New Zeiss 55mm f1.4

[Clayton Burkhart]

Interesting, that finally puts a more realistic perspective on it.

Thanks for the more detailed post, looking forward to see the footage you mentioned.

Ditto.

 

[Josef Gatti]

That reverse focus direction gets me every time. I don't know what's worse, that or the lack of manual iris on EF.

Here's a bit of a weird one for you Phil... Any thoughts compared to the Xenon 50? Ballpark?

 

[Maik Müller]

That reverse focus direction gets me every time. I don't know what's worse, that or the lack of manual iris on EF.

Whats so special about having manual iris? Ok, i get why a de-clicked manual iris is interesting, but is that really enough to sacrifice electronic Iris, which you can control via REDMOTE for example and maybe do some more interesting things in the future.

I ordered the Canon-version, it was a easy choice for me. But i have to admit, i had never a fully manual lens with declicked iris so far and i just never missed a more fine-tuneable iris.

Here's a bit of a weird one for you Phil... Any thoughts compared to the Xenon 50? Ballpark?

Thats a very interesting question.

 

[Phil Holland]

Interesting, that finally puts a more realistic perspective on it.

Thanks for the more detailed post, looking forward to see the footage you mentioned.

I've used and seen enough glass to have more of a realistic perspective on things while hopefully maintaining an eye for a decent aesthetic towards how a lens feels.

Right now the Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4 is sort of it's own special little flower. It doesn't really look like anything else on the market and there isn't a set of them that exists right now, which to me is something to consider when using it for motion work. Personally I'd buy this lens over the CP.2 50mm T1.5 just based on it's performance. And it does put certain things in perspective in regards to the CN-E, CP.2, and upcoming Schneider Xenon-FF (I'm calling those XFF for the time being). In testing it against a Canon 50mm f/1.2L at f/1.4 I have the distinct feeling that the light transmission rating will be lower than expected, but Matthew will have to take a look at that.

The Otus 55mm does vignette wide open, which is expected. It is indeed sharp and "nice" though. Very contrasty, which is also very "Zeiss". There's zero distortion across the field too. From communicating with Zeiss early on about this lens I learned that it's been designed with motion and still use in mind. In it's current housing and combined with the Duclos Cine-Mod featuring an actual focus gear it does pull nicely and I couldn't really see any focus shift, which is great news. It does breathe a bit. I wouldn't describe it as a major offender, but it's certainly doing it.

Looking closer, the new design and coatings help with keeping chromatic aberrations down. That's actually really impressive.

Matthew will likely have some more subtle and technical info in his blog post, but as he's mentioned before regarding optics, the cost versus performance increase is exponential. So for somewhat minor, although very visible gains, is it worth the price compared to Zeiss's and other manufacturers 50mm primes in this range? That in this particular case is pretty tricky decision.

I own A LOT of 40-60mm lenses and it's certainly a tough one for me. I like this lens. I have to make a harder decision if I like it "enough" to purchase it. From a still perspective, it's a good length to leave on a full frame DSLR for general purpose photography and it's close focus is pretty decent. For motion use, and particularly with the full Dragon 6K sensor, it's also similar and you could shoot a whole movie with this lens. But, I tend to be the guy that shoots with several prime lenses rather than 1 lens when it comes to narrative work.

Here's a quick and dirty video with some focus pulls against the Canon 50mm f/1.2L. We also projected the Canon CN-E 50mm T1.3 against the Otus 55mm which showed some of the Otus's strengths a bit more clearly, like the extremely minimal to none CA versus the Canons which both exhibit it within field and edge performance.

 

[Phil Holland]

Here's a bit of a weird one for you Phil... Any thoughts compared to the Xenon 50? Ballpark?

Until I hold in my hands a full production model of the Schneider Xenon 50mm T2.1 prime I'll hold off on any optical notes, those were indeed prototypes I tested way back when. However, I will say that mechanically obviously the Schneider has a clear edge here.

 

[Josef Gatti]

Whats so special about having manual iris? Ok, i get why a de-clicked manual iris is interesting...

Pulling iris smoothly during a take/scene is crucial for me. So yes, de-clicked is what I was referencing!

Until I hold in my hands a full production model of the Schneider Xenon 50mm T2.1 prime I'll hold off on any optical notes, those were indeed prototypes I tested way back when. However, I will say that mechanically obviously the Schneider has a clear edge here.

Look forward to it! And thanks as always for the video. Always fun to watch your stuff

 

[Maik Müller]

Thanks Phil for that very informative post!

 

[Maik Müller]

One more question, speaking about the lens being without matching siblings. Phil, have you any thoughts on how good the 15/2.8 and 135/2 would match the Otus?

 

[Phil Holland]

One more question, speaking about the lens being without matching siblings. Phil, have you any thoughts on how good the 15/2.8 and 135/2 would match the Otus?

Matching would be tough to say at this point as I haven't done a side by side, but the coatings on the Otus feel familiar to some of Zeiss's more recent offerings.

I have a theory, and it's one I presented to Zeiss at NAB 2013 this year. I think we'll see something called the "CP.3" line or whatever they call it at some point. Which will consist of the Otus lenses, likely a 25, 35, 55, and 85mm. They'll add the 15/2.8 and 135/2 to that set or leave them in the CP.2 class as they are newer and similar in a few ways and this should line up nicely with the look of the CZs as well.

That's theory though.

 

[Patrick Grossien]

Thank you Phil for your first defining words. That finally puts it in perspective.
I only had the lens for a few minutes to play with and no way to test it. No way to save the images.

You mentioned its different. And it being lighter doesn't sound that it changed for the better. can you define how it changed?

 

[Phil Holland]

Thank you Phil for your first defining words. That finally puts it in perspective.
I only had the lens for a few minutes to play with and no way to test it. No way to save the images.

You mentioned its different. And it being lighter doesn't sound that it changed for the better. can you define how it changed?

I was curious about the weight too, and Matthew explained to me the prototype likely had brass inside it and now it could be something lighter like aluminum or something. That's not really a concern really.

Overall I don't think it looks worse than the prototype or anything like that. Just different. In fact, the biggest difference between the two is the production model's focus pull is "glass like smooth" compared to the friction from the prototype.

 

[Eric Z]

Thanks for these quick tests, Phil.
Looks like the 55mm Otus is slightly sharper and more contrasty.
Blacks look blacker than with the Canon 50mm 1.2.

 

[Patrick Grossien]

I was curious about the weight too, and Matthew explained to me the prototype likely had brass inside it and now it could be something lighter like aluminum or something. That's not really a concern really.

Overall I don't think it looks worse than the prototype or anything like that. Just different. In fact, the biggest difference between the two is the production model's focus pull is "glass like smooth" compared to the friction from the prototype.

Thank you for the quick response! Sounds all good!
The prototype I held at IBC was already really smooth... so I had no worries on that part - if this is even better now, hooray.

Comparing these to the Leica-M Summilux will be a great thing. And I guess that is what they are aiming for, especially comparing the prices, this is pretty damn close.
If this lens holds up to (or bests?!) the Leica Summilux-M line this is more than great. Because one would be able to purchase a Leica-M-like-quality lens for Nikon and Canon which is pretty awesome. Ok at the same premium price, but still this is great. I never truly loved the 50mm Canons wide open so this is a welcome add-on to the lens floor. And as a line-up it will be even better.

Do let us know how it holds up against your Schneider Xenar

Thanks, man!

 

[Patrick Grossien]

Watching your comparison clip I must add that the difference doesn't look as extreme as it felt when using it live.
But it's still definitely sharper and the milkiness of the canon @ f1.4 is clearly visible in the comparison.

I

contrast!

 

[Maik Müller]

Matching would be tough to say at this point as I haven't done a side by side, but the coatings on the Otus feel familiar to some of Zeiss's more recent offerings.

Fine, that sounds good. I have those two on my wishlist for a long time, i would probably get them sooner than planned if they play well together with the Otus.

That's theory though.

One that makes lot of sense to me too.

Again, thanks for all your thoughts and insight here.

 

[Billy Jim]

I have a theory, and it's one I presented to Zeiss at NAB 2013 this year.
I think we'll see something called the "CP.3" line or whatever they call it at some point.
Which will consist of the Otus lenses, likely a 25, 35, 55, and 85mm.
They'll add the 15/2.8 and 135/2 to that set or leave them in the CP.2 class
as they are newer and similar in a few ways and this should line up nicely with the look of the CZs as well.

That's theory though.

Some resolution figures at f/1.4 from lensrentals' Roger Cicala:

Nikon 58mm f/1.4 on D800e 700 / 540 / 475
Zeiss OTUS 55mm 1.4 on D800e 945 / 785 / 670

The Zeiss numbers at f/1.4 are competitive with what I see from really good lenses at f/2.8 or f/4. I've never seen any lens do this at f/1.4.

 

[Phil Holland]

Some resolution figures at f/1.4 from lensrentals' Roger Cicala:

Nikon 58mm f/1.4 on D800e 700 / 540 / 475
Zeiss OTUS 55mm 1.4 on D800e 945 / 785 / 670

The Zeiss numbers at f/1.4 are competitive with what I see from really good lenses at f/2.8 or f/4. I've never seen any lens do this at f/1.4.

It is indeed a high resolving lens. I do dig it.

 

[Jiri Vrozina]

http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2013/11/otus-is-scharf

I guess for small crew operation this kind of set(when available) with Nikon Mount(iris) could be the way to go.
Optically looks very good, full frame,well made, sort of light under 1 kg......sharp fully open, no major CA.
Might be far more interesting set to own then CP2,CNE or Xenons....
Hopefully they can release 15,25,35,85,135 and Macro 100mm sooon.

 

[Phil Holland]

http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2013/11/otus-is-scharf

I guess for small crew operation this kind of set(when available) with Nikon Mount(iris) could be the way to go.
Optically looks very good, full frame,well made, sort of light under 1 kg......sharp fully open, no major CA.
Might be far more interesting set to own then CP2,CNE or Xenons....
Hopefully they can release 15,25,35,85,135 and Macro 100mm sooon.

When there are three I'll likely get all of them. I do like the 55mm a whole lot, it's just sort of lonely at the moment in the Otus lineup. I like the idea of having a set of f/1.4 primes of this quality. Next time I can we'll test transmission as I feel that's important here. I have a sneaky suspicion it won't be T1.5, but actually slightly higher. That's just a guess though.

Soon isn't going to happen though. You'll see one more mid-year next year and another before the year is out, unless things have radically changed.

They really do need to put this in a proper cinema style housing. The focus ring is pretty smooth as is and more importantly I didn't see noticeable image shift. Mechanically the CN-E, CP.2, and XFF are all better for motion work, however not as optically "radical".

Damn trade-offs.

 

[Jiri Vrozina]

I expect Nikon Nikkor 58mm f1.2 AIS to be under resale pressure now ;-)
Lets hope around $2,000.

So,
is Schneider still considering making 14mm XENON? Macro lens i hear is no longer in...