Photography Life

PL provides various digital photography news, reviews, articles, tips, tutorials and guides to photographers of all levels

  • Lens Reviews
  • Camera Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • Compare Cameras
  • Forum
    • Sign Up
    • Login
  • About
  • Search
Home โ†’ Reviews โ†’ Cameras and Lenses โ†’ Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm f/1.4 ZF.2 Review

Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm f/1.4 ZF.2 Review

By Nasim Mansurov 21 Comments
Last Updated On July 3, 2020

«»

Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm f/1.4 vs Nikon 35mm f/1.4G

Let’s take a look at how the Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm f/1.4 compares to the Nikon 35mm f/1.4G:

Zeiss Distagon 35mm f/1.4 MTF Performance

Nikon 35mm f/1.4G MTF Performance

At the maximum aperture of f/1.4, the Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 has about the same center resolution as the Nikon 35mm f/1.4G, but better mid-frame and corner resolution. Stopping down to f/2 significantly improves center sharpness for the Nikon, but the Zeiss still lags behind quite a bit. The Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 gets much better at f/2.8 in the center, but the Nikon 35mm f/1.4G pretty much kicks off from there, with visibly better resolution throughout the frame. And by f/4, both lenses do very well in the center, but the Nikon is still clearly better in the mid-frame and the corners. Overall, it is pretty clear that the Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm f/1.4 is weaker than the Nikon 35mm f/1.4G, especially at large apertures.

Zeiss Distagon T* f/1.4 vs Samyang 35mm f/1.4

Let’s compare the lens with the Samyang 35mm f/1.4 manual focus lens:

Zeiss Distagon 35mm f/1.4 MTF Performance

Samyang 35mm f/1.4 MTF Performance

Looking at the above charts, the Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm f/1.4 is weaker than the Samyang 35mm f/1.4. Once again, large apertures and the corners is where the Zeiss suffers. Only at f/8 the Zeiss more or less gets close in performance in the center and mid-frames, but still noticeably worse in the corners.

Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm f/1.4 vs Sigma 35mm f/1.4

Lastly, let’s take a look at how the Zeiss compares to the excellent Sigma 35mm f/1.4:

Zeiss Distagon 35mm f/1.4 MTF Performance

Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art MTF Performance

This comparison does not need additional comments, since the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 just destroys the Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 sharpness-wise, whether looking at the center, the mid-frame or the corners.

Table of Contents

  • Overview and Specifications
  • Optical Features
  • Lens Comparisons
  • Summary
  • More Image Samples
  • Reader Comments
«»
Looking for even more exclusive content?

On Photography Life, you already get world-class articles with no advertising every day for free. As a Member, you'll get even more:

Silver ($5/mo)
  • Exclusive articles
  • Monthly Q&A chat
  • Early lens test results
  • "Creative Landscape Photography" eBook
Gold ($12/mo)
  • All that, PLUS:
  • Online workshops
  • Monthly photo critiques
  • Vote on our next lens reviews
 
Click Here to Join Today
 
Disclosures, Terms and Conditions and Support Options

Learn

  • Beginner Photography
  • Landscape Photography
  • Wildlife Photography
  • Portraiture
  • Post-Processing
  • Advanced Tutorials
Photography Life on Patreon

Reviews

  • Camera Reviews
  • Lens Reviews
  • Other Gear Reviews
  • Best Cameras and Lenses

Photography Tutorials

Photography Basics
Landscape Photography
Wildlife Photography
Macro Photography
Composition & Creativity
Black & White Photography
Night Sky Photography
Portrait Photography
Street Photography
Photography Videos

Unique Gift Ideas

Best Gifts for Photographers

Site Menu

  • About Us
  • Beginner Photography
  • Lens Database
  • Lens Index
  • Photo Spots
  • Search
  • Forum

Reviews

  • Reviews Archive
  • Camera Reviews
  • Lens Reviews
  • Other Gear Reviews

More

  • Contact Us
  • Workshops
  • Support Us
  • Submit Content

Copyright © 2025 ยท Photography Life

You are going to send email to

Move Comment