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Sony 24-70mm FE Zeiss - depth Review

Anyone else having problems with lenses after firmware update on A6500? My Sigma's are working well but my Zeiss 12mm F2.8 Touit has stopped responding and focusing.... even manually Any ideas team? Gonna call Zeiss tomorrow...

Hey there Just got my FE 50/1.4 ZA yesterday, haven't had much time to shoot with it yet unfortunately, but took a few shots in my backyard for test purposes. Here's a quick test shot with it wide open, nothing special but you may be able to get a glimpse of its character: Blueberries [explored] by Mathias, auf Flickr Love the rendering and the colors, very soft bokeh too (no swirly-bokeh and no onion-rings!). AF seems on par with the FE35/1.4 and manual focus is great too, seems to be linear (180° throw), but need to test more. The aperture ring is designed like the one on the 85GM, unlike the FE35/1.4 - I prefer this one, as the ribs go all around the ring which is more ergonomic. In these first simple shots I couldn't find anything not to like... Haven't come across CA either... Will update when I have more. Please share your images and opinions about this beautiful new lens. Oh and make sure to enter my Flickr group if you shoot this lens too: https://www.flickr.com/groups/3010731@N20/

Hello Forum, I love reading the Sonyalpharumors and I love my Sony A7. Enclosed you will find some shots with the Loxia 2.8/21mm. Should anyone be interested in seeing more photos from me, I uploaded some more here: flickr 500px Trees are poems the earth writes upon the sky by Holger, on Flickr The Church and the Frozen Lake by Holger, on Flickr Blue Hour Frankfurt by Holger, on Flickr Gailingen am Hochrhein - Blue Hour by Holger, on Flickr

Black and white shot Sony A7r2 with Zeiss 35mm f2 Biogon Loxia, I love the rendering of this lens https://www.flickr.com/photos/56046664@N08/26142528690

I've put my Batis 85mm lens up on ebay, starting bid only $1, free USA shipping. The lens is great, no problems, lightly used, has one minor scuff on the barrel and a few barely-visible scratches on the hood, otherwise is optically perfect. http://www.ebay.com/itm/122003450948?ssPageName=STRK:MESCX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1554.l2649

I've put my Batis 85mm lens up on ebay, starting bid only $1, free USA shipping. The lens is great, no problems, lightly used, has one minor scuff on the barrel and a few barely-visible scratches on the hood, otherwise is optically perfect. http://www.ebay.com/itm/122003450948?ssPageName=STRK:MESCX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1554.l2649

Looking through a Telescope , it opens up entire new world . There is always the “ WaW “ factor , I can’t believe that I’m actually seeing this. Since my childhood I’m addicted to the night sky and its glory above . This Self-portrait image under the MilkyWay was captured in Jabalshams ( Mountain of Sun ) in Oman on 26th September 2016. Notice the Milky Way starts to disappear near the horizon because of the light pollution from Al-Hamra nearest city, if we don't act from now, this glory will be part of history. Jebel Shams or the Mountain of Sun as called in english is the highest Mountain of the country and reaches elevation of 3009m at the north summit. The temperature in summer, is around 20 °C (68 °F) and in the winter it drops to less than 0 °C (32 °F). Single exposure image at 20Sec, ISO6400 Sony A7S with Zeiss Batis 18mm F2.8.

Took a drive up to Mount Pilatus with the world's steepest cogwheel railway. Pilatus is located near Lucerne. The top is 2130 m / 7000 feet. Shot with FE Planar 50/1.4. In the lower left corner you can see the railway. The second photo gives you an impression of the crazy railroad track... Pilatus by Mathias, auf Flickr Vertical Limit by Mathias, auf Flickr

Hi all My first post in this forum. Sharing some of my work with my SONY a7R II Lotan Sony Alpha a7R II + Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 Alina Sony Alpha a7R II + Zeiss Sonnar T* FE 55mm F1.8 ZA Alina Sony Alpha a7R II + Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8

Hi all! Brand new member making my 1st post and asking for your opinion. This past Xmas I decided to get me an A7RII with a Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm f/4, I'm still on the learning phase and ready to move on with other lenses, my choices are: the Sony Distagon T* FE 35mm f/1.4 or the Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 - the idea is to use them for indoor photography with poor lighting conditions and maybe some landscape shots too. If you had to choose, which one would you go for first?

We were there 1 hour before sunrise and were lucky to grab "front row seats". It was a very still lake but no clouds. However, the autumn colours were impressive and so max sliders :-P

This is just fun speculation, not based on any evidence, but . . . What if Sony and Zeiss colluded to delay widespread release of the Batis 85mm until the G-Master 85 was announced? There's some logic behind this. Sony and Zeiss enjoy a partnership where what's good for one is also good for the other, so: 1. If Sony decided to pull the trigger on the GM 85 lens after Zeiss had already announced the Batis, Sony could rightfully fear that the in the interval between the release of the Batis and the release of the GM 85, everybody who wanted an 85mm lens would have purchased the Batis. 2. This would naturally reduce the demand for the GM 85. 3. Customers who bought the Batis might later regret their decision, and express anger at Sony for foisting a superior (allegedly) product on the market only months after they'd bought their Batis. 4. Delaying widespread release (hey, I've already got mine, but I ordered way back in July) would therefore allow the products to compete on their merits, and; 5. With the market still relatively wide open, consumers would be able to make an educated choice of which lens to buy, which is ultimately better for everybody. What do you guys think? Makes sense, right? Again, I just pulled this out of my ass - it's total speculation.

One off my trip to family in Indonesia Jakarta. Taken with the Sony a7r II + Batis 85mm WWW | Jakarta Indonesia by Daan Wagner, Wagner Photography

I have owned a Sony Zeiss 24-70/2.8 SSM lens for about 6 years. Since I bought it (new), I have told myself the sharpness at the corners is normal. Maybe I have been trying to justify the cost of the lens, but I want to know what you think. I also want to hear form other SAL2470Z owners. What do you think of the lens you own? Does it look like this in the corners? (For full resolution version, click here.) This shot was handheld with a Sony a900 at ISO200, 1/500sec, ƒ7.1. I made sure to turn off any distortion correction in Capture One, and turned the sharpening down to zero. Note the smeared details at the corners. For what it's worth, no amount of correction in Capture One fixes this issue. Everywhere else in the image is amazingly sharp and always has been. It's just the corners that annoy me. If this were a $500 lens, I'd maybe get used to it, but it was over $1200 and that stings. I've also noticed that even a single filter causes terrible vignetting at the corners at 24mm. Again, I've told myself this is normal, but it sucks when I use a polarizing filter for a landscape and I end up with black corners at the widest focal length. You can see it slightly in this shot. Apertures smaller than ƒ8 are much worse.

Sony A7 II, Zeiss Batis 85mm 1.8 ƒ/2.0 1/400 ISO 100 available light only Model: Ines

Hi there I would like to share a bunch of shots from my latest short trip to Venice, Italy. What a beautiful, photogenic city! The first photo shows the painted houses of Burano, a lovely, colorful small town on an island reachable only by boat. I highly recommend visiting it if you’re nearby. The complete album can be found here: https://www.behance.net/gallery/58422351/Venezia All shot on A7II & FE 55/1.8 Thanks for stopping by. Burano [explored] by Mathias, auf Flickr Gondolas by Mathias, auf Flickr Venezia by Mathias, auf Flickr

Hey guys! I need your knowledge, experience opinion! I am new to this forum, as I just sold everything and switched from Canon to Sony (A7III) and need advice. I have already read and watched hundreds of reviews, comparaisons and discussions on the best 35mm lens I can get for my needs and I still don’t find any satisfying answer. I had no issue to find the adequat prime lens for every focal lenght I use but the 35mm. It has been giving me headaches for weeks... Maybe some of you own some of the lenses I am hesitating on buying (I have specific questions for each of them) or maybe you’ll find some interesting advice and experiences as well in the following discussion. Anyway, we all know there is no perfect lens. You have to make compromises. The best one is the lens that suits your needs. I do street and travel photography for my personnal pleasure, and I mainly shoot concerts and music festivals professionally. I also do video for fun but want to start being more professionnal about it. 35 mm being my favourite all-around go-to focal lenght, I really care about this choice. So here are my personnal needs, by order of importance, followed by the possible choices that I get, and their downsides. 1/ Fast and accurate Auto Focus ( even in low light) I love vintage lenses. And I will probably end up using Zeiss and Voigtlander MF glass for my personnal stuff, as the quality is incredible. But as I shoot moving subjects in low light, MF does not give me as many keepers. I need AF for more reliability (unless those MF to AF adapters work efficiently?) 2/ Fast aperture (low light, DOF, cinematic shots) Ideally f1.2 (but only 1 AF third party lens available) or f1.4. Maybe f1.8 or 2. F2.8 could already be too slow but I have not tried the low light performances of the A7III. Maybe it would be fine. Thoughts? 3/ Smooth manual focus ring for video. I don’t need a professional cine lens. But a decently smooth focus ring for video is important. 4/ Good IQ (sharpness wide open, microcontrast, bokeh...) I don’t need the sharpest lens in the history of mindkind. I prefer good rendering microcontrast and buttery smooth bokeh, but the sharper the better, obviously. BONUS (less important) 5/ Weather Sealing is a plus. I shot some pretty hectic and dirty gigs with mud and rain all over the place without Weather Sealing and it was fine, so it would be a big plus, but i can deal without. 6/ Size/Weight I can handle big heavy bodies and lenses, but a small and light equipment is a plus in certain situations (traveling, being invisible, shooting secretly, trying to be intimate with the si ject without intimidating them, shooting all day etc). 7/ A bit of character ? Again, it is about the photographer, not the gear and I can give my twist to the pics in post, but if there’s some character to the lens, that’s a plus. 8/ The cheaper, the better, obviously. If I can manage to get it under 1000 us Dollars new or second hand, that would be nice. 9/ Build quality. Full metal is better, but I don’t mind plastic. 10/ And the least important to me: design/handling/balance/look. If it is well designed and balanced with the body, and if it is pleasing to the eyes and hands, That’s perfect. But it is not an important requirement at all. So, here are the possible choices that we have (from what I know) and their apparent downsides: Sony Zeiss FE Distagon T 35mm f1.4: - Seems to fit every criteria - But expensive - And a lot of reviews say a ton of copies are abnormally soft in some parts of the frame... Rokinon/Samyang 35 mm AF f1.4: - Seems to hold up well against the Zeiss in terms of sharpness. - I don’t have my computer at the moment but from my low res phone screen the bokeh seems pretty equal. - Cheap in price and good looks/ergonomics. - But some report a problem with low light autofocus. - Some say the manual focus ring is not good and precise for good video work. - Strong CA? (easily fixed in post?) Sigma Art 35mm 1.4: - Amazing reviews - Seems to fit most criterias - Very sharp - Some people say the autofocus is bad, especially in low light, which is the most important criteria. I can handle some missed focus, but is it 5-10% or more like 20+% of missed shots? - Has someone tried the emount version in low light already? - Flat rendering? Not good in terms of microcontrast and bokeh? Sony FE 35 mm 2.8: - The size, weight, look, ergonomics seem perfect. - The IQ is very pleasing to me (character, bokeh, sharpness, microcontrast). - But 2.8 may be a bit slow? What is you experience at this aperture in low light environments with tge A7II or III? Tamron 35mm f1.8 VC: - This lens seems to be so perfect in theory for a price so cheap - Every detailed reviews says it is amazing, a steal, a no brainer - Build quality, macro, weather sealed - But it is 1.8 - I am afraid of the ergonomics and handling with a metabones or other adapter (+price) - Huge CA? - And I don’t remember having seen any picture taken with this lens that I found beautiful (and I don’t know if it is just me, the rendering, or the photographers who used it, or I didn’t search enough, I don’t know) I didn’t recall another one that seemed to be in the price range and fits those criterias . For now I still hesitate between the Sony, the Sigma and the Zeiss but everyone of them has huge downsides that I don’t know if I could work with... Maybe you have some suggestions and answers for me. I am listening. Thank you for your time and consideration, it is very much appreciated!

Zeiss announced another small jewel lens, the new Loxia 21mm f/2.8 Distagon for the Sony FE system. The lens costs USD 1,499 (excl. VAT ) or EUR 1,259.66 (excl. VAT).* and will ship in December. Full Information at Sony Alpha Rumors and Sony Alpha Cameras Discussion here

I had the pleasure of doing a second studio session with Erin Brady, Miss USA 2013. For beauty and make-up shots, I usually use a Hasselblad as my go to camera. I just love the large format sensor and the color, tonal gradation and wonderful skin tones that is so characteristic of the older Hasselblad CCD cameras. However, for this session, I decided to leave my comfort zone for the day and used a Sony A7r2 as the camera. It was mounted with a Sony/Zeiss 135mm F1.8 ZA lens (via an A mount adapter) and deep into the session I switched over to the Zeiss Batis 85mm lens to test it's performance as well. For headshots, I'm still a long lens guy - my preference is 135mm, 150mm or a 200mm focal length depending on the camera body and the shape of the model's face. Thus, this shot was taken with the 135mm F1.8 but once my shot list was accomplished, I gave the 85mm a whirl and I must admit that I was quite surprised just how nicely the 85mm performed in this situation. For more information including the complete lighting configuration for the session, visit http://www.stillsandvideo.com/squarespace/

This wasn't exactly a cheap lens not even when new - if I remember correctly it used to cost something like 2.400€ in today's money or maybe even a tad more - , and it is still not a cheap lens even used: if you can find one, it will go anywhere from 500€ to 700€ and more. But it is worth every penny IMHO. It is compact, super sharp even wide open, with tons of micro-contrast and, typically for a Sonnar, it exhibit a beautiful bokeh. It is at its sharpest between 100 and 200mm, and according to the MTF data measured by Zeiss it should be a bit less sharp at 300mm, but I honestly haven't been able to spot the difference! At 300mm you will be more likely to loose sharpness because of the air between you and your subject if shooting from a distance than from anything else anyway. Look at the first picture: this kind of rendering is almost impossible to squeeze out from many other lenses, that will render the clouds soft and mushy even after a ton of post processing. This lens in my book has only a couple of faults: - it lacks a lens mount; you can probably get away without one, but it is not for the faint of heart. No big deal, there are cheap (~30€) aftermarket alternatives that work pretty good (even if then with the lens collar your lens will become a 135-300mm, because the collar locks on the first part of the lens). - wide open it might exhibit sometimes a strange "light arc" that is really difficult to get rid of in the threshold between the uniformly illuminated image and the start of the vignetting. You have to see it, it is difficult to describe, but it looks a bit like an arc of "positive" vignetting, i.e. of a lighter area instead of a shadowed one, some kind of overcorrection of the vignetting just before the proper vignetting starts. - not really a negative point for a 300mm lens of this quality, but while pretty compact (more so than many 70-200 lenses, even mf ones!) it is still fairly heavy at more than 900g. I use it on the A7r, 99% of the time on a tripod (the last shot was hand-held though) but it will be best mated with a body with IBIS for an easier time focusing and shooting at 300mm. P.s.: sorry for the compression artifacts on the 2nd shot, I can't see them in the exported image but they show up when I upload the image here...

Hi! I wrote a little blogpost about my visit at the Feuerkogel in Upper Austria in Summer 2014. All pictures were taken with the Sony A7 and the Sony Zeiss FE 35 F2.8. Post with all pictures at my blog Take a look if you like! Constructive critique is also appreciated! Cheers Tom

Title StaticandDynamic2 Made in "Sala dei Giganti" - Palazzo Bentivoglio - Gualtieri RE Italy with Sony Alpha A7RII and Sony Zeiss Distagon FE 35 f1.4 exhibition of paintings - artist Antonio Ligabue iso 100 f11 4 sec manual focus please visit https://www.flickr.com/photos/alandini/ for more shots :-)

Hi Sony Alpha Forum! Anyone know where new Zeiss Batis lenses are in stock? Preferably in US or EU (= Thank you!