p.2 #1 · Carl Zeiss 135 f2 APO or 135 f1.8 ZA for Sony A7 ?
Wayne,
Sorry, I don't have any direct bokeh comparison between the two. And for the time being, I cannot make that comparison since my A7r is currently at the Sony Service Center in Laredo
p.2 #3 · Carl Zeiss 135 f2 APO or 135 f1.8 ZA for Sony A7 ?
AGeoJO wrote:
Wayne,
Sorry, I don't have any direct bokeh comparison between the two. And for the time being, I cannot make that comparison since my A7r is currently at the Sony Service Center in Laredo
No problem, hope you get your A7r back soon. Nice portraits above BTW!
p.2 #4 · Carl Zeiss 135 f2 APO or 135 f1.8 ZA for Sony A7 ?
Phillip Reeve wrote:
The ZA is one of the best lenses I have ever used, at f/1.8 it is sharper than a Minolta MD 2.8/135 is at f/8 and that Minolta is one of the best 135's of it's era. Bokeh is also super nice.
What I found a bit annoying is that the focuing ring while having nice resistance has some play. I still found it easy to focus it at f/1.8 because of the high contrast but it was a bit detrimental to the experience.
Focusing with the LA-EA4 was swift but most often I used manual focus because all AF sensors are arranged around center of the image and for any off center composition you have to recompose after focusing which I find annoying.
loCA were quite noticeable at times.
If I had the money I would probably buy the Zeiss APO because of the better CA correction, nicer focusing experience and future compatibility.
p.2 #5 · Carl Zeiss 135 f2 APO or 135 f1.8 ZA for Sony A7 ?
I have recently started using the ZA135 on Sony A7R and the solution I am using to compensate for the center arranged AF points is to use AF-C mode.
I lock using a preferred AF point (usually the center top point on the subjects eyes), then the AFC takes over. A rectangle forms in the EVF which tries to track the subjects eyes. This works for me most of the time. Specially when the subject is not moving too fast (which is the case in portraits).
My next step is to try the face detect mode in the A7R which can focus on any face regardless of position within the EVF. It works ofcourse on the FE55 but I haven't tested it with ZA135
p.2 #6 · Carl Zeiss 135 f2 APO or 135 f1.8 ZA for Sony A7 ?
I have had the APO 135 ZE for a few months now and absolutely love the lens. It is a real pleasure to use and mechanically delightful. If you don't like heavy lenses it isn't for you but I just cannot get enough of how great photos turn out with it. Here are just a few recent ones that aren't particularly great photos but show how well it can work:
p.2 #8 · Carl Zeiss 135 f2 APO or 135 f1.8 ZA for Sony A7 ?
I have own 135 ZA. I can tell you (or you can read at photo zone.de or every other review site) the Sony ZA is absolutely optically phenomenal and plays with the very best 35mm lenses. The newer ZF slightly trumps it optically.
I was in the same position as you recently. Not considering price, I still went with the Sony 135 just for the glorious bokeh and slight speed advantage.
These lenses are both so good it's insane--just figure out if you want the extra speed and bokeh, or the slight optical edge. You can't go wrong, honestly.
Just be warned, both lenses are brutally sharp, and that can be unbecoming in a portrait lens for some!
p.2 #9 · Carl Zeiss 135 f2 APO or 135 f1.8 ZA for Sony A7 ?
I'm using the 135mm 1.8 / LA-EA4 combo on my a7 and I couldn't be happier with it. I've had a 5D2/135mmL before but for me the Sony combo has that extra something special.
An added bonus is that AF is quite a bit quicker than I had dreamed, in fact in general the LA-EA4 seems to offer quicker AF than native FE lenses.
