Zeiss Otus APO 28mm f/1.4 ZF.2

[Michael Erlewine]

I am opening this thread because B&H has notified me by email that my copy of the Zeiss Otus APO 28mm f/1.4 ZF.2 for Nikon mount has been shipped.

Here is a photo of the Zeiss 95mm UV filter ready for the lens. The filter cost over $300. Ouch! I may take it off, but there are times with WA lenses when I will need it for close up work.

[bobfriedman]

i really don't understand why you would ever want to put a UV filter on that lens.... i would be afraid of degrading the lens by adding a flare producing piece of glass.

i am sure folks will correct me if i am wrong.

[Michael Erlewine]

i really don't understand why you would ever want to put a UV filter on that lens.... i would be afraid of degrading the lens by adding a flare producing piece of glass.

i am sure folks will correct me if i am wrong.

No wrong or right. In the studio, in the garden, in the park... no problem. However, in the streams, woods, etc. where I want to push this lens real close, I don't always trust myself... a branch snaps, I push into something I didn't see, etc. Then I am glad for a filter. It's my own mistakes I am worrying about.

[bobfriedman]

that's why i always use a lens hood.

[Michael Erlewine]

that's why i always use a lens hood.

Well, yes, a hood. I feel this is an individual thing. Of course I understand why not to add glass. Yet if I get into a bog or swamp, I also know all kinds of things happen, like I get Poison Oak (before the leaves show), a false move with hip boots and heavy equipment 100 feet out in the ooze of a bog, things do brush up against the camera.  I will have to see how protective that hood is, etc.

[Tom Gresham]

Michael,

I'm looking forward to your comments after you get the lens.  Early reports talk about how large and heavy it is.  Also, I wonder how it compares with the Milvus. 

[bobfriedman]

Well, yes, a hood. I feel this is an individual thing. Of course I understand why not to add glass. Yet if I get into a bog or swamp, I also know all kinds of things happen, like I get Poison Oak (before the leaves show), a false move with hip boots and heavy equipment 100 feet out in the ooze of a bog, things do brush up against the camera.  I will have to see how protective that hood is, etc.

sounds like you might invest in an insurance policy.. i do.  as i take big glass (600mm, etc) into swamps all the time.

[Michael Erlewine]

sounds like you might invest in an insurance policy.. i do.  as i take big glass (600mm, etc) into swamps all the time.

Insurance? For sure. Almost all of my gear is insured individually for theft or breakage for the price I insure for, not for what an insurance company is willing to pay. This is so much better than a policy where they decide what they will pay you. And it is not that expensive, either.

[JohnBrew]

Michael, good luck with the new Otus. I wouldn't give up my 55 for anything, but I have to take a pass on the 85 and 28 - they are just too freakin' large and heavy. Actually, as a landscape photographer I would like to see the same image quality in an f2.8 or f4 lens.

[Michael Erlewine]

I received the Zeiss 28mm today. It is not as large as I imagined. It is “fatter” than the others, but not as tall as the Zeiss 135mm APO, for example. It comes with and elegant box, indeed, which for that money it should.

I have no photos to show you, yet. I can say it will not take any extension, which I would expect from a wide-angle lens. I can use the K-1 Ring on it, which is 5.8mm extension, but I doubt that I will often. One thing: it is very hard to focus, again a feature of many wide-angle lenses. I have not been able to get control of it… yet. It is heavy. The focus throw is not very long, which I don’t like. Will update as I have something to look at.

[atpaula]

I've ordered mine too.
I can't wait to see your evaluation of this glass.

[Michael Erlewine]

Too cold to go outside. Here is a photo from our kitchen, taken in natural light, which is all the way across the room from these jars. I may not have gotten to color right, but it should give you some idea of the lens. D810, ISO 64, f/16, 1/6 second. Feeling a little more comfortable with this lens, but it is still a stretch from what I usually use. It is sharp.

I had to reduce the quality to get it to load.

[Michael Erlewine]

I don't see it mentioned anywhere, but the Zeiss Otus 28m APO has 9 aperture blades.

[PeterN]

\congrats with your new Otus lens. It's difficult to assess but it sure looks sharp and renders naturally. Just a bit blue-ish on my screen.

I am looking forward to hreading about your findings.

[Michael Erlewine]

It's difficult to assess but it sure looks sharp and renders naturally. Just a bit blue-ish on my screen.

I am looking forward to hreading about your findings.

It is too blue. It was very dim in the kitchen, with light only coming from outside windows across the room. I will have to do better next time. It is sharp.