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How are Sony Zeiss E Mount lenses? (or Any)

gkarris

gkarris

macrumors G3
Original poster
Dec 31, 2004
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"No escape from Reality...”
Zeiss fanboy here....

how are the new Sony Zeiss lenses?

anyone here used one or more?

looking on youtube, the zooms are getting not-so-good reviews, especially at their prices.

Thanks...
 
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gkarris said:
Zeiss fanboy here....

how are the new Sony Zeiss lenses?

anyone here used one or more?

looking on youtube,the zooms are getting not-so-good reviews, especially at their prices.

Thanks...
Click to expand...


I found the 24-70 f4 Zeiss is not great.

55mm f1.8 is fantastic as are the Batis 85mm and Touit 25mm.

Agreed the primes are great but that zoom is mediocre but I am a clown so your mileage may vary.
 
kenoh said:
I found the 24-70 f4 Zeiss is not great.

55mm f1.8 is fantastic as are the Batis 85mm and Touit 25mm.

Agreed the primes are great but that zoom is mediocre but I am a clown so your mileage may vary.
Click to expand...

Yeah, back in the day I rented and adapted the Zeiss 25mm f/2.8 Contax Y to my Olympus E-420 and got some pretty stunning photos...
 
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You really need to go to the GM to see the results. That or the third party lenses are getting better. Tamron, Sigma are releasing great lenses for half the price of Sony's lenses.
 
www.bhphotovideo.com

Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM Lens

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The G series is Sony's high end lenses. The GM being the top.
 
Clix Pix said:
I am still (slowly) putting together my Sony lens kit so at this point am still working with native Sony lenses. Later on I may explore a few of the Zeiss ones that are Sony/Zeiss and/or look at other options.....
Sony is rumored to be releasing a 20mm GM 1.4 and a 12-24 1.8 GM
Click to expand...
 
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MacNut said:
Sony is rumored to be releasing a 20mm GM 1.4 and a 12-24 1.8 GM
Click to expand...

I am not much of a wide-angle shooter so have not really investigated all the options there, but eventually will get to that...... Right now 35mm f/1.8 is as wide as I go. Probably after that it would be the 16-to-whatever zoom and that would take care of things.

For someone who is really into landscape photography and wide-angle these two new lenses sound as though they would be really outstanding and fit the bill.....
 
Clix Pix said:
I am not much of a wide-angle shooter so have not really investigated all the options there, but eventually will get to that...... Right now 35mm f/1.8 is as wide as I go. Probably after that it would be the 16-to-whatever zoom and that would take care of things.

For someone who is really into landscape photography and wide-angle these two new lenses sound as though they would be really outstanding and fit the bill.....
Click to expand...
The third party market is really starting to pick up. Good lenses at half the price.
 
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One reason I made the switch from Nikon to Sony rather than going with Nikon's new Z series was so that I could take advantage of the nice selection of native Sony E-mount lenses and not have to fool with an adapter or with third-party lenses. So far I've been very, very pleased with my Sony lenses. I've always tended to stick pretty much to native lenses, anyway, as they are specifically designed and tooled to work with the manufacturer's own camera bodies and sensors, whereas third-party lenses are usually reverse-engineered, which can indeed invite problems.
 
I recently bought a 18mm ZEISS Batis and love it, haven’t used any GM lenses but I’m really thinking of picking up the whole Batis line.
9ED64D95-BFB2-4429-A7DB-4FDB741605B9.jpeg
 
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kenoh said:
I found the 24-70 f4 Zeiss is not great.

55mm f1.8 is fantastic as are the Batis 85mm and Touit 25mm.

Agreed the primes are great but that zoom is mediocre but I am a clown so your mileage may vary.
Click to expand...
Yes, I found the 24-70 f4 just so so as well (but better than the kit 28-??), and ended up selling it going prime in the range. While I have the 35 f2.8, rarely use it ...but it is so compact. Primarily use the 55 1.8 ziess which lives up to it's reputation and the Sony 85 f1.8 which is also excellent - so much so that couldn't justify the price premium for the zeiss 85 1.8. On the wish list is the Sony 24 f1.4 ot Zeiss Batis 25 f2. That is a difficult choice, the cheaper Zeiss or the standard setting 24. On the wide side, and serving that 24 range I use the 16-35 f4. That is almost me go to walkaround lens and stays on the camera. Of course, shooting real estate, the 16-35 is a must have.
 
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Sony doesn't seem like it is releasing any more Zeiss lenses...

Is it because they want users to go to its own-branded G lenses?

Are they just as good or better?

Thanks...
 
I think that in the early days before Sony had many lenses of their own yet they wanted to have something to offer so partnered with Zeiss until they could develop a fair number of their own lenses..... Just a guess, anyway.

Sony's GM lenses are their top-of-the-line (and most expensive) lenses, and then comes their G series, then after that lenses without any particular designation. My 135mm f/1.8 GM is indeed outstanding, a really gorgeous lens, and my G lenses (90mm f/2.8 macro and 200-600mm) are really excellent, too. I also am quite happy with the non-G lenses as well, and although they are less expensive than the others, they certainly perform well and do what I need.

I have Sony's RX10 IV, which is a "bridge" camera which has a zoom that ranges from 24mm-600mm on a one-inch sensor, and that lens is a Zeiss. Also the RX100 VII, a compact camera with a shorter range up to 200mm also on a one-inch sensor has a Zeiss lens. Great quality, excellent sharpness on both cameras!
 
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