Save big on select Zeiss lenses

Zeiss Distagon T* 18mm F/3.5 ZF.2

B&H Photo has President’s Week Sale, and you can save big on select Zeiss lenses.

  • Zeiss Distagon T* 18mm F/3.5 ZF.2 Lens – $400 instant rebate – on sale at $995
  • Zeiss Distagon T* 15mm f/2.8 ZE Lens – $951 instant rebate (!)- on sale at $1,999
  • Zeiss 135mm f/2 Apo Sonnar T* ZF.2 Lens – $623 instant rebate – on sale at $1,499
  • Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm f/2 ZE Lens for Canon EF Mount – $318 Instant Rebate – on sale at $799

Zeiss Milvus Distagon T* 18mm f/2.8 review and image quality examination

Zeiss Milvus Distagon T* 18mm F/2.8

Zeiss Milvus Distagon T* 18mm f/2.8: B&H Photo | Adorama

At a glance:

  • EF-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
  • Aperture Range: f/2.8 to f/22
  • 4 Anomalous Partial Dispersion Elements
  • 2 Aspherical Elements
  • Distagon Optical Design
  • Zeiss T* Anti-Reflective Coating
  • Manual Focus Design
  • Anodized Metal Barrel, Rubber Focus Ring
  • Weather-Sealed Construction

Photographer and reviewer Dustin Abbott tested the new, manual focusing Zeiss Milvus Distagon T* 18mm f/2.8 lens. He praises the design and the exceptional build quality, the well executed weather sealing, near perfect chromatic aberration control, strong flare resistance and more. The Zeiss is not exactly “inexpensive”, coming at $2,299.

From the conclusion:

The [Zeiss Milvus Distagon T* 18mm f/2.8] produces nicely detailed, visually rich images. It worked admirably for achieving my vision for each situation I put it in…including the very important area of astrophotography. What it didn’t do, however, was wow me with its exceptionalism in any particular area save the utter lack of chromatic aberrations. Perhaps I have become jaded with using so many incredible lenses in the past few years, but this one didn’t “blow me away” in the way that Zeiss lenses so often do.

As usual with Abbott’s reviews, you can go for the written article, or you may watch the comprehensive 18 minutes video below which tells you all the findings and takes a close look at the image quality of the Zeiss Milvus Distagon T* 18mm f/2.8.

Zeiss Milvus Distagon T* 18mm f/2.8

Zeiss Milvus Distagon T* 18mm f/2.8: B&H Photo | Adorama

Zeiss Milvus APO Sonnar 135mm f/2 review (little bit of perfect)

Milvus 135mm F/2

Zeiss Milvus APO Sonnar 135mm f/2: B&H Photo | Adorama

At a glance:

  • EF-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
  • Aperture Range: f/2 to f/22
  • 4 Anomalous Partial Dispersion Elements
  • Apochromatic Sonnar Optical Design
  • Floating Elements System
  • Zeiss T* Anti-Reflective Coating
  • Manual Focus Design
  • Anodized Metal Barrel, Rubber Focus Ring
  • Weather-Sealed Construction

Photographer and reviewer Dustin Abbott tested the new Zeiss Milvus APO Sonnar 135mm f/2 lens. And he is pretty fond of it.

He writes:

It is fairly large and definitely heavy, but this isn’t unusual in the current trend of full frame lens design.  Despite these very real challenges the lens is a masterful option for those looking for the ultimate 135mm lens.  It’s a joy to shoot with, and produces images that look amazing right out of the camera.  If you pride yourself on doing minimal post processing, you will love the Zeiss Milvus APO Sonnar 2/135mm; images look great without being touched.  If you are looking for a magical telephoto for shooting video, you will love this lens.  It is special, and I’m so glad that it has found its way into the Milvus lineup.

Dustin Abbott praises the “superb optical performance that is rarely matched and never outdone“. A sample pictures gallery is here. You can go for the written review, or watch the 16 minutes full review video below.

Want to know more about the Milvus 135mm f/2 outstanding optical features? Don’t miss the video below.

Zeiss Milvus APO Sonnar 135mm f/2: B&H Photo | Adorama

ZEISS Milvus 15mm f/2.8, 18mm f/2.8 and 135mm f/2 lenses officially announced

zeiss milvus

We leaked the images of upcoming Zeiss lenses a few days ago, now it’s official. Zeiss announced three new Milvus lenses, 15mm f/2.8, 18mm f/2.8 and 135mm f/2. Sales prices are €2,699/$2.699 for the Milvus 15mm f/2.8, €2,299/$2.299 for the Milvus 18mm f/2.8, and €2,199/$2.199 for the Milvus 135 f/2.

Pre-orders are available:

Zeiss press release:

Three new lenses for the ZEISS Milvus family

The lens family with manual focusing for DSLR cameras is now also available with focal lengths of 15, 18 and 135 millimeters

OBERKOCHEN/Germany, 08/09/2016.

Two super-wide angle lenses, the ZEISS Milvus 2.8/15 and ZEISS Milvus 2.8/18, and the telephoto lens ZEISS Milvus 2/135 have expanded this family of manual focus lenses for DSLR cameras, bringing the total number of ZEISS Milvus focal lengths to nine. “The ZEISS Milvus family of lenses is an invaluable investment for the future due to its excellent imaging quality and its large range, which now covers 15 to 135 millimeters,” says Christophe Casenave, product manager at ZEISS Camera Lenses. Delivery of the new ZEISS Milvus lenses begins at the end of October 2016.

For high-end DSLR cameras

“The ZEISS Milvus lenses have been designed in particular to fulfill the requirements of today’s powerful digital cameras and those of the future thanks to their high imaging performance, even in difficult lighting situations,” says Casenave. The new lenses are characterized by a harmonious bokeh and very high degree of flare control due to the T*® anti-reflective coating from ZEISS. Further optimization of the lens coating has also ensured less likelihood than ever of ghosting, flare or shading effects, even in critical lighting situations. And all ZEISS Milvus lenses come with a floating elements design, which compensates imaging errors at different distance settings.

ZEISS Milvus for video

The new ZEISS Milvus lenses also allow the user to create high-quality film shoots with a pleasing cinematic bokeh. “Due to their extremely high contrast rendition, the lenses fulfill the most modern video standards of 6K and higher, and have uniform color characteristics,” said Casenave. All ZEISS Milvus lenses have a focus ring with a very large rotation angle to enable precise focusing, and are made of comfortable rubber to ensure a good grip while focusing. The De-Click function on lenses with a ZF.2 mount lets cinematographers set the aperture in a soft and infinitely variable way so they can work professionally in changing lighting conditions. The ZEISS Milvus lenses’ robust full-metal barrel ensures long and reliable usage. In addition, the lenses are protected against dust and spray water. The robust metal lens shade is an integral part of the overall product design and included with all ZEISS Milvus lenses.

The new focal lengths of the ZEISS Milvus family are also compatible with the ZEISS Lens Gears, providing filmmakers with additional value-add. The ZEISS Lens Gears, which are made of high-quality aluminum with a hardened surface coating, slide into the respective lens and are attached to the focus ring by turning two counter-rotating rings through a simple mounting procedure.

The new ZEISS Milvus lenses in summary:

ZEISS Milvus 2.8/15:

This super wide-angle lens with a field of view of 110 degrees allows every photographer to consciously compose using extreme perspectives. The lens has excellent imaging performance – even with an open aperture – thanks to the correction of color errors. Color fringing and distortion are minimal. This is all thanks to a ZEISS Distagon® lens design with 15 lens elements in 12 groups, including two aspheric lenses, special glass with anomalous partial dispersion, and the floating elements design. A removable lens shade and the 95-millimeter filter thread also make this lens the ideal companion for special applications with additional slide-in filter holders.

ZEISS Milvus 2.8/18:

This compact super-wide angle lens with a newly calculated ZEISS Distagon optical design has 14 lens elements in 12 groups, including two aspheric elements. The ZEISS Milvus 2.8/18 has a short close-up distance of 0.25 meters and internal focusing. With an angular field of 99.9 degrees, this lens is the ideal companion for landscape and architectural photography, as it allows creative shots to be taken using unusual perspectives. The filter thread has a diameter of 77 millimeters. The ZEISS Milvus 2.8/18 delivers outstanding imaging performance and very good distortion correction.

ZEISS Milvus 2/135:

This fast telephoto lens delivers excellent correction of all color errors. Thanks to a large aperture and pleasing bokeh, it is the perfect lens for portrait photography from a medium distance. The angular field is 18.7 degrees. The short minimum object distance of 0.80 meters makes this lens even more versatile. It has an optical design with 11 lens elements in eight groups and, like the ZEISS Milvus 2.8/18, a filter diameter of 77 millimeters.

Price and availability

The delivery worldwide of the three new lenses will begin at the end of October 2016. The lens shade is included with the corresponding lens. Sales prices are EUR 2,699 (including 19% German VAT) or 2.699US$ for the ZEISS Milvus 2.8/15; EUR 2,299 (including 19% VAT ) or 2.299US$ for the ZEISS Milvus 2.8/18; and EUR 2,199 Euro (including 19% German VAT) or 2.199US$ for the ZEISS Milvus 2/135. For ambitious cinematographers and photographers, a set solution is also available for up to six ZEISS Milvus lenses. A discount of 8% is available with the purchase of three to four lenses. Purchasing more than five lenses gives the user a 10% discount.