I have purchased this lens and have used it for 2 weeks, the IQ is satisfactory so far. The only bugger is the eye AF which I hope Zeiss will provide a firmware update to fix as it is inconsistent in performance at the moment.
I am also eying the CV 40mm F1.2 as it seems like that this lens has a special rendering to it and I really love the 40 mm FL.
B&H seems to constantly change the availability date, last I checked it was supposed to be available today, but now it just says "Coming Soon". This is after several other promised in stock dates that have come and gone. Hopefully this delay means the next batch will have these issues dealt with before they hit consumers hands.
see my previous post at the previous page. Zeiss is planning to release a firmwire upgrade for the Batis 2/40 and users will be able to upgrade the lens via camera (no need to send the lens). 'Eye-AF' and 'AF in magnified view' are known issues and Zeiss is working to find a solution for them. I know that the firmwire upgrade will, at least, change the aperture behavior at close distances, but I'm sure that *if Zeiss has progressed with these issues* the upgrade will solve them too. The upgrade is planned at early 2019, Jan or Feb I would guess. ...Show more →
Hi there, has this ever been done for any existing lens? I have never heard of such functionality on any Sony body... Is there any actual confirmation that Zeiss is planning on issuing this upgrade? Have they ever done so in the past?
I would really like to buy the Zeiss Batis 40mm, as it is basically my dream lens, but I have been very put off by the issues related to it's aperture behavior and focusing issues.
Jesse Evans wrote:
Hi there, has this ever been done for any existing lens? I have never heard of such functionality on any Sony body... Is there any actual confirmation that Zeiss is planning on issuing this upgrade? Have they ever done so in the past?
I would really like to buy the Zeiss Batis 40mm, as it is basically my dream lens, but I have been very put off by the issues related to it's aperture behavior and focusing issues.
Hi Jesse,
My info comes from the Zeiss itself, so it's valid. In the past some Sony lenses have been updated through camera-body, like the 85/1.4 GM to gain better fps with A9-bodies. Like I wrote earlier, Zeiss is changing the aperture behavior a bit, the auto-closing of aperture at close distances will happen less or something like that. Personally I haven't felt the current behavior problematic and have felt it being interpreted as 'an issue' a bit tiring (one needs to experience it in first hand to understand its real photographic impact). Nevertheless Zeiss is changing it (but don't expect them to erase it all together). The Eye-AF issue is definitely an issue and Zeiss is working on it. If they have progressed with it by the Jan 2019, I'm sure the update will bring something to it as well. I guess it's better to wait and see how it goes. Not too many days left, and if the Eye-AF issue gets solved the Batis 2/40 is a stunning lens.
Just got Chuck's copy to test. Luckily his copy is well-centered.
It's smaller than I thought and it's very light balancing perfectly on my A7RIII body.
I did a quick test at infinity and it's optimal at f/4. (Just like the Batis 85/1.8)
Contrast is very high. Honestly, it looks like this is a great lens but these are only my first impressions.
I can also confirm that there is definitely an issue with Eye AF. I took 12 pictures of my daughter and only 5 were in focus...
The lens was set to 'infinity to 0.4m'. (not full distance mode)
Rendering is a bit harsh at mid-distance. Bokeh balls are not very clean which contributes to that. (see crops)
LoCA is well controlled but still apparent in my images.
full test image. Very nice contrast and resolution at f/2. Not very smooth rendering
1:1 crop: focused area. AF-C is very accurate at this distance
1:1 crop: transition zone and some axial CA
1:1 crop: specular highlights look a bit busy with onion pattern and color aberration
Fred Miranda wrote:
Just got Chuck's copy to test. Luckily his copy is well-centered.
It's smaller than I thought and it's very light balancing perfectly on my A7RIII body.
I did a quick test at infinity and it's optimal at f/4. (Just like the Batis 85/1.8)
Contrast is very high. Honestly, it looks like this is a great lens but these are only my first impressions.
Fred,
Glad the lens arrived and earlier than it was suppose to! I did the same lens centering test that you have described on this site numerous times as soon as I received the lens. I'm glad you confirmed my results as well.
Looking forward to your testing and hope that the eve Af issues will be corrected eventually by Zeiss in some type of a firmware update. Although for me personally this is not a make it or break it feature as it gets very little use in my own photography.
I just tested it against the CV 40/1.2 @ infinity and both performed great.
f/5.6 seems to be optimal aperture for both lenses, although there is only a very small improvement from f/4.
The Batis 40/2 does slightly better at the extreme corners at all apertures with very low lateral CA and slightly more resolution. Center and mid-field seem better on the Voigtlander since at f/5.6, FC is pretty much masked.
I prefer the Voigtlander rendering and colors but the Batis has less vignetting and it's pretty much distortion free. (The Voigt. is also low in distortion but the Batis is better)
The Batis' manual focus is not to my liking (non-linear). It does not give me the confidence that I nailed focus at infinity distance. The Voigtlander gives me more consistent results with its helicoid MF.
I won't start an official review for the Batis 40/2 CF but will post my findings on this thread. (will post infinity crops tonight)
When I’m done here shooting in LA if you want my 50 1.4 Fred let me know before I leave town. Honestly that’s the test I want to see. The CV 40 is going nowhere regardless of outcome . I’d rather have 24/40 than 24/50 but I’m not so willing to give up my 50. Sooo it has to kick its butt which I highly doubt
Fred you are correct on the feel of the manual focus on the Batis 40 but I found that the Maginfy AF feature works well with the Batis. Focus was easy to nail with it.
Extreme edge resolution comparison between Batis 40/2 CF and Voigtlander 40/1.2:
Here the Batis does better at all apertures. At f/5.6, the Voigtlander gets close but the Batis has higher resolution, less vignetting and less lateral CA.
The Voigtlander 40/1.2 is not famous for outstanding extreme edge resolution. However, it's hard to beat this lens at center and mid-field. So, the corners are great at f/5.6 but not superb for the Voigtlander.
The Batis does better at the corners but unfortunately its mid-field is not as good in comparison. This could be mid-field dip or FC...didn't test it yet...
