New Zeiss Loxia image samples and MTF comparison with ZM lenses.

Reminder: The worldwide first Zeiss Loxia Full Frame E-mount lens preorder are now running at BHphoto:
Zeiss Loxia 35mm f/2 Biogon T* Lens for Sony E Mount (Click here).
Zeiss Loxia 50mm f/2 Planar T* Lens for Sony E Mount (Click here)

Cinema5D had the new Loxia lenses in their hands and posted some image samples within their short preview.

For me, the two Loxias were the last missing pieces to make the A7s a perfect “go-anywhere-with-me” camera. They are built as nicely as the camera itself (metal housing) and the full package feels very much like a much more expensive Leica rangefinder camera. The nicest touch about the lenses is their very small size (apart from their built quality) – and I think that was the priority when they were designed. Typically for Zeiss, the lenses are extremely sharp and have hardly any noticeable distortion or vignetting (which can’t be said about all 50mm photo lenses on the market – I used the Canon f/1.4 50mm on the A7s before and while the image is very nice, the lens vignettes heavily when shooting wide open).

And the Korean site Dicahub compared the lens performance of the new Loxia with those of their “original” the [shoplink 9808 ebay]Biogon T* 2/35 ZM (here on eBay)[/shoplink] and the [shoplink 9809 ebay]Planar T* 2/50 ZM (here on eBay)[/shoplink].

“Old” 50mm Planar charts on the left. And New Zeiss Loxia 50mm Planar on the right:

“Old” 35mm Biogon charts on the left. And New Zeiss Loxia 35mm Biogon on the right:

Dicahub noticed little differences between the old ZM and new Loxia series. But obviously the Loxia has one major advantage as it’s designed for use on digital cameras while the ZM series is made for film. And that difference may not be visisble on graphs but rather direct comparison with all lenses mounted on the Sony A7 camera.