p.1 #1 · Reduced: Zeiss Batis 135mm f/2.8 APO ($1,899)
Zeiss officially announces the new Batis 135mm f/2.8 APO Sonnar FE lens. The price is $1,999.
It's steep price for a 135mm f2.8 but this lens promises very high performance from wide open.
Update: B&H and Adorama are both selling the Batis 135/2.8 APO for $1,899. (You must add it to Cart to see the new price)
p.1 #3 · Reduced: Zeiss Batis 135mm f/2.8 APO ($1,899)
AGeoJO wrote:
It promises to be a great, no, actually a superb lens but the price is a tad, just a tad on the high side , especially considering the f/2.8 aperture.
+1 I was going to preorder, but yes the price is way too high for f/2.8 aperture. Glad I didn't sell off the 135L yet, but still don't know whether I should preorder or not.. I'm leaning towards waiting it out this time..
p.1 #5 · Reduced: Zeiss Batis 135mm f/2.8 APO ($1,899)
I believe this sets a new bar for pricing on Sony lenses. It's crazy. If supply is constrained like their previous products, they will still probably sell all they can make, but that doesn't make this a good buy.
p.1 #7 · Reduced: Zeiss Batis 135mm f/2.8 APO ($1,899)
The Zeiss 135/2 APO ZF/ZE is currently priced at $1,499 and is considered a masterpiece.
Based on the Batis 135/2.8 price, Zeiss seems to be confident it will perform similarly in a much smaller native package with AF and image stabilization.
I'm sure Roger at Lensrentals will post his optical bench test results soon.
p.1 #10 · Reduced: Zeiss Batis 135mm f/2.8 APO ($1,899)
Fred Miranda wrote:
The Zeiss 135/2 APO ZF/ZE is currently priced at $1,499 and is considered a masterpiece.
The Batis 135 has 14/11 groups/elements, eight of which are ED.
The 135/2 APO is 11/8 with 4 ED elements.
To moderate my price criticism a bit, the Batis does have a lot of expensive glass inside of it.
And the images are pretty sweet.
I'm not familiar with Zeiss' pricing history over the decades, but my guess is that a premium brand doesn't set the price high for initial buyers while demand exceeds supply, only to later reset the price lower once the early adopters are saturated. However, I do recall a one time deal for some of the Batis lenses where they offered a $100 rebate. So, it's either pony up for the full price (once you're confident you understand the IQ and rendering characteristics) or wait a year for the used market, where price will be around $1600 for a year and then settle in around $1400. By then, certainly more options will be available along with a lot of sample images so a much better informed decision can be made.
A lot of times (rightly or wrongly), a slower / smaller lens is associated with lower price (and relatively / slightly lower IQ). In this case, they went for first class IQ.
I just went and looked at Nikon's line of native AF lenses and they have a whole range of primes priced between $1600 and $2200.
The Sigma 135/1.8 w/ MC11 adapter is $1650. Granted, not apples to apples (in a variety of ways), but if Sigma is considered "inexpensive", then Zeiss at 20% more isn't "off the charts".
Maybe the whole f/2.8 thing set the expected price point in my head at the wrong location. Frankly, all the b.s. social media marketing Zeiss did over the past month also had a gimmicky, consumer, teen-age mentality that didn't help establish a high price point in my mind. They should have realized $2000 was going to be sticker shock relative to the rest of the Batis line (and the highest rumor price was $1800) and should have been putting out images that would have had us salivating to pay $2500 and we would have also ignored "f/2.8" and just realized how nice the images are.
Did I mention some of the sample images that are starting to float around are very attractive?
p.1 #13 · Reduced: Zeiss Batis 135mm f/2.8 APO ($1,899)
Nah, the 70-200 GM is $2600, and the 24-70 is more expensive as well. Still, a really, really high price for a 135/2.8. Early reviews say it's apochromatic and tack sharp corner to corner at f/2.8, with great bokeh...But still..Can't see me ever dropping 2K on a 135/2.8.
virtualrain wrote:
I believe this sets a new bar for pricing on Sony lenses. It's crazy. If supply is constrained like their previous products, they will still probably sell all they can make, but that doesn't make this a good buy.
p.1 #14 · Reduced: Zeiss Batis 135mm f/2.8 APO ($1,899)
I'm glad I'm still thrilled with my 135/2 Apo ZE. I bought it like-new almost 2 years ago for about $1500, IIRC. No desire whatever to change to something else...
p.1 #17 · Reduced: Zeiss Batis 135mm f/2.8 APO ($1,899)
For those thinking AF is a must have for this focal length, the Sigma 135/1.8 + MC-11, Sony 135/1.8 + LA-EA4 or Canon 135/2 + Metabones are great AF alternatives right now. The only one capable of EyeAF is the Sigma 135/1.8 and at this aperture, size should not be a complaint.
I applaud Zeiss for having the guts to develop such high performance 135/2.8 lens but I'm afraid, it won't be as successful as the Batis 85/1.8. It could be a masterpiece that bombs in sales at this price.
As far as MF options, the Samyang 135/2 seems to be the steal since it's actually an APO lens.
p.1 #18 · Reduced: Zeiss Batis 135mm f/2.8 APO ($1,899)
I suspect the new pricing reflects sales feedback from previous Batis lenses. Yes it is poor value. One would have to love the 135mm focal length (in itself a little unusual) to get this.
p.1 #19 · Reduced: Zeiss Batis 135mm f/2.8 APO ($1,899)
Robin Smith wrote:
I suspect the new pricing reflects sales feedback from previous Batis lenses. Yes it is poor value. One would have to love the 135mm focal length (in itself a little unusual) to get this.
Yeah, the pricing is somewhat excessive, though the lens seems to be a real winner.
I do love the 135 FL, but am in no hurry to grab one, at that price.
On the upside, Zeiss's pricing model just saved me a bunch of $$$.
, especially considering the f/2.8 aperture.
