain.
Why dovyou believe having 5 more lenses will change that.
For me I would be most interested in a modest ( 100mm-ish) fele- macro-prime.
I probably will not be able to afford these new zieisses anyway and would prefer af in my lens so I will not be paying too much attention to what Zeiss is doing.
I hope for a 35mm f/1.4. Pretty please!
Voightlander 35/1.2 already works pretty well.
I’m heavily considering this lens as well. But as I’m looking for a UWA now, guess I’ll wait and see what Zeiss announces next year
– 2/25 from ZF/ZE! urgent!
and ultra smooth lovely blur 35mm 1.4
and 90 APO (already have 135 apo)
Voightlander 35/1.2 mark 2
cv35 1.2 is way overhyped tbh, heavy, no difference between 1.2 and 1.4 due to vignette, yellow color cast wide open, heavy bloom and not really sharp at all even in center until f2. Some people like the rendering yes, but IQ compared to say samyang35.. well, looks bad. I’ll give mine a chance on a7r once I get that, but don’t think I’ll keep it. It’s sexy tho, I’ll give it that
That would be an interesting comparison. Do you have both?
more silly lenses for really silly cameras…Sony at least this fail is only half as bad as the fails of the last 6 years…. you got lots of stock in store for holiday season, just too bad no one wants to buy this over hyped junk, lots of doorstops on sale in 4 months….buy a brick….much cheaper and more useful…
Get a life troll.
Total Troll. Even if you don’t like Sony products, what is the point of this idiotic diatribe?
The return of the manual focus era!
I imagine that folks who already own rangefinder lenses including the excellent Zeiss ZM range, will wait for an updated camera that can reveal their full potential. We can be optimistic about the future because it’s unlikely SONY will be the sole company with fullframe mirrorless cameras over the next 1-3 years.
A huge part of the appeal of M lenses is that they don’t lock you into a camera system. They can be used on the M240, or a film rangefinder, or a NEX, A7/R or a Fuji XPro1 etc. This versatility and longevity doesn’t apply to the E-mount specific lenses being talked about here.
For native E-mount lenses I’d rather spend the money for a good AF prime or zoom rather than manual focus only.
Is anyone going to make some shift lenses especaly for FE mount?
Samyang seems the most
That would be awesome. Start with a basic 6X6 medium format design. The short flange distance would give you a lot of room for movements.
I would love something like this:
– 20/2.8 wide angle (something a little wider than 24mm, a lens like this probably wouldn’t be too large either)
– 40/2 pancake
– 100/2 Makro Planar (fast aperture, 1:2 magnification)
The 100 makro sound usefull to me if i can afford it.
If Zeiss decides to make the FE 100 MP as good as their ZE/ZF line, expect it to be priced the same
Since it’s going to be manual primes, you can look at their ZM line and you’re half way there 🙂
Add a 300 f/4 to that please 🙂
Nah, that’s one lens I’d want AF for! Especially at Zeiss level prices.
Looks like 2015 is going to be a great time to move from m4/3 to full frame mirrorless. Looking forward to it. In the mean time my Em1 is great
do you have any info whether these will be identical or very similar in optical design to the zm or completely new?
Umm… I really don’t think there is any shortage of manual focus lenses for FE. What mot are wanting is AUTOFOCUS.
Releasing F1.4 primes in manual focus is about as useful as a rubber hammer.
99% of people don’t want manual focus.. Jeez…
so can you name me same fast MF (or AF) wide angle primes that work great on the A7/A7r?
How wide do you want slightly wide the Sigma 35mm F1.4 does an excellent job on my D800 amazing lens for the price ,the Zeiss T 25mm f/2 ZF is also a great performer.At a bargain price the Samyang 14mm F2.8 is a fine performer and it even comes in a native e mount.
I would be interested in seeing how well the canon FD 24mm f2 performs
I wouldn’t worry — it certainly seems like they will simply be the standard M-mount lenses with a new mount. So you will still have plenty of AF lenses soon enough, they just figure “why not add some MF to lineup at the same time?”
It’s a good thing. 🙂
I doubt in Distagon 21mm f/2 as Adrea sugested as well as in 15mm f/4 – but this last is more technically possibile. I wish You know that Zeiss standards for completing lens project are higher than eg. Voigtlander. If Voigtlander were able to produce Ultron 1.8/21mm, it doesn’t mean that Zeiss would be able to produce affordable Distagon 2/21mm. I believe that all above 35mm focal length ZM lenses could be refreshed with new FE-compatibile mount (any suggest for new of bigger bro of Parrot? maybe Foenicopter?). So there would be probably Planar/Sonnar 1.5/50 and Planar/Sonnar 2/85mm. My dream is Planar 1.5/75mm. Best regards, WZ.
Looking forward to the 50 1,5 Sonnar and 85 1,5 Sonnar. I just love the Sonnar look 🙂
bring it on zeiss macro plannar 100mm F2 and zeiss 50mm f/1.2 or 85mm/1.2 in small version. 😀
Sorry guys, but real photographers want a real standard 43mm / f2.0 lens.
Manual prime lens means small size, fits with a7 philosophy a palm size ff,
in two years they’ll become af with a9 feat z axis focus..
Sony zeiss must have a plan to compete with modern af lenses.
I don’t get the excitement over this to be honest. Ebay is awash in good quality manual focus prime lenses that will work great with the A7 cameras. Many of them cost less than a tenth of what these Zeiss ones will end up costing too.
Well there might not be much improvement between old and new lens when it comes to longer focal length, probably better controlled CA and better edges, but when it comes to UWA primes, big difference between old and new. So I do see the appeal of these lenses if Zeiss announce something along 15 to 21mm focal length.
Another difference this lens will be is it’ll have a long focus throw, so precise focusing would be easier and it’ll appeal to those looking to do video, Zeiss is probably broadening the appeal of the lens market.
No autofocus. On an autofocus camera, that they’ll have made multiple autofocus lenses for already. That is damn strange.
Unless there’s a tilt/shift, or something really odd like that, I just can’t see the logic.
They do that probably to maintain the lens small size, and if it follows their ZM series, then it’ll be fast as well.
My personal wish list for the type of stuff I do:
Zeiss:
16-28mm (ish) f/4 AF lens
FE mount version of the 15mm f/2.8 (yes big and heavy but needed for astro stuff)
FE mount version of the 21mm f/2.8
FE mount version of the wonderful and relatively small 25mm f/2
100mm f/2.8 Makro Planar
And for Sony:
300mm f/4 AF
1.4x for the upcoming 70-200 and the 300 above
Then who ever thought that was a good idea need firing. First slow ass lenses to be SMALL, but will never challenge Canikon. Now fast lenses with manual focus to be SMALL, but will never challenge Canikon.
Sony.. look at Fuji. Copy everything they have/are doing, but make it full frame.
The strange people here who only want FF and small slow lenses might as well buy a RX100 and have something truly small and compact. Sony if you listen to this crowd you’re extra resources you earned will be taken away and given to the playstation department, as you are catering to either a very small market. What you need to do is take on CANIKON dammit.
[The strange people here who only want FF and small slow lenses might as well buy a RX100 and have something truly small and compact.]
It isn’t all about size. Its also about quality. I really like my fast 28, 35 and 50 summicrons (f/2) on the M9p, but the slower 18, 21 and 24 elmars (f/3.4 or f/3.8) really amaze me every time I use them. Their quality is just stunning.
Fast lenses are nice, but so are slower lenses.
by then there will probably be 2 iterations of A7/A7r released 😀
Exciting news! I think I only want a 100mm F2 Makro Planar. Other lens needs are pretty much covered.
Manual Focus makes it easier to create faster lenses, so my guess would be especially: 85mm ƒ/1.4 and 135mm ƒ/2.0, perhaps 35mm ƒ/1.4, but more likely a Macro and some ƒ/2.8 WAs: 15mm, 21mm or 28mm.
Actually, I’m more interested in what lenses Sony has to offer.
Lately, Sony has been making some pretty decent glass that’s more affordable and smaller in size.
The Sony (APS-C) 35mm and 50mm are very fine lenses indeed!
Zeiss is nice but I hope we see lots of G glass as well.
I don’t care if they will make 10 new FE zoom lenses or Zeiss Primes.
How about filling up the big holes in the full frame A-Mount lens lineup first?
35mm f2, 50mm f1.7, 85mm f1.8, 100mm f2
Being limited to Samyang or Zeiss lenses for 1k+ in case of the 85mm focal lenght is really uncool.
just make it lightweight like the e-mount and FE lenses. No bricks are needed on the A7 cameras! No heavy metal!
why make a an expensive prime in e-mount and not have AF? manual focusing is fine in some situations, even preferred in some cases, but to not even have the option of AF… unless it’s a way to build your reputation…
It’s probably to make a fast quality lens without the size and weight of current SLR lenses.
The reason for making these lenses is simple: relatively little work to add 5 new lenses.
To develop, test, and release new AF lenses is a lot of R&D and a lot of money. Meanwhile, Zeiss already makes a line of wonderful MF primes that, with very little tweaking, could be native FE mount lenses. So why not?
I see that some People need Manual Focus Lenses or for there needs it is enough to have MF. But I have more the feeling Sony is doing never 100%. They always give us 80 %. Why not high Quality Lenses with AF and MF. Why not Ultrawideangle, a good Zoom Lense and a good Makro from Begin on. I would be happy to by Camera and lenses when they are able to provide it in there Line. Instead I wait until Lenses are availible and then I buy the actually Camera. Adapters are fine, but they are all Compromises. The A7 and A7r for my Opinion in the Category “nice inovative 80% Product” as long the Lens Line is not completed. And Guys I´m a Sony Fan, what means I have plenty of there Staff since Years from Camcorders and DSLR to TV including A99 ect. So I just write what I feel about it. Sorry for my english
Yeah, some people would want manual focus while some would want AF. The good news is, Sony and Sony Zeiss is delivering those who want AF FE while Zeiss AG is making manual FE lenses. Good for us!
Now, lets hope Sony would be able to deliver the FE lenses scheduled for 2014 without major delays 🙂
If Sony could focus on FE-lenses and make some impact! NEX-lenses are OK anyway and A-mount is just something that they never make money on.
E-fan wrote:
“If Sony could focus on FE-lenses and make some impact!”
You are not aware of the fact that Sony is one of the large multinational companies in the world? There are only THREE citys in my home country that have more inhabitants than Sony has employees! There is absolutely no need for Sony to “focus on one thing only” (as little as this would be the case for the inhabitants in my home town either). Sony has people and resources enough to make a multitude of different lines, and have shown that they are able to make inpact with, say, half of these or so.
E-fan wrote:
“… and A-mount is just something that they never make money on.”
That is not correct. You only think so, don’t you?
Sony have probably not always made as much money as they had hoped to (but sometimes they surely have). Read their financial reports. The only loss regarding cameras are the dramatic drop of cheaper P&S camera sales. This loss WAS MADE UP FOR by increased selling av interchangeable lens cameras and accessories.
And how do you explain that Sony continues to come out with new and upgraded high quality and expensive A-mount lenses (three FF lenses during a year) and a nice upgrade of the standard APS-C kitzoom?
Further, if Sony NEVER would have made money on the A-mount series as you claim, why would they come ut with two FF A-mount cameras and one APS-C (probably the A77 replacement) next year, as seems to be the case?
.
There’s no reason to think that any of these lenses will be faster than f2, when nearly the entire ZM line is f2 or slower, outside of the throwback design of the 50 Sonnar.
The interesting thing will be the wide angles.
Hmm, you have a point there. I wonder why Zeiss doesn’t make fast ZM lenses, Voigtlander manages to do it, so I don’t see why Zeiss can’t.
It could be also down to real needs, let’s be honest, wide angle lenses aren’t purchased for shallow DoF and 50mm lens can give very shallow DoF at f/2, longer lenses even at smaller apertures.
Well it’s fine for a UWA not to be 1.4, cause like you said, aren’t purchase for shallow DoF. But the only real fast ZM lens is the 50 f/1,5 Sonnar. The rest are all generally f/2 to f/2,8. Voigtlander on the other hand has quite a few f/1,4 lenses.
I understand that it’s probably hard to focus shallow DoF with RF lenses, but this is a non issue for E mount w/ focus peaking, so I hope Zeiss doesn’t take the easy way out.
I generally prefer to own all my glasses from the same manufacturer to keep each look consistent, but guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens 🙂
I would not rely on focus peaking for shallow DoF work -> it’s there as an aid not as something to fully rely on, personally I prefer magnification for critical focus work or shallow DoF and using f/1.4 (or 1.5 in case of Voigt Nokton) for anything that moves is very, very challenging.
As to focus peaking, a good way to increase its usefulness for critical work is to shoot RAW+JPEG and then shoot everything in B&W. Set your focus peaking to red (or yellow) and set it to the lowest setting possible. This will greatly highlight what is actually in focus with little sloppiness. Since you have a RAW copy of everything you shoot then the B&W jpeg doesnt matter. I find that composing in B&W can help keep your composition cleaner as well. Give this a try, you might like it.
Ah, now that I read what I wrote, guess I should be clear regarding this line:
I understand that it’s probably hard to focus shallow DoF with RF BODIES (LEICA M OR ZEISS IKON), but this is a non issue for E mount w/ focus peaking, so I hope Zeiss doesn’t take the easy way out.
[I understand that it’s probably hard to focus shallow DoF with RF BODIES (LEICA M OR ZEISS IKON), but this is a non issue for E mount w/ focus peaking, so I hope Zeiss doesn’t take the easy way out.]
It isn’t hard to focus fast lenses with a RF. I have no problems at all with the leica 50/0.95 on the M9, without any help.
Some lenses are hard to focus because of the short throw of the focusring, but the ranfefinder is very precise.
Honestly I find it more hard to focus with focus peaking.
Great news! Another nail in Leica’s coffin! Zeiss Otus is rendering the S system redundant and Sony FE will eventually crush the M. Cameras and lenses should not be a luxury good! I want to be able to afford the same lens that my dentist has! Like the iphone – we can all have the same iphone that a billionaire has, and they cannot purchase a better one, even if they had the money. /rantover /orisit?
“Zeiss Otus is rendering the S system redundant” -> care to elaborate?
70mm on S system is “equivalent” to 55mm on 35mm. However, 70mm bokeh and rendering is superior to 55mm at equivalent aperture. Otus opens the lens up to 1.4, while the S summarit goes to 2.5. So the bokeh and perspective between 55 at 1.4 and 70mm at 2.5 should be equivalent, except that the otus can be used in significantly lower light (almost 4x lower) on high megapixel bodies that perform much better at high ISO than the Leica S body (such as the Nikon D800). Leica S with a 70mm lens is on the order of $30k, the D800 + otus is on the order of $7k.
Care to elaborate on your skepticism?
never heard of anyone investing in medium format system to use it for low light/high iso applications, the same as you probably won’t use view camera to shoot F1 race.
16-bit RAW is another advantage of digital MF system (and CCD too)
You do know that the S system is Medium Format, so technically, the Otus will make other Medium Format cameras system redundant as well. But medium format users have different needs and even though the D800e and A7r gets close to medium format IQ, there’s still a difference in the IQ between a picture taken with a medium format vs one taken with a 35mm sensor.
This argument is similar to how the quality of m4/3rds now make APSC cameras redundant as it’s faster, smaller, lighter and give similar quality to APSC cameras.
The main difference is the leaf shutter for faster flash sync speeds. m4/3 and aps-c yield different perspectives (see – http://www.josephjamesphotography.com/equivalence/#perspective) than FF at the same focal length. A 50mm at 2.8 might look similar to a 25mm at 1.4 on m4/3, but there is no way to emulate a 50mm 1.4 on a m4/3 – those kinds of lenses don’t exist. The S system uses max aperture 2.5 lenses, so the otus can match the perspective. If they S system made 1.4 lenses, it would be no contest. And medium format sensors don’t compete with current FF sensors for sensitivity.
Comparo:
http://blog.mingthein.com/2012/05/05/an-unfair-fight-nikon-d800e-vs-leica-s2-p/
With the otus on the d800 (dxomark’s best nikon lens), results would be superior.
No, they wouldn’t. Interesting you’re linking to Ming’s article who ended up with CFV-39, that’s medium format digital. There simply are thing you need to try yourself to fully understand them, shooting medium format is one of them.
yep
I’d VERY much prefer Zeiss to release additional new FE auto-focus lenses! The only reason to stick with manual focus on new lens releases for this AF camera system would be tilt/shift.
Depending on what Zeiss announces, I’ll probably get Zeiss FE UWA regardless the lens aperture as there’s issues with most RF lenses on the A7r.
Other then the UWA, if Zeiss doesn’t have any fast FE primes in the range of 35-50-85, I’ll probably consider getting RF lenses instead.
First, lenses without OSS, now without autococus. What’s next? camera sing film?
They want to emulate Leica and all details: no AF, slim body, no OSS.
They need to avoid being further embarrass from the inaccurate auto focusing on touit as reviewed. I hoped you all can be more understanding why they need to make it manual focus.
Is there anyone else waiting for NEX-7 styled FF from Sony?
Does anyone know for sure if the new lenses have manual Aperture controls as well as manual focus?
I would have thought Zeiss would have been adapting the ZF.2 designs instead of ZM. Those designs should have fewer issues with corner shading and coma effects due to the much smaller ray angle. Those Nikon versions already a chip to populate the EXIF data.
The compromise would be slightly larger and heavier glass.
I wonder how these will compare to rokinon lenses. The rokinon lenses they have now already compare well to some of zeiss lenses. I kinda don’t see the point since they are not AF but I will wait and see what they can do first.
now with this, I will put my idea of buying either the voigtlander 35 or 50 on hold. If those lenses perform excellent on the a7r sensor without light fall off or color shifting, I’m in. Wishing they release a wide angle.
Yeah, as tempted as I am to get those Voigt low light performers, I’m curious to know what Zeiss offerings will be since their Wide to UWA ZM lenses will not work properly on the A7/r without some internal changes.
Sony wants to emulate Leica way too much. Too much! There is no innovation, except slim A7 body 🙁 For God’s sake, where are good lenses with AF!
Guess someone should tell you, these lenses Zeiss is planning to release got nothing to do with Sony lens roadmap, these are Zeiss AG independently design and manufacturer and as of no way associated with Sony FE lens roadmap. These lenses have their own roadmap and is sold under Zeiss name only, you wont see a Sony Zeiss stated anywhere on the product.
More of the good lenses with AF is coming in 2014 😉
Most of the good lens with AF by Sony is coming in 2014 ;)*
(Andrea should seriously allow us to edit our comments, make it something like facebook where there’s an edit history)
Seems to me FE needs Wide MF … 15mm f2.8 , and a ver of there great 21mm f2.8
24mm f2 , sonnar 50mm f1 (my dream lens since forever !) , 75 sonnar/planar f1.4-1.8
I bought into the nex system promised lenses soon to come…
Never came.
I won’t be fooled twice.
A pound lighter or an inch smaller is nothing revolutionary without the lenses.
We are repeating history except this time there is no autofocus on cameras that brag about focus.
Newspeak
Am I the only one who would love to see an Otus class ultra wide angle for the FE mount? Optimized to extract every pixel of detail out of the A7r sensor, right into the corners!
Make it 18mm or 21mm, ƒ3.5 or even ƒ4 to keep it smaller and lighter, and it would become the ultimate landscape combo.
Gorodish…nope your not the only one! I would love an Otus class UWA lens for the A7r. As soon as Sony figures what the true landscape lenses will be for the FE mount, and I see the quality I think everyone is expecting…I will happily sell my current gear and switch systems to Sony FE.
Probably cause the general population doesn’t want it to have an Otus price tag, haha.
Zeiss does not make the Otus for the ‘general population’. This class of lenses is strictly for those who are willing to pay for best IQ achievable, without compromise, for use on the best highest resolution sensors available. The A7r sensor certainly qualifies. For landscape and architectural photography, such a camera/lens combo would compete with medium format on IQ.
I wonder if we’ll see a rebirth of the legendary but defunct 85mm f/2.0 Sonnar? I think a tweaked 15mm is a given. As well as something 24/25mm–perhaps even a conservative variation on the biogon. Regardless, it will be interesting to see how the lenses sell. They won’t be cheap. They will be nice. They won’t have the universal adaptability of the M-mount.
Obviously Sony can treat AF like they treated SLR Viewfinders, remove AF from their cameras. MF is all that’s needed anymore.
Should be able to make the cameras cheaper and smaller then, the most important goal.
Why all such short focal lengths? We need some longer prime choices.