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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

New Zeiss 55mm f1.4

I'll admit to being a little curious about why I'd want this lens. :-) It looks great and all but at $4K - plus additional money if I want it "cinevized" - I think I'd be more inclined to look at the new Schneider Xenons. This just seems awfully pricey for a DSLR still lens. Thoughts?
 
Terry VerHaar said:
I'll admit to being a little curious about why I'd want this lens. :-) It looks great and all but at $4K - plus additional money if I want it "cinevized" - I think I'd be more inclined to look at the new Schneider Xenons. This just seems awfully pricey for a DSLR still lens. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

It's clearly designed for the video market with it's long focus throw.
I would say it will definitely be sharper than the Schneiders wide open.
As the 50/1.4 was always the dog of the Zeiss lineup, I think this answers a lot of needs.
The real question is what the rest of the set will look like and when it will happen.
 
Terry VerHaar said:
I'll admit to being a little curious about why I'd want this lens. :-) It looks great and all but at $4K - plus additional money if I want it "cinevized" - I think I'd be more inclined to look at the new Schneider Xenons. This just seems awfully pricey for a DSLR still lens. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Very good point Terry.

in my case this one lens can be used on all 3 of my current camera systems:

Epic-X with allstar mount
Canon C100 with ef adapter
Nikon D800.

I'm pretty excited.
 
Clayton Burkhart said:
It's clearly designed for the video market with it's long focus throw.
I would say it will definitely be sharper than the Schneiders wide open.
As the 50/1.4 was always the dog of the Zeiss lineup, I think this answers a lot of needs.
The real question is what the rest of the set will look like and when it will happen.
Click to expand...

I'd bet against the "designed for motion".
With a lens this sharp, and it being manual, you desperately need a long focus throw, no matter if it's for stills or motion.
If it were designed for motion, then the canon version had a manual iris, too ...
 
Terry VerHaar said:
I'll admit to being a little curious about why I'd want this lens. :-) It looks great and all but at $4K - plus additional money if I want it "cinevized" - I think I'd be more inclined to look at the new Schneider Xenons. This just seems awfully pricey for a DSLR still lens. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I must admit I've never done any side-by-sides with still vs. cine lenses but I must say that the 1.4 was a huge wow effect more than I had in a long time. This is a beast ;)
 
Patrick Grossien said:
I'd bet against the "designed for motion".
With a lens this sharp, and it being manual, you desperately need a long focus throw, no matter if it's for stills or motion.
If it were designed for motion, then the canon version had a manual iris, too ...
Click to expand...

It has a 240 degree angle of rotation.

That is pretty damn good.
 
Matt Gottshalk said:
It has a 240 degree angle of rotation.

That is pretty damn good.
Click to expand...

No arguing against it ! I love that it is cine like. The focus throw is lovely and the fous ring is buttery smooth with a nice resistance.
The color of the markings is very telling anyway. I think it's a great lens for motion use!

I just don't think it was designed for the motion market. It's a great lens to be used in that field but they are marketing it as a still lens which is "as capable" as a mid format. And that's what it was designed to be for in the first place. A lens that is able to capture what the new top sensors deliver.
 
I believe that they borrowed a lot from their cine lenses.
 
Such a shame about the canon versions lack of manual iris. That killed this one for me, will have to wait until they rehouse it in a cine lens, however long that may be. Uh
 
Matt Gottshalk said:
Definitely looks like they did.

I hope they continue to come out with similar lenses with the same design and sharpness.
Click to expand...

They will. Actually the announcement should be coming in the next few weeks (hopefully)
The people from zeiss mentioned 2 more lenses coming out next. Should be announced in October or latest beginning of next year. Delivered by the end of 2014.
 
Josef Gatti said:
Such a shame about the canon versions lack of manual iris. That killed this one for me, will have to wait until they rehouse it in a cine lens, however long that may be. Uh
Click to expand...

Rehousing this lens is a sin. This is such a beautyful housing. But I know where you are coming from.
I actually believe taking a Nikon modifying it to canon and using a lens gear is more than sufficient as long as the gear stays in place. The housing is very much cine like already. Only missing the gears :(
 
The average still photographer is not going to buy this lens. It's about 3-4 times more expensive than even the serious ones usually invest.
Guess who will?
Us.
It's cheap compared to cinema lenses.
That is why I think they have had their eye on the hybrid market for a long time.
 
we should have one by the end of this week and will do a comparison between all of our 50mm glass
 
Patrick Grossien said:
Rehousing this lens is a sin. This is such a beautyful housing. But I know where you are coming from.
I actually believe taking a Nikon modifying it to canon and using a lens gear is more than sufficient as long as the gear stays in place. The housing is very much cine like already. Only missing the gears :(
Click to expand...

Totally agree Patrick, this thing looks amazing. & to clarify I'd only ever buy this if it was zeiss doing the rehousing (like what they did with ze/zf -> CP.2).

You might be right about just getting the Nikon. I was hoping it would be as easy as un-boxing and plugging it in. Since I shoot a lot without a follow focus, the Nikon version might give me some headaches. Time to think about it anyway!
 
Aaron McLane said:
we should have one by the end of this week and will do a comparison between all of our 50mm glass
Click to expand...

You are totally going to freak out. Put it up against the 50mm Master Prime.
 
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