Any Carl Zeiss users here?

X5M Badass · 03-04-2014, 03:44 PM

Looking to buy a pair of nice premium glass from them, I'm looking for a wide angle and a prime lens with some real good sharpness, bokeh, and contrasty!

I need some suggestions pls and thank you

druu · 03-04-2014, 06:22 PM

Being a nikon shooter, i'm not sure why you would choose a zeiss lens over nikon's own excellent 14-24. It is similarly sharp and contrasty as the zeiss 15mm, and gives you a zoom range/autofocus. You may get some fringing, but that is easily fixed in post. Any serious shooting with an UWA and you're gonna need to crop, straighten, and color correct anyway, so fixing fringes is easy.

for the 35mm focal length the sigma art 35mm 1.4 blows the zeiss 35mm 1.4 and nikon 35mm 1.4 out of the water, sharper, less distortion, less fringing, less vingnetting and generally accepted that it has excellent bokeh for less money. Autofocus is a plus here as well.

The zeiss OTUS 55 1.4 from reviews seems to be the most uncompromised prime, extreme sharpness, but the zeiss premium is significantly higher here. Nearly 4k.

X5M Badass · 03-04-2014, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by druu

Being a nikon shooter, i'm not sure why you would choose a zeiss lens over nikon's own excellent 14-24. It is similarly sharp and contrasty as the zeiss 15mm, and gives you a zoom range/autofocus. You may get some fringing, but that is easily fixed in post. Any serious shooting with an UWA and you're gonna need to crop, straighten, and color correct anyway, so fixing fringes is easy.

for the 35mm focal length the sigma art 35mm 1.4 blows the zeiss 35mm 1.4 and nikon 35mm 1.4 out of the water, sharper, less distortion, less fringing, less vingnetting and generally accepted that it has excellent bokeh for less money. Autofocus is a plus here as well.

The zeiss OTUS 55 1.4 from reviews seems to be the most uncompromised prime, extreme sharpness, but the zeiss premium is significantly higher here. Nearly 4k.

I already have the 14-24 f2.8 from Nikon and the 70-200 zoom.

Forget the otus I wont be needing that but I am searching for an upgrade...most likely a prime wide angle and a macro.

druu · 03-04-2014, 06:38 PM

i've also used the 100 f/2 makro, and see no use for that extra stop of light vs the high end f2.8 primes, shooting macro at f/2 will get you nothing in focus, as usually shooting at 5.6-8 is necessary to get a mildly thin depth of field. Macro is usually shot even more stopped down (I'd use a strobe and like f/16+) where any differences in sharpness are basically negligible.

03-04-2014, 03:44 PM	#1
X5M Badass Private 9 Rep 74 Posts Drives: BMW X5M Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: UAE, Dubai iTrader: (0)	Any Carl Zeiss users here? Looking to buy a pair of nice premium glass from them, I'm looking for a wide angle and a prime lens with some real good sharpness, bokeh, and contrasty! I need some suggestions pls and thank you
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03-04-2014, 06:22 PM	#2
druu Second Lieutenant 52 Rep 298 Posts Drives: 2020 M8 Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: NYC iTrader: (0)	Being a nikon shooter, i'm not sure why you would choose a zeiss lens over nikon's own excellent 14-24. It is similarly sharp and contrasty as the zeiss 15mm, and gives you a zoom range/autofocus. You may get some fringing, but that is easily fixed in post. Any serious shooting with an UWA and you're gonna need to crop, straighten, and color correct anyway, so fixing fringes is easy. for the 35mm focal length the sigma art 35mm 1.4 blows the zeiss 35mm 1.4 and nikon 35mm 1.4 out of the water, sharper, less distortion, less fringing, less vingnetting and generally accepted that it has excellent bokeh for less money. Autofocus is a plus here as well. The zeiss OTUS 55 1.4 from reviews seems to be the most uncompromised prime, extreme sharpness, but the zeiss premium is significantly higher here. Nearly 4k.
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03-04-2014, 06:38 PM	#4
druu Second Lieutenant 52 Rep 298 Posts Drives: 2020 M8 Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: NYC iTrader: (0)	i've also used the 100 f/2 makro, and see no use for that extra stop of light vs the high end f2.8 primes, shooting macro at f/2 will get you nothing in focus, as usually shooting at 5.6-8 is necessary to get a mildly thin depth of field. Macro is usually shot even more stopped down (I'd use a strobe and like f/16+) where any differences in sharpness are basically negligible.
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