Zeiss posted new image samples shot with the Batis lenses on Flickr (Click here). These have been shot by Michael Semaan, Fine Art Photographer, Laguna Beach, California. He writes:
“Working with the ZEISS Batis lenses has been a fascinating experience. The OLED display is truly unique and differentiated from anything else on the market, showing exact focus distance and depth of field in any light condition. The optical characteristics and rendering of the lenses, build quality, ergonomics, weather sealing, auto focus, and resulting images are superb. ZEISS Batis lenses are enabling a new era of professional photography.”
Both Batis lenses are now available for preorder in USA and Europe (UK/Germany)
Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 lens in US at Adorama, Bhphoto. In Eu at Amazon DE, WexUK. In Asia at Digitalrev.
Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2.0 lens at Adorama, Bhphoto. In EU at Amazon DE, WexUK. In Asia at Digitalrev.
In Europe and Asia the Loxias can be found in Stock via [shoplink 36456 ebay]eBay sellers (Click here)[/shoplink] and Digitalrev (Click here).
73 Responses
more landscape and architecture images with 85mm needed
What’s the point? They post jpegs anyway.
What else should they post?
I still think that the OLED display should’ve been redundant. Not because it’s a silly idea, it’s not. However, when I think about how my Minolta Maxxum/Dynax/Alpha 7 displays the same information and more (Focus distance, DOF limits on either end and magnification ratio if it’s bigger than 1:10) on its rear LCD, I’m not impressed.
A film camera developed two decades ago could do this without any extra cost over its feature set. A7 (and all Sony DSLR, DSLR and Mirrorless) should’ve had that feature too.
This an ingenious solution to a problem that should’ve never existed in the first place.
Apparently that did not help Minolta survive.
Nope, I don’t think anybody except Canon and Nikon survived from that era.
Olympus, Hasselblad, Leica and Pentax come to mind.
Olympus is mostly a name that remains. Haven’t they ditched their old system completely when going digital?
Yes, to go to 4/3’s. Then they abandoned that for m4/3’s. Good company that.
Eh, they’re compatible.
Yeah, 4 years after they abandoned it (or more) and still only really usable on one body (which I owned and was way way way overhyped, much like their lenses).
I don’t think it’s totally fair to say “it’s mostly a name that remains”, they did switch formats from FF to 4/3rds and now m4/3rds, but they kept making cameras and (IMO excellent) lenses throughout.
Ah yes, Leica. Pentax abandoned its full frame lenses until now (Promised a FF body finally for Q4 this year). I can object to Olympus surviving too because even though the name survived, their camera system has not.
So it’s Canon, Nikon, Leica and several medium format companies.
Ah, I guess you were talking more about lens mounts / formats surviving where I was thinking companies.
Additional shutter buttons on bodies are redundant, multiple focus hold buttons on lenses are redundant, top LCDs and Rear LCDs are redundant – camera equipment makers design bodies for different people, with differing needs and shooting styles. It’s easy enough to ignore what doesn’t appeal to your preferences.
Zeiss have been posting images on daily basis in their Facebook profile https://m.facebook.com/carlzeisslenses?refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fcarlzeisslenses
After Facebook compresses the photo 92% what’s left to examine?
What average images. I wonder why Zeiss gives these great lenses out to photographers who obviously don’t know how to handle such gems?
Holy F**KING S**T!!! The Batis 85 1,8 is AMAZING…WHAT A STUNNER OF A LENS!!! Thank you Carl Zeiss. You just single handedly made the Sony A7 series a “real deal” shooters kit.
really bad skin tone color .highlight clipping …and this a fine art photographer????
Do you understand what fine art usually means?
this is not a good photographer .he cuts the feet in the pic( very bad composition)…very ugly skin tone( easy fixable in post.)..highlight clipping on the arms of the model…
Do you really think this is a good photographer?
Subjective. I like the pics.
First is orange and second- to many details in the face. I don’t get the MILF theme either. They all look like the contrast slider was way over used in PP as well. Someone please tell Zeiss to step away from LR.
I have pre-ordered both.
The 85 I will keep for sure. Regarding the 25 I am thinking. I am currently using a Canon TS-E 24 II via Metabones MkIV, and I am very convinced about it. Used as standard 24mm it produces outstanding quality, however it is quite chunky and very heavy.
It suspect you’ll go back and forth between each other, since they should be quite complementary, in spite of the almost identical focal lengths.
My problem with using my Canon glass is purchasing an adapter to give me aperture control and maybe AF on some lenses. I feel your pain. I have a 50 and 85 1.2 that are begging to be used on my a7ii but it isn’t going to happen. I preordered both Batis’ as well.
Are these 36mp samples or were they shot with a new higher res camera like last time?
A7 II
Something I don’t get, is the love for higher megapixels when it comes to portraiture or anything with people really. Seeing the clothing and scenery in higher resolutions is amazing, but I personally don’t find it appealing when you can start to see imperfections in the makeup or you start to notice the model’s skin imperfections. I don’t know, does anyone else think high resolution studio photos seem odd or should have a limit to how much detail there is? Or have we just moved beyond the days of smearing people’s skin so much with editing software that they almost look CGI??
Zeiss…is amazing, for what they’re doing for the FE lens system. They’re lenses of course, are interesting and of high quality, but really, without them, we’d still be stuck with a very limited native lens system. Then again, it also depends on how you look at it. They have the basic zoom lineup filled many professionals would use. But I love to shoot primes, and before the addition of the newly announced 25mm and 85mm, as well as further options for the 35mm and 50mm, you were looking at three small primes, the 28, 35, 55.
I’m hoping though, that Sony still sees it relevant to release 1.8 aperture lenses to keep them smaller. To me, that’s what made the A mount cameras still viable alongside the E mount system, is that you would use that setup if you need larger zooms or faster and larger primes, with the proper body size to support it. We’ll see. Sony still has a long way to go to fill in their lens lineup so they could still take it any direction.
The most amazing thing about these photos: Zeiss is too cheap to pay for an ad-free account at Flickr. The 2nd most amazing thing: Apparently any woman willing to stand in front of a photographer is now a ‘model’.
Good point about the ad-free account. They need to sell more Batis lenses to afford it 🙂
I have preordered both the 25 and 85. Ship my lenses this month and take my money as a payment for ad free. Funniest thing I have read all day until the OTUS hobbyist lens project comment. Smiling ear to ear.
We at Zeiss are still trying to recover all that cash we pissed away on your OTUS hobbyist lens project!
These photos are not good. There’s a multitude of issues, from focusing and softness to lighting and color. I doubt this is the lens’s fault but If I was Zeiss, I would take these images down.
Amount of CA on the “Model Shooting #2, Hawaii” is quite high (look at the border of the dress), comparable to the ZA 85 actually… Definitely no the “Otus” quality. I guess lack of the APO element is the cause. Still a good lens, but nothing to be raving about 🙂
Also wondering if the whole photo session budget was spent on the trip to Hawaii…
Yup, plenty of longitudinal CA in the photos – especially noticeable in https://www.flickr.com/photos/carlzeisslenses/18035641729/in/album-72157651844166820/ where there is plenty of purple fringing on the dress edges which are in front of focus plane. Not as easy to fix in post as lateral CA 🙁
It’s actually quite easy to fix in post if you know what you’re doing.
It’s not an Otus – that’s for sure.
Not only that the EXIF info included is worthless in analyzing the photo. When you look at the full size 7mb photo nothing is sharp.
More an exercise in lighting. Even looks like they photoshopped the legs, bokeh rock and background rock together. That moss is disturbing.
Overall, I’d prefer shots of a color chart and/or newspaper print at the corners over a pretty model, I must be getting older, my bad.
I’m glad that you can make a complete evaluation based on a couple sample images. Congrats. You should work for DXO mark.
Where in my post did you see the “complete evaluation”?
>Still a good lens, but nothing to be raving about.
Seems like you reached a conclusion there to me.
It is my conclusion indeed. It’s not prohibited by any law to have an opinion (well, North Korea and Russia don’t count 🙂 An opinion is not the same as a “complete evaluation”. The CA is very visible, you don’t need to be an expert to see it, just having open and sober eyes should be enough to figure it out. After shooting the Otus 85mm ~7 months, I didn’t notice CA on similar shots, that gives me an idea the Batis is not quite an Otus (as many marketing-driven reviewers are trying to say). But as I also mentioned the Batis seems like a good AF lens anyway, especially for the price. I hope this explanation will help to resolve any confusions. That was my opinion, I don’t expect everybody to accept it.
Well the point was that it’s tough to reach a conclusion like that based on a couple of sample images.
Or, more accurately, you can’t expect anyone to take such a hastily reached conclusion seriously.
What particular “conclusion” are we talking about?
The lens comes bundle with the brunette model.
Sold 🙂
The air is so dewy sweet you don’t even have to lick the stamps.
oh my god. Such an elitist.
All of your “expertise” became invalid when you can’t even figure out how to view the original resolution image…
We have moved beyond the days of smearing people’s skin so much with editing software that they almost look CGI
What is artistic about the above picture from Zeiss?
a) The girl’s head was about to fall off.
b) Accidently got a shot that looks decent while the wind lifted her dress.
…and to name a few…in another pix of this model’s hand holding her forehead tells me she’s having a migraine. 🙂
Who cares? They are posted by Zeiss to give a general idea of the aesthetic of the lens not sell fashion or win photo prizes.
>Overall, I’d prefer shots of a color chart and/or newspaper print at the corners over a pretty model, I must be getting older, my bad.
Are you sure that you’re *alive* still?
raw files please, then we can properly judge
How is this better than shooting with a cheaper Nikon D610 and a much cheaper Nikon 85mm 1.8 AF-S? I hate to say it, but Sony mirrorless only shines when adapting lenses.
Folks, simmer down. It’s not like it’s a batis 135mm 1.8 for crying out loud.
If the 85mm goes well we may see a 135mm next year. Or at least Zeiss may shell out $50 for the ad free flickr account… Fully depends on how good is @SAR_Admin at marketing.
LMAO
That MTF comparison with Otus and what we see here is as different as heaven from earth. I still dont believe this samples are doing justice for Batis. I dont expect Otus quality, but i expect FE55 quality and this is nowhere near it.
well i do agree with you BUT only on the last wave of sample. The first one was really gorgeous. ON the last one i don’t see any real information about iso or aperture, maybe i messed something… Obviously the light is poor, really bad choice of sample.
I rented a 55/1.8 and compared with C/Y 50/1.7 on A7, with a simple clarity/detail tweak..no diff.
Seriously, some people should just stop photography and open a lab, since all they talk about is MTF charts… and not photography.
When I look at a pic, I’m not looking for lateral CA or lower sharpness in the corners. I ‘m just trying to guess if I like it or not, and why. That’s all, and that’s what most of the people who will buy pics do.
From what I see, even though I don’t like the pics, there’s no reason to think theses lenses won’t enable me to take the pics I want, and that’s all I’m asking. Happy, at last, to have a 85f1.8 in my e-mount system.
If any of you happen to be in or around Austin today, Precision Camera’s Expo is going on, and Sony’s showing off the Batis there. The Sony rep said this was the first time he’s even been able to see it himself.
I paid for the 85mm in the first 10 days of having it. Of course, I used it on a Nikon D810. I didn’t want to spend weeks trying to fix Sony WB, color, shadow recovery and lossy compression issues. Less time in post means more time to shoot and collect the checks. Or poke Sony users for their continued denial on all matters of IQ.
But you admitted, here on Sony Alpha Rumors, that you never shoot below f/5.6 because your D810’s focussing screen isn’t accurate enough for our superlative f/1.4 OTUS lens. And yet, you’re still unable to comprehend the irony in your love for our perfectly corrected OTUS lens with the flawed Nikon D810 manual focussing system? We love customers like you, thank you for you continued support in our high profit margin OTUS lens! Sincerely ZEISS marketing.
If you don’t have the sharpness at capture there’s little one can do to put it back in. If you need to add selective ‘blur’ or masks then it is easily done while still maintaining ultra sharp features such as eye details and retina. Few people live up to the resolving power of lenses such as the Zeiss Apo-Sonnar 135mm and Otus 85mm (or Otus 55mm when pushed in). A typical workflow for me involves 3 programs each with better capabilities for certain flaws and defects and for matching the subjects expectations. It is a process and a delicate one because some want realism and some want to be a teenager again. Being a good portrait photographer requires as much psychology as it does photography technique. The one thing I always do and it’s good policy – is let the person decide the changes to their image before anyone else sees them. Only when they approve of the photo is it ‘distributed’. Not only that, I provide them with the final and they submit it to the web developer or marketing department. This manages risk for me. Lastly, I never let anyone see how well the Zeiss 85 or 135 resolves without making some changes first. Few would get in front of the lens if they really knew what it reveals.
As an owner of FE28, 21mm conversion and FE55 I’m looking forward to hand on both Batis 25 and 85. Put my pre-order through BH.
Crossing my fingers for Zeiss Batis 16mm or 18mm, 135, 200 in near future.
6000 by 4000 is 20kB?????!!!!
You didn’t download the originals?????!!!!
Not very impressed either, especially the clearly visible CA. Presenting photos on Flickr for this purpose isn’t a good idea as Flickr seems to down sample the images.