Four new wide angles from Voigtlander & Zeiss for the Sony a7 series

[Akira]

Voigtlander has this to say:
http://voigtlaender.com/news.html

Apparently the glass of 12/5.6 is not redesigned.  Optimization seems to mean the barrel is designed so that the lens can communicate with the cameras.

[Jan Anne]

We'll see, btw I read this

Voigtländer continues its VM-Mount digital optimization with the new 12 mm F 5,6 Ultra-Wide-Heliar III

as they will give the 12/5.6 the same treatment as the 15/4.5 which was completely redesigned with a totally different optical design.

Anyhow, great news that will be bringing back these babies optimised for the Leica and mirrorless platforms 

[pluton]

The Loxia 21mm is all new design, related only broadly to the old film-intended Biogon ZM.
Update: Zeiss says it's a Distagon = retrofocus in Zeiss-speak.
Hopefully this means that a relatively distortion-free 21mm is now available for 24x36.  The distortion chart for the Loxia shows a fair amount of barrel, but not as severely mustached as the ZF/ZE Distagon 21.

The Milvus 21mm appears** to be the same optical design as the previous ZF/ZE 21mm, but with a new barrel housing. Hello, mustache distortion...I know thee well.
**Based on the visual cross-section illustration in the Zeiss data sheet.

[Danulon]

The Milvus 21mm appears** to be the same optical design as the previous ZF/ZE 21mm, (...)

It definitely is according to Zeiss. They improved the surface coating of the lenses inside, but the optical design stayed the same.


Same for all other Milvus lenses apart from the new Milvus 50 mm 1.4 and Milvus 85 mm 1.4

[Frank Fremerey]

Meyer Optiks announced another new entry into the Sony E-Mount: a 0.95/35mm "NOCTURNUS": http://www.meyer-optik-goerlitz.com/nocturnus-f095-35mm/

[Akira]

Meyer Optiks announced another new entry into the Sony E-Mount: a 0.95/35mm "NOCTURNUS": http://www.meyer-optik-goerlitz.com/nocturnus-f095-35mm/

This is for APS-C format and is destined to be immediately rejected by Jan. 

[tommiejeep]

Probably right about Jan but at 2000 Euros I can easily reject it  . That almost exactly the price of Batis 25 and 85 from my dealer  and considerably more than the Zeiss 135 APO ZF.2 that I periodically think about.
Tom

[Erik Lund]

Apparently the glass of 12/5.6 is not redesigned.  Optimization seems to mean the barrel is designed so that the lens can communicate with the cameras.

I disagree.

It is a new optical design of the the 12mm, optimized for digital, similar to what they did to the 15mm from Mark II to III.

[Jan Anne]

This is for APS-C format and is destined to be immediately rejected by Jan. 

Exactly, not that I'm against the APS-C format but currently I only have the a7S with a "measly" 12MP full frame sensor so using lenses in crop mode makes little sense.

Should be an awesome lens however for those with smaller format mirrorless cameras, if the 2K price tag isn't an issue of course like Tommy mentioned.

[Frank Fremerey]

This is for APS-C format and is destined to be immediately rejected by Jan. 

APC-C? What a stupid... Did not see it.

[Erik Lund]

Specs for the new 12mm f/5.6 Mark III
Focal Length 12 mm
Aperture Ratio 1:5,6
Minimum Aperture F 22
Klick Stop 1/3
Lens Construction 12 elements in 10 groups
Angle of View 121°
Aperture Blades 10
Minimum Focus 0,5 m
Maximum Diameter 64,8 mm
Length 59,2 mm
Mount M-bayonet (VM)
Weight tbd
Filter Size n/a
Color black
Others Lens hood (non-detachable), Pressure fit cap, Rangefinder coupling from 0.7 m to infinity

The Mark I and Mark II was/is  10 elements in 8 groups

[Jan Anne]

Thanks Erik for those specs, good to know that they've come up with a completely different design for digital.

[Jan Anne]

Steve took a look at the Loxia 21/2.8 FE on the a7RII:
http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2015/10/12/the-zeiss-21mm-f2-8-loxia-lens-review-for-sony-fe-in-pictures/