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Sony A7r + Zeiss Otus + Canon TS-E II

Starck

New member
Recently went to Kyoto in Japan, brought a long with me two DSLR lenses, the Carl Zeiss Otus and the Canon 24mm TS-E II.

I ended up not shooting much with both of them, simply because they are too heavy when used with the A7r, even with the hand grip, both lenses are very imbalanced.

24mm TS-E





Otus









I don't want to bore you guys with too many pictures, if you'd like to see more please visit my Flickr, thanks.
 

philber

Member
Nice shots, but I understand your predicament. The Otus is a magnificent lens, but its weight is putting me off. I am going shooting in Iceland in a couple of weeks, and a friend of mine, who owns one, is leaving it at home for this reason.
Besides, and I find this a welcome suprise, A7R is quite forgiving of so-called "less-than-perfect'" lenses, except for RF wides, unlike D800E. I tried a Leica R 35-70 f:3.5 zoom, not considered outstanding, and the output is very nice. I just bought a Olympus 28mm f:3.5, very cheap indeed, and the output is, again, very nice. You might consider adding some lenses to your 2 "superstars" that are take-anywhere walkabouts...
 

philip_pj

New member
Otus 55mm: 1030 grams; 144 mm length; $3990

FE 55mm: 281 grams; 71 mm length; $998

[a7/a7r: 465 grams]

Otus needs an adapter, maybe 150 grams extra. You might run into shake issues on that adapter on a tripod to realise the difference in IQ - the lens is heavier than many telephotos.

The $3000 questions are:

. what proportion of the image quality of the Otus does a good copy of the FE55 give you?
. does the extra IQ outweigh the benefits of (slowish but near silent) AF, native mount niceties, size, weight, cost, versatility?

Only one of these 55mm lenses was expected to enter the top ten 50-58mm lens ever made...the FE55 is almost embarrassingly good, and is impressing those with access to a Zeiss K8 (see below link). I expect it to be a constant companion, a kind of 55mm RX1. :)

Lens Measuring Technologies | ZEISS Australia

It's likely the Otus is intended as a studio optic for high end quasi-medium format photography, for D800 class DSLRs of which there may be a few more soon.

Meanwhile many have the pleasure of a 750 gram package of a7r and FE55 to take anywhere. Otus plus D800 is over 2 kgs and needs very careful handling and a large bag.
 

Starck

New member
Philber, thanks.
While the Otus is too heavy for the A7r, but it works ok with my Canon 1Dx and 5DIII. But I think I'm in the same boat with your friend here, I don't think I'll be carrying it around, I have the 35mm FE and 55mm FE for walk around, and the 55mm FE has far exceeded my expectation, a very good lens indeed. And better yet, I've got an OM-D :D

Nice shots, but I understand your predicament. The Otus is a magnificent lens, but its weight is putting me off. I am going shooting in Iceland in a couple of weeks, and a friend of mine, who owns one, is leaving it at home for this reason.
Besides, and I find this a welcome suprise, A7R is quite forgiving of so-called "less-than-perfect'" lenses, except for RF wides, unlike D800E. I tried a Leica R 35-70 f:3.5 zoom, not considered outstanding, and the output is very nice. I just bought a Olympus 28mm f:3.5, very cheap indeed, and the output is, again, very nice. You might consider adding some lenses to your 2 "superstars" that are take-anywhere walkabouts...
 

Starck

New member
Starck, nice photos. Have you tried the Zeiss 55 FE? I've heard it referred to as the mini-otus.
The 55mm FE has exceeded my expectations, a very good lens and it's been sticked to my A7r since. My Otus goes back to my 5DIII and will be staying there until a better sensor Canon comes out.
 

Starck

New member
Philip, you've nailed it. For walk about or going on trips, the 55mm FE will be a better choice. Like many other people I was curious about the combination of the Otus and the 36mp A7r and I believe the results are stunning, sharpness all over, right to the edges, but the weight is so inbalanced that the combination requires a even faster shutter speed which makes the whole thing not practical, unless I go on a trip that I'll shoot landscape only, 100% on a tripod.
This is somewhat pretty sad for Canon users, I wanted the A7r to work with the Otus simply because Canon doesn't have a D800E.....

Otus 55mm: 1030 grams; 144 mm length; $3990

FE 55mm: 281 grams; 71 mm length; $998

[a7/a7r: 465 grams]

Otus needs an adapter, maybe 150 grams extra. You might run into shake issues on that adapter on a tripod to realise the difference in IQ - the lens is heavier than many telephotos.

The $3000 questions are:

. what proportion of the image quality of the Otus does a good copy of the FE55 give you?
. does the extra IQ outweigh the benefits of (slowish but near silent) AF, native mount niceties, size, weight, cost, versatility?

Only one of these 55mm lenses was expected to enter the top ten 50-58mm lens ever made...the FE55 is almost embarrassingly good, and is impressing those with access to a Zeiss K8 (see below link). I expect it to be a constant companion, a kind of 55mm RX1. :)

Lens Measuring Technologies | ZEISS Australia

It's likely the Otus is intended as a studio optic for high end quasi-medium format photography, for D800 class DSLRs of which there may be a few more soon.

Meanwhile many have the pleasure of a 750 gram package of a7r and FE55 to take anywhere. Otus plus D800 is over 2 kgs and needs very careful handling and a large bag.
 

yatlee

Member
My only complain to the FE 55/1.8 is that it makes it very hard for me to use the FE 24-70 Zeiss I bought couple days ago....
 

jfzander

New member
I was planing to use the Otus with the A7r too. But then I figured out that running around with a huge 1Kg lens over a crowded place, where I always will have to be careful not to hit anything with the lens, might not be a good idea.

I use the 55/1.8 ZA now and this is a perfect match for the A7. Sure it is not so fast, but I doubt you see a difference in real world images with apertures > f5.6.

And it has AF. MF is OK for landscape or studio, but I wouldn't want to miss AF outdoors.

And then eye focusing. That is an absolute killer. It works. You hit the button and focus is on the eyes. Precisely. Very well done Sony.
 

BSEH

New member
My only complain to the FE 55/1.8 is that it makes it very hard for me to use the FE 24-70 Zeiss I bought couple days ago....
HEy

You got the 24-70 FE - please can you give some feedback on the IQ and maybe you have some photos take with this long waited lens :watch:
 
My only complain to the FE 55/1.8 is that it makes it very hard for me to use the FE 24-70 Zeiss I bought couple days ago....
Hi Yat, I too am very curious about your thoughts on the FE 24-70mm lens. I have that lens on pre-order since announced and really have high hopes for it - perhaps too high. I already have the FE 35mm for use when I want a small kit, but wonder if may be better off getting the FE 55mm instead of the zoom.
 

Thomas Fallon

New member
Those Otus images are leaping off the page. The IQ is spectacular. You guys are worried that it's too heavy? Did any of you every shoot mf film? If you want light weight, I see that Sony's new phone is 21 mp. Go that route.
 

yatlee

Member
First of all, I’m no good in writing a review. I’m writing if from my personal point of view and my shooting preference. I shoot mostly landscape and family pictures.

The FE 24-70mm has a nice built as one can expect from a Zeiss labeled lens. At 35mm and up, the lens is sharp and resolves well corner to corner. At 24mm, the corners remain soft even stepping down to F8. Distortion is not severe comparing to the 24-70mm F2.8 Alpha A mount I also have. I expect the lens profile from lightroom will correct most of them once available. OSS (stabilization) adds couple stops advantage. I was able to do 1/13 and get a quite sharp shot. CA is minimal or non-existence on all the shot I took.

My conclusion: It's a great walk around lens if you don't want to carry 3-5 primes. The soft corner at wide angle end could be a concern if you are looking for solid and high resolution corner (I'm quite picky on this). Lastly, don't expect nice bokeh at F4 for portrait.
 

BSEH

New member
First of all, I’m no good in writing a review. I’m writing if from my personal point of view and my shooting preference. I shoot mostly landscape and family pictures.

The FE 24-70mm has a nice built as one can expect from a Zeiss labeled lens. At 35mm and up, the lens is sharp and resolves well corner to corner. At 24mm, the corners remain soft even stepping down to F8. Distortion is not severe comparing to the 24-70mm F2.8 Alpha A mount I also have. I expect the lens profile from lightroom will correct most of them once available. OSS (stabilization) adds couple stops advantage. I was able to do 1/13 and get a quite sharp shot. CA is minimal or non-existence on all the shot I took.

My conclusion: It's a great walk around lens if you don't want to carry 3-5 primes. The soft corner at wide angle end could be a concern if you are looking for solid and high resolution corner (I'm quite picky on this). Lastly, don't expect nice bokeh at F4 for portrait.
Thanks for your effort Yat - much appreciated - sounds like it's not that good in the wide end, thats a petty. I do understand why the 55 f/1.8 stays on then.
 

fotografz

Well-known member
First of all, I’m no good in writing a review. I’m writing if from my personal point of view and my shooting preference. I shoot mostly landscape and family pictures.

The FE 24-70mm has a nice built as one can expect from a Zeiss labeled lens. At 35mm and up, the lens is sharp and resolves well corner to corner. At 24mm, the corners remain soft even stepping down to F8. Distortion is not severe comparing to the 24-70mm F2.8 Alpha A mount I also have. I expect the lens profile from lightroom will correct most of them once available. OSS (stabilization) adds couple stops advantage. I was able to do 1/13 and get a quite sharp shot. CA is minimal or non-existence on all the shot I took.

My conclusion: It's a great walk around lens if you don't want to carry 3-5 primes. The soft corner at wide angle end could be a concern if you are looking for solid and high resolution corner (I'm quite picky on this). Lastly, don't expect nice bokeh at F4 for portrait.
If you are using LR, try manually selecting other 24-70 profiles to see if it corrects the distortion on the new FE24-70/4. It may help in the interim.

I've preordered this lens also, but not for landscape work specifically. More of a general all around lens to shoot some available light wedding and event images, and a one lens walk-about vacation optic. The IS is probably the most important feature after decent IQ as it is the missing feature on the camera. Non-adapter AF is also a major benefit.

We definitely need a longer FE lens with nice bokeh for portrait work … and due to size, the 70-200/4 isn't it IMO.

- Marc
 

yatlee

Member
Marc, I did tried the Sony A mount 24-70mm, it helped. We should see a FE 85/1.8 before the end of Q2. I hope it performs as well as the 55/1.8, but the A mount Zeiss 85/1.4 is hard to top.
 
Yat, thank you so much for your thoughts on the FE 24-70mm. I will be honest, soft corners at the wide end will probably be a deal breaker for me. I will wait to get my own copy of the to see how it does before giving up on it. I preordered on Oct. 16 so I may as well hang on a little longer to take delivery. I am not going to be too optimistic in thinking that sample variation could result in me getting a lens with acceptable corners.
 
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