Zeiss OTUS lenses

Lensflare

Lensflare

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Simon Everett
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Anyone use these at all - specifically on Nikon bodies (because Gestapo torture wouldn't get me to use the 'C' word :nikon:)

Yes, they are expensive.
Yes they are manual focus - what's wrong with that? Can't you focus manually? Did you never learn how to follow focus when you were getting into photography? 20 years we HAD to -even in motorsport, horse racing, coursing,tennis.....it was all done with dexterity and hand-to-eye coordination.

Anyway, they do look rather good on paper, but before I take a trip to go and organise demos, anyone had any experience of using them at all?

Cheers.
 
Its not just about people being able to manual focus... do believe that 35mm SLRs from back in the day had much better viewfinders so it made things easier and good luck focusing a 85mm 1.4 lens wide open in poor light with moving subjects through a DSLR viewfinder. There are a few members that use them, amazing lenses from what Ive seen.
 
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I'm not sure if older film SLR's necessarily had 'better' viewfinders and modern FF DSLR with OVF, but those that only had MF would have had viewfinders optimised for manual focus - so would have been better for manual.
I don't know about Nikon, but for my (old) Sony A900, it is possible to change the focussing screen to fit one which is better suited to manual (I've not done this, so can't comment on how effective it is).

Of course, the alternative is to go for an EVF with magnification and focus peaking, but even though the modern EVF are hugely better than those from a few years back, I still prefer the OVF in terms of 'quality' of view - but the gap is getting smaller with every new iteration of EVF that comes out!
 
Faldrax said:
I'm not sure if older film SLR's necessarily had 'better' viewfinders and modern FF DSLR with OVF, but those that only had MF would have had viewfinders optimised for manual focus - so would have been better for manual.
I don't know about Nikon, but for my (old) Sony A900, it is possible to change the focussing screen to fit one which is better suited to manual (I've not done this, so can't comment on how effective it is).

Of course, the alternative is to go for an EVF with magnification and focus peaking, but even though the modern EVF are hugely better than those from a few years back, I still prefer the OVF in terms of 'quality' of view - but the gap is getting smaller with every new iteration of EVF that comes out!
Click to expand...

They were bigger and brighter with focusing aids/screens, unlike modern DSLRs. I understand you can get catz eye focusing screens but they arent standard and only for specific models. I changed my focus screen on one of my 5ds and there was a very slight difference, definitely not night and day.

Yes, I wouldve said EVF but he is being quite specific to Nikon dslr.
 
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I briefly tried manual lenses on my 5D but gave up. IMO MF with modern cameras is ok for macro and pseudo macro stuff and when the subject is big in the frame and it's easy to see detail but much of the time it's hit and miss unless you're doing hyperfocal or zone or some other technique. IMO MF with a CSC is easy but with a modern DSLR if doing it without live view or MF optimised screens it's not so good.
 
I've only reviewed the 85 Otus (it was for Professional Photo magazine) and it was seriously impressive - the sharpest lens I'd ever tested at the time, now (very) narrowly overtaken by the Canon 35/1.4 L Mk2. It's the performance at f/1.4 that is really outstanding, and lack of bokeh colour (LoCA/spherochromatism). It's very big and heavy, but build quality is sublime.

Needs a full-frame camera of course, and an optimised focusing screen. Standard focusing screens don't show DoF correctly below about f/2.5. Manual focusing is not easy when DoF is very shallow, like a tight head shot, though the Zeiss mechanism is very precise with a long throw.

Edit: if you're concerned about how you'd get on with manual focus, get a Samyang 85/1.4 to play with, plus focusing screen. Lenses with proper manual focus mechs are much better than simply switching to manual on an AF lens.
 
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Interesting replies, I don't understand half of them! I have only been a full time professional photographer since 1985. :LOL:

OVF?
EVF?
CSC?

Never heard of them.

Thanks Hoppy, that has given me something to think about. Professional Photographer did a thing on me a few years ago, were you working for them then?

How do you think the Otus line up compares to the Nikon versions, or any other lenses to go for? I keep looking at the 16-35, but as I have a 17-35, which is more compact I dismiss it and go back t old faithful! I need a kick of some sort.
 
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oh dear... Just in case you're serious :D

OVF = Optical View Finder.
EVF = Electronic View Finder.
CSC = Compact System Camera. They have other names but what people usually mean is a an interchangeable lens camera with an electronic viewfinder rather than an optical one like the ones on SLR's.

And again, just in case you're serious...

The reason that CSC's are good for using manual lenses on is that they have things that make manual focusing easier and more accurate, like being able to call up a greatly magnified view on a little TV screen in the view finder. These little TV screens display a "live view" of the world beyond and when the view is greatly magnified it obviously makes it easier to see what you're focusing on and if it's well focused or not. It's like shooting macro but at a distance and when shooting a model you'll see every eyelash and you'll be able to pick your point of focus along the length of an individual eyelash of your choosing (well, maybe :D) Another thing some of them have is "peaking." This is when the things that the camera thinks are in focus shimmer green, red or yellow depending on how you've set it up. It's indistinguishable from real magic :D

If you have the time to focus manually you can do so very accurately with modern cameras. I've never owned a traditional digital SLR with live view (a live as it all happens image displayed on the rear screen as SLR's don't have a little TV screen in the viewfinder) and personally as I don't like focusing whilst looking at the back of a camera they don't interest me and I much prefer to focus with my eye to the viewfinder and so prefer modern Compact System Cameras with electronic view finders.

If spending OTUS money I don't think I'd be too happy being restricted to hyperfocal type methods or to the less than ideal experience of focusing with an unaided optical viewfinder system as fitted to modern digital SLR's. I much prefer focusing accurately with "live view" but not on the back of the camera and instead with the EVF.

It's your money though :D I was focusing manually in 1971 but I do so now with accuracy I couldn't have imagined back then.
 
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Lensflare said:
Interesting replies, I don't understand half of them! I have only been a full time professional photographer since 1985. :LOL:

OVF?
EVF?
CSC?

Never heard of them.

Thanks Hoppy, that has given me something to think about. Professional Photographer did a thing on me a few years ago, were you working for them then?

How do you think the Otus line up compares to the Nikon versions, or any other lenses to go for? I keep looking at the 16-35, but as I have a 17-35, which is more compact I dismiss it and go back t old faithful! I need a kick of some sort.
Click to expand...

If you need a kick, then there's nothing like something new, and preferably expensive, to get things going again. Wedding photographers switching to fast primes is a bit of a trend and the Otus trio of 28/55/85 looks very sweet. But Otus is different, not a 'normal' kind of purchase, more personal, the value of the German Zeiss brand etc (though made in Japan by Cosina).

There's nothing else that can compete optically (Zeiss Milvus comes close) but manual focus is not everyone's cup of tea and the cost is something else. Painful if you get it wrong, which is why I suggest Samyang as a cheap alternative to see how you get on with manual focus (and a suitable focusing screen - some links on the Zeiss UK website). If that works for you on a practical level, then upgrading to Otus will be nothing but a total treat. You won't believe the size and weight (more than double) but will be blown away by the spectacular image quality at f/1.4 :) And that's where the difference is - stop it down to f/2.8-4 and it's much the same as any other 85mm, still fantastic, but no better.

I've been writing for Professional Photo for a couple of years (editor Roger Payne). It was called Photo Pro before then.
 
I use a 55mm f/1.4 Otus on a D800. If you want completely accurate focusing then go with the magnified liveview as the viewfinder can be hit and miss at f/1.4. Optically they are superb lenses up there with the best Leica have to offer. If you need autofocus I'd recommend the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 ART lens.
 
check out Jason Lanier on youtube i believe he loves them (y)
 
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