Re: Carl Zeiss Planar T* 1.4/50 ZE on a Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Breitling65 wrote:
I own both ZE lenses, 50mm and 85mm. They replaced my Canon 50mm f:1.4 and 85mm f:1.8. I find both of them (particularly the 85) to deliver exceptional IQ.
philber wrote:
Maybe, but without samples I believe more to tests made by reputable sites and they are not as good.
Well, both the Zeiss lenses test very well. Although Zeiss has made significant changes to some of the lenses they have brought out as Z (i.e. ZF, ZK, ZM, ZE) lenses, these two lenses are very similar to the Contax/ Yashica (CY) mount Zeiss lenses. In the old photodo tests the CY 50mm f/1.4 got a 4.5 and the CY 85mm f/1.4 got a 4.6. If you know much about these tests there are only a handful of lenses that were ever tested with higher scores than these. For comparison the Canon 50mm f/1.4 got a 4.4 and the 85mm f/1.8 got a 4.1 (still very good scores) and the 85L only tied the Zeiss with a 4.6. So the old photodo scores do not suggest the Zeiss lenses are falling behind. Similarly if you look at the ZF lenses (which optically are identical to the ZE lenses) as tested on photozone both the 50mm f/1.4 and the 85mm f1/4 are highly recommended--by the way so are the Canon 50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.8, and 85L. So really, IMO, the tests indicate that all these lenses are very good. The decision to get the Zeiss lenses should probably fall to whether you like the exceptional build quality and whether you like or dislike the manual focusing.
Personally, I also agree with those who are critical of the bokeh of the Zeiss lenses. I think it can be nervous or edgy. Some people like this, others don\'t, and other don\'t care. I also think that the performance at f/1.4 on both these lenses is less than stellar, but that is certainly true of the Canon 50mm f1.4 too and of course the Canon 85mm f/1.8 is terrible at f/1.4. The 85L delivers better wide open performance, but IMO the 50L does not. Both the 85L and 50L in my opinion deliver better bokeh. So, IMO what we have here is lenses that are slightly better than the Canon non-L\'s and a bit worse in at least some ways from than the Canon L\'s and priced in between these lenses as well. As I said above, however, I think a primary consideration in your decision to get them should come down how much you appreciate the build quality and how much you like/dislike the manual focus.
Dec 20, 2008 at 09:23 AM
Previous versions of Steve Spencer's message #6507045 « Carl Zeiss Planar T* 1.4/50 ZE on a Canon EOS 5D Mark II »
. The 85L delivers better wide open performance, but IMO the 50L does not. Both the 85L and 50L in my opinion deliver better bokeh. So, IMO what we have here is lenses that are slightly better than the Canon non-L\'s and a bit worse in at least some ways from than the Canon L\'s and priced in between these lenses as well. As I said above, however, I think a primary consideration in your decision to get them should come down how much you appreciate the build quality and how much you like/dislike the manual focus.