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Archive 2013 · Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus: The absolute best SLR lens

  
 
Fred Miranda
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus: The absolute best SLR lens


Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus: The absolute best SLR lens
Roger at Lensrentals.com (RCicala) just posted resolution tests on the new Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4 APO-Distagon lens.

He concludes that by f/2.8, the 55m f/1.4 Otus has higher resolution than any of the other lenses he's ever tested, even when they were stopped down to their best resolution.

"I won’t try to say whether the Otus is worth $4,000 to you. But I can certainly say that Zeiss did what they said they had done: gave it exceptional performance even in the corners at widest aperture. From a resolution standpoint, it is, as Zeiss said it would be, “the absolute best SLR lens in the world today.”

Pre-order Otus 55mm f/1.4 APO-Distagon | Read entire review



Nov 18, 2013 at 01:10 PM
mogul
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus: The absolute best SLR lens


I would like to see comparisons with the 2 ZA 50ish mm lenses Sony has put out for the A&E mounts.


Nov 18, 2013 at 01:24 PM
jcolwell
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus: The absolute best SLR lens


I likes it!


Nov 18, 2013 at 01:25 PM
mco_970
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus: The absolute best SLR lens


I guess Roger didn't see the Nikon fanboys saying last week that a 1.4 lens can't be sharp wide open. Its just fiziks, Roger.



Nov 18, 2013 at 01:58 PM
jcolwell
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus: The absolute best SLR lens


mco_970 wrote:
I guess Roger didn't see the Nikon fanboys saying last week that a 1.4 lens can't be sharp wide open. Its just fiziks, Roger.


I think they meant a Nikon lens couldn't be sharp at f/1.4...



Nov 18, 2013 at 02:06 PM
Sir_Loin
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus: The absolute best SLR lens


I have to say that's a stunning set of results! If you're after the pinnacle in optical quality on a DSLR regardless of price then this is it. I'd probably screw it up in PP though!


Nov 18, 2013 at 02:15 PM
11rdgr88
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus: The absolute best SLR lens


jcolwell wrote:
I think they meant a Nikon lens couldn't be sharp at f/1.4...




At 4k it should work as advertised.

At 4k it should have AF...my eyes are not good as they used to.



Nov 18, 2013 at 02:20 PM
oiseau0001
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus: The absolute best SLR lens


Agreed on AF. Zeiss should really get into that.


Nov 18, 2013 at 02:23 PM
leftcoastlefty
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus: The absolute best SLR lens


The optical results are no doubt impressive, but the manual focus is a show stopper for me.


Nov 18, 2013 at 02:25 PM
zhangyue
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus: The absolute best SLR lens


jcolwell wrote:
I think they meant a Nikon lens couldn't be sharp at f/1.4...


Nikon 85 and 24g did pretty well. It is unfortune 58G happen at the same time of this Otus just like DF happen at the same time of A7/R. Nikon seems unlucky these days.
But couldn't be unluckier than canon all those recent miserable 5 year



Nov 18, 2013 at 02:25 PM
caMARYnon
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus: The absolute best SLR lens


Stunning results indeed but as 11rdgr88 says: my eyes are not good as they used to so the lack of autofocus is very important for me.

Another set of results: http://www.lenstip.com/390.4-Lens_review-Carl_Zeiss_Otus_55_mm_f_1.4_ZE_ZF.2_Image_resolution.html



Nov 18, 2013 at 02:27 PM
mwilson
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus: The absolute best SLR lens


leftcoastlefty wrote:
The optical results are no doubt impressive, but the manual focus is a show stopper for me.


Where there's a will....

I was averse to MF too, but it's not that big of a deal once you get used to it. I take fewer photos, but more end up as keepers, as focusing manually gets me more involved in the scene. I am even starting to get decent results MF on moving subjects (such as my son, who's apparently unaware that humans are able to stand still for brief moments).



Nov 18, 2013 at 02:29 PM
telyt
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus: The absolute best SLR lens


Manual focus is much easier with a Scharf lens. Don't dismiss it until you've tried it.


Nov 18, 2013 at 02:30 PM
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus: The absolute best SLR lens


Lenstip has just tested it as well, they say it demolishes the other 50/1.4 class lenses. But then again, we expected as much for the price, didn't we?

http://www.lenstip.com/390.11-Lens_review-Carl_Zeiss_Otus_55_mm_f_1.4_ZE_ZF.2_Summary.html
now, let's wait for the Sigma 50mm A that will up the ante again (if not quite to the same level)



Nov 18, 2013 at 02:31 PM
zhangyue
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus: The absolute best SLR lens


Often seen people put more hope with Sigma than Canikon, just telling how miserable Canikon are these days.


Nov 18, 2013 at 02:38 PM
hiepphotog
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus: The absolute best SLR lens


11rdgr88 wrote:


At 4k it should work as advertised.

At 4k it should have AF...my eyes are not good as they used to.


Aren't you just taking it for granted? Pricing it at 4K doesn't mean it should automatically be at the top of the top (would that mean that the Cron APO or Noctilux should be way better?). Some people think that by stopping down, their 50 would just be just as good. So it wouldn't be that obvious that at f/2.8, this lens is better than any SLR lens tested at lensrental (and they tested a lot). And I understand some would not care much about the build quality, but those Cine lenses are priced at the price they're for a reason. And Zeiss stated that AF would compromise the IQ. I guess for AF, there is the Nikkor 58.



Nov 18, 2013 at 02:44 PM
hiepphotog
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus: The absolute best SLR lens


zhangyue wrote:
Often seen people put more hope with Sigma than Canikon, just telling how miserable Canikon are these days.


Sigma is the new Samyang I guess. With AF, it makes things even more interesting.



Nov 18, 2013 at 02:53 PM
darbo
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus: The absolute best SLR lens


Awesome! The only thing not-awesome about the Otus 55mm is the 55mm focal length. If it were 28 or 35mm this would be a lot easier purchase decision for me.


Nov 18, 2013 at 04:20 PM
splathrop
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus: The absolute best SLR lens


Looks like a terrific lens. I have relied for some time on the Zeiss 50mm MP, which sets an IQ standard that few lenses can match. At f/1.4 this one is really a different animal, but it looks like it might be more like 2 different animals, maybe supplanting the 50 MP for what it does best (IQ at f/5.6), but also for shooting large apertures for soft backgrounds.

You have to wonder if this is the first of a series at various focal lengths, all with this kind of optical quality. It would be a wrenching mental (and fiscal) adjustment to start thinking of the current Zeiss lineup as the bargain line.



Nov 18, 2013 at 04:25 PM
hiepphotog
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus: The absolute best SLR lens


splathrop wrote:
Looks like a terrific lens. I have relied for some time on the Zeiss 50mm MP, which sets an IQ standard that few lenses can match. At f/1.4 this one is really a different animal, but it looks like it might be more like 2 different animals, maybe supplanting the 50 MP for what it does best (IQ at f/5.6), but also for shooting large apertures for soft backgrounds.

You have to wonder if this is the first of a series at various focal lengths, all with this kind of optical quality. It would be a wrenching mental (and fiscal) adjustment
...Show more

Well, it's already confirmed that this is the first lens in the Otus family (no compromise line-up). An 85 and a WA are hinted by Zeiss rep to be announced next year.



Nov 18, 2013 at 04:29 PM
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