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Archive 2013 · New Zeiss 55mm f/1.4

Andre Labonte
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · New Zeiss 55mm f/1.4

I've long wanted a nice 55mm f/1.4 AFS lense (with VR).

Today Zeiss announced a 55mm f/1.4 manual focus ... no AFS or VR, but hey, at least they got the focal length and aperature right.

http://www.adorama.com/alc/0014325/blogarticle/Zeiss-Otus-55mm-f14-Lens-First-Look

But what in the name of creation were they thinking on the price?

$4000 for a "normal" lens!

I don't car how corrected the lens is, it's not worth it. Honestly Zeiss ....

Needless to say, it's not on my list of lenses to obtain. But I do like that someone thought to make a 55mm f/1.4 instead of a 50mm f/1.4 .... now if someone would make one with AFS (at the least) for < $750

Oct 07, 2013 at 01:01 PM

Hardcore
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · New Zeiss 55mm f/1.4

Ya, I'll wait for Sigma's updated version. Then I'll buy that for less than a 1/4 of the price for 99% of the quality and 150% of the functionality.

Oct 07, 2013 at 01:04 PM

Fred Miranda
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · New Zeiss 55mm f/1.4

More thoughts on the new Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4 APO-Distagon Lens:
https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1245813

Oct 07, 2013 at 01:05 PM

trenchmonkey
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · New Zeiss 55mm f/1.4

Why wait

throw the Sigma 35 f1.4 "A" onna crop body (52.5mm FOV) @ 1/5th da price.

Oct 07, 2013 at 01:08 PM

jhinkey
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · New Zeiss 55mm f/1.4

trenchmonkey wrote:
Why wait

throw the Sigma 35 f1.4 "A" onna crop body (52.5mm FOV) @ 1/5th da price.

Unless you really want that f/1.4 DOF that you would get on FX . . . .

For that $,$$$ amount it should be f/1.2 . . . .

Oct 07, 2013 at 01:31 PM

jhinkey
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · New Zeiss 55mm f/1.4

Plus the thing weighs over 2 lbs and uses a 77mm filter! That's about the same as the 135/1.8!

Oct 07, 2013 at 01:49 PM

Andre Labonte
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · New Zeiss 55mm f/1.4

I wonder how many of these Zeiss needs to sell to break even on the development costs ... I can't see them making much on this lens ...

but then again, I've seen my share of pixel peeping, IQ purists who spend more time looking at pixels than pictures and even less time taking picures.

Oct 07, 2013 at 01:53 PM

Keith B.
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · New Zeiss 55mm f/1.4

This new lens seems to occupy a middle ground between the ZF/ZE lenses, which are low-tech and as cheaply made as they can be and not feel cheap; and the lenses Zeiss makes for the cinema industry, which typically cost $8K to $14K for a single f/1.9 prime. If they're selling it for $4K, then it probably cost $1.2K to make it.
My sarcastic reaction:
Fifty-five millimeters---there's an exciting focal length!

Oct 07, 2013 at 05:52 PM

runamuck
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · New Zeiss 55mm f/1.4

trenchmonkey wrote:
Why wait

throw the Sigma 35 f1.4 "A" onna crop body (52.5mm FOV) @ 1/5th da price.

Attach it to a D400 and Andre would gladly take it!

Oct 07, 2013 at 06:24 PM

EB-1
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · New Zeiss 55mm f/1.4

Keith B. wrote:
This new lens seems to occupy a middle ground between the ZF/ZE lenses, which are low-tech and as cheaply made as they can be and not feel cheap; and the lenses Zeiss makes for the cinema industry, which typically cost $8K to $14K for a single f/1.9 prime. If they're selling it for $4K, then it probably cost $1.2K to make it.
My sarcastic reaction:
Fifty-five millimeters---there's an exciting focal length!

Production volume is very low and the R&D costs are high, so the unit production cost is not the main issue.

EBH

Oct 07, 2013 at 06:33 PM

screwdriver
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · New Zeiss 55mm f/1.4

hard to justify that much $$$$ for one piece of lens for most of us . only a chosen rich few can afford this lens .

Oct 07, 2013 at 09:24 PM

Andre Labonte
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · New Zeiss 55mm f/1.4

runamuck wrote:
Attach it to a D400 and Andre would gladly take it!

Darn straight.

Oct 07, 2013 at 10:43 PM

a.RodriguezPix
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · New Zeiss 55mm f/1.4

jhinkey wrote:
Unless you really want that f/1.4 DOF that you would get on FX . . . .

For that $,$$$ amount it should be f/1.2 . . . .

I say f/0.95 to topple Leica

Oct 07, 2013 at 10:50 PM

bpark42
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · New Zeiss 55mm f/1.4

Andre Labonte wrote:
I've long wanted a nice 55mm f/1.4 AFS lense (with VR).

Today Zeiss announced a 55mm f/1.4 manual focus ... no AFS or VR, but hey, at least they got the focal length and aperature right.

http://www.adorama.com/alc/0014325/blogarticle/Zeiss-Otus-55mm-f14-Lens-First-Look

But what in the name of creation were they thinking on the price?

$4000 for a "normal" lens!

I don't car how corrected the lens is, it's not worth it. Honestly Zeiss ....

Needless to say, it's not on my list of lenses to obtain. But I do like that someone thought to make a 55mm f/1.4 instead of a 50mm...Show more →

There is really no other 50mm-ish (non-cinema) lens that can compare optically. The MTF data indicates the Zeiss is quite a bit stronger than the comparably priced Leica 50 summilux at f1.4. It appears to be much better corrected overall as well, more on par with the 50 APO summicron, which costs almost twice as much and is a stop slower.

The fact that the lens is not worth it to you (or me...or most people) at $4000, does not mean it is priced inappropriately. I suspect there is a decent, though obviously niche market for the lens at this price. Cinema folks in particular will probably view it as a bargain.

Oct 08, 2013 at 04:37 PM

EB-1
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · New Zeiss 55mm f/1.4

screwdriver wrote:
hard to justify that much $$$$ for one piece of lens for most of us . only a chosen rich few can afford this lens .

It's only 4K, not 40K.

EBH

Oct 09, 2013 at 09:56 PM

Jorge Torralba
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · New Zeiss 55mm f/1.4

Leica Summicron 50mm 2.0 $7350.00
Leica Noctilux 50mm .95 $10,995.00
Leica Summilux 50mm 1.4 $3995.00

Zeiss Otus 55mm 1.4 $3990.00 is cheaper than any of the above and the word is, it surpasses all of the above in image quality.

Oct 11, 2013 at 04:01 PM

a.RodriguezPix
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · New Zeiss 55mm f/1.4

i keep getting updates, how do i unsubscribe from every comment made to this post? thank you!

Oct 11, 2013 at 04:32 PM

EB-1
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · New Zeiss 55mm f/1.4

Jorge Torralba wrote:
Leica Summicron 50mm 2.0 $7350.00
Leica Noctilux 50mm .95 $10,995.00
Leica Summilux 50mm 1.4 $3995.00

Zeiss Otus 55mm 1.4 $3990.00 is cheaper than any of the above and the word is, it surpasses all of the above in image quality.

It's Japanese, not German.

EBH

Oct 11, 2013 at 07:29 PM

Jorgen Udvang
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · New Zeiss 55mm f/1.4

EB-1 wrote:
It's Japanese, not German.

EBH

... and?

Oct 11, 2013 at 10:58 PM

Jorge Torralba
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · New Zeiss 55mm f/1.4

EB-1 wrote:
It's Japanese, not German.

EBH

Your right. But did you know the Noctilux 1.0 was made in Canada as was the 75 summilux and a few others. Oh and did you know that the Leica R 15mm was made by Zeiss? and that Hassleblad lenses are made in Japan by Fuji.

It really does not matter where it's made as long as they are made to the specs.

Oct 12, 2013 at 12:02 AM

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