Zeiss lens pictures roundup! Which one would you buy?
(Image courtesy: Alexander Radojski)
Certainly one of the best news from Photokina is the launch of three new Zeiss lenses for the NEX system. Alexander Radojski sent us some pictures of the new lenses (Click on them to see the full size version). All lenses have autofocus, price similar to the current Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 (around $1000) and cover an APS-C circle. This lenses do not cover Full Frame sensor camera like the new NEX-VG900. This is probably the only bad news for all of these people like me that hope to see a FF NEX-9 alike camera in 2013. Probably the lenses would have been a lot bigger if designed with FF in mind. And as you know this lenses are designed for the Fuji X system (like the new X-E1) too. This may be the reason why they do not cover FF. The lenses will ship in mind 2013. The big question is:
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Updated Sony preorder list:
A99 body Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Jessops, Wex UK, Wex Germany, Sonystore DE-UK-FR-IT-ES-NL-SE-FI-CH and more links at Alphacameradeals.
A99 with kit lens links Alphacameradeals.
RX1 Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK ,Wex Germany and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-6 body Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK, Wex Germany Sonystore DE-UK-FR-IT-ES-NL-SE-FI-CH and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-6 with kit lens Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Jessops, Wex Uk ,Wex Germany and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-VG900 Amazon, BHphoto, Sonystore DE-UK-FR-IT-ES-NL-SE-FI-CH, Wex Uk and more links at Alphacameradeals.
NEX-VG30 Adorama, Amazon, BHphoto, Wex UK, Sonystore DE-UK-FR-IT-ES-NL-SE-FI-CH, and more links at Alphacameradeals.
Sony E-mount 16-50mm Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK, Sonystore DE-UK-FR-IT-ES-NL-SE-FI-CH, and more links at Alphacameradeals .
Sony E-mount 35mm Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK, Sonystore DE-UK-FR-IT-ES-NL-SE-FI-CH, and more links at Alphacameradeals.
Sony E-mount 10-18mm Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK, Sonystore DE-UK-FR-IT-ES-NL-SE-FI-CH, and more links at Alphacameradeals.
Sony A-mount 300mm f/2.8 Amazon, BHphoto, Sonystore DE-UK-FR-IT-ES-NL-SE-FI-CH.
Chris
9 months ago |ALL!
waldomarek
9 months ago |just saying something so the idiots can’t yell first.
spaceman
9 months ago |They are SLEEK looking, beautiful!
The 12/2.8 and 50/2.8 Macro are very tempting. On the other hand, so is the Sony 10-18/4 and perhaps the upcoming mid-tele prime lens.
Hell even the Zeiss 32/1.8 is tempting, but again, so is the more compact (?) Sony 35/1.8 OSS, when you already have the Zeiss 24/1.8.
alex
9 months ago |The Zeiss. 32 is as big as the Sony 35 and at leasr 1.5cm shorter then the sel24 zeiss
spaceman
9 months ago |That would be perfect. Have you seen the measurements or are you guessing from the picture?
From the picture it does actually look like as short as the Sony 35/1.8 which is 4.5cm (2cm shorter than Zeiss 24/1.8). The Zeiss 32/1.8 will probabley be heavier and the filter Ø is 52, so it will thicker than the Sony I think.
waldomarek
9 months ago |if i had the money, i’d surely buy another zeiss lens, but right now they’re just somewhere down on my wish list.
waiting for some reviews and more sample images of the new sony images to see how good they do.
räven
9 months ago |The 32mm should’ve been a f/1.4… Just sayin’
Weakling
9 months ago |I really like these lenses a lot, but if the question is “will probably buy” then I have to answer “none”, because I cannot afford them. :X
Timmy Fox
9 months ago |If I had the money…
Pei
9 months ago |Are you the famous Timmy Fox associated with the Furry culture?
Portmixus
9 months ago |I would have asked things slightly differently:
All people who voted “will probably buy the CZ32 F1.8″, would you still buy it knowing that Sony is releasing the 35mm F1.8 with OSS? (perhaps they forgot
)
DtEW
9 months ago |Let me be the first to propose that the Zeiss 12mm f/2.8 shall be colloquially known as “The Funnel”.
Rick
9 months ago |12mm & 50mm macro for me… won’t be pre-ordering though. Have to wait and see how they perform, but Nex needs a good macro and the ZE/ZF 50mm is stunning. I’d like to see how the 12mm does as well, as that’s close in price to the 10-18, but a stop faster and I would guess much sharper. I don’t really need OSS on a UWA lens, just good edge performance.
Tristan
9 months ago |I don’t quite see the advantage of the Zeis over the Sony offers. Unless the Sony lenses have an abysmal image quality, like the tests say about the 16 f/2.8. But that’s rather unlikely, isn’t it?
herroyuihk
9 months ago |The Focal Length of three lens are very popular.
However, most people have SEL24Za.
I think that I may prefer 50mm Marco.
Why they don’t consider the less popular focal length of lens?
kebo
9 months ago |Any pics of the 50mm macro?
John Maverick
9 months ago |I’ll stick to ZMs which cover a full-frame image circle and can be used on the VG900
spaceman
9 months ago |I see where you come from, but the ZM version of the E-mount 12mm/2.8 is an 18mm/4, so the FF lens does not seem to have any real advantage over its new APS-C sibling which is interesting.
tsoe
9 months ago |12/2.8 for me. Exactly what i’m waiting for.
hb
9 months ago |HASSELBLAD LUNAR! HASSELBLAD LUNAR! HASSELBLAD LUNAR! HASSELBLAD LUNAR! HASSELBLAD LUNAR! HASSELBLAD LUNAR! HASSELBLAD LUNAR! HASSELBLAD LUNAR!
ep
9 months ago |wow, they all looked like sony’s own designed lens, straight slick black
Kurry
9 months ago |yay~ will get a 24/1.8 or 32/1.8 and a 50mm along with nex 6 for myself ~
and maybe a 12mm for shooting stars !! XDD
tomm
9 months ago |i won`t buy anyone of them for two main reasons:
– toooooo big!
– tooooo slow!
i dont see the advantage for the smallish nex system, putting so “huge” glass monsters on it.
the same with the Schneider lenses for mFT..
it feels lioke GERMAN ENGINEERING” for its own sake, thats not marketing..
Arne
9 months ago |I look forward to the first comparison test of Zeiss 1.8/32mm and Sony 1.8/35mm …
spaceman
9 months ago |Me too. My guess is Zeiss will be slightly sharper with more micro contrast and perhaps more contrasty colors. The Sony on the other hand has OSS and will be lighter I’m sure.
Contrast and colors can be modified in PP easily, but if the Zeiss turn out to be significant sharper corner to corner only then I will consider the 32/1.8. In compactness and weight I still think Sony will have the advantage unless someone has the measurement on the Zeiss 32mm to prove me wrong.
Cyrus
9 months ago |The smallest and the fastest
32mm f/1.8
RVN
9 months ago |gooo sony gooo!!
this year sony really rise up! 
with a99 and some new lens include zeiss 50mm, four schneider lens for alpha, some sigma lens, RX1, new nex camera and many lens for nex is really great news!!
rds
9 months ago |This FF NEX nonsense is really starting to grate. These lenses are already big and don’t cover FF, can you imagine how big they’d be if they did? Shouldn’t we be aiming to make smaller sensors that offer FF like performance instead of always hoping for a FF/bigger sensor?
poke
9 months ago |Sensors will always be improving but I cannot see how a smaller than aps-c or even an aps-c size sensor performs equal to a same generation FF sensor. That may be wishful thinking like me owning all these to be released zeiss lenses. And you might as well throw in a 6. I will definately need 2 nex bodies then.
spaceman
9 months ago |Well now that the APS-C mirrorless cameras start getting the support of Zeiss etc, then these systems actually have viable options performancewise to the premium FF lenses, the FoV and speed is tuned specifically for the APS-C size sensor. Like the new Zeiss E-mount 12mm/2.8, which is equivalent to the ZM 18mm/4 manual FF lens.
However, in order to use the huge legacy FF back-log then it is nice to have a FF NEX to utilize this option. For this however, the 36 Mpx sensor would be preferable so that we would get 16 Mpx in crop mode.
Owen
9 months ago |yup, that’s what I’m trying to point out previously. A FF NEX would only mean the lenses is to be as large as DSLR lenses. Although the ability to use old legacy MF lens is a plus, new AF lenses would have to be made and it’s going to be as large and heavy as a DSLR lens which defeats the purpose of a small lightweight interchangeable system.
I think the current APSC size is fine, just hopefully those genius engineers would be able to make it perform closer to a FF sized sensor, especially when it comes to higher ISO.
poke
9 months ago |Buying the 99 and to be released 50mm for the 99. My nex will have to take a backseat for now.
Mick
9 months ago |Lack of OSS is a problem with these lenses regardless of how sharp they are. I have the 24mm NEX, and it is a wonderful lens. However, when shooting video there is a slight amount of shake around the edges of the frame. 24mm is probably wide enough to mask most of it, but when you start getting into the 32 and 50mm range you really need OSS for video. I would wager that the Sony 35mm and the current 50mm will be much better suited for video capture than these Zeiss lenses.
Poki
9 months ago |Don’t forget that many customers who buy lenses in this price class (me included) NEVER shoot video without a tripod or at least some sort of body mounted stabilization, so OSS isn’t really important anyways. And also you don’t have to turn it off always when you use a tripod (cause it causes some kind of strange jittery when turned on on a tripod), so it’s even more comfortable.
Mick
9 months ago |It’s good that you try to shoot on a tripod as much as possible (so do I, during the wedding ceremony of course). However, for me and I would guess a lot of other shooters, the practical reality is that a lot more people are shooting handheld (especially during a wedding reception). At this price level $1,000+ lack of OSS is unacceptable to me. I think I will sell my Zeiss 24mm and buy the Sony 35 1.8 OSS because it has optical stabilization and a fast aperture. Yes, the Zeiss looks wonderful, but it is missing a key feature for me.
FMJ
9 months ago |All u guys in SAR really that rich to be able to afford these $1000 Zeiss?
how much better that 32mm will perform better than the 35mm sony? which is ~$400, and don’t forget the Sigma 30mm F2.8 is decent lens for only $200 as well…..
Poki
9 months ago |First, I’m certainly not rich. I currently have about 1200€ a year I can spend on whatever I like (really not that much, is it?), but the thing I bought this year is the 24mm CZ lens. Next year it will be the 12mm one, followed by the 12mm and a future 85mm, so 2014-2015 I’ll be able to upgrade from my “ancient” NEX-5 to a new body.
However, it is it totally worth to me. Photography is my passion, and I happily forego other things like a shiny new car to be able to buy these things. After all, the 24mm is just so inspiring, its not comparable to any Sony lens I owned before. Maybe that’s just a personal feeling, but it’s worth 1000€ to me.
And to the comparison: NO, the Zeiss lenses won’t be worth 600/700 more than the Sony 35mm and 50mm ones, but they will give you that little bit of extra-everything you’ll love so much after using it for some months. After all, my 500€ B&W MM-1 aren’t five times better than the cool Harmon Kardon Soundsticks II, but they make my life a little bit sunnier every day I live.
Owen
9 months ago |You have a fine taste. The MM1 is amazing for what it does at its size
And by the time you upgrade your NEX5, wouldn’t have to worry if your lens has enough resolving power or not, most likely you next camera would be a NEX7 replacement by then.
I guess it’ll depends, Zeiss lenses (or any high quality lenses) would be more important to current NEX7 owners due to the current Sony E lenses doesn’t really take full advantage of that sensor (except the 24 which is a Zeiss lens). Zeiss certainly has to prove that their lens IQ and perhaps build quality is better (worth the money) then the Sony considering their lens lacks OSS and generally slower by a stop.
Personally, I prefer Zeiss lenses due to the character that it has.
I’ll likely grab the UWA first (though the 50mm is tempting), hopefully it’s great cause right now my 18-200 serves as a telephoto lens, although a slow one at that.
Poki
9 months ago |Yeah, the MM-1 are really special. Do you have them? If yes – let’s make a club here.
I actually think 14 MP is plenty resolution for most tasks. I recently printed a photo 120×70 cm and wouldn’t mind going even bigger, so unless I want my 3x2m print (that’s my personal first goal as a photographer) I think I’ve enough resolution. But the character of Zeiss lenses … you are so right with this.
Oh, and yes, the build quality of the 24mm CZ lens is leagues above the Sony lenses (which are made of the cheapest metal I ever saw).
Austin
9 months ago |I can’t afford one, but if I could it would likely be the 12mm. I have the 16mm with UWA and my only complaint there is the sharpness and corners, an issue I’m sure doesn’t exist on the Zeiss. Will be interested to how both compare to Sony’s 10-18 however.
Owen
9 months ago |Am I the only one who thinks the lack of OSS in their 50mm is a problem? especially in low light, that f/2.8 is not going to be fast enough :/
Though it being a macro lens is a plus.
Decisions decisions decisions
Poki
9 months ago |Hey, it’s a macro lens. Who on earth takes macro shots without a tripod? So no, it won’t be a huge loss.
And then again, even if you want to shoot portraits – as you should have at least one “real” portrait lens like a 85mm f/1.8 in your bag for this kind of application, you always can get around the 50 or just bump the ISO one stop more to get the picture. Every NEX body since the beginning has great ISO capability, and as I saw billboard-sized prints from a NEX-5 shot at ISO 6400 which looked stunning, I really don’t think it’s a problem at all.
Owen
9 months ago |Wouldn’t on a APSC sensor, 50mm lens works closest like a 85mm FoV due to crop factor? Unless someone create a 55mm/57mm lens.
Poki
9 months ago |Yeah, it would, but I talk about APS-C lenses, so 85mm is about 127,5 -perfectly within the portrait range, where 75mm eq is a little bit short for most applications.
Owen
9 months ago |Ah, well I used a 160mm f/2.8(35mm FoV) before and I find it too tight for most purposes though the compression is great! and hand holding it when it comes to low light is terrible, unless I bump the ISO (I prefer to keep it as low as possible and it frustrates me that the NEX only do a double ISO increments, unless I leave the ISO to Auto. This is just one of the freakish thing I find on the NEX firmware)
I wonder why no one create a APSC equivalent of a 85mm FF lens? Pity the Zeiss is shorter by 10mm, I wonder how much different does it make.
Dirk
9 months ago |For macro shots you are usually not using an aperture faster than 2.8. In fact you need f5.6 or higher to get enough of the subject in focus. The 50mm is a dedicated macro lens, not a regular 50mm standard lens.
Poki
9 months ago |f/2.8 is actually quite commonly used in macro photography, but you have to do focus stacking. As this is pretty time consuming, you’re right – f/5.6 – f/11 is better suited – still, 2.8 is a viable option. Everything faster would be overkill IMHO.
Owen
9 months ago |Ah, I guess it’s a problem for me cause I am planning to use it as a portrait lens (~75mm FoV on a FF camera).
Anyway, besides the close focusing and maybe slower autofocus, what are the difference between a standard vs macro lens?? (at the same focal length)
For me the macro for portrait means you can get closer to the subject and that’s about it.
Mick
9 months ago |These f1.8 lenses are the lenses I use with the NEX-VG20 when shooting at 60p in low light situations for slow motion. The reason is you can boost the shutter from 1/60 to 1/120 of a second which would cause you to lose a full stop of light. In other words, when shooting with the Zeiss 24mm 1.8 or Sony 50mm 1.8 at 1/120 of a second it is like shooting at f2.5 when shooting at f1.8 (because you lose a full stop of light). Now if you were using the kit lens you start at f3.5 and if you doubled the shutter it would be like shooting at f5 (which is too slow in low light). It is a shame that Zeiss doesn’t put OSS on these lenses. The company seems out of touch with the needs of videomakers.
SensorZ
9 months ago |Is there something wrong with sony & lens planning/making. We have duplicate lenses. We need long fast lenses with Steady Shot on the lens. We don’t need three 18-200mm, etc. Seems like I will be waiting forever or switching over to the A99 with SSI to do video work. Photo cameras get SSI while video cams have nothing. This is backwards.
iver h
9 months ago |Does this mean the end of Sony made Zeiss glass for E mount (eg 24 f1.8)?
Poki
9 months ago |I don’t think so. But it’s a series made by Zeiss (probably built by the same people who make the more expensive Sony lenses) that will complement the Sony made ones, which are exclusive for E-Mount.
James-k
5 months ago |What weight is Zeiss 32/1.8?