Exciting New Lenses from Zeiss - Milvus Line for DSLRs

 

Zeiss makes absolutely wonderful lenses. For Nikon camera bodies, the ZF lenses are all manual focus, and are unquestionably at the top of optical performance.

 

Not too long ago, they came out with the Otus 55mm f1.4 and 85mm f1.4 lenses for Nikon and Canon DSLRs. The Otus lenses are advertised as providing medium format image quality on the 35mm sensor size. They also cost at least $4,000. I'd love to try one.

 

Now, Zeiss has come out with the Milvus line. Announcing the full lineup all at once, there are Milvus models in the following focal lengths and maximum apertures: 21mm f2.8, 35mm f2, 50mm f1.4, 85mm f1.4, 50mm f2 Macro, and 100mm f2.8 Macro. Again in manual focus, the Milvus lenses are more reasonably priced, listing for less than $2,000 each on preorder at Adorama. They should be shipping in October.

 

So, what's special about the Milvus lenses? They're designed specifically for the new high pixel count sensors, with low light scattering, precision manual focus across the full focus range, and weather resistance.

 

(Click Here) to read more about the Milvus lenses on Zeiss' website.

 

It's great that Zeiss keeps bringing us high quality optics for various camera systems. I love the variety they're offering.

 

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Another Person Who Appreciates the Zeiss ZM Sonnar 50mm f1.5 Lens

 

by Reed A. George

 

The Zeiss Sonnar 50mm f1.5 lens engenders a lot of debate in the photo community. Acknowledged by Carl Zeiss as an updated build of a classic Sonnar design, it does not have all the technical performance of say a modern Leica Summilux. It does have character. I own both lenses, and love them both. But, the Sonnar has more character than the Summilux. If I want near perfection, I use the Summilux. If I'm willing to take a chance and maybe make something more unique, I use the Sonnar.

 

(Click Here) to read an account of using the Sonnar on the blog DearSusan. I think it's nicely done.

 

Thanks to my friend Bill for alerting me to the DearSusan blog!

 

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Walter Ulreich Shares His Experience Going Back to a Zeiss Folder

 

Old Style, Kyoto, by Reed A. George

Zeiss 521/16 Medium Format Folding Camera

 

I love shooting old cameras. I have a few favorites, one of which is the Zeiss 521/16 folder, with Tessar 75mm f3.5 lens, which I used for the shot above.

 

(Click Here) to read more about this particular camera. This is the one that happened to have an old roll of film still in it, with pictures from JFK's Fourth of July speech in Philadelphia. (Click Here) to read about that roll of found film.

 

So, what made me think about this today? Well, as the post title mentions, Walter Ulreich has made a blog post that shares his experience in going back to a Tessar-equipped Zeiss folder after many years. His test images are quite impressive, certainly worth a look.

 

(Click Here) to go to Walter's post.

 

Amazing what a well-preserved old (very old, near 80 years old) camera can do!

 

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Awesome Zeiss Ikon Images and Historic Information Now in Public Domain!

 

 

 

"Before you purchase a miniature...."

Image Source: http://issuu.com/zeisshistoricasociety/docs/1939-09_uk_catalogue__1_#

My friend Bill Barton send me a great link to an enormous amount of Zeiss historical information that has been put into the public domain!

 

(Click Here) to see old Zeiss catalogs, and issues of Zeiss Historica, with articles on many really interesting topics related to Carl Zeiss.

 

I love this kind of stuff. Thanks, Bill!

 

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Whole Lotta Leica - June's Lens is the Modern Carl Zeiss C Sonnar 50mm f1.5!

 

Zeiss C Sonnar 50mm f1.5 Lens

 

This month, I'm going from an old, slow (f3.5) wide angle LTM lens to a modern, fast (f1.5), 50mm.

 

The Zeiss C Sonnar is a very interesting and controversial lens. The "C" stands for classic, which means that this is a modern incarnation of the classic Zeiss Sonnar design, made with modern materials and manufacturing processes. I believe it's manufactured in Japan. To me, this is the perfect marriage - classic German design and modern Japanese manufacturing.

 

Because it's based on a classic design, there is some focus shift when shooting close up at wide apertures. This means that while your rangefinder indicates you're in focus, the lens' focal point is a little closer o further away. There is a lot of talk online about having your Sonnar "optimized" for focus at either f2.8, which is a common wide aperture to use, or f1.5, which is why many people spring for an expensive fast lens - to shoot wide open.

 

I got my C Sonnar used, so I honestly don't know which aperture it's optimized for. I've shot it at both f2.8 and f1.5, and have no complaints.

 

(Click Here) to see a shot at f2.8 on film.

 

So, wish me luck! I'm taking the M9 and the C Sonnar (only) to a weekend Leica workshop in DC. I hope to have some nice results to share with you soon.

 

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Well, It's No Surprise, But the New Zeiss Lenses for Mirrorless Are Not For Micro 4/3 - Yet?

 

Image Source: http://forum.getdpi.com/forum/sony/40472-awesome-zeiss-lenses-news.html

 

Carl Zeiss has introduced a new line of autofocus prime lenses for mirrorless camera systems. Unfortunately for Lumix users, formats don't include Micro 4/3, at least not at this point. I guess this is no surprise, given Zeiss' relationship with Sony. Of course the NEX mount is the main platform.

(Click Here) to read more details on the Zeiss site.

At this point, they've announced the following lenses: 12mm f2.8, 32mm f1.8, and 50mm f2.8 macro.

What is a little surprising to me is that they did include the Fujifilm XPro mount. Great news for Fuji and users!

These three lenses all have autofocus capability, with complete system compatibility. None of them offer image stabilization.

Zeiss reports that they will be around the 1,000 Euro mark in price, and should be available in spring/summer 2013.

In the article, Dr. Michael Pollman, Consumer Lenses Product and Program Manager, leaves the door open for future Micro 4/3 lenses. He states that Zeiss wanted to focus on the larger APS-C sensor market first. He also makes it clear that the focal length and size of lenses designed for APS-C would not be optimal for Micro 4/3. I can go along with that. The 12mm focal length is well-covered by an excellent Olympus product, and the macro is covered by the Pana-Leica Macro-Elmarit 45mm f2.8.

Well, Dr. Pollman, us Micro 4/3 users will keep our fingers crossed! We'd love to welcome Zeiss lenses to our cameras.

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Sony Announces A Real World-Beating Compact Camera! - DSC-RX1

Sony DSC-RX1 Full Frame (!) Compact
Image Source: http://dpnow.com/8896a.html

I remember my father-in-law getting me into digital photography. Living in Tokyo, he had access to the latest and greatest devices. First, he handed down a gorgeous Fujifilm camera, with a blinding 1.3MPixels. The optics on that camera were awesome. The sensor was good, but obviously not enough to make big enlargements from. That said, I did use it to shoot some artwork, which made it onto the front cover of Science. Not bad for 1.3MPixels.

The second generation gift from him was a Sony compact. At 3.2 MPixels, that little camera really had capability. In fact, it still does. It is well over ten years old. At one time, I used it in a Sony underwater case for diving. A little anecdote about Sony related to that camera. After using it for a couple of years, I was having trouble with charging the batteries. On a trip to Tokyo, I took it to Sony's service center, at their headquarters. Within two days, they had checked the camera out fully, and replaced both of my batteries, for free! That's service.

So, I have no issues whatsoever with Sony cameras.

In my work in science, which involves a lot of imaging (to put it lightly), I have developed a similarly positive relationship with Carl Zeiss. Their optics are simply wonderful. So, the combination of Sony cameras and Zeiss lenses is a natural fit for me.

I have an even closer feeling for Matsushita (Panasonic), having been accepted as a fellow and training in one of their factories in Japan for a year. Maybe that's why I got so into Lumix cameras in the beginning. Now it's because of the great equipment.

Anyway, with that introducion, let me say that I was amazed to see the announcement for the new Sony DSC-RX1 with Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* 35mm f2 lens and full-frame sensor in a compact camera body. When I read the headline, I thought it had to mean some sensor size other than 24x36mm (full-frame 35mm format). Nope. It's really there.

(Click Here) to read the announcement on dpnow.com.

With a full-frame CMOS sensor (and Sony sensors are used in a lot of other manufacturer's cameras) at 24.3 MPixels, this is awesome. It boasts iso settings from 100-25,600. You can literally shoot in near total darkness with that iso and f2!

The camera weighs in a 453 grams (1 pound)!

This is going to be interesting. Especially if Sony decides to make a similar camera with interchangeable lenses! With Zeiss lenses, it could even be an M-mount! Now I'm dreaming.

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Carl Zeiss Announces Big Plans for Photokina

Image Source: http://blogs.zeiss.com/photo/en/?p=2745

 
Photokina, to be held in Cologne, Germany September 18-23, 2012, is one of the premier photographic trade shows in the world. Carl Zeiss has posted some information about exciting news that they plan to formally announce during the show.
 
(Click Here) to read the Carl Zeiss page.
 
First, they plan to exhibit a new manual focus 55mm f1.4 lens for SLRs. Zeiss already offers the awesome Planar 50mm f1.4 for SLR mounts, but this lens is reported to give optical results formerly only available from lenses designed for medium format cameras. And Zeiss sure knows how to design those. If you know medium format cameras, you know that the legendary Hasselblad image quality relies on Zeiss lenses.
 
Next, and here's a big one, Zeiss plans to unveil a series of autofocus (yes, autofocus) lenses for mirrorless cameras. With Zeiss' collaboration with Sony, I'm sure this will mean NEX mount. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE make them for Micro 4/3 too! My heart says yes they will; my brain says no. It would make Sony angry. But, I'll keep my fingers crossed. How great would it be to have both Pana-Leica and Zeiss lenses for Micro 4/3? As I've reported in the past, Zeiss does make some very expensive cine lenses for the Micro 4/3 mount. Fingers crossed on both hands that they'll make the new line fit M4/3 as well.
 
Finally, they hint at an exciting new lens addition to the popular manual focus Zeiss lenses for the Leica M mount.
 
I am very excited to hear the details!
 
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