A900 shooters having fun while D3x users are not

[wayne_s]

I agree with you too Douglas and Edward.
As a crazy alt glass user, the longer focus throw and better manual focus resistance makes it a pleasure to use the 135 1.8 on my 1ds3 and much better than the normal Canon manual focus feel like on the 135L which I was comparing it to. Yeah, too bad they didn't get rid of that 1mm extra play.

I'm with you Douglas. I really like the long focus throw and the rigid infinity stop of screw driven lenses, which both make manual focusing a pleasure. I'm sure SSM has advantages but I still prefer the pure mechanical action of the screw drive. But hey, only 4 months ago, I was still focusing and stopping down my lenses manually, so what do I know?

 

[picman]

Well, Bob, I'm sure there will be eventually an 85mm Planar with IF and SSM, but not before 3-4 years time because Sony has to fill the gaps in its line up before upgrading existing lenses. In the meanwhile you will be missing a lot from this wonderful lens. I will use/enjoy mine for several years until it gets upgraded

Well Edward, I couldn't resist and got it :ROTFL: From the first test pics I took near the shop and at home this CZ 85mm1.4 is again a wonderful lens, nice DOF possibilities, colors, 3d, sharp wide open, WOW.

Now it's up to Zeiss because there is nothing left to get

Cheers, Bob

 

[roweraay]

Yes, Cosina does a really nice job of manufacturing those lenses, don't they? And they do an even better job of engraving the Carl Zeiss name on them, thus impressing believers in the notion of the Aryan Optical Master Race...

...come on, people, seriously -- I'm glad you like your A900s, but this thread is getting positively fulsome.

I think you are confusing the Sony/Zeiss glass with Auto-focus, with the Cosina built manual-focus lenses that are Zeiss branded, and available in the Canon/Nikon etc mounts.

These are 2 entirely different animals and have nothing to do with each other. They are made differently, marketed differently and the manufacturers (Canon, Nikon, Sony etc) treat their respective Zeiss-branded lenses differently.

In case of Sony, the Zeiss lenses are built, blessed and promoted by Sony themselves, with a direct symbiotic linkage with Zeiss that goes back over a decade and recently re-inked to continue into the future. In case of Canon/Nikon lenses branded as Zeiss, and built by Cosina, those are an elite version of a Sigma or a Tamron aftermarket lens, with no acknowledgement from the manufacturers (Canon, Nikon, Pentax etc) themselves, even to their existence. In fact, the manufacturers' products (for example the "L" lenses of Canon) are in direct competition with these aftermarket Zeiss lenses and thus they have a vested interest in ensuring that they don't get too much of a foothold in their respective mounts.

The Sony/Zeiss Full-frame glass (the Zeiss branded 16-80 APS-C lens is an exception) is designed by Zeiss and made by Sony in Japan, in a factory where the high-end "G" lenses are manufactured, but in an exclusive area where only the Zeiss lenses are made, using proprietary Zeiss equipment and employing proprietary Zeiss quality standards/methods and employing the Zeiss T* coatings and employing their Schott optical glass. Zeiss Japanese employees also monitor and audit the manufacturing methods employed.

In other words, these Sony lenses get the best of both worlds - legendary Zeiss optical design, coupled with being built in a top-notch "G" lens factory, employing legendary Japanese manufacturing acumen. For assembly perfection and tight manufacturing tolerances, even Porsche finds it worthwhile to learn from Toyota engineers, on improving their assembly practices and tightening up tolerances.:toocool: