Zeiss 85mm f/1.4 ZE Planar T* Lens Review

[BerndGeh]

You are right. In terms of having a real apples to apples comparison I would have to take the same shots with two different lenses. That's something I haven't done. So it's not really a quantitative statement. What I did see in the past (different lenses, different photos) that the area of best focus is extremely crisp and sharp and then out of focus the details are blurred in a way that doesn't seem pleasant. Example here:


http://kubm.smugmug.com/Events-Whats-New/2009/Oct-09-Mamady-Keita-in-Phoenix/10046246_3x9t8#688445387_3Sw3F


This is a photo that a friend of mine took, who I adore for his work. On this particular photo I personally don't like the way the hair looks. Some curls are crisp and others are simply mush. Again, I'm aware that this is not quantitative and prone to personal and subjective liking and disliking. There are different kinds of bokeh and as far as I know there is no quantitative theory available to parametrize the beauty of bokeh.


That was my point to begin with. If I'd judge the lens by its MTF and aberrations, chromatic errors, I probably wouldn't like it. If I look at the photos, I like the results, so I like the lens. Very subjective....

[atticusdsf]

looks like a rather underwhelming product.. i was initially excited about it, to the end that i would have been willing to put up with the MF, as it looked like a pretty good portrait lens.. not now! if i'm gonna spend that much on a lens, why not spent the extra few hundred and go with the canon 85mm f/1.2?

[Benjamin]

<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"]<span style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial;"]Bryan,
<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"]<span style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial;"]Thanks for a great review![]
<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"]<span style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial;"]The Zeiss 85/1.4 was once my most anticipated lens with great expectations. I personally don&rsquo;t mind a full manual lens that maximizes manual experience as long as the image quality is top of the line. To be specific, I was expecting the Zeiss to at least match up the performance of the Canon 85/1.2L II at identical apertures (although nothing can get too much better than the Canon); but now it seems that the Zeiss is a bit behind (overall performance). I have heard tons of discussion around the internet about the Zeiss lens, some of them are quite good and some of them are negative &ndash; that in the end brings me here to listen to you and play around with the ISO12233 charts. This certainly helps me greatly in understanding such a lens, I will thank again for the help!
<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"]<span style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial;"]So my decision, I think I will save the money for the Canon 85/1.2L, its optical quality is worth the $700 extra &ndash; I do portrait and some time it&rsquo;s in the evening or indoor. However, I do hope Canon to change the focusing mechanism of the 85/1.2, I actually tried this lens already in person before and I dislike (sorry to say) the focus-by-wire system and the extension of the lens barrel. Well, since I have the 85/1.8 for now I think I&rsquo;ll keep watching for a while.
<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"]<span style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial;"]All the very best!
<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"]<span style="font-size: small; font-family: Arial;"]Benjamin

[adam]

Interesting...the first impressions I read of this lens had focus shift written all over them...uncorrected focus shift is entirely acceptable on a full-manual lens, because you can focus stopped down. But you'd think Zeiss would know enough to do something about it on a lens with no aperture ring...

[Jon Ruyle]

I suppose you can still focus stopped down (dof preview), as zeiss suggests. Seems a little annoying, though.

[electric eel]

Sharpness is not the only measure of lens quality. I have been using this lens on a Nikon (the ZF 85mm) for over a year now and I have never been disappointed with it in any way. At the time of purchase I shot the Nikon 85mm F1.4 Af and the Zeiss 85mm F1.4 side by side. Looking at the pictures I immediately purchased the Zeiss. Here is why. The Nikon made skin colors appear yellow and it had high contrast that made portraiture more garish unless the lighting was dull. The Zeiss on the other hand had the most beautiful tones I have ever seen in a lens, skin tones were gorgeous and the contrast was soft and pleasing, something very welcome in a portrait lens. If the optics on the Canon version of the Zeiss 85mm are similar (and I think they are) the lens should behave the same. Whether the Canon lenses are more like the Nikkors or Zeiss I can not say having not tested against the Zeiss. I have tested old classic Leica Summicrons against the Canon 70-200mm F4 IS......the Canon is just as sharp but again the contrast and subtlties of tone are better in a 1960 Leica lens than a current (extremely good) Canon lens. Btw- soft corners are not to be taken as a negative with portraiture, especiall at f1.4, it can actually contributes to the image, this would not be generally true of landscapes though.

[Jon Ruyle]

electric eel-


Did you do controlled tests, or are these impressions based on a few shots? Don't get me wrong- if you're just speaking based on impressions based on a few shots, I'm not trying to challenge the truth of what you say; it's more that I wonder what you look for and how you filter out differences in lighting etc to know what aspects of color to blame/credit the lens for.

[airfang]

I think the problem really lies in:


Is the ZE mount as sharp as the ZF mount (or even earlier Y/C mount)


When the reviews came out, I was a bit disappointed at Zeiss 50 f/1.4 ZE mount though cuz I thought I would buy it for my 50mm focal length. For 85mm I definitely will go after 85L II.


But now there's another Zeiss lens I am lust after: Makro Planar 100/2, too bad it only has ZF mount available right now (but the sharpness of the ZF mount is incredible), again if there is a ZE mount coming out I would worry if the optical quality would be the same, I am really reluctant to play with convert rings.