Zeiss Otus 28mm f/1.4 will sell at $4,990

Zeiss Otus 28mm

We knew this wouldn’t be a budget lens. Now the price for the new Zeiss Otus 28mm f/1.4 has appeared on B&H Photo’s website, it’s a whooping $4,990. The new Otus will be available worldwide starting Q2 2016.

Zeiss Otus 28mm f/1.4 key features:

  • Aperture Range: f/1.4 to f/16
  • Apochromatic, Distagon Optical Design
  • 8 Anomalous Partial Dispersion Elements
  • 2 Aspherical Elements
  • Floating Elements System
  • Zeiss T* Anti-Reflective Coating
  • Internal Focus; Manual Focus Design
  • All-Metal Barrel, Yellow Scale Markings

ZEISS Otus 28mm f/1.4 lens announced

Zeiss Otus 28mm

As anticipated here on Canon Watch, today Zeiss announced the Zeiss Otus 28mm f/1.4 lens. The new Otus will be available worldwide starting in the second quarter of 2016. The lens shade is included with delivery. The retail sales price is unknown to date, but cheap it will not be. Full technical specifications can be downloaded here.

Where details count in wide-angle photography, the Otus 1.4/28 for DSLR cameras with F- and EF-mount is the lens of choice.

The Otus 1.4/28 shows off its strengths particularly in landscape and nature photography. Even with a maximum aperture, the corners of the image are completely usable, so there are no limits to composition. In poor light combined with fast-moving objects, the lens also doesn’t break a sweat – thanks to its high speed of f/1.4. While other lenses reveal their shortcomings in correction in night photography, especially when lots of open light sources dominate an image, the ZEISS Otus 1.4/28 boasts a stellar performance. Finally, the latest member of the ZEISS Otus family is excellent for taking pictures of image elements in the foreground, as they take on a greater feeling of depth to the scene due to the wide background and the open aperture; here, the lens’s harmonious bokeh ensures a 3D effect.

For professional photographers

Inner focusing, a dial window and yellow labeling of the dials for easy legibility designate the Otus 1.4/28 as a lens, developed to meet the high demands of professional photographers. The mechanical quality also impresses: the soft focus operation with the large rotation angle allows for the finest variations when focusing – something that is only possible with a metal construction. In every focusing situation, the user is given freedom to compose – one of the most important creative factors in photography. An artistic tool is literally put in the photographer’s hands. With its robust all-metal barrel and easy-to-grip focus ring, the Otus 1.4/28 is also well suited for a photographer’s demanding everyday work.

With high image contrast all the way into the edges of the image – already at an open aperture of f/1.4 – the Otus 1.4/28 demonstrates its optical brilliance. At all distances it offers consistent performance (minimum working distance of 0.15 m), highly detailed images without any bothersome artifacts, and a neutral bokeh in the background.

Intricate construction for uncompromising imaging performance

A view inside the lens reveals how such optical excellence is achieved: The lens consists of 16 elements in 13 groups. One of the lens elements has an aspheric optical surface and one element is aspheric on both sides. Eight other lens elements are made of special glass. The basis of the optical design is a Distagon. The special glass has anomalous partial dispersion, as is typical for an apochromatic lens. This corrects the longitudinal chromatic aberrations superbly, which therefore lie considerably below the tightly defined boundaries. Bright-dark transitions in the image, in particular highlights, are depicted almost completely free of color artifacts. The floating elements design (the change of distances between certain lens elements when focusing) allows for unrivalled imaging performance along the entire focusing range, from 0.3 m to infinity.

Zeiss Otus 28mm

Zeiss Milvus lenses first impression round-up

Above: Cinema5D about Why You Should Look Into the New Zeiss Milvus Lens Lineup

The Phoblographer reviews the Zeiss Milvus 35mm f/2 (B&H Photo | Adorama)

The Zeiss 35mm f2 Milvus lens is really nice, but it’s also very expensive. You’ll get excellent image quality, weather sealing, Zeiss colors, Zeiss sharpness and only a bit of fringing that can be eliminated. It also controls distortion well. However, with autofocus on the Tamron 35mm f1.8 along with weather sealing, better sharpness and image quality overall on the Sigma 35mm f1.4, and with both lenses having a more affordable price, it’s a very tough sell.

 

The Phoblographer about the Zeiss Milvus 21mm f/2.8 (B&H Photo | Adorama)

The Zeiss 21mm f2.8 Milvus lens is what we’ve been waiting for a while. At least, we have a lens designed for a DSLR that has weather sealing, the Zeiss branding, Zeiss build quality and Zeiss image quality. What more could you ask for? At an angle this wide, autofocus isn’t really a problem because you’re shooting objects that are so wide and with such a large depth of field that you shouldn’t worry about it.

 

Long article by Ming Thein, A visit to Zeiss and thoughts on the Milvus line

The Milvus is the start of [a] change at the consumer level: the lenses are also designed to be consistent in color and overall rendering, which is why we have new 1.4/50 and 1.4/85 lenses; the old ones did have a unique rendering but were not consistent even within the rest of the ‘classic’ line (which continues to remain available). Other lenses that do not match will also be redesigned – there is a reason why we now have only six lenses for launch, but far more in the classic line. There have also been significant mechanical changes: aside from a new external design (beware pinching between the end of the barrel and hood, though) and more secure hoods, the lenses now all have full weather sealing, more visible scales, better overall gripability and a selectable clicked or steeples aperture (for video) – there is a small toggle in the rear mount, similar to the Loxia line.

zeiss milvus

All Zeiss Milvus lenses are available for pre-order:

Zeiss Milvus lenses first impression and test footage

News Shooter had a brief hands-on with the new Zeiss Milvus lenses. They say:

The materials used and the damping on the focus ring felt very like the Otus range of lenses, and each Milvus has a very solid feel. The 50mm f1.4 and 85mm f1.4 are completely new optical designs and are said to be very close to the performance of the flagship Otus lenses.

The new Zeiss Milvus lenses can be pre-ordered:

zeiss milvus

More Zeiss Milvus sample pictures

Zeiss Milvus

Photography Blog posted sets of sample pictures shot with some of the Milvus lenses Zeiss announced yesterday.

The sample pictures were shot with EOS 5Ds R and Sony Alpha a7RII. Pre-order links for all new Zeiss Milvus lenses are online:

Zeiss Milvus lenses made for Sony? Lol, no they are not! (inappropriate sarcasm, sample pics, and Milvus presentation slideshow)

Zeiss Milvus

Today’s announcement of the Zeiss Milvus lens line-up appears to excite Sony folks. I can understand. Really. With empathy.

Someone goes so far to say the Zeiss Milvus line-up is made for Sony. No, it’s not. Sorry guys but Zeiss released the Milvus lens family for Canon and Nikon, i.e. for tools used by real photographers. And they are even “affordable”, being Zeiss lenses. Sigma, are you listening? Canon, no need to listen; please take us beyond Blue Spectrum Refractive Optics, and keep us luring with 120MP promises we know you will build one day.

So, no Zeiss Milvus for Sony, D’oh! C’mon, Sony shooters have the Zeiss Loxia line-up. That’s more than enough. :-) Just kidding. No wait: Zeiss’ Milvus lenses are made for real cameras. Zeiss Milvus lenses are made for high resolution sensors and gear that works as advised, like the EOS 5Ds.

Back to serious. Sample photos shot with Zeiss’ new Milvus lenses were posted on Flickr (via Photo Rumors):

The presentation of Zeiss’ Milvus lenses can be seen at Photography Blog. Pre-order links for all new Zeiss Milvus lenses are online:

Still wishing you can use them on a Sony? Start with $3,200 for a camera that keeps you warm during winter (oops. I did it again). Sample pics (and no rants nor ravings) after the break.

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