LC had this to say about focusing the Otus on a D800e:
'...I *spent ten minutes* trying to get the pose just right: I wanted that yellow eye razor sharp at ƒ/1.4 for the effect. *This is the challenge* and the reward of the 55/1.4 Distagon: it is *a technical challenge to nail the focus on a 36-megapixel DSLR* at ƒ/1.4....'
and
'Precise focus is critical to extract the best from a very high performance lens. This is where *a DSLR optical viewfinder is a dismal failure and one reason I strongly desire an EVF.'* Asters enclosing text is mine.
It is ironic that the one DSLR that could focus the lens easily has a mount for which the Otus is not available. That is what a 12x magnification off the sensor buys for you - fast accurate focus of all manual lenses unless fast subjects. Of course Sony may fall victim to the other Nikon issues such as sensor-mount parallelism tolerances, they all need to pay serious attention to it from now on.
Lloyd then goes on to detail the ways things can go awry with high res sensors, mass production cameras made to yesterday's tolerances, heavy lenses and adapters. I have mentioned some of these things in the past little while so it's good to see someone of LC's stature in the business do so. Brace yourselves for all the moans about using heavy lenses on A7s.
I would self-impose a limit of 300-350 grams or so on a tripod (max torque effect) for small cameras and be careful handholding the lens. I'd stay well clear of any adapter not made by Sony for their cameras and trust Leitax or at least ask David L.
philip_pj wrote:
LC had this to say about focusing the Otus on a D800e:
'...I *spent ten minutes* trying to get the pose just right: I wanted that yellow eye razor sharp at ƒ/1.4 for the effect. *This is the challenge* and the reward of the 55/1.4 Distagon: it is *a technical challenge to nail the focus on a 36-megapixel DSLR* at ƒ/1.4....'
and
'Precise focus is critical to extract the best from a very high performance lens. This is where *a DSLR optical viewfinder is a dismal failure and one reason I strongly desire an EVF.'* Asters enclosing text is mine.
It is ironic that the one DSLR that could focus the lens easily has a mount for which the Otus is not available. That is what a 12x magnification off the sensor buys for you - fast accurate focus of all manual lenses unless fast subjects. Of course Sony may fall victim to the other Nikon issues such as sensor-mount parallelism tolerances, they all need to pay serious attention to it from now on.
Lloyd then goes on to detail the ways things can go awry with high res sensors, mass production cameras made to yesterday's tolerances, heavy lenses and adapters. I have mentioned some of these things in the past little while so it's good to see someone of LC's stature in the business do so. Brace yourselves for all the moans about using heavy lenses on A7s.
I would self-impose a limit of 300-350 grams or so on a tripod (max torque effect) for small cameras and be careful handholding the lens. I'd stay well clear of any adapter not made by Sony for their cameras and trust Leitax or at least ask David L.
I don't agree what LC say. For high performance lens like this 50mm, 80% I will use with subject within 1M, in that range, to have eyes in focus with precision is not a challenge at all with good light, especially for well corrected lens like this. Even I can't get chart performance, I get enough and beautiful DOF with no SA glow.
TBH, for 50AA M, I have a lot more conservation about meaningfulness of this performance, as for f2, I absolutely need focus perfect (less so for DOF or rendering) which is a challenge for RF consider having to Focus and recompose and focus mechanics...
My assuption is having the S-type focus screen, there is one for D800. If use this only for 10X mag and EVF, then it is a tough sale for "me". (and for me only)
philip_pj wrote:
LC had this to say about focusing the Otus on a D800e:
'...I *spent ten minutes* trying to get the pose just right: I wanted that yellow eye razor sharp at ƒ/1.4 for the effect. *This is the challenge* and the reward of the 55/1.4 Distagon: it is *a technical challenge to nail the focus on a 36-megapixel DSLR* at ƒ/1.4....'
and
'Precise focus is critical to extract the best from a very high performance lens. This is where *a DSLR optical viewfinder is a dismal failure and one reason I strongly desire an EVF.'* Asters enclosing text is mine.
It is ironic that the one DSLR that could focus the lens easily has a mount for which the Otus is not available. That is what a 12x magnification off the sensor buys for you - fast accurate focus of all manual lenses unless fast subjects. Of course Sony may fall victim to the other Nikon issues such as sensor-mount parallelism tolerances, they all need to pay serious attention to it from now on.
Lloyd then goes on to detail the ways things can go awry with high res sensors, mass production cameras made to yesterday's tolerances, heavy lenses and adapters. I have mentioned some of these things in the past little while so it's good to see someone of LC's stature in the business do so. Brace yourselves for all the moans about using heavy lenses on A7s.
I would self-impose a limit of 300-350 grams or so on a tripod (max torque effect) for small cameras and be careful handholding the lens. I'd stay well clear of any adapter not made by Sony for their cameras and trust Leitax or at least ask David L.
Oh please, Zeiss, let this be the lens which fixes that godawful lens cap, the worst design in the world.
Oh God, yes. Please spend a couple of those engineering dollars and give us a better lens cap!!! It's really not difficult. It been done countless time by many manufacturers. I'm sure you can do it if you just TRY.
Yea obviously this will fu*k up calibration of mount made by Zeiss, but I strongly doubt Nikon or Canon give same attention to calibration of their mounts, so just "whatever". It will work..
Plus A7 or A7r and this? It will be terribly uncomfortable, but pretty easy to use..
I'm looking at the Otus MTF and the Coastal Optics MTF. (I only have the Otus MTF @f4.0, and probably it will probably peak at f5.6 or f8.0, so it's a little unfair) Looks to me that stopped down, so far, the Coastal Optics 60 is overall better in visible light, but barely, and that's because the sagittal and tangential lines are more far apart for the Otus. The story might be different once I get the Otus MTF for f5.6.
I'm really looking forward to seeing more user pictures with the Otus. So far, looks great!
trajan wrote:
I'm looking at the Otus MTF and the Coastal Optics MTF. (I only have the Otus MTF @f4.0, and probably it will probably peak at f5.6 or f8.0, so it's a little unfair) Looks to me that stopped down, so far, the Coastal Optics 60 is overall better in visible light, but barely, and that's because the sagittal and tangential lines are more far apart for the Otus. The story might be different once I get the Otus MTF for f5.6.
I'm really looking forward to seeing more user pictures with the Otus. So far, looks great!
Lloyd noted that the Coastal has quite noticeable field curvature at infinity in his free review. And in order to get sharp corners, you have to stop down to f/8. The Otus peaks at 4. Looking at real life shots, I wouldn't worry about the separation.
Mescalamba wrote:
Otus + Leitax + A99 = problem solved
Yea obviously this will fu*k up calibration of mount made by Zeiss, but I strongly doubt Nikon or Canon give same attention to calibration of their mounts, so just "whatever". It will work..
Plus A7 or A7r and this? It will be terribly uncomfortable, but pretty easy to use..
I'm waiting to see the Z-shift Sony camera next year or the possibility of Sony releasing Canon E-mount adapter. EVF is perfect for this lens.
And I'm afraid the current Leitax might not work with the Otus. Zeiss might have additional screws due to the size and weight. David can always do a custom mount to have good alignment. Or Adam at S.K. Grimes can do the same thing with a bit better in quality (zero play in any axis, pretty much like an OEM lens) at a higher price. David used shim sometimes while Adam would get to the perfect point without it.
Adapting the Canon version might be better since it turns the "right" way .
Jonas B wrote:
I agree about Canon "turning the right way" - but how dpoes it work on the A99 without having an aperture ring?
I am very struggling with this as well.... If I can't focus as fast as I want, I am paying the same but getting less value . Especially consider current MRLC march, no way to get ZE version. But ZF? Either way is wrong way to me.
I should have been clearer. The ZE version can only work on E-mount cameras. Hence, I will wait for the rumored Z-shift hybrid camera (most likely to have a substantial DSLR form factor since it needs to work well as an A-mount camera) or the rumored Sony brand Canon EF to E-mount adapter (very likely to be the highest quality adapter). Otherwise, ZF is the only choice. I have had quite a few ZF on my A99, and I can make do with the Nikon direction. But it's annoying nonetheless.
why can't they just use the Sony Zeiss cap?