Gunzorro
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ChrisMak wrote:
I was wondering, does anyone own bothe the Loxia 25mm and the Loxia 85mm?
As posted above, I owned the Loxia 25, 35 and 50mm lenses, but after selling them, I re-purchased the Loxia 25mm.
This lens offers the best of Zeiss qualities to me, but in a modern package, meaning it is well corrected and has a certain modern and smooth look, opposed to the more vintage look of the 35mm and 50mm Loxia lenses. I will not be getting the 35mm and 50mm again due to the slight rough, vintage like look, but as the Loxia 85mm is a modern design, at least new design, I was wondering if it has the same beautiful look that the Loxia 25 has: beautiful rich colors that have a modern signature and great clarity, and a certain smooth sharpness, opposed to the bold sharpness of the Loxia 35 and 50.
I am especially interested in the Loxia 85 as a landscape lens.
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I have the full set of Loxia lenses, and shoot them on a7R2 and a7R4.
I agree that the Loxia 25 is the best of the best of the collection, and I am happy to report (for me) there are very good to outstanding among the Loxia series. All meet, or surpass, my needs and expectations.
For my favorite types of subjects, the 85 is currently my least-used Loxia.
Only recently have I become particularly enchanted with the charm of the 50, shot mainly wide open. I've always known it was an excellent lens stopped down slightly, but like the 85, the focal length is not often suitable for subjects I look for.
Frequently maligned by others, I love the 35, and I shoot regularly. I will admit to shooting it less often since buying the CV 40/1.2E, which has outstanding IQ and impressive f/1.2 aperture, despite being slightly longer focal length than I prefer. Both lenses, along with the 50 are often used to produce more square-ish format 2-shot panos.
The 25 is one of my "go-to" lenses, since I can crop slightly on the a7R4 61MP sensor, or up to a wider medium format-like 2-shot pano.
The 21 is in the same vein as the 25, gets frequent use. Both these are often shot in tandem with either the 35 or CV 40 on a second camera body, for outings around town or trails: 21/35 or 25/40, which I find most complementary.
In the last year, I've obtained a CV 15/4.5E, and consider it in the same vein as these lenses above. It gaps well for me with Zeiss ZE 28/2 for two cameras paired on the wider end.
For me, these seven lenses are my most used and most preferred, for best combination of great IQ and modest size/weight. I seldom make any correction for CA, vignetting, or distortion -- the lenses are well corrected, and I find the slight vignetting to be a cinematic "feature" that I often enhance gently in PP. Only rarely will I use distortion control (pincushion/barrel) on buildings -- most are presented as-shot, except for correcting key-stoning or straightening.
To summarize the Loxia 85: Great lens for Zeiss color and contrast, with slightly slow maximum f/2.4 aperture, and fairly heavy and long-ish (with hood mounted) construction.
Used prices here on B&S are extremely low and reasonable, and it is rare to get a "dud" Loxia. If you see one you like, grab it -- you can easily re-sell later if you find it doesn't suit your needs.
Hope this helps your decision process.
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