Carl Zeiss surprises with lenses for Canon's EOS EF mount

We don't cover too many lenses here at Engadget. However, when Carl Zeiss surprisingly announces support for Canon's EF mount, well, we're pretty sure you'd like to know. The first EOS compatible lenses in the ZE range will be the Planar T* 1.4/50mm (pictured) and 1.4/85mm manual focus lenses priced at $660 and $1,170, respectively, when they ship before the end of the year.

[Via dpreview, thanks Brett D.]

[Chris @ Sep 15th 2008 7:54AM]

Great, more challegne on Canon L please

[Se Hee Lee @ Sep 15th 2008 8:03AM]

Wonder how MF will fair in the canon land..

[Fubar @ Sep 15th 2008 8:04AM]

I know this is heresy, but I really wish they'd release AF lenses.

(Even though I'd miss a few mortgage payments if they did.)

[Mike @ Sep 15th 2008 8:22AM]

All it means is that the lenses do not have internal AF motors, since you won't be using them with something like a D60, you can still take advantage of your Canon's body AF motor and system.

[caligula @ Sep 15th 2008 8:43AM]

This is plain wrong - All Canon Lenses have a motor built in, so in this respect every Canon is a "Nikon D60". Systems with in-body AF use a screw coupling and include Nikon (D90 and above), Pentax and Sony.

The Zeiss lenses however will not feature AF even on Body-AF Models, because there isn't even a screw coupling. That being said, with some Systems (e.g. Pentax) you get AF-assisted manual focus (the AF indicator works when focusing manually)

[neihprome @ Sep 15th 2008 9:07AM]

These are supposed to have a chip to enable AF indicator functions in Canon bodies.

[OneLove @ Sep 15th 2008 11:23AM]

Damn caligula, get out much?

[Liam @ Sep 15th 2008 1:07PM]

AF assist works on Canons too. If you half-press the shutter button, the AF points will blink when the portion of the image they cover comes into focus. Or at least, this is what happens on my 400d.

[neihprome @ Sep 15th 2008 8:24AM]

It may surprise those of you who only pay attention to Apple news, but in the photo communities this has been pretty much expected for a while. Especially when Zeiss leaked that the new lens series would be called "ZE."

So no, this really isn't a surprise.

[Tonicboy @ Sep 15th 2008 8:52AM]

Sneaky. I like how you took a completely different topic and used it as an opportunity to insult Apple fanboys. A few more of those and your revenge will be complete.

[neihprome @ Sep 15th 2008 9:06AM]

I think you'll notice my comment was to Engadget, not Apple fanboys.

[SomeBloke @ Sep 15th 2008 8:29AM]

I really don't see the point of these. I mean I don't get the point of them on Nikon either since the 85mm f/1.4 Nikon has better wide open performance and AF as well for marginally more money.

On Canon this makes even less sense because for a few bucks you can buy a converter for all kinds of other manufacturers lenses (even AF confirm, just like the zeiss offers). You could have Olympus, M42, Leica and all sorts that can be picked up for less money (well maybe not Leica). Then they would still work on the manual body for that fit (unlike this one which will only work on an AF Canon).

[eric f. @ Sep 15th 2008 11:36AM]

I guess in the end, the only thing that matters is which lens has the better optical performance. Of course if optics are equal, I would opt for the autofocus.

[AnthonyD @ Sep 15th 2008 6:48PM]

I think you're all barking up the wrong tree. These lenses are made for filmmakers who use adapters which allow Canon (and Nikon) lenses to mount on their HD video cameras i.e. Red Rock Micro, P+S Technik and Letus. With these adapters you WANT manual focus and manual control over aperture. People are scouring Ebay for the older Nikon and Canon lenses for just this reason. So now Zeiss makes new lenses so we don't have to buy all the old lenses. Oh, and they'll work on the DSLR's, too.

[Matt @ Sep 15th 2008 7:46PM]

@AnthonyD

Yes, except these ZE lenses don't have manual aperture control, they're all electronic aperture.
If you wanted it fully manual, the ZF lenses could work.

Anyways, these all look like the re-released Voigtlander SL lenses. Probably all made at the cosina factories.

[SomeBloke @ Sep 15th 2008 8:31AM]

@Mike

Canon bodies don't have an AF motor in them. Nikon's do accept the D40/D60. These lens are manual only on all cameras.

[Mehul @ Sep 15th 2008 8:32AM]

Great! There goes one of Sony's USPs.
I wonder if this will affect the prices of the Canon lenses.

PS. Just release the 5D Mark II and the new elphs already! I'm dying to see them!

[CJ @ Sep 15th 2008 9:27AM]

I'm less worried about the AF motor (or lack thereof) than the fact that this is a Carl Ziess lens, and they have legendary optics. I'm talking good enough to be able to manually focus at least as well as an auto focus motor.

[Mr. B @ Sep 15th 2008 10:25AM]

This is particularly interesting to have yet another 50mm f/1.4 contender on the EF mount after Sigma's impressive release. CAnon definitely needs a MKII for their iteration of this lens now.

[wickedpheonix @ Sep 15th 2008 11:10AM]

Nikon has a kickass 50mm f/1.4 lens for $300 new. Why the hell would I pay over double the price (assuming I'm still deciding which camera route to go and haven't committed to one mount or the other yet)?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/97413-USA/Nikon_1902_Normal_AF_Nikkor_50mm.html
(yes I know it's out of stock but Nikon is likely to refresh around Photokina or so).

[douglasferling2 @ Sep 15th 2008 11:20AM]

This doesn't negate Sony's USP. Zeiss ZA lenses, for Sony, are autofocus, whereas all other Zeiss lenses are manual focus. Not to mention hat ZA lenses are a more modern design, with assumedly better telecentriciy for fullframe digital.

[Kimleng @ Sep 15th 2008 11:20AM]

I'll stick to my Canon 50mm/1.4. It lets me shoot pictures wide open and skip doing the gaussian blur + overlay for the softening effect in PS. lol j/k

I wish Canon's version didn't suck wide open. I can always blur an image and make it look good, but I can't always sharpen it back without making it look like garbage. What good is 1.4 when you gotta stop down to 2.0 before the lens becomes decent enough? What I actually want is for Leica to announce native Noctolux f/0.95 support for the EOS EF system :-D Not that I can afford it without selling a kidney or anything.

[Kimleng @ Sep 15th 2008 11:24AM]

I meant Noctilux f/.095

[Stephen Lang @ Sep 15th 2008 1:22PM]

How about the new Sigma 50m 1.4? They supposedly optimized wide open performance on that one, plus it appears to have great bokeh.

[ColonelBlaha @ Sep 15th 2008 11:21AM]

Well I guess Zeiss still makes quality lenses (the last Zeiss lens i used was for my Hasselblad 500CM medium-format film camera)
Too bad the 1.4/50mm is twice as expensive as the Canon equivalent but luckily still cheaper than Canon's 1.2L

[SomeBloke @ Sep 15th 2008 3:27PM]

I wouldn't advise anyone to go for the Canon 50mm f/1.2 L. I had one and tested it against a bunch of other lenses. The up shot of it is that if you want the most bokeh possible with AF then get it. But if you think it will have better quality optics forget it!! if you think it is better stopped down to f/1.4 than the Canon 50mm f/1.4 wide open then forget it because it simply isn't. It has all the bad issues (CA, purple fringing, lack of contrast) of the considerably cheaper version right the way up through the apertures where the f/1.4 sorts itself out. It's also extremely heavy and immensely slow to focus... serious, if you were lusting after it, I've just saved you some time and money, don't bother.

[Christian @ Sep 15th 2008 1:00PM]

A manual-focus lens with indecipherably different clarity for hundreds more than an autofocus Canon? Who *wouldn't* flush their money on one? I literally can't think of anybody, outside of Zeiss collectors, who will buy one of these.

[Danno @ Sep 16th 2008 2:06AM]

There is much more to a lens than AF. If the optical quality is there, people other than (and including) Carl Zeiss collectors will buy this lens.

[Adam DeVito @ Sep 24th 2008 4:01AM]

I shot for ten years with a Pentax PZ1P and a A series MF 50 1.4. Then switched to Canon due to their advanced DSLR technology. I sure miss the solid feel of the manual lenses and the large smooth focusing ring that accompanies them. I will be all of over this lens if it has superior optics to go with it. For me, a great 50mm lens pays my mortgage all year.