Zeiss 50mm F/1.4 ZA SSM

[A7CH]

I am a Leica user since many years.

 

Some three years ago I decided to try a mirrorless camera and since the I am satisfied with an XE-1 Fuji, within its evident limits.

 

I am now looking forward to upgrade to a full frame camera with a Sony A7 II.

 

I would like to start with a standard lens and wondering about my choice.

 

On the net the Sony 55mm f/1,8 and Zeiss 50mm f/2,0 Loxia (manual focus) have good attention.

 

On the other side very little is said about the Zeiss 50mm f/1,4 Planar.

 

Do anyone have any info about this lens ? On paper it looks better than the other two.

 

Is it possible to use it on an A7 II without any adapter without loosing any function ?

 

I would avoid the Loxia having no auto-focus.

 

Thank you !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tarkane]

Hi,

 

Actually, Sony Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 is one of the sharpest 50-55mm lenses, on Earth, regardless of the brand :

 

http://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Ratings

 

It's almost on par with the Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4! 

 

Only downside of the Sony Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 in comparison to Sony Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 Planar is that it's 2 stops slower and thus DOF won't be as shallow as Planar one (Though, it still has a very creamy Bokeh, in my subjective opinion).

Otherwise they'd be quite similar in terms of color, contrast and micro-contrast. Since, we're talking about Zeiss here.

 

But, if you need more faster and slightly more shallow DOF, then you will need a lens adapter to use it on your A7 II. Since, Sony Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 Planar is an A-Mount lens and A7 series are all E-Mount.

There are 2 adapter options at the moment : LA-EA3 and LA-EA4.

 

- LA-EA4 has its own built-in focusing mechanism with SLT-Semi transparent mirror, can be used with all A-Mount lenses, it's more bulkier and expensive than LA-EA3.

- LA-EA3 doesn't have a built-in focusing mechanism and SLT-Semi transparent mirror, can only be used with SAM and SSM ( Sony Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 Planar is an SSM lens) lenses, it's more lighter and cheaper.

 

You can find more details about these 2 adapters at :

 

https://us.en.kb.sony.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/37304/~/what-is-the-difference-between-the-la-ea1,-la-ea2,-la-ea3,-and-la-ea4-lens

 

 

Until now, LA-EA3 was slower and usable with Contrast-Detect AF etc. But, that's gonna change with the forthcoming firmware update at Nov, 18th. You can read more details at :

 

http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2015/11/04/sony-a7-ii-gains-phase-detect-af-for-third-party-lenses-uncompressed-raw

 

So, after Nov, 18th the LA-EA3 might be a better option. 

 

Hope, this helps. 

 

Cheers,

 

 

Tarkan

[A7CH]

Thanks for detailed info Tarkane !

[tarkane]

Thanks for detailed info Tarkane !

 

No worries A7CH. Hope, it helps.