Thanks for posting that link Edward it confirms that the lenses are as good as I am seeing. Above all other features of the Zeiss 32mm Touit is the instantaneously obvious micro contrast that you kept talking about. There is a clarity to this lens that absolutely none of my other lenses except Rodenstock APO exhibits. The micro contrast accentuates the sharpness and impact of the images. I'm not sure what comes first whether it's the sharpness or the micro contrast? The biggest drawback with this lens is the NEX-7 itself. I am hoping that the firmware update will correct much of this erratic focusing behavior. I called Zeiss last week, here's the reply;
Hi Dennis,
Please excuse my late reply. Unfortunately, there is no way to work around this focus hunting issue. This is the reply I got from Germany. I understand this is not really solving your issue but at least it explains the situation.
Out of factory, the Sony NEX cameras come with its AF enabled all the time, as long as the camera is switched on and before it switches down to power save mode. So the AF of NEX cameras is always active, independent of the lens that is mounted (AF E-mount lenses only). Because the AF motors in some other E-mount lenses (e.g. Sonnar T* E 1,8/24 ZA) are more quiet, this is a little bit less noticeable, whereas the more robust and therefore louder AF motor of Touit lenses underlines this standard behavior of NEX cameras.
In practical use and to save battery power, we recommend to disable the AF in the menu of the NEX-7 and to press the separate AF/MF button on the camera´s rear side to focus directly before shooting.
With best regards,
Nicole
I guess we all knew this already but it brings up a question do I keep this lens or send it back?
If Sony is unable to fix this with firmware and the next model of the camera does the same thing it essentially makes this lens a mostly manual focus lens. So the million-dollar question is, what do you guys think? Thanks for the help, Dennis
I have for a week or two now. The problem with this is the lens actually refocuses severely every time you push the button. If you are already in focus on that area the lens will refocus again. On the Sony and Sigma lenses the lens will refocus but does it faster with less of a throw. The Zeiss lens seems to go out of focus 30 or 40% and then re-acquires focus where as the Sony lens probably goes only 5% and then re-acquires focus. In all fairness this procedure is a little tedious but does seem to acquire focus better. I will probably get used to this but for now it is quite different than all the other E mount lenses I have used.
dennishh wrote:
I guess we all knew this already but it brings up a question do I keep this lens or send it back?
If Sony is unable to fix this with firmware and the next model of the camera does the same thing it essentially makes this lens a mostly manual focus lens. So the million-dollar question is, what do you guys think? Thanks for the help, Dennis
i would only use it as a manual focus lens anyway, so i say keep it.
i understand most people actually use the AF on their AF lenses though... were you excited about having an AF zeiss or having a zeiss looking lens?
Ah, just like the Contax G2, focus/AF on thumb, activates every time you press it. Could be annoying at times, but I got used to it and after a while actually liked it.
Thanks for all your responses! I guess one of the problems I'm having with the actual mechanics of the rear button focusing on the NEX is I use the rear button on my D800 which is much smoother and faster. Waiting for the focus cycle after pushing the button takes some getting used to, but I am now ignoring it much better. The pure quality of the Touit 32 more than makes up for the inconvenience. I tested the D800e with the 50mm 1.8 and the Touit was much sharper and crisper until the Nikon got to about f8, at F1.8 the Zeiss rules!
and would be interesting to see the 32mm touit against the 35mm ZM.
pricewise altogether the same.
but i guess the ZM will be more stable in price, esspecially if Sony
brings a Fullframe nex. (which will be in 2014 i guess)
rsrsrs wrote:
and would be interesting to see the 32mm touit against the 35mm ZM.
pricewise altogether the same.
but i guess the ZM will be more stable in price, esspecially if Sony
brings a Fullframe nex. (which will be in 2014 i guess)
reinhard
I think the mtf of the ZM are better on the APS-C frame, but of course, mtf do not tell the whole story.
On the other hand the mtf of the Touit look better than the planar 50 ZM on FF.
I just got the E-mount 32/1.8 (rental from LR), and while I haven't looked at the images yet, I'm glad I rented it. The loud motor, combined with the Sony 5N's constant refocusing, and the focus hunting is kind of driving me crazy. I hope the image quality will be worth it! I'm going to find a NEX-6 to see if the PDAF sensors help reduce the hunting any.
I know the 5N can focus much faster as it does on any of the Sigmas, and their motors were silent enough that I'd never noticed the always-on focusing before.
Also, it seems like the only NEX camera that lets you press a button to activate AF is the 7. That seems like a very useful feature, especially for the Zeiss.
Holy effing sharp batman! I got my NEX-6 in with 32/1.8 and I'm pretty much blown away in the 10 minutes I was outside with it goofing around. I haven't configured anything on the camera because it shipped with a 0% battery so I charged it for a bit and ran outside to at least attempt capturing something... anything.
I took some selfies in burst @ 10fps and literally every shot is in focus on my eye or damn near close enough.
Shot a bumblebee and it is razor sharp--this is all at 1.8 by the way in jpg. I didn't even realize I was in jpg until I imported the pics.
Contrast is superb, bokeh is as far as I can tell so far, gorgeous and I've never even held a NEX-6 before this so I am pretty much blown away.
Yes, that's a selfie of me. Generic but my girlfriend isn't home yet so I can't shove this in her face..... yet.
I also would like to input that I am getting the constant-focusing stuff on my NEX-6. I see the NEX-7 users are having that issue.
I thought it was b/c I had it on continuous AF but it was on single AF. I guess I'll do the workaround--I mean hell it even does this when I'm in the menus!!!!!
EDIT: I can not find a way in the menus to do the work around. I went through every single menu option and it seems I can only assign one soft key and none of those options are the hold to toggle.
You'll enjoy yourself much more with the rear button engaged. The way Zeiss focus works is a little annoying but I'm finding that 90% of the time it's right on the money.
I believe only the NEX-7 lets you engage AF with the rear button. I also got a chance to try it out on a NEX-6 just now, and it seemed to hunt as much as on the 5N, so no love for the PDAF.
zephoto wrote:
Holy effing sharp batman! I got my NEX-6 in with 32/1.8 and I'm pretty much blown away in the 10 minutes I was outside with it goofing around. I haven't configured anything on the camera because it shipped with a 0% battery so I charged it for a bit and ran outside to at least attempt capturing something... anything.
I took some selfies in burst @ 10fps and literally every shot is in focus on my eye or damn near close enough.
Shot a bumblebee and it is razor sharp--this is all at 1.8 by the way in jpg. I didn't even realize I was in jpg until I imported the pics.
Contrast is superb, bokeh is as far as I can tell so far, gorgeous and I've never even held a NEX-6 before this so I am pretty much blown away.
Yes, that's a selfie of me. Generic but my girlfriend isn't home yet so I can't shove this in her face..... yet.
OK, my turn. Brought box home from office, late to meet friends for pizza, slapped Touit 32 on Nex 7, ran off to restaurant and here's the first image with new lens shot WO.
One thing I really wish they would add to the Nexs in firmware is the ability to have different shooting banks like with my Nikon SLRs, so I could have one set of custom setting for AF lenses and another for MF lenses.
Congratulations on your lens, Jeff! Actually, I detect a number of problems with it, so I suggest you let me check it out to see if it is actually all right or not. In a year or two, certainly not more than three, I feel comfortable with letting you know my findings.
philber wrote:
Congratulations on your lens, Jeff! Actually, I detect a number of problems with it, so I suggest you let me check it out to see if it is actually all right or not. In a year or two, certainly not more than three, I feel comfortable with letting you know my findings.
Great idea Phillipe - just let me know where to ship it.
12mm is too wide for me... I would be more interested in a 14/16mm. I already have the Sony ZA 24 1.8 and the Sony 35 1.8 OSS (which is not bad) so likely I am not getting any of the Touit..
If i really want a faster 35mm ish lens I 'd probably get a voigtlander 35 1.2.
I see that most of the images are with the Nex but has anyone compared the 35f1.8 with the fuji 35f1.4 both with regards to handling and image quality ?
