ZEISSClassic Planar ZF.2 T* 50mm f/1.4 Standard Camera Lens for Nikon F-Mount SLR DSLR Cameras, Black

This is probably the best 50mm lens I have yet used so far and I've used/owned the Canon 50 f/1.8, Canon 50 f/1.2L and Sigma 50 f/1.4. I must say that the quality and build of this lens is top notch. The all metal lens and lens hood feels like a piece of art. The focus ring is smooth and you're able to make minor turns with this barrel with ease (unlike the other lens) and the infinity focus is where it should be, at the very end and not a half millimeter or so from the end (once again like the lenses). But I must say that I am pretty disappointed in the plastic/cheap lens cap (front and back). The front lens cap isn't all that great and tends to fall out if you don't make sure that it's in.The color that this lens produces is just magical. I'm sure you'll read this at other places but it's comparable to the Leica version. Now, I'm not saying that they're exactly the same, but this lens definitely gives you that Leica look and feel in how the lens captures color. CA is minimal and focus is razor sharp. Granted once you get into the f/2.0 or higher, it's unbeatable.Now there are reasons why I decided to buy this and sell all of my other 50mm lenses. Comparing with the Canon 50 f/1.8, though a great, less expensive lens, the color reproduction wasn't quite what I was looking for. With the Canon 50 f/1.2L, even though it's an awesome lens, for it's price, I was hoping for more sharpness without having to dial up the f-stops too high. Also, because I'd become accustomed to autofocus in general and manual focus on that lens is mediocre at best, the focusing on the 50L was just way too slow. I found I was able to focus faster manually with the Zeiss lens than with the Canon 50L, especially in low light situations. Yes, I will miss the extra stop on the L lens but considering that it's so slow in focusing (and I've missed many opportunities). And the Sigma 50, is a good lens, and a beefy one at that too, but I just had way too much to deal with especially since it was front focusing. I did have to mail in the lens for new ones 3 times and the one I ended up keeping had the least amount of front focusing issue, but over time, the lens started to front focus more and more often and severely.This is priced pretty much in the middle of all these lenses. Being almost 2x cheaper than the Canon 50L, it's an amazing deal.Size wise, the Canon 50L is probably the largest and heaviest lens and the Sigma 50 comes very close to it as well. This is definitely a lot more compact than those two but larger than the Canon 50 f/1.8Word of caution though, you probably already know that this is a manual focus lens, I would highly recommend switching out your focusing screen to the the Eg-S version. It's about $40 dollars and it takes less than 20 seconds to switch it out from you camera. Once you switch them out, to focus, since the lens is made to communicate with the camera, either choose your focus point on the camera or just use all, press the shutter button halfway and focus until you see/hear the red beep in your viewfinder. It'll take practice but you'll learn to focus faster and appreciate the lens even more.I must say, I've own(ed) several L series lenses and was a diehard Canon L guy but this Zeiss lens and a few others that I've tried out have made me a convert.Another absolutely amazing lens by Zeiss is the 21mm. Probably the best wide angle lens, hands down.This lens will most likely rarely come off of my 5DM2.

I have a particular love for this lens. Zeiss still manufactures the Planar 50 and the 85mm although the Distagon line has been discontinued. I also have the Makro Planar 100mm which I might add is a legend in its own right. However, there is something very special about this lens particularly wide open. Yes at f1.4 the focus is soft and doesn't really sharpen up till about f2.8 where after this images become razor sharp. This peculiarity is not a problem--it is a bonus for me because it produces the most amazing bokeh I have ever seen. The bokeh produced has been labled "the swirly effect" and lens manufactures have spent years to correct this out as a design flaw. Thank goodness Zeiss understands this to be an image maker, not a deal breaker as they have kept the favorable (subtle) aspects of this flaw and done away with the displeasing "gross" extremes. This lens and the images it produces are surreal. Check out the "Zenography" channel to catch videos of the classic lenses that produce this effect but keep in mind that this lens has its own flavor and savor that (imho) is sublime.It is exceedingly difficult to describe the beauty of the images that come from this lens, and I might add that this too is subjective. You might want to try flickr and plug this lens into the search field.This lens is built to last a lifetime and it will if you take care of it. This is my favorite lens period. I have the 15mm, the 28mm, this and the 100mm macro from Ziess. I also have a Nikkor 80-200 f2.8 and Nikkor 50mm 1.8 and I am of the opinion that this lens has the very best personality (image quality plus silky smooth sweetness) with the 100mm Makro Planar coming in second.This is a manual focus lens, which is also a plus for us fine art folks who want to control everything down to a precision. You simply cannot go wrong purchasing a Zeiss lens as their reputation as a lens manufacturer is among the finest in the world. For owners of DSLR's like Nikon or Canon, you will not find a better lens to put on your camera. This lens has the capability of allowing you the finest images that your camera is capable of producing. Superior to Cannon or Nikon's own line of lenses.

Ich bin wirklich glücklich, dass ich mir dieses Objektiv gekauft habe!Da ich schon immer ein Fan von Festbrennweiten war, habe ich ein Objektiv gesucht, mit dem ich, für meinen Geschmack, die bestmöglichen Ergebnisse erreichen kann!Im Bereich 50mm habe ich so ziemlich alles an Objektiven (keine Zooms) getestet, was man sich für unter 2000€ kaufen kann. Das Zeiss ist dabei als eindeutiger Gewinner aus dem Rennen gegangen :)Schon beim auspacken merkt man, was für ein qualitativ Hochwertiges Objektiv hier gebaut wurde. Nichts wackelt, nichts klappert und der Fokus-Ring geht wirklich butterweich. Meine anderen Nikon-Objektive fühlten sich dann auf einmal wie "Plastikbomber" an :)Das der Autofokus fehlt, würde ich auf keinen Fall als negativ ansehen!Ich fokussiere gerne manuell, da ich mir generell gerne Zeit beim fotografieren lasse. So weiß ich wenigstens, dass der Fokus genau so sitzt, wie ich es möchte. Und nicht so, wie der Autofokus glaub, dass ich es gerne hätte ;)Das Objektiv ist bei mir an einer D610. Mit dem großen Sucher klappt das fokussieren super! Bei Blende 1.4 muss man natürlich schon mal genauer hinschauen, aber mit ein bisschen Übung klappt auch das!Wie man in diversen Tests lesen kann, wirken die Bilder mit Blende 1.4 etwas "soft", "weich", oder auch "verträumt". Ich persönlich finde auch dies nicht negativ und nutze es z.B. bei Portraits entsprechend als Gestaltungsmittel! Wenn man diesen Look mag, dann ist man über das Ergebnis wirklich begeistert!Auch die Schärfe bei Blende 1.4 ist super, die Schärfeebene ist nur eben entsprechend sehr klein. Deshalb sollte man bei Offenblende nicht unbedingt an der Naheinstellgrenze fotografiere ;)Die Bilder vom Zeiss haben den typischen "Zeiss-Look" und sehen natürlich entsprechend gut aus! Schärfe, Farben und das Bokeh sind einfach traumhaft!Ich habe mit dem Zeiss sogar schon auf einem Konzert Fotos gemacht! Der Ausschuss ist mit MF dann vielleicht ein bisschen höher als mit AF, aber auch dies klappt wirklich sehr gut, wenn man ein bisschen Übung hat!Bleibt nur zu sagen, klare Kaufempfehlung, wenn man kein Problem mit MF hat!Das Zeiss bieten einfach den gewissen "WOW-Effekt". Ich merke immer wieder, wie Freunde und Familie staunen, weil die Fotos einfach wirklich, richtig gut aussehen! :)

I bought this 50mm lens after looking at alternatives from Canon and Sigma. I'd read mixed reviews about the lens and just how easy it would be going from auto-focus to manual only. Let me say firstly that it's not that hard at all. I purchased an eg-s focusing screen (essential I feel for faster than f2.8 lenses) for my 5D Mkii and have had absolutely no issues in nailing focus even in very low light. Images come into focus very easily through the viewfinder with the precision matte screen and focus assist does give you an blink and a beep which will tells you when the camera thinks the subject is in focus.Image quality is excellent, easily on a par in terms of sharpness with L designation Canon lenses which I normally shoot with and exceeding them in colour rendition. The lens is a little soft from f1.4 up to around f2, but nothing that can't be easily enhanced in post production, which if your dropping £600 on a prime, you're likely to have a workflow in place for sharpening anyway - so it isn't really an issue. Build quality is exceptional, from the smooth focus ring to the bayonet hood, it's a very well made piece of equipment.Some people have said that the bokeh the lens produces is ugly. I think it gives the images produced a slightly retro feel to them, especially when doing black and white stuff. I would recommend this lens for anything from portraits to travel to street photography. Take the plunge, embrace the old-world charm of this lens and revel in some truly fantastic results.

Zeiss : le mal aimé. Peu de photographes se précipitent sur les fameuses optiques du fabricant allemand. Fameuses, estimées, mais pourtant pas très populaires. Les défauts ? Pas d'autofocus... trop cher... pas assez hype ?Non, sérieusement, ceux qui se dirigent vers des focales fixes savent très bien ce qu'ils viennent chercher. Disons le tout de suite : la qualité optique des objectifs Zeiss est vraiment remarquable. La qualité du piqué, du contraste et des couleurs est vraiment inimitable. La particularité des zf.2 est qu'il y a une bague pour le contrôle de l'ouverture. Ce détail est apprécié par certains pros de la vidéo qui préfèrent ces modèles là aux ZE pour Canon. Quitte à utiliser des adaptateurs comme Fotodiox ou Metabones.Sur ce 50mm, la course de la bague de mise au point est assez longue. C'est très précis et l'objectif est évidemment destiné aux photos posées plutôt qu'au reportage et à l'action. Pour une focale plus versatile et une mise au point plus rapide, il faut préférer le 35mm f/2.L'ouverture maximale f/1.4 est très avantageuse et courante sur un 50mm, mais il faut préciser ici que la qualité d'image est très bonne, même à pleine ouverture. Très peu de vignettage, les performances restent au top. Je n'ai que de bons résultats avec ce bijou. Je conseille aux photographes avertis qui ne connaissent pas Zeiss de les essayer. Vous serez vite accros !

Je viens de monter cet objectif sur mon Nikon Df : pas difficile, j'ai juste positionné le levier de couplage et suis allé paramètrer le Df pour lui dire que je préfère tourner la bague des diaphs (à l'ancienne, quoi) ; la mise au point manuelle sur Nikon, ça ne vaut pas mon Leica MP dont le télémètre est si pratique, mais le télémètre électronique seconde bien l’œil.Côté pratique, l'objectif n'aurait qu'un léger défaut : quand on met le diaph sur 16, il se verrouille, si bien qu'avec le Df, on doit manœuvrer la bague des diaphs en appuyant sur le bouton de déverrouillage (pas grave, il tombe bien sous le doigt).Les photos faites à f/1.4 et f/2 examinées sous CS6 montrent un très joli bokeh dû aux 9 lamelles du diaphragme et un excellent piqué : agrandissant l'image à 400%, je suis sidéré par la finesse des détails ; côté défauts optiques, il y en a un peu, mais CS6 corrige ça sans aucun problème.Au final, je dirais que sur un Nikon il faut se faire au télémètre électronique, mais la qualité optique vaut bien qu'on s'habitue à un autre système.

I love the len because I love zeiss beautiful pictures turn up ! Thanks !