In case you guys are interested, I just spoke with Tony at Popflash.com and he is happy to say the new Zeiss 85 for Canon is simply stunning. He has them in stock. I have one coming for my 5D and should post pictures soon.
I posted this on the alt. forum but got mine last weekend and like it very much. It seems tuned for mid distance as a portrait lens should be, seems a bit less sharp at infinity. That may be my copy, though, I'll be interested to hear what others say. I did find it is soft at f1.4 but gets very, very sharp stopped down a bit.
The autofocus indicator works flawlessly, focus was spot on, although it took a few minutes to get used to. Full size jpgs of some random shots (didn't have much time this weekend) are at http://www.pbase.com/rcicala/zeiss_85_ze
It looks nice.. but if I was in the market for a fast 85mm again I'd pick up a used 85L MkI all over again. Cheaper, faster and from the looks of it sharper wide open. I can't comment on saturation and color reproduction, but my 85L has the most beautiful colors of any lens I've seen. Plus for once it's autofocus is better than the alternative I love the fact that Zeiss is coming out with canon lens's.. I love my Planar 50mm f1.4. But I paid $200 for the lens and $40 for an adapter with focus confirm vs $650 for the new Zeiss 50mm with canon mount. So for $400 you get EXIF data? Thats not enough to justify the price for me... for others.. maybe.. who knows? I'm sure the new Zeiss line will have a market with collectors, hard core Zeiss fans... and people with far more cash than me, but if they really want to break into the Canon market they're going to have to offer much more competitive prices, especially since the lack of autofocus is cutting out a large portion of their prospective buyers.
Sorry.. you do get auto aperture as well.. which would be nice. But to be honest, I use my Planar 50mm f1.4 wide open of near there for the amazing bokeh, so again, not a huge benefit for me.
I'm really looking for some of the later offerings, the 35, 21 and 100 Macro Planar are spectacular. While I like the 85, other than the nice Zeiss microcontrast I don't see advantages over the 85 f1.2 (well there's cost, I guess).
I don't think the subject matter is great to make any judgements. I can say my old C/Y Zeiss 85 f/1.4 is superb on the 5D. Softish but nice wide open, good at f/1.7 and very sharp at f/2. Colours and contrast equal my 135L.
RCicala wrote:
I'm really looking for some of the later offerings, the 35, 21 and 100 Macro Planar are spectacular. While I like the 85, other than the nice Zeiss microcontrast I don't see advantages over the 85 f1.2 (well there's cost, I guess).
I read that the new ZE lenses are not Zeiss-quality you would come to expect, and that the production is licensed out to a third-party manufacturer.
That is one of the main reasons I am holding off on any potential ZE purchases. I would love to hock my Canon 50 f/1.4 and get some nice Zeiss glass, but only if it is real Zeiss and not a third-party manufacturer's.
Even back then during the Contax/Zeiss days, quite a bit of manufacturying was done by Cosina under Contax/Zeiss license, especially in the last 10-15 year or so. For example, the famed 21mm Distagon was manufactured entirely in Japan. The only Zeiss M lens manufactured in Germany is the 15mm f/2.8 and the price shows. I am not aware of any difference in optical quality between German made and Japanese made Zeiss lenses. Zeiss would be foolish to allow a third-party manufacturer to just use their name without any control/inspection.
AGeoJO wrote:
Even back then during the Contax/Zeiss days, quite a bit of manufacturying was done by Cosina under Contax/Zeiss license, especially in the last 10-15 year or so. n.
Yashica / Kyocera made the MM and N Contax lenses, I think. I guess Zeiss made the deal with Cosina because Kyocera disapeared from the market
Can you try taking some portraits instead of photos of poles? The light in these photos isn't very good. Some indoor portraits I am sure will give us a better understanding of what this baby can do.
Andi Dietrich wrote:
Yashica / Kyocera made the MM and N Contax lenses, I think. I guess Zeiss made the deal with Cosina because Kyocera disapeared from the market
Correct. Also, I had an 85/1.4 MM version that was Made in Germany. The earlier MM versions were made in Germany before it went to Kyocera, and the pricing didn't change. IQ-wise they are about equal .... but the older Made-in-Germany versions fetched a slightly better price in the used market.
I love the fact that Zeiss is coming out with canon lens's.. I love my Planar 50mm f1.4. But I paid $200 for the lens and $40 for an adapter with focus confirm vs $650 for the new Zeiss 50mm with canon mount. So for $400 you get EXIF data? Thats not enough to justify the price for me... for others.. maybe.. who knows? I'm sure the new Zeiss line will have a market with collectors, hard core Zeiss fans... and people with far more cash than me, but if they really want to break into the Canon market they're going to have to offer much more competitive prices, especially since the lack of autofocus is cutting out a large portion of their prospective buyers.