(SR2) All three new Zeiss lenses cover FF?
I got a rumor form a new source that might be interesting to discuss. But please keep in mind that this rumor hasn’t been confirmed yet by any trusted sources so keep your feet on ground. As you know Zeiss will launch three new E-mount AF lenses this year. The 12mm f/2.8, 32mm f/1.8 and 50mm f/1.8 lens. The one new source told me that these lenses will cover the full Full Frame area in preparation of the launch of the new FF NEX by end of this year or early 2014. And the source also told me the main issue for Zeiss is to remove the heavy vignetting on the 12mm wide angle lens.
UPDATE: Back at Photokina Zeiss said these lenses were designed for APS-C. What the source says is that the lenses will be redesigned to cover FF.
Again, this is no SR4 SR5 rated rumors. But if true…this is deifnitely a good news!
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Reminder (SR = Sonyrumor):
SR1=probably fake rumor
SR2=rumor from unknown sources
SR3=50% chance it is correct
SR4=rumor from known sources
SR5=almost certainly correct!
Z
5 months ago |12mm full frame lens at f2.8??? What kind of sorcery is that?
DtEW
5 months ago |Egad, you’re right. I’m not even sure what a 12mm FF rectilinear view might look like.
NoName
5 months ago |It’s doable. Check out Sigma AF 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG HSM.
Alan
5 months ago |FF 12mm f2.8 may be a design possibility, but looking at the bulbous front ends of every 14/2.8 ever made, I can’t see the Zeiss 12/2.8 shown at Photokina becoming a FF lens without a complete re-design.
Jiri
5 months ago |Not so impossible. There is already the Voigtlander 12mm f/5,6 Ultra Wide Heliar M-bajonet for Leica, just check it. Great perspective
The combination of this focal length and speed for a FF lens seems to be however bit unlikely to me.
LifeStoryImages.com
5 months ago |Not an issue from a design perspective, but it wouldn’t be cheap to make a high-quality one.
A note: Full-framed lenses are not “redesigns” of APS-C lenses, they are different designs. The lenses shown which were APS-C are APS-C. Any FF lenses will be different lenses. While a FF lens can be used with a cropped field, the converse is not true. Optical designers aren’t magicians
Tom
5 months ago |I don’t think Cheap comes to mind anyways, as it is Zeiss…
owahooboy
5 months ago |If Vivitar can make a full fram 13mm f/2.8 ($400) then I am pretty sure Zeiss could do it. But they probably wouldn’t, considering the price the Zeiss name would command. Canon makes a $2000 14mm f/2.8L. I would suspect 12mm would be APS-C, but the 32mm and/or the 50mm could easily be compact full frame lenses. After all why have a 32mm f/1.8 APS-C lens when Zeiss already has a successful 24mm APS-C f/1.8 lens.
w1th0utnam3
5 months ago |+1
Never ever is this small piece of glass a fullframe 12mm. Just compare it with other FF lenses like the Zeiss 14mm.
Joel Richards
5 months ago |Here’s to dreaming! I think it could be possible but I doubt it would hold up well compared to the Zeiss 15mm. I agree the others are more likely to be full-frame. Still people, a 32mm f1.8 full-frame! How cool would that be! IF these are full frame then it would take the pressure off of Sony to release new lenses for the FF NEX–although one medium telephoto would be great like a compact 85/90mm f2.8.
John Maverick
5 months ago |Quite possible they will just relax the aperture from f2.8 to f4 or maybe higher. It’s really not important for UWA’s to be fast since they have huge DOF naturally. Detail, color accuracy and low distortion are what matter most for landscapes and architectural shots which is their most common application.
NEXfive
5 months ago |Guys, It’s not such a great deal to construct 12mm f/2.8 for a mirrorless camera compared to SuperWideAngle for FullFrame DSLR. These are usually constructed as a standard Wide Angle towards the mirror and as a Converter towards the front lens, because of the long flange focal distance caused by the mirror, while 12mm for mirrorless APS-C simply looks like the SEL-16F28 combined with VCL-ECU1.
Zeiss gained a huge success recently constructing the RX1′s lens for coming even closer to the sensor and therefore I’m pretty sure they’ll use this knowledge to take the market with High End Full Frame Mirrorless lenses.
LifeStoryImages.com
5 months ago |Zeiss just learned to do this by creating the RX1′s lens? Thanks for the giggles!
NEXfive
5 months ago |I didn’t write “learn”, mate. I wrote about the so far not existing market for High End Full Frame Mirrorless lenses, Zeiss is obviously evaluating to take as they took the new market opened with the RX1. Quite simple to understand if you’re able to read…
…but the usually SonyCyberPunk below hasen’t got any knowledge about SuperWideAngle at all spreading his usual hate-mobbing (yawn)
SonyCyberPunk
5 months ago |NExfive man u dumm
Cyrus
5 months ago |Strange…
And what about the same lenses in Fuji mount?
Andrew
5 months ago |Actually it’s bad news because it means the lenses will e humongous and outrageously priced even more than an APS-C Zeiss lens. Full frame NEX is just an emotionally charged ideal that is never going to be practical in the real world. It would be way overpriced and oversized, and APS-C is more than good enough IQ for NEX anyway and is only going to keep improving.
Anonymous
5 months ago |” Full frame NEX is just an emotionally charged ideal that is never going to be practical in the real world. ”
Get with the times man. It’s possible. Things change. Get over it you old dinosaur.
Zachery
5 months ago |Directly contradicts what Zeiss themselves said when this was announced…
I wouldn’t get my hopes up for this. Zeiss produces so few of their lenses, I’m sure they would be more than happy to have a bunch of people buy these then upgrade to full frame and rebuy a bunch of other Biogon remakes.
Varn
5 months ago |Base on commonsense they should be APS-C lenses, the focal lengths for 35mm equivalent should be: 18mm f2.8 (12mm f2.8), 48mm f1.8 (32mm f1.8) & 75mm f2.8 Macro (50mm f2.8 Macro).
Varn
5 months ago |And the price €1000 is for APS-C lenses too.
Lee
5 months ago |I don’t think its FF. imo the Glass Diameter is to small to fit FF.
admin
5 months ago |They are re-doing them!!!
Hendrick
5 months ago |If you say ‘re doing’, does that mean the current design and dummies presented are not the final designs now? basically, they will launch a $3k 12mm (see the price of the 15mm 2.8 from zeiss) and the rest of the lenses to fit full frame, thus catering only for Sony (because Fuji users wont find the appeal of paying too much for redundant lenses)
That sounds like a lot of effort for few people, because when the FF NEX will come up, I doubt it will cost less than $2,000 -for which many will moan and bitch- and then to top it up with $1000 lenses a pop from Zeiss that will be an odd 32mm and a 50mm – not many will buy them straight of the bat. Think of Voigtlander’s own 35mm nokton 1.2 lenses ($1k) and 50mm (less)
Mmmmm, I think that rumor wont come to fruition.
samdman
5 months ago |One way or another, it’s coming anyway. Only time is the essence…
LeGO
5 months ago |This would definitely be good news if true.
If the Zeiss 12mm f/2.8 can keep the distortion under control on full frame, vignetting should be a manageable issue.
AlphaMännchen
5 months ago |I highly doubt that. Zeiss has stated several times during Photokina and on in their Companyblog that it will cover APS-C size only. The question if it will fit a FF nex has popped up before and we also already know that given the current lens design, large apertures and high resolution are very hard to achieve in a small lens body, for FF even harder. There is a reason why current high quality A-Mount lenses have the size that they have. From a sales point of view FF nex lenses from Zeiss would make sense but a low quality lense will never sell.
Khuzul
5 months ago |I’ve seen the lenses at the past photokina, by looking at them I think they are too small to cover FF, especially the 12mm f/2.8, such a lens does not even exist on DSLRs yet, and just by looking at the Zeiss’front element tells you it won’t cover FF, Just look at Canon’s 14mm f/2.8 front element, or even the voightlander 12mm f/5.6.
Denis
5 months ago |DSLR is DSLR, mirrorless is mirrorless.
You should know wide angle benefits from short flange distance.
Vivek
5 months ago |This says alot about nex. the only decent lenses are the ones from Zeiss, which is going to cost minimum over a grand easiy. Go and buy all these Zeiss lenses if anyone can afford them, it wont be too long after the system will die from its crapulance and youll have another dead contax g system. Systems survive when many ppl buy them, not the other way around. fuck, no one seems to understand basic business principles.
Dave Lively
5 months ago |I have the $300 Sony 50mm and it certainly meets my requirements for decent. I would even go so far as to rate it good but not great. Since it is 50% more expensive I am hoping the 35mm Sony will be even better since I find that focal length more useful. I am sure the Zeiss versions will be better optically but my Sony 50 is good enough that there is no way I will be paying for the Zeiss version.
I agree that not many people will be buying the Zeiss 32 and 50mm lenses but there are Sony alternatives in those focal lengths.
Since Sony has decent primes at 35 and 50 Zeiss might be making their versions FF to give people reason to buy them over the Sony lenses. For about 10 years I have been watching people spend thousands extra buying FF lenses for the affordable FF body that is always just around the corner. The FF versions would also be useful for people using the FF Sony video camera.
Vivek
5 months ago |I don’t know who posted with my name there.
Anyway, I am pretty sure these are APS-C only lenses. If they redesign them it won’t be 32/1.8 but rather 35/1.8.
MeToo
5 months ago |Yeah sure Vivek, tell that to their sales figures.
http://www.petapixel.com/2012/10/30/the-current-state-of-the-mirrorless-war/
Apparently they know nothing about business principles like, releasing a product which significantly increases their market share. Nothing in the electronics industry survives now days, all you can do is try and stay at the forefront of innovation. Like how 1080p video will be the equivalent of standard definition video within a couple years, 4K/8K video is already coming down the pipeline.
Hendrick
5 months ago |Vivek, you are trolling this forum too much recently. Why do see Sony with so much disdain? Why do you even bother coming around here? if you want to vent off, get on a boat and row to the middle of a large lake and shout your lungs open.
Vivek
5 months ago |Now, I hope I can log in and post what I truly think (the 2nd Vivek in this post). I had no idea that there are many with my name posting here.
FWIW, I have most of the NEX primes (including the 24/1.8) and I rate the Sigma DN 30/2.8 higher than any.
Bourne Wang
5 months ago |I believe this rumor was fake…
The recently review with Zeiss says the three new lens will be APS-C lenses..
Check it out
http://blogs.zeiss.com/photo/en/?p=2864
Varn
5 months ago |‘What sizes are the lenses designed for?’
‘To showcase our high demands on imaging quality, we decided to focus on cameras with sensor size APS-C.’
emopunk
5 months ago |12mm f2.8 ff would be bigger than CZ 24mm f2. Then how big would NEX-9 be?
Man on fire
5 months ago |I asked exactly this question to a Zeiss engineer a month ago on a trade show here in Germany. He clearly said that these lenses are APS-C and my impression was that this guy really knowed what he was talking about. He said that there are Full Frame developments ongoing at Zeiss, but not for the interchangable cameras like the NEX more for fixed lens cameras
RVN
5 months ago |I’m not sure about this, 12mm/2.8 for FF and for $1000 to good to be true..
Carl
5 months ago |I can’t see this one ever becoming SR5. It’s nice to dream, though.
a900andanex5
5 months ago |I’m certainly hoping this is true and particularly with the 32mm and 50mm so closely mirroring the recent E-mount primes.
I’m most likely going to seriously interested in the fullframe NEX and I’m not going to be spending a fortune for APS-C Zeiss lenses.
I’d assume that nearly all potential fullframe shooters will be wanting the fast primes to go with it and I won’t be alone in not buying any more APS-C lenses whilst I wait.
larys9
5 months ago |Just take a look on this tiny 12mm lens with little front element. It cannot be full frame.
larys9
5 months ago |Just take a look on this tiny 12mm lens with little front element. It cannot be full frame.
3D-Kraft.com
5 months ago |Seems to be too wonderful…
If you look at the size of the Zeiss Distagon T* 15mm F/2.8 (which still vignettes significantly), I can hardly imagine that Zeiss can manage to cover full frame with that tiny 12/2.8.
http://3d-kraft.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=126&Itemid=2
Joel Richards
5 months ago |I see your point but the 15mm you reviewed (quiet expertly BTW) is for an SLR. Mirrorless cameras, such as the Ikon, have traditionally had smaller lenses with smaller front elements that achieved as good or better performance.
Hendrick
5 months ago |Go to CZ site and see it yourself, there are 2 15mm 2.8′s, one is ZM and the other one is for SLR. ZM version is very, very expensive.
waldomarek
5 months ago |hm.. judging the 32/1.8 on the picture, it seems like it’s actually somewhat shorter than the 24mm?
Andy pandy
5 months ago |A 12mm f2.8 lens will have a huge front element if its to cover FF, so I think this is a fake rumour
Marc
5 months ago |HI ANDREAS
when do you get any new rumors SR4/SR5 about :
- NEX7 replacement ?
- A77/A65 replacement ?
Was under the impression they should be announced by end of January or did I misunderstand ?
Many thanks
Marc
James
5 months ago |Good news? No. We need compact lenses for all these APC-C NEX bodies. I don’t want a FF lens hanging off a Nex-6!
James
5 months ago |If true that they’re re-designing to FF that would be great news and I’d buy an NEX 6 now and start buying the Zeiss glass now ready to sell on the body for an NEX FF when it appears. They would presumably have to change the focal lengths though, as these aren’t particularly useful on FF? Would need to be something like 18/50/85, with a new 53mm FF lens to cover what the E-mount 24mm zeiss covers now?
daenur
5 months ago |If true, can we expect those lenses also for A Mount?
alphabart
5 months ago |I thought it was the other way around. That they make the NeX-9 FF compatible with aps-c by entering cropmode. And FF using A-Mount adapter…
Anyway, to redesign a lens means that it can be released mid 2014… I don’t think Zeiss is going to do that! Especially because the 12, 32 and 50 are also made for Fuji, meaning they only need to fit another mount, serving a larger market… It;s all about the money
John Maverick
5 months ago |Quite possible they are redesigning them in anticipation of fullframe mirrorless. It would be unfortunate if they were obsoleted when SONY does it. Also Zeiss have already acknowledged and said that people use their fullframe Zeiss ZM lenses on mirrorless, because they are the highest image-quality Zeiss lenses available and can be used on any camera. It’s great that one lens will work so well on a NEX, Ricoh GXR, Fuji XE1 or a Leica rangefinder.
Dirk
5 months ago |No they won’t. Assuming their schedule of releasing the lenses in second quarter, they will already be in the pre-release type phase. With that said it will not be possible to change the design anymore without loosing minimum 6 to 9 month.
Either they are developing a separate ff linie-up, or we need to hope that Sony will bring at least one lens with the body…
Varn
5 months ago |I believe the FF Nex will be launched with Zeiss prime/zoom lens, similar to Rx100, Rx1 and the recent SR5 rumors of Zeiss high-end standard zoom for Nex.
There could be a confusion here, other than the 3 Zeiss APS-C lenses, Zeiss could be really working on FF lenses for the coming FF Nex.
Just my 2 cents though.
Sky_walker
5 months ago |Besides A900 Sony never sold kits with Zeiss lenses. I doubt it’ll change. Especially when these lenses will be available on X-mount too.
John Maverick
5 months ago |In September at Photokina, Zeiss stated the lenses would be APC-C. Assume for a minute they changed their mind just after this event, then a scheduled release at the end of second quater 2013, allows for 9 months of development.
Of course I have no idea about the veracity of this rumour, but can speculate about how customers will feel, when SONY release their fullframe camera (that already exists as a prototype) and their expensive new Zeiss lenses won’t work on it. That’s a big business incentive.
Rurik
5 months ago |No way.
I they redesign them for FF…
- they are coming somewhen 2014-2015
- they are huge for compact cameras
- they cost loads
- Zeiss hasn’t delivered what was shown and promised
And there is no business reason to do this. Market share for NEX APS-C is quite big and it’s waiting hard good lenses. Market share for FF NEX…. none so far and it’s not expected to grow fast.
Overall…. I’d say SR1.
Poki
5 months ago |True. If they deliver the specs they said (focal lengths and price) they won’t be able to cover FF. And a 50mm macro would be too short on FF, or the 12mm 2.8 – as FF Zeiss lens it would cost more than 3000 (look at the 15mm 2.8 FF lens) …
Besides that, is a full frame NEX really necessary? APS-C sized sensors get better, the depth of field on super fast lenses is more than sufficient and I don’t think it’s a good idea at all. Again a new set of lenses? No thanks.
taran
5 months ago |Yeah, more news on NEX 7m… phase detect on sensor, new LPF, new microlens array, standard hotshoe?
J
5 months ago |Perhaps the 12 is not likely however don’t rule out software tricks to overcome distortion. Factor that in and it could be quite small (if true).
Poki
5 months ago |You’d loose too much resolution if you correct a 1000€ 12mm 2.8 lens with software. I doubt such a lens would meet Zeiss’ quality requirements.
KA
5 months ago |So basically just give us all the ZM lenses with autofocus?that would be nice!
miki
5 months ago |12mm f2.8 I am taking straight away . Thanks zeiss , when we can expect to see them ??
simon
5 months ago |would make sense (ok not so much for the 12mm in my opinion) but then $1000 isn’t going to give us very high quality when we look at current zeiss prices. however sigma would probably be able to make very good ff lenses for that price (if you look at the performance, of the new 35/1.4). so actually zeiss should also be able to deliver the same, but I doubt they will.
Randy S
5 months ago |they are Cinelenses for the v900 and thus would also be nex E mount
Andy
5 months ago |The good news – it’s a Zeiss. The bad news – resale value will plummet when the FF versions are released… Let’s face it, who’s going to spend that kind of money on APSC glass when you can go full frame (either now or further down the line). Zeiss + FF is going to get a lot of attention…
Is it possible they’re FF compatible in the same way as the 60mm Tamron (terrible wide open but usable stopped down)?
JohnB
4 months ago |Whether the lenses can cover full frame or not is set by the barrel diameter of the lens mount. Hence, for Sony Nex and Fuji X mount, this will never happen. Also, what compact system camera is there out there or likely to be out there in the near future, that is full frame and can interchange lenses ?
What is the obsession with full frame ? The whole point of compact system camera is that it is compact and designed for cost effective but good quality, on the move, general photography. If you want a studio camera, there are plenty of other options.