The GetDPI Photography Forum

Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!

Batis 25 and Batis 85 - Availability and Experiences

Annna T

Active member
Skip the batis and get the 25 ZF/ZE. Amazing glass for half the price. and it's works like magic when shooting against the sun. awesome flare control.
I have read your blog. Thank you for sharing your experience. But there are two 25mm Distagons : one is F2.0 and the other F2.8. The F2.0 cost twice as much as the F2.8. Are you sure that the 800.-$ one was an F2.0 ? Or was it a second hand deal ?

Also, concerning weight and size : did you take the weight/size of the adapter in account ? On my Canon the Metabones adapter would add quite a lot of weight, at least 100gr.

But they are all nice lenses.
 

ryc

Member
I have read your blog. Thank you for sharing your experience. But there are two 25mm Distagons : one is F2.0 and the other F2.8. The F2.0 cost twice as much as the F2.8. Are you sure that the 800.-$ one was an F2.0 ? Or was it a second hand deal ?

Also, concerning weight and size : did you take the weight/size of the adapter in account ? On my Canon the Metabones adapter would add quite a lot of weight, at least 100gr.

But they are all nice lenses.
Definitely the 2.0. I just picked one up for 800.00 like new in the box. You just have to shop around. I have two adapters. A fotodiox which is light as a geather and a better built commlite which is a lot heavier. regardless of the adapter, the combo feels really comfortable in hand.
 

ryc

Member
I shot 8o portraits yesterday with the A7rII and the Batis 85. Now I shot these at 7.1 but I also was in crop mode so effective 127mm I believe . Now when I say I backed off a ton of sharping , clarity is negative 12 and structure minus 6. Im knocking this down a lot. Still a laser. Her lips look the sharpest. I was using Eye AF


Ok Guy,

No denying the 85 Batis is awesome. Set aside the size difference which can be a deal breaker for some. But with the your crop factor at 127 I honestly think the 135 1.8 will yield better image quality and detail. That lens is just out of this world and the rendering is unmatched. I know you had to tone it down a bit for portrait work. But maximize your browser and click on the images in this post A7RII and the untouchable 135mm 1.8 ZA | JORGE TORRALBA and you will see why I am now mainly shooting the A mount lenses on the A7 series. Make sure to look at the crops. And focus is not as accurate as your eye focus :)

Most of these were shot at f4.5

Just for clarification, Not knocking your photography. You do that for a living and I don't. Just talking about what the glass and camera can deliver.

JT
 
Hi Gentlemen!

I'm a long time lurker and this is my first post. I want to thank all of you for your sharing of your expertise and obvious love of Photography. I have been without decent gear for too many years while I pursued my other passion of Woodworking both personally and professionally. Thanks to all of your excitement about the new a7rii and my recent refi, I am now the proud Daddy to a clan of Sony & Zeiss equipment. And wow, I have been blown away by the images that this camera and E-mount lenses produce, but I'm just signing to the choir.

Long story-short, Today I finally received the Batis 25 that I ordered back in July. Once on the camera, when I turned the power on, the Zeiss name appeared in the OLED and faded out, but unfortunately no focus depth appeared in the OLED. I repeated the sequence multiple times with different priorities, but no numbers in the OLED. Seems like someone else had a similar problem, but I don't see it in this thread. I have already submitted a defective claim back to the dealer. Anyone else had this dilemma with the OLED readout?

Rick
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
NOT defective Rick and welcome to the forum. Glad to have you . First turn on put focus on manual focus than you go to infinity or keep turning and you will see options. Now in your lens box there are instructions but it never says to put on manual focus. Do that and you can follow instructions from there.

Report back so I know you are okay
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Rick, as Guy said, the lens isn't defective. The OLED readout, by default, appears in MF mode. When in AF mode, by default, the OLED display will be blank. The manual for the lens explains how to change the settings so that the readout can be changed from meters to feet, and how the readout can be changed to always ON, always OFF, or ON for MF only. I'm not a fan of reading manuals, but it helped in this case.

Joe

Thanks Joe . I always leave mine on as the new default. Its pretty cool at night. LOL
 

dmward

Member
Was out exploring in the yard yesterday.
Looking for interesting compositions with Batis 25/2 wide open and closest focus point.

Here is one I like particularly well.


 
Thanks Joe! And what a party it is! I have to fess up, I have been hanging out for quite some time. Especially since the a7rii was announced. Seeing the level of everyone's work, it was easy to have confidence in the opinions expressed, even the fervent ones.

Nice capture, David!
 

davidstock

New member
17 weeks and counting since I ordered the 85mm from B&H. I'm also on waiting lists at two other stores, both of which thought they would get me a lens by now. I also notice that the LensRentals site, which had originally claimed that they would be renting out the Batis 85 starting in October, now says "available November 19."

Oh well; First World Problem.

Meanwhile, Sony is threatening to bring out an 85mm f1.4 G some time this Fall. If it's really good, and not too big.....

--d
 
If anyone is looking for a Batis 25mm I will likely have mine for sale in December. I have the 21/2.8 on order and should be getting an early copy. If I like it as much as I expect, the 25mm will be on to another home. As wonderful as it is, I would like a little more separation between the 28mm and the 35mm options. Will miss the AF though.

PM me if you would like first right of refusal.

Chad
 

philip_pj

New member
Been waiting since July. I just got a reply from the SE Asia part of the Zeiss sales/marketing chain, very nicely mannered, telling me the usual things - 'sorry cannot do it' effectively. This was followed by a request to fill in a survey on how satisfied I am with the response, lol.

Anyway, I did learn one thing from the Australian distributor .. get this: Zeiss ships these lenses from Japan to Germany before they then (re)distribute them to wherever they end up. It's like those mystery flights, except you find your CZ lenses aboard the Malaysian plane off in the Indian Ocean somewhere.

None ended up here, the local outfit went a month or two with none at all. From past experience, Europe is an internal-facing black hole when it comes to photographics, all our business is with SE Asia and/or the US, so the Pacific Rim essentially. Things work there.

At least Zeiss is suffering a well-deserved loss of reputation out of this oh-so-avoidable goat rodeo. It's galling to see them release the new/not new 'Milvus' lenses to great fanfare and get this - mounted on Sony a7rII cameras! Those giant suckers were given priority but will gather dust on B&H shelves..they represent a big up yours from Zeiss to Sony users! ;-)
 

Annna T

Active member
@ Philip-pj

If that can be a consolation : my country has a common border with Germany, but we aren't getting any Batis lenses before at least Christmas. The nearest delivery date I could find was end of December. My local brick and mortar store told me the same. She didn't even have one herself for testing or demo.

Edit : I just checked with all the reputable online dealers here and not a single one can communicate a delivery data.
 
Last edited:

jrp

Member
I finally got my 25mm and it is every bit as good as everyone sats it is.

I't pretty sharp wide open and can be used for subject separation from f/2 on, although that will be apparent only when you print large. At we sizes the full field of view looks the same!

More seriously, there is a bit of CA that lightroom does't correct at full aperture, but it is on a par with my Leica lenses, if not as compact.
 
Allen's Camera shipped my Batis 25mm yesterday. I had contacted them about less than two weeks ago.

They also offers UPS Ground for FREE and it only costed $12 by 2nd Day Air to SF Bay Area.

Give a call to Brandon if you like to be on the waiting list.

Subrata
 
Top