The Zeiss trademarked logo at Trademarkia.com
Zeiss will soon announce a new line of lenses named “Loxia”. It will be made for the Full Frame Sony E-mount system! The characteristic of those lenses are:
– They are native E-mount Full Frame lenses
– These are designed and made by Zeiss itself. These are not Zeiss branded and Sony manufactured lenses like the Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 FE for example.
– These are manual focusing prime lenses (allows a more compact design).
– They have a physical aperture ring on the lens.
– Made of very high material quality.
– There will be many of such lenses coming the next 12 months.
Exciting!!! Stay tuned on SAR. I am working to get the lens specs as soon as it gets….
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I have no specs of the new lenses yet but Zeiss already made manual focusing lenses for “non-DSLR”. These are the Zeiss “Full Frame” ZM analog camera lenses:
[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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Reminder (SR = Sonyrumor):
SR1=probably fake rumor
SR2=rumor from unknown sources
SR3=50% chance it is correct
SR4=rumor from known sources
SR5=almost certainly correct!
0 Responses
hmmm… why can’t they just extend the current touit lens lineup.. w/e at least someone is making lenses for Sony 😉
because touit is designed by fuji
No, it’s also designed for Fuji by Zeiss but not by Fuji.
And yes that’s why they can’t keep the same Touit name
no, touit is both designed and manufactured by fuji, this information is shared by someone works in the lens industry. fuji designed touit 12 and XF14 at the same time. They keep the 14 for its better performance, and put the Zeiss brand on the 12 to make more money.
Do you have a cite? Because ‘someone who works in the lens industry’ is about as credible as any random Joe on the street.
unfortunately the source is in chinese: http://forum.xitek.com/thread-1337345-3-1-1.html. User capss showed a patent (http://www.google.com/patents/WO2014038146A1?cl=ja) which proves that touit12(fig4) is just a modified version of xf14(fig1) and they are both designed by fuji. But I dont know why touit12 also has an emount version
according to this guy some other zeiss lenses are actually designed by nikon or some other brands. for example most ZA lenses are purely Sony’s work.
How Fuji would have access to e-mount spec if they designed it?
Through Zeiss? Sony would never allow them to share those to Fuji.
Also when they introduce the Touit line they clearly said that lenses were designed in Germany and produced in Japan by a partner which is Cosina for a long time.
Touit would be for APS-C and Loxia is for Full-Frame
Also, Touit are all auto-focus lenses.
Owl to smoked fish?
I guess this they will have to do with other name in Russia (in Russian: лох (lokh) means sucker / hayseed )
First Russia would have to join to civilized part of the world…
Well, Latin doesn’t safeguard you from bein a LOX, if I got Dmitry’s point.
Russans do everything backwards. We are making the civilized part of the world join us by invading Europe.
LOL, squirm you silly polack 😉
It sucks up light… makes perfectly sense to me.
Almost as good as when Kraft foods split off their international division as “Mondelez”… this is an all-ages website so I’ll leave it at that…
So, ‘Touit’ wasn’t hilarious enough, now we have ‘Loxia’!
Let the pun-fest begin!
Maybe it sounds cooler in Deutsch?
Nope, it doesn’t. For me, it sounds like some laxative, no offense!
I am quite happy with my Sony Zeiss, no need to buy more (and supposingly really expensive) manual lenses, especially as there are plenty other good lenses available via adapters.
Manual and expensive?
not interested thanks!
Same here. Manual. Its a step backwards in time
Loxia…just rolls of the tongue. Zeiss would have sufficed.
Could You tell us Andrea at least focal lengths of expected lenses ? 🙂
I think he’d post them if he knew.
I believe he is trying to triple recheck them and maybe Carl Zeiss wrote not to publish them until XXX. But I believe in comment this information could be trade off 🙂
I believe he is triple checking it now 🙂 And maybe he is told not to publish it but out of topic in comments he may unveil the true to us 🙂
I think Sony will want to have Sony/Zeiss 24 & 85mm’s. So I guess anything other than that. A fast 35mm maybe? A 135?
I’d like to see something between 15-21mm myself, I don’t care about the exact focal length. I just think it will be better than the upcoming Sony/Zeiss 16-35mm zoom.
I am fully agree with You. I hope to see nice standard lens too 🙂
Awesome, full-metal body construction would be excellent (no plastic focus tabs), they’d make any a7 camera into a great, compact and rugged “take it anywhere” camera-kit. Thanks to USB-charging you don’t even need to lug around an extra charger, it would be really portable.
I picked Tamron/Sigma as primary lens manufacturers for my NEX from the very beginning, not planning to switch to Zeiss any time soon, not interested.
Thanks for sharing, very helpful.
Your reply made me laugh:) Nice one :)))
I picked up a Sigma lens, tried it, hated it, sold it, picked up a Zeiss lens and never looked back.
well, at 10x the price and only F4, manual focus you’ll be better of with Zeiss, trully. Just kidding. I agree that not all Sigmas are good though, only the latest ones. and then there’s Tamron which is even better/sharper/smaller 🙂
Great name for high end soap !
Spelled very similar:
http://wizaz.pl/kosmetyki/foto/56929_250.jpg
Loxia is a bird
i like what i am hearing so far! except however for the tone that sounds like we may not get them in the stores for another year 🙁
Great news! The end of E-mount-no-lenses cry-babies is coming!
I will wine as long as number of Canon lenses > number of E mount lenses.
Keep in mind that sooner or later Canon will have to drop that bulky and redundant mirror-box and populate a completely new lens system with a shorter flange distance. Then they’ll have a lot of catch-up to do!
whine*
Keep in mind that Canon sooner or later will have to drop the bulky and redundant mirror box and populate an entire new lens system and mount with shorter flange distance. Then they will have a lot of catch up to do!
Unfortunately not – instead they will will start crying for budget lenses, once Zeiss will release prices.
Don’t forget AF, because shooting photos without it is not possible these days…
Also, it must fit in the watch pocket of my skinny jeans and be at least F1.2 or it’s worthless.
grrrrrrrr
I just received my Zeiss 50mm f/2 ZM with metabones.
Superb, but I’d like EXIF data + automatic focus_magnification enaabled
I have a ZM50. It’s a great lens, and I intend to stick with it. It can be used on Leica or non- Sony/ E-mount cameras as well!
Intriguing, but these will likely be prohibitively expensive for most. Can we also expect clickless aperture and built-in ciné lens gears as well?
I so hope they make them this way. Then they would make much more sense for video OR time-lapse!!!
Since the lenses will have electronic contacts too, they can simply adapt their ultra wide angle lenses with built in cornerfix.
Loxia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossbill
http://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7171/6683309409_b4e74855a4_z.jpg
Someone high enough at Zeiss must double up as an ornithologist…
Sounds like the name of a Mac OS X update, but they chose Yosemite.
Main question really new – or different Zeiss manual redesigned for E-mount.
Hmmm… sounds expensive.
These will just be the current ZF.2 lenses re-mounted to E mount.
Don’t expect small lenses!!!
How do you know?
If the name is indeed connected to a bird then it would imply small and light weight lenses. Then it gets interesting. 🙂
Otus is an owl so a bird, nonetheless the lens is huge.
Owls can be quite big and I think the lens is aptly named after an owl because of its excellent performance at 1.4.
Haven’t thought of the size related to the specific bird. I’ve read on an other comment that Loxia is small and light bird so let’s hope the lenses will honor the name they bear
Wouldn’t it make more sense for them to re-mount their M-mount lenses?
You know that doesn’t make sense.
These will be great for motion on the A7s…
Well, you whine about other websites not linking back to you when they link your news and then link mirrorlessrumors without linking back to them.
Or the same source contacted both of them.
mmm…not sure about the name choice.
Also “Made of very high material quality” makes me think of “not metal”… which can be a disappointment.
An F1 race car is made of plastic (carbon fibre), 5 times stronger then metal…
carbon fibre is not plastic dude lol
minipixels.net | Automotive Photography
The application of carbon fibre may not be related to its strength, but rather to its lightweight and dampening properties in F1 racing in the case of a car crash, since the breaking of the frame helps the survivability of the driver.
In bicycle frames, another popular use of carbon fibre, is to reduce weight as we know is the same use we have for tripods…but strength is not a factor as noted by this man:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvk63bmVpck
Also worth noting, as minipixels pointed out in your beloved ignorance, carbon fibre is not plastic.
They can call it TURDIA as far as I’m concerned as long as the optics deliver and prices are correct.
Not sure right or wrong, both Touit and Loxia are small breeds of birds which could refer to the compactness of these lenses, and birds have good eyesight.
So then…I may be right in a previous reply. These lenses will be new designs and not re-mounted ZM lenses as many expect.
2/25mm
1.4/35mm
PLEASE
Pretty sure that won’t happen. The are going to change the mount of their ZM lenses so you will get a 35mm f/2 and a 25mm f/2.8. They are both one stop slower but besides that excellent lenses! Anyhow with the Sony bodys you should be able to do anything with f/2.8 unless you want to use it as a night surveillance camera…
the canon fd 24/2 is a good lens and is not large at all. if re-designed without the fd mount in mind, it could be made even smaller, I bet.
So instead of affordable Sony branded lenses we get more of highly priced lenses – Sony has lured many with a good price on the A7/R but so many disappointed with total lack of lenses – overpriced Zeiss branded lenses that are so so and no fast Zooms – just F4.0
Uhm, so you expected Zeiss to make cheap Sony branded lenses? Right, that makes SO much sense…
No – I am suggesting that Sony make make more lenses and hopefully other manufacturers – most all A7/r users are wanting to see a better lens selection.
Interesting that Sigma and others have not made a Sony FE mount lens – I wonder why –
Its never too late to jump ship and find another system that suits you better.
True – that is why I also have M43 gear as well as Fuji X gear and Sony APS-C mirrorless gear – Just hoping that Sony will introduce more lenses for the FE mount
can you wait until photokina? rumor said plenty of new lenses will released by Sony
Hope that is true – long in coming – hope you are true with “plenty”
This is basic physics 101. A full frame zoom lens would be pretty much the same size as the current A mount f2.8 zoom lenses– you need the same amount of glass to get the same amount of full frame coverage.
They don’t really want to release any huge lenses for their small system since that would kind of ruin the whole portability of it.. So F4 allows them to build something smaller that’s still full frame and fitting for a portable system.
Very little they can physically do against that, that’s just how the physics of optics works. You could of course get an A mount lens and the adapter and use any of the fast zoom lenses they have in that range and get exactly what you want.
I agree – so in a way there is a dilemma – so basically a small mirror-less camera with a FF sensor is just practical for Primes or slower zooms due to size and weight – To me the 70-200mm F4.0 is to large for the grip on the A7/r –
Have you actually used the FE70200? It wields perfectly fine on the A7 thank you very much.
“you need the same amount of glass to get the same amount of full frame coverage” – not quite. At lower focal lengths, you need less glass, because focal lengths below the flange back distance have to be designed as longer focal lengths combined with focal reducer elements, and the less flange back distance you have, the shorter the focal length you can start with and the less compensation you need. You are right of course in that fast full frame zoom lenses simply cannot become small, even though there’s some advantage in compactness for mirrorless designs.
I’m really trying to understand this “system portability is ruined by making large lenses” philosophy. Creating a big lens WON’T make your system less portable – you won’t buy this lens, you’d only buy small lenses. On the other hand, I would buy this large lens, because, I’d need it once a week, and i wouldn’t care at all for its size.
Then simply buy the Sony LA-EA3 adapter and the large zooms you need. Presto, everything you wanted.
Exactly what I thought of doing. Only to find out that no a-mount lenses have image stabilization. So, basically, I’m stuck with sel50f18 and a bunch of MF wide angle primes.
X-actly my Point. I’m sure Sony will release bigger lenses, but not at first. I guess with the arrival of the A9 or whatever the successor to the A7 will be called, they will Focus on bigger lenses as well. Because a lot of ppl will leave SLT and DSLR and opt for mirrorless. It’s the future. And noone says it has to be small. At least not all of it. There will be choices once the System grows.
It’s like with Phones. Used to be big and bulky, Then became small. Now everyone want’s 4.7″ minimum. Building a System is a dynamic process.
well said !I agree
…. and lose half of that gained stop to the SLT mirror.
Native FE f2.8 zoom please.
If you are prepared to go third party, there are a couple of Sigma lenses that has stabilization, even in A-mount. No easy finds, but they do exist. I myself is considering the Sigma 105mm macro, and that baby has IS, and a quite good one according to reviewers.
The portability is not ruined by large lenses, but manufacturers might prefer to focus on a complete set of compact lenses first to highlight the portability of their system, before moving to larger lenses. In the meantime, adapted lenses are a good solution. You could use Canon if you want IS.
As I understand it, the shorter flange distance make it possible to design more compact wide angles, if a new zoom lens was developed to exploit this advantage – would it still be impossible to make a more compact zoom lenses? Just wondering …
uhmm you know this is Zeiss announcement, why the hell would you expect zeiss to release affordable sony lenses? And manual lenses will allowed fast aperture in relatively small size.
FE is an amateur system. amateurs care about size and weight. these new zeiss lens are for the amateur jerk-off credit card swiping crowd.
“I must have THE BEST for my HDR photos of mossy rocks and streams! only THE BEST will do!”
mind you they don’t even know what 14 bit raw is.
ok, (F)E-mount going to “luxury amateur mode” like Leica…
A-mount hopefully eventually turns into work horse mode for those who need to earn money with their cams (and lenses)
Compare an A6000 and an A77M2 or A99 in daily work (not hobby!) and you see what I mean – and I admit that the A6000 is technically a very fine cam!
real pros shouldn’t shoot A-mount either
don’t be so threatened by how close the a6000 is to those SLTs in performance
especially given price
What should “real pros” be shooting with lord eels?
nikon, canon for some medium format digital for others, you know the actual “systems”
Thanks for the advice lord eels.
Am I the only who finds the conversation between ‘lord eels’ & ‘Pro Alpha Shooter since 1985’ extremely humorous?
No, you’re not the only one.
Pointless categorisation that serves no purpose.
A camera is simply a tool. If you have the choice, you use whatever tool is right for the job. I have found E-mount cameras very useful to me for certain work. I’d say most landscape photographers would find an A7r more useful than an A99 too.
‘daily work (not hobby!)’
what daily work? there are so many different types of photography (you can earn money with) and only some of them benefit from using a very special kind of camera. yes i would not shoot ‘high fashion’ with a a6000…
I think lord eels got it right on. If you’re talking about using cameras to support your livelihood, using Sony is a questionable decision. Unless you’re a high end fine art photographer with a signature look, the difference in image quality of high end cameras is negligible for most purposes. You’re better off using nikon or canon due to it’s support network, second hand market, and lens selection.
Who needs autofocus at wide angles anyway? E-mount Zeiss is verry welcome, I’m looking foreward to this.
Anything between 15-21mm and I’ll be a happy bunny.
Im still dreaming about the compact high quality 24mm E-mount lens, Its all I need to jump on the A7 ship … Untill then, my good old A900 is still my main workhors.
It will be interesting to see how these mix with future Sony Zeiss releases too.
yeah, baby. Now we talkin’….
Nice!
If they made versions with de-clicked aperture rings and geared focus/aperture rings, that would be a very velcome lens line for time-lapse, animation and videography. Probably way more expensive than Samyang, but also alot more consistent from sample to sample…
I am currently considering to get A7s with set of Samyang cine lenses specifically for time-lapse to take advantage of fully elentronic shutter in A7s (no mechanical wear, more precise timing). Another set of native lenses would make this even more attractive.
although I’m not a frequent user of manual lenses, this is welcome news for FE users; more lens means more options even if this doesn’t satisfy ALL users
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Prefer Leica in the absence of AF, more character than Zeiss.
Of course, as long as you have the money.
And some symmetrical designs don’t work with this generation of sensors, the new Zeiss could at least fill in the gaps.
Samyang is here: http://www.samyang-europe.com/index.php/new-products/102-new-samyang-50-mm-t1-5-as-umc
http://www.samyang-europe.com/images/50mm-f1-4/50mm-zdjecie-w-tle-eng.jpg
The family of Loxia birds seems to be small and bright.
I hope the lenses are as well…
To think about what you said. It would be great, if your presumption about its code name is true. And they will be great partners for landscape photography. 🙂
Yes but there are also less than 5 species. And crossbills are very specialized, since their strange bill is not good for many things other than pine kernels. 🙂
Anyone really exited about that? Zeiss makes nice AF lenses for APS-C mirrorless cameras but they fail to do the same for full frame? Wow.
Maybe they will have better aperture ?
very good news.. but.. there is a problem.. the price… price.. price… the same problem of the spectacular a7s
More choices for users of one systems is a good thing. So I salute this news. However price will be an important factor of this new line of lenses. If those lenses will be much more expensive than the G or Zeiss lenses made my Sony then the line will be very exclusive and of no overall comercial importance. Let’s face it…AF is great and most pros use it nowadays.
http://photobyandrei.wordpress.com/
Indeed ! The price must be low. They must be nuts if they think that those proud Canikon users will switch to sony if the majority of lenses will be MF. Although not saying that quality would be superb, just sometimes the quality isnt the decisive factor, just look at some canikon outdated and overpriced lenses. Good luck Zeiss i am looking forward!!!
a good lens is a one time purchase and as i dont need more than two or three im looking forward to this!
So. Freaking. Pumped. Cannot. Wait.
manual lenses? there is a lot of manual lenses available for e-mount
I’m really excited about these lenses! Back in the day I had almost the entire range of G lenses for the Contax G2 (except for the 16mm and the 35–70 zoom). With the exception of the 35mm they were all awesome! Hoping for someting similar here, except for the AF of course. If they’re also a stop brighter across the board, my bank account is about to suffer greatly.
Also, really hope focus will be mechanical, not “by-wire” as the current FE lenses. If that in turn makes it possible for someone to make an FE to M adapter (still use my M6 a lot), my bank account won’t only suffer, it will be obliterated.
Winning formula:
1. Fix the edges and corners. (MUST MUST MUST)
2. Fast 35mm
3. Definitive fixed wide angle lens for system that wipes floor with (likely crappy) “fake Zeiss” UWA zoom
What is a fake Zeiss? These lenses will be manufactured by Cosina. Will they be fake?
he may be referring to ZA 16-35 2.8…
Place of manufacture doesn’t concern me as much as where the design comes from. The Sony “Zeiss” lenses are what I refer to as “Fake Zeiss” – in that they are Sony lenses that they (and we) pay to have a blue logo applied to.
The 16-35mm, therefore, is in the “Fake Zeiss” category.
That’s not my understanding. Why do you think Zeiss didn’t design them?
Admin previously posted an interview of the Fe 55 lens designer (in a french website). he was a Sony’s engineer and he clearly stated that Zeiss wasn’t involved in the design process. Almost admit that the blue logo was for marketing purpose.
Such B.S., there is no “clearly stated that Zeiss wasn’t involved in the design process.” And it’s totally your conjecture that he “almost admits that the blue blue logo was for marketing purpose.” Personally I don’t care about who designed these Zony lenses. Some of them were the best in class until recently, some of them not so much. It’s just like Zeiss or any other brand. And yes, I currently only shoot with “Made in Germany” Zeiss lens, so not a fanboy of any Zony (or even any recent SLR Zeiss either).
Did you read the article I refer to? Because I did, in the original french of the article, and the Japanese Sony engineer did claim the paternity of the lens and clearly said that Zeiss wasn’t involved in the design at all. You should take a look before calling BS.
The topic of this thread of comments were who design the Sony Zeiss lenses and how much Zeiss is involved in the process, not the quality of those lenses. Did I ever say they weren’t Good? No and actually I own the 3 FE Sony Zeiss and I am very pleased.
The blue logo is only here for the quality control and the T* coating, it’s not enough to make them real Zeiss lens, and it only demonstrate that Sony isn’t confident enough to release them for what they really are: excellent Sony’s lenses.
And no I am not a Sony’s hater nor a fanboy, we were just having a conversation about what define a Zeiss lens. To me and to some other it’s who designed it. If it’s Zeiss Germany who ensure the design then they are truly Zeiss lens no matter where they are made (japan or Germany is irrelevant to me.Who really believe that japanese worker are less competent than German ‘s one in the optic field). If Sony is behind the design then they should claimed it instead of hiding behind that blue logo especially when they can be proud of the result like the FE 55 and stop misleading customers.
According to Sony and Zeiss, Sony designed Zeiss branded lenses still have to perform to a level to be approved by Zeiss to bear the brand.
Whatever your consideration for them being “genuine”, Sony has many smashing lenses no one else has such as:
1) 135mm 1.8 A mount (the reason many bought into Sony DSLR)
2) 24mm f2 A mount (an underestimated lens which is exceptional and better than Canon or Nikon’s 1.4 variants at the same apertures)
3) 24mm 1.8 E mount (hugely underestimated lens that if you compared to Fuji’s 23mm – on comparable 16mp bodies – this one is amazing)
4) RX100m3’s 24-70 1.8-2.8 (even the original RX100 is great but not as great as the newer one)
5) 55mm 1.8 FE (everyone knows about this one)
6) 35mm 2.8 FE (tested by Roger from Lens Rentals to be an amazing lens)
6) RX1 Sonnar (enough said)
7) RX10 24-200 2.8 (videographers would have love this lens to make it to the AX100 and many complained it didnt…because its great too)
Granted, not all Zeiss branded lenses for Sony are the best of their kind, but they are not crap with the exception maybe of the FE zoom which I have seen, and know, it isnt very good.
In perspective, whether the designer speaks German or Japanese, these lenses are great to say the least and have nothing to be envious about when compared to other brand’s offerings.
I’m a bit disappointed by your statement, to be honest. Knowing that you have large gravitas in the photo-internet community I just don’t know what to make out of it.
I’ve never found a definitive statement about who designs what lenses, but I’m in total agreement.
The end result is far more important.
From here
http://www.zeiss.com/camera-lenses/en_de/camera_lenses/partner/sony.html
“Sony and Carl Zeiss develop Lenses for Sonys digital cameras together.
Then the manufacturing takes place in Sony facilities according to Carl
Zeiss specifications. It’s a partnership that combines premium-quality
electronics and sensor technology with the best-possible optics for film
and video cameras.”
and here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Zeiss_AG
“Since the beginning of Zeiss as a photographic lens manufacturer, it has had a licensing programme which allows other manufacturers to produce its lenses. Over the years its licensees included Voigtländer, Bausch & Lomb, Ross, Koristka, Krauss, Kodak. etc. In the 1970s, the western operation of Zeiss-Ikon got together with Yashica to produce the new Contax cameras, and many of the Zeiss lenses for this camera, among others, were produced by Yashica’s optical arm, Tomioka. As Yashica’s owner Kyocera ended camera production in 2006, and Yashica lenses were then made by Cosina, who also manufactured most of the new Zeiss designs for the new Zeiss Ikon coupled rangefinder camera. Another licensee active today is Sony who uses the Zeiss name on lenses on its video and digital still cameras.”
Yeah, that’s what I’ve read before. It says developed together. Pretty ambiguous really. Anyone’s guess who designed the optics. The primes have been great.
Agreed. This is like the Panasonic-Leica agreement. Both Sony and Panasonic are partnering to change brand perception by latching on to legendary photo brands. And if the glass is good, that’s all that matters.
Many other lenses could perform to this level, on measurable parameters, it doesn’t make them Zeiss. Even if Zeiss says:”Ok, you’re as good as I am, I’ll lend you my label.” A business agreement doesn’t change what a product really is.
I’ll put it another way. The Sony-Zeiss partnership, in my eyes, is one that both should be ashamed of. I feel a somewhat similar way with Leica-Panasonic but for different reasons.
First – Zeiss lenses have a very unique character. This character is not demonstrated in the Sony lenses. Maybe a little in the A-mount 85 and 135. These are clearly just Sony designs.
Sure, good designs, but absolutely not Zeiss ones.
Second, many people (wrongly) think that these very expensive and often good lenses are actually Zeiss lenses, AND that the only good lenses for Sony cameras are “from” Zeiss. Sony now created the market perception that SONY lenses are the lower-end ones. Ooops.
Sony should be able to stand on its own two feet and develop their own in-house premium brand without using someone else’s badge and heritage to raise prices.
First they hid behind Minolta, now Zeiss. It’s time Sony becomes somebody of their own.
What Zeiss “character” would that be? How can you “clearly” see as a Sony design? I really want to know.
Who says the only good lenses for Sony cameras are Zeiss ones? The examples I mentioned above speak of outstanding lenses (which, obviously you can clearly tell they are Sony) that are branded Zeiss. Whether Sony makes great lenses in the same focal lengths is another matter altogether, but in the focal lengths I mentioned, they don’t brand their own lenses Sony…you should ask them why.
By that token, Contax lenses were also not Zeiss since Yashica’s lens division was also responsible for the co-development of those lenses yet…the G35, G45, G21 and G16 were outstanding lenses. How come Yashica didn’t brand them Yashinon?
But wait, maybe Nokia is also ripping us off. Maybe Rollei did so too with their AF lenses (and we all know how Zeiss or Leica don’t like making AF lenses) and Contax as well with their AF N series and the 645.
How embarrasing from them….loaning their name to unworthy partners. Good for you having the tiger eye to really tell between a Japanese Zeiss and a German Zeiss.
Zeiss and Leica have been, to me, lenses that either do not, or there is very little, compromise on the three most important things: sharpness, distortion, bokeh. Either brand can deliver outstanding sharpness with great bokeh and little distortion. If a lens comes with that blue brand and can deliver on all three in spades, to me that can be a Zeiss. But so can any other brand be exceptional and I will happily accept that. So, how are the rest of the lenses I mention clearly Sony? Please tell us.
I think this is a pretty simple thing: Sony doesn’t have the human resources to design camera lenses at the necessary output, nor do they want to hire. So they buy the expertise, as any reasonable company would. But it sure makes the outcome expensive!
Minolta was founded in Osaka, Japan, in 1928 as Nichi-Doku Shashinki Shōten (日独写真機商店?, meaning Japanese-German camera shop).
It is well within Sony capacity to continue that tradition, be it for whatever purpose.
Well, Zeiss benefits from these partnerships and that’s a good thing. I don’t think they hid behind Minolta as much as it was a platform to build their existing system off of. Some minolta lenses deserved the praise heaped on them from users- great character and of course color rendition. Yet, we still wait for the 200mm 2.8, 400mm F4 and a few other stellar minolta lenses. Again, not sure about hiding- just total lack of effort on Sonys part.
The 135mm is fantastic and I would add the 50mm 1.4 in there although some might disagree. The 24 is outdated and it’s a shame we haven’t seen a 20mm and an alpha 35mm. IMO, Sony blew the chance to take advantage of the Zeiss AF market by expanding it.
I’ve never shot non-sony zeiss branded glass- I’ll have to take your word for the differences.
It wasn’t that long ago Leica was suffering and I think these partnerships provide more streams of income to develop their premium line-up of lenses.
If Sony and Zeiss should be ashamed of their partnership that would be due to not exploiting it to it’s full potential.
I have the experience of shooting with Contax Zeiss, ZM and ZE on the following:
ZM 35mm 2
ZM 50mm 1.5
ZM 15mm 2.8 (on loan so not that much of a great experience)
ZE 35mm 2
ZE 35mm 1.4
ZE 50mm 2 Makro-Planar
ZE 85mm 1.4
ZE 50mm 1.4
C/Y 35mm 1.4
C/Y 35mm 2.8
C/Y 50mm 1.4
C/Y 85mm 1.4
C/Y 25mm 2.8
G21mm
G28mm
G35mm
G45mm
G90mm
N 24-85mm
N 17-35mm
645 80mm
645 45mm
645 140mm
645 120mm Makro
I can assure anyone here that the Sony Zeiss lenses can be as good, or better, than their Zeiss-Zeiss (let’s just say it like that for now) or Contax-Zeiss lenses. Most of my experience is in the 35mm and 50mm lenses. While the Contax 120mm Makro Planar is the best macro I have ever used, the RX1’s Sonnar and the G35mm are the best 35mm I have ever used. The G45mm is the best “50” I have ever used.
I think Cosina is half-fake, but sigh…they have manageable price (unlike the M-mount ultrawide made in Germany) and are the closest to the real thing.
What truly is the difference where they are made? If it’s not sacred soil, it must be the people, right? Which people? The ones who work at the factory now, or the ones who worked there in the 1950’s? Or 1970’s? Or ten years ago?
Cosina should get more credit anyway. They still make lenses they way I like them. Solid chunks of glass and metal. Bring it.
This brings back that old question again…
At least back in the 90s, the grinding, the glass, it was all different. I haven’t seen comparisons of anything newer though, but then again there are no lenses left that are made in both Germany and Japan, at the same time.
The difference comes down to a little more than somewhat of a batch variance level(the Js and Gs are more different from each other than Js with decades in between them, and Gs with decades in between them, that’s why it could be concluded that it’s not batch difference), of course they all comply with some sort of QC standard, that’s why Zeiss could claim that they are the same. They’re still different though.
What happened to Touit? Will there be full frame AF Touits? I’m making myself laugh here…
Can’t imagine a better ~50 lens than the quite perfect FE5518Z. You have to take minus AF in account, too. Maybe a bright 35 would be great. But then again I’m more a “50 and zoom” guy. I don’t need much more.
I’m much more interested in Sonys Macro lens. Unless Zeiss will make a better one. Being Manual Focus on a Macro would’nt bother me much.
Imagine FE5518Z without fly-wire focusing, and you’ve imagined a better FE5518Z.
Your handle says it. There really should be a true dual-mode focusing in which there’s true helical focus and a click stop past infinity to switch to AF. Cost is probably the main reason this isn’t happening, another should be that the literally professional photographers, with photography as their profession, who don’t care about MF, are regarded as the main target consumer group.
To all those who believe these lenses will make your FF NEX into a better camera…
…all I got to say is…
…Loxia luck with that one pal.
hmm and why is that ?
Translation for Americans:
Loxia luck with that one ntsc.
We couldn’t possibly hope for a better camera, so I suppose these lenses not achieving that goal is OK.
They will, however, help achieve a better system. So, that’s all good.
I’ll continue to “hope” for a possibly better camera…
A better camera wouldn’t kill the flash when using adapted lenses. Phottix Odin fires flash only at full power when adapted lenses are used.
A better camera wouldn’t allow 50iso to turn into Auto iso so easily by accident.
A better camera wouldn’t have the 1/60th to 1/160th shutter speed unusable because of micro vibrations.
A better camera would have a working flash system, with native off camera cables.
A better camera wouldn’t take so long to start up.
A better camera would allow battery change over while using tethering with vertical grip.
A better camera would have AF point easily adjustable, rather than a three button menu dive.
A better camera would provide an iso lock for that slippery control dial.
A better camera wouldn’t play the “adapta-matic” game and claim kudos like a Kirby vacuum cleaner.
Please don’t hate because I post a wish list for making a7R into a better camera.
Relax, this is only the a7, as long as Sony keeps itself afloat, there should be better coming.
Whoa… easy on the carriage return dude.
Kind of a BS list – TTL with adapted lenses is a pipe dream. ISO 50 is for punks – and that one is a user error that should never happen. Microvibrations is also mostly user error. Startup times are negligible with new firmware. Learn the interface, AF point selection need not be 3-button presses.
That aside, let’s not pretend that the original comment wasn’t just a sideways jab that failed to land.
He said “Please don’t hate because I post a wish list for making a7R into a better camera.”
Your comments about punk iso and denial for well documented flaws demonstrate your hatefulness towards a fellow with real concerns.
Google search:
“The shutter vibration issue explained by Joseph Holmes.”
It is not necessarily “user error”.
For those seeking the highest optical quality regardless of its price, this may be interesting but aside from that, is there really a big purpose for this line up? I mean, it has no AF, so you are already limiting to a niche and if it’s MF, why not simply buy a legacy lens with a adapter?
Exactly. I know they claim it is for size… but I’m willing to be my existing Leica rangefinder lenses will be as compact with an adapter as the Loxia lenses and perform just as well. The fact that they want to create some goofy name like Loxia makes me think this is more market department driven than anything else.
Many rangefinder lenses suffer from problems on digital, and lack of telephoto. These lenses should be designed to be optically fully compatible with modern sensors, and with greater flexibility, since they don’t need to worry about how much of the viewfinder lenses are blocking, that’s where they’re special..
you already own leica lenses that work fine for you? whats the point of your post then?
Great lens + adapter = “almost good enough”
Don’t underestimate the buying power of enthusiasts who lust on image quality and user experience.
“Almost good enough” is NOT good enough for these people. A high quality lens, properly corrected, with a compact form factor, a proper focusing mechanism with a scale, and an aperture ring… will be very attractive.
I can assure you that these compromised, autofocus, “fix it in software”, bigger, focus-by-wire, slower than necessary lenses are of little interest to many in the target market for these Loxia lenses.
To question whether these lenses should exist simply shows you don’t know how that crowd works.
You got it quite wrong and you don’t need to be so defensive-aggressive.
First, I can’t see where I underestimated anybody, I simply recognized that this is a niche lens line up, which you seem to agree.
Second, I didn’t question the existence of this line up, I questioned if there is a bigger purpose to it aside from pleasing this niche, which is quite different from what you implied – and I’m not making a judgement call on this either.
And in the end, you seem to agree with me again, actually confirming that it doens’t seem to be any other purpose other than aiming at a the niche.
I’m questioning that because in the bigger picture, such lens line up doesn’t really add much, in general, it doesn’t look like it will satisfy those that bought the A7 cameras and are asking for more lenses.
There is no “underestimating” or even me not understanding how “that crowd works”, it’s more like you misreading and misunderstanding my comment, just that.
Halo products. It’s good that the upgrade path and quality doesn’t just end with the Zony line-up. Whether or not the niche would grow is irrelevant (how many would own the OEM 200/2, 300/2.8, 400/2.8, 500/4, etc. or even the more “affordable” T/S lenses in the Canikon crowd?)
The ZF and ZE range of SLR lenses are all manual focus only, and have been selling well for many years.
Many legacy lenses have issues with extreme ray angles degrading corner performance. A new range of designed for digital lenses with long exit pupil distances makes a lot of sense.
Why develop new, native lenses for for the Sony A7 platform without autofocus? There are so many adapters for legacy lenses! This is a missed opportunity.
Sony has a history of building compelling, state of the art bodies, then under delivering on glass for the APSC E mount.
Partnering with Zeiss was a brilliant move — they have a great photographic heritage. And the recent Zeiss Touit line is not manual. The A7 cameras are ultra modern. These would have much greater impact on the market if they were fast autofocusing, Zeiss quality lenses.
Manual focus makes sense in the value space for people like Samyang, and at the high end for Leica M mount, but it does not make sense for a camera trying to go mainstream.
I compleatly agree with you.
+1
It does seem odd, given they had already started a AF E-mount line. I guess Touit is dead. Back to manual focus only for Zeiss then.
Touit is an E and X-mount for Fuji too so they have to create a new line for FE lenses.
Creating FF lenses for Touit would have been confusing for Fuji’s customers.
It’s also a strong indication that Fuji won’t go FF in a near future like the direction of Fuji stated and unlike what the Fuji community believe.
5 Reasons Douglas is Probably Wrong:
1. The size scale and design complexity in developing 35mm frame lenses would require new “full frame” Touit AF lenses to be quite large, wildly expensive, slow or optically compromised – pick your poison
2. The “rangefinder” type photographer is a *great market niche* and likes to spend money. Many have bought into the A7 series… but *most* existing RF lenses have optical issues that leave us wishing for something like the ZF/ZE line for FE
3. Many (not all) users go with A7-style cameras for WEIGHT + PERFORMANCE. Manual focus designs allow you to combine speed, optical correction and compact size in a way AF lenses cannot.
4. This battle cry comes mostly from those who are dissatisfied with the current Sony lineup, which is fair – but we know Sony is filling those gaps soon(ish). The manual focus niche is sure to be exclusive for this new line and have virtually no competition at this price band. Zeiss should be there. Just like they are there with CaNikon.
5. Right now, the only RF and manual glass that works very well with A7(r) is either limited in focal length or wildly expensive (Hello WATE!)- the same people who like their C/V and ZM lenses will have interest in normal priced, high performing lenses and would prefer to pay for speed/size/performance and forego AF.
Perhaps a line of AF lenses can be made in the future but one shouldn’t create a false dichotomy – the business reasons for making a MF line are sound.
Full Frame Zeiss lenses for Contax G are small and autofocus.
and expensive with clunky adapters. Who would spend $500 on a Contax G 45mm when you can buy a brand new FE Zeiss for $600-800? Just guessing on the price of course
The Contax G auto focus adapters are what, $250? So it will make even less sense
in body af drive, not in lens, if I am right
I think Douglas is right and Bart is wrong! Lets all vote with our wallets? It’s the best in a democracy. Zeiss can do what they believe and we all decide.
I’d be happy to be wrong. 🙂
I want to see this system succeed. It pushes every manufacturer to do better and be more aggressive on price. And no doubt, there will be autofocus lenses coming.
But with the current lack of lenses, niche offerings would not have been my first choice. But choice is good and these will almost surely be stellar optically. I hope they’re weather sealed.
It sounds like you’re suggesting that manual focus shooters are the norm for the A7 lineup. That may be so, but if it is, it isn’t a mainstream audience, and it seems like Sony wants this to take on Canikon, not just Leica.
More lenses is always a plus especially for the E-mount full frame, hopefully Zeiss will sell enough to make it worth their while to continue the line for a long time.
This is very promising, though the naming seems quite awkward. What fast primes Sony may never release could be hoped for under this system.
Only WA, UWA, and SUWA (possibly T/S)…. On the other hand, I hope Zeiss would make them all fast (F/2 or faster). Let Sony deal with the lower quality, pancake lenses. I would pre-order from day 1 the 24 or 28 1.4 (highly doubt it though)
otus for my a7r! But seriously, I want a 24mm 1.4 or wider. I’m quite happy with the 55 1.8
I’m all for this, as long as it doesn’t stifle development of AF lenses at similar focal lengths. I want to see how the mix pans out.
Loxia though… smh
manual focus. meh
there’s zero reason to complain about zeiss making a line of e-mount manual focus lenses. to me it seems to be a great “first step” in establishing pristine optics specifically designed for sonys system, which is awesome. im sure thereafter they can take these very optics and design an AF drive system around it. but in the mean time, enjoy your lenses for christ sake and stop complaining about every. single. thing. you pack of insatiable impatient winy babies!
If Fuji goes FF X mount, will these be “X Loxia?” That alone is reason enough to remain APSC…
Fuji go big huh? What are the chances of that….
Sounds like envy Fuji-fanboy.
I’m a fanboy of poking fun at goofy brand names regardless of what system they come from or what I own, particularly when they sound like the names of laxatives.
It is interesting that with DSLRs, APS-C lenses had to share the flange distance of a FF mirror box. Whereas with mirrorless, FF lenses have to share the flange distance of a APS-C mirrorless lens+body system.
At least for Sony, though it would make sense for Fuji to keep using the the same mount such that APS-C and FF can share tele lenses.
Dang. There goes my idea for a line of premium bagel spreads.
surely they would make the same lenses for leica mounts and m4/3 at some point too?
Let’s see if they go with their DSLR designs (ZF/ZM) or something more like their ZM’s. Then we’ll know. I doubt the designes will translate to u4/3.
They’d rather release their [APS-C] Touit lenses for m43 than these new FF Loxia lenses.
manual focus. lol, only old-fashioned has-beens stick to such things. this is 2014 not 1999.
1999? When something like 90% of the market was autofocus?
Not only do people lack the ability to properly operate a camera, they stink at history too.
Yeah I’m trying to figure out the manual focus disgust. It’s really easy to do and as close to a no brainer on mirrorless cameras and rangefinders. Maybe I’m just bad at AF because I rather control my camera not have it attempt to think for me.
The only MF attacks happen in these Zeiss rumors. It’s the Sony haters and other mirrorless fanboys out in attack because these lens are the tipping point for E mount. It’s already the most 3rd party supported mirrorless system. I suspect most are worried the systems they are invested in are going to stay a niche so feel the need to attack on here. I bet a lot of them have MF lenses too.
Once you work off a tripod, you might be using MF anyway.
True, I end up using MF on many of my product shots coz once the body has been mounted, AF is a pain in the ass~
For some applications, manual lenses are advantaged. And you’ll have access to both. So stop complaining, lol! I started photography three years ago, and the first lens I bought that wasn’t a kit lens was a manual lens, and I never had a problem with it. One of my favourite lenses currently is also a manual lens, it’s the Rokinon 16 f/2.
I bet the pictures you take with your AF phone are fantastic. 😉
I’m concerned if these lenses will provide for full aperture viewing when stopped down. The native Sony 55/1.8 (maybe others) work in stop down mode only. I’d like the option to compose with wide open aperture, like when using A-Mount lens with LAEA adapter… you know, like Alpha SLT operates.
I personally find it easier to attain better manual focus while viewing scene at maximum aperture. But 55/1.8 forces me to view at the same aperture used for shot. It doesn’t have a spring aperture mechanism. By f4, I need to use magnified focus just to ensure I’m on spot.
I’d like the option for both viewing methods. Adapted A-Mount lenses provide that.
Given that these have physical aperture rings on the bodies and are full manual lenses made by Zeiss, I’m thinking your “spring aperture mechanism” is not very likely. Also, I don’t fully understand your issue with focusing at smaller apertures.
Personally, I find it easier to distinguish details from oofa when manually focusing. Stop down too much and I can’t tell what has critical sharpness unless magnified focus is used.
I also understand the benefits of shooting closed down. More consistent exposures and live DOF. But I’d like to have the option to view both ways for different subject types. No problem. I got that with adapted A-Mount. Just wondering.
With a manual lens, you’ll have to do that manually. Focus wide open, then step down manually. If not, you can set one of your camera buttons to use magnified focus. That’s what I do with my manual lenses.
Huh?! Theres an option for that. Just use under “live view display” -> “setting effect off”. It will leave the aperture open until you press the shutter halfway down.
You lose exposure and white balance preview when you do that, which is a bit annoying. Would have much preferred an option for whether to focus wide open.
I like the idea of manual focus, but they should be cheaper than AF options. I need to be able to take the savings and hire someone else to then focus for me because I”m lazy.
Probably good news for “pro” or “experts”. But as a typical non-professional Sony camera user, if i bought an autofocus one, it’s not to put manual focusing lenses on it.
Maybe in a couple of years, when I get some more experience…
These lenses will probably offer something different than the auto-focus lenses anyway… Maybe a bit of extra speed, different build, probably higher pricing. Also, they’ll be made to cover a 35mm sized sensor. A typical camera user will most likely be buying an APS-C camera, like the A6000, which already has a bunch of auto-focus lenses and a fast auto-focus.
Pierre – this is a good, honest response. If you do take the plunge one day, consider starting with a wide angle. It’s hard to badly miss focus with most wide lenses, and you may appreciate the zone focusing (which is very easy, and rewarding!)
To have manual lenses is not bad. Many cases landscape photography, macro photography, portrait photography is better off with manual lenses. I hope prices will not get extreme as were the initial prices of Touit lenses. I also hope Sony can improve even more manual focusing in the A7 line of cameras.
Brilliant move! Guess what’s the next big thing: A9 with blistering speed AF like the a 6000 but maybe not for the new FE lenses.
We all know the A9 is on its way. They need to get it out sooner than later. Update the AF, improve the ergonomics, give it a more rugged exterior and then we’ll be talking.
Just guessing, but could be the truth. I think why Zeiss keeps to manual lenses is because they want to avoid compete directly with the sale of Sony Autofocus Zeiss FE lenses. How I come to this conclusion is because I’m collecting a set of Zeiss lenses for my APSC E-mount system, and I notice there is no overlapping of focal length: 12mm Zeiss Touit, 24mm Zeiss E-mount (Sony), 32mm Zeiss Touit, 50mm Zeiss Touit. We can ignore the Sony non-Zeiss lenses as they belong to different group of buyers. I think Zeiss has met with Sony before they decide which focal length lenses to make for the Touit line. Since most of the Sony FE Autofocus lenses are Zeiss branded, so Zeiss decided to make only manual lenses for FE mount to sell their lenses to a different group of buyers (who are interested in manual lenses). Just my 2 cents.
Definitively. They want to keep their marriage cool as a cucumber. The touit line has always been understood as complimenting E mount more than X mount.
But also…on the new lenses, MF keeps size small as design constraints for AF motor and small lens elements no longer apply to MF lenses.
Given Sony’s sizeable stock holding in Carl Zeiss (and Cosina, who will make these), Sony don’t have too much to worry about marriage wise.
Sony didn’t just buy Minolta when they decided to play serious in the still camera market. 😉
They hold stock?
Oh yes, a big chunk.
They have no stock in Zeiss, Zeiss is own by the Zeiss Foundation, I don’t know where you read that :/
Neither of you have looked in to this properly… Zeiss said they aren’t allowed to make AF lenses for Japanese bodies. Sigma, etc. are allowed to.
When Sony borrows the Zeiss name, it’s a proper transaction.
Zeiss Touit is E-mount AF lenses.
This is what I think of the Loxia line of lenses: manual lenses, primes only, covering all the useful focal length similar to ZM series, all-metal, highly precise mechanism, compact in size, bright aperture(Law of Physics?), black colour, design matching A7 series cameras, price around ZM lenses.
Sounds like a winning team. If they can match the RX1’s Sonnar in performance at the same apertures I’ll buy an A7r the day after.
Sure will become a very successful system, this is the empty market space left behind by Contax, now Sony is filling it, with the best sensor technology and Zeiss lenses. I would have sold my A-mount long ago and join FE but I need f1.4 lenses.
I hope it will be the Contax re-incarnation!!!
Touit, Otus, Loxia, it’s all a bit pretentious.
I agree, the lenses should just say Zeiss followed by bad asss underneath. That’s it.
Still better than Nikon junks.
Lenses have always had names although it hasn’t been a common practice with Japanese companies as of late.
Not so many interesting rumors on sony alpharumors nowdays…. :/
I think you guys have the name all wrong. Loxia is a combination of two words…luxury and anorexia. Think of it like small lenses that went on an extreme diet and it’ll all make sense.
Definitely happy about native FE manual focus lenses coming from Zeiss. I hope the prices are reasonable (read: sub-$2000.) I understand that some want AF lenses but I honestly haven’t used a AF system that just worked right just about all the time that wasn’t in a pro level Canon or Nikon body. That being said outside the 35 and 55 FE lenses I ONLY use adapted Contax or M- mount lenses as I don’t have to fight the camera and I rarely miss shots manually focusing. Yes it takes some practice and skill. Focus peaking gets you close and focus zoom refines quickly. Have a range scale helps as well in guesstimating distance before you bring the camera to your eye. Maybe it was years of using a Leica M but I find manual focusing (and getting it all right before needing to edit on the computer) gives you more keepers that those that burst fire at everything.
Just my opinion though. More lenses are always a good thing and I’m sure Sony will announce more value priced Sony branded lenses as well.
I don’t think we’ll see cheap FE lenses any time soon. There is only one cheap lens so far, the Sony kit zoom. I don’t see anything cheap on the roadmap. Only Sony Zeiss, Sony G or now Loxia. All premium brands.
The 35 and 55 mm zeiss are relatively cheap, don’t you think so?
That word relatively is tricky to nail down. Personally, I think they are reasonable, but I doubt most would call them cheap.
Coming from Leica they are inexpensive. Coming from Micro 4/3 they are approaching high-end pricing. So yes it is a relative term. Outside of the deal I got on my 90 Summicron Pre-AA I haven’t spent less than $2,000 on a Leica branded lens. With some of them going for well over $3,000. I can say they are “lifetime” lenses though with few compromises on an M body.
A lot of people complained about the pricing of the 55 FE by citing their CaNikon 50/1.8 as their source of legitimacy based on aperture ratio specs. I sure the same is possibly once pricing and specs are announced for the Loxia’s. Good glass is worth it though and the higher MP cameras prove that you can’t compromise on quality when you’re trying to extract every bit of detail.
MFT lenses generally tend to be more expensive if they are to compete with larger sensor offerings.
Leica’s expensive because of smaller production and no one would buy Leica if they were priced like Sigmas lol
Sony Zeiss lenses are mass produced so they can keep the costs low. Maybe it’s the royalty fee that makes the prices higher.
I know many hobby/amateur photographers who are using a Canon 5/6/7D with 50 1.4 / 85 1.8. For them and their purpose the price is very high.
I’m sure there will be more Sony lenses that aren’t Sony G or Zeiss like the kit lens in near future. I wouldn’t mind a Sony G walk around lens in the 24-105/120 range or even a 70-300/4-5.6 OSS similar to the A-mount lens.
I don’t think any Touits are coming. I think they will continue the Zeiss designed Sony manufactured lenses though which will be fines long as they’re as goods the 55FE.
I know the 28-135 is announced but I’m really am not a 28 guy and the 24-70/4 wasn’t my cup of tea really at all. I prefer primes in the wide to short telephoto range (35-100mm) but a FF 24-100-120/4 would be useful for travel.
FE? I’m not so sure. Sony G lenses are not cheap. G is the premium line within Sony. I think you’ll get the G lens you want at some point though.
Yeah I aware that the G lenses are the “premium” Sony branded offerings and yes some of them are pretty expensive but not all of them.
I’d love to have the Zeiss 15mm f2.8 in a native E-Mount with full aperture coupling. A fast 25mm would also be high on my list.
Sony mirrorless cameras aren’t rangefinders so no coupling is required unlike with a rangefinder camera. It’s no different than adapting lenses. The main benefit is EXIF data being communicated to the camera for automatic lens corrections and metadata.
I agree that a 25/2 or 21/2 would be amazing to have along with the fast usual suspects.
Rangefinders don’t necessarily have aperture coupling. They have focus coupling.
A minor benefit of having electronic coupling with Zeiss lenses is the ability to control the aperture via the camera. But I much rather use the Nikon version with an adapter that has a lever for smooth aperture control.
If there were zoom lenses, it makes a bit more sense as focal length info can be used in auto ISO by the camera to automatically choose a good shutter speed as the focal length changes.
This is awesome!
Andrea–
That’s not the trademarked logo. just the trademarked name presented in that website’s default of Times New Roman all caps. No designer in his right mind would pitch that as a logo.
nie rozumiem po co obiektywy manualne i jeszcze (według plotek ) z pierścieniem przysłony , czyli nie ma możliwości zmienić przez korpus .Czy w mocowaniu FE aż tak dużo jest obiektywów że marnuje się potencjał na takie obiektywy , Oprócz 28-70 mm nie ma nic w cenie do 700 euro , nawet 50 . Przez przejściówkę mogę podłączyć wszystko i większość będzie dużo tańsza od Zeissa , i może tak samo dobra .
I agree. Why not full frame Touit?
I thought only the french are that ignorant to use their native language in international comments…
ah, English and Americans do the same …. 😛
Igaz, és ez most mit mond nekem róluk?
Du får sjekke ut oversetteren, så finner du nok ut hvor jeg kommer fra. Mæn ej ska no likavæl ettelate nåkre or du ikkje fikse styringa på so lett, sånn bære for å erte dej 🙂
Just give me a Zeiss 50mm f/1.8 manual focus pancake lens with a focus scale in meters on the barrel for my Sony A8 with a Global shutter and I’ll throw my big heavy scary brick -Nikon gear in the trash for good.
Why do you need global shutter to throw your big scary brick. You should have done it long time ago.
BTW, they are fixing the defective D810s for free, quite quickly. 🙂
Well so what no one really needs the dinosaur Nikon junk.
But they sell more than Sony junk. Go figure.
May be… but Nikon’s popularity hasn’t increased as much as Sony’s in recent times.
Once Nokia had over 50% of the mobile phone market …
The decline is evident. It is sad. 🙁
Even as a Sony shooter, I can’t wait for the global shutter to be available. Studio strobes in daylight at any shutter speed. I’m thinking A8 or A9 will have it. It’s only a matter of time at this point.
Global shutter or not, the flash connections pose a problem for sync from the new Sony hotshoe. A7 goes up to 1/180s only for single point connections. There is a very informative thread on this on the Dyxum forum.
Great news! Hope this line of lenses will not be as heavy as the Otus.
Loxia are a genus of the finch family of birds. Finches are small. These lenses will be small and light, unlike the Otus line 🙂
Are you calling owls fat???
Owls are cute, but fat lol
more lens is always welcoming , but I’d prefer an AF lens at this point. if I wanted manual focus I’d just snatch one off ebay
Who cares. Where is the A99II ?
Only someone in complete denial of reality would think no one cares about this… someone like A mount user 🙂
He he, good one 🙂
Yeah, let’s take photographs like it’s 1960 because real photographers don’t use no stink’n AF. ;^)
SLT tech is from the 60s
weren’t there rumors of in-body auto focus similar to a Contax camera from the past?
maybe that camera will come with this ‘manual focus’ Zeiss lens
Is this the news that you said E mount owners would ‘love’?
Unless you have bottomless pockets, or these are going to be £50 a pop, it’s very dull indeed.
While I eagerly await these lenses (and considering the small number of Sony FE lenses
available this release will give us a really big increase in lens options), one small part of me is dreading that when we are finally allowed through the magic wardrobe into the land of “Loxia”, we will find “native E-mount” versions of existing Zeiss SLR lenses, plus only a couple of newly designed for FE mount lenses. Please tell me no!
That’s very possible buy I will say some of those Zeiss SLR lenses are best in class like the 25/2 and 135/2.
Doubt Zeiss won’t do that… can’t see them mixing up lenses designed for FE and and lenses made for SLRs with a “fixed adapter”.
After careful comparisons I threw out A7 and keep A900… Not quite perfect, but still the best camera of Sony for professional work, especially if you shoot RAW. I keep selling off E-mount stuff, doesn’t make sense to keep it as A-mount delivers much better FF results for much less money, camera needs good weight to be stable in hand with fast zoom lens. Now looking for little used A900 cameras from good home, they are worth much more than they sell for.
Manual lenses? There’s already hundreds of manual lenses available for the full frame E-mount. Who needs more manual lenses?
What we need are more autofocus lenses like the FE 55/1.8.
This is pointless.