This is an in-depth review of the manual focus Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm f/2.0 ZF.2, a second generation 35mm f/2 prime lens from Zeiss for Nikon and Canon mounts. The lens samples I tested were for the Nikon F mount, although you can get the same lens for the Canon EF mount. The Zeiss 35mm f/2.0 ZF.2 is a professional-grade fixed wide-angle lens targeted at enthusiasts and professionals that need high quality optics for different types of photography, including landscape, architecture, portrait and astrophotography. Similar to other Zeiss prime lenses, the lens is designed to work on both FX and DX sensor cameras (equivalent field of view of approx 52.5mm on DX) and yields amazing clarity and contrast throughout the frame.
The all-metal Zeiss 35mm has a very tough and high quality build and is sealed against dust and tough weather conditions. When compared to the latest generation Nikon lenses like Nikon 35mm f/1.8G ED with plastic exterior, it feels much more solid in hands – even the lens hood is made of metal. The focal length of 35mm is a good compromise between ultra-wide angle lenses and standard lenses. Thanks to the 9-blade diaphragm, the Zeiss Distagon 35mm f/2.0 ZF.2 renders background highlights in round, circular shapes, making it a good candidate for portraiture and street photography.
In this review, I will provide a thorough analysis of the Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm f/2.0 ZF.2 lens, along with image samples and comparisons to a number of different 35mm lenses from Nikon and other manufacturers.
1) Lens Specifications
Technical Specifications:
- Focal length: 35mm
- Tested Mount: Nikon
- Aperture range: f/2.0 – f/22 (1/2 steps)
- Focusing range: 0.3m – infinity
- Number of elements/groups: 9/7
- Angular field, diag./horiz./vert.: 62°/53°/37°
- Coverage at close range: 19 x 13cm
- Filter thread: 58mm
- Dimensions (with caps): 64mm x 97mm
- Weight: 530g
- Camera mounts: EF Mount (ZE), F Mount (ZF.2)
Detailed specifications for the lens, along with MTF charts and other useful data can be found in our lens database.
2) Lens Handling
Modern Zeiss prime lenses are all of a very high quality, all-metal build and the Zeiss 35mm f/2 is no exception. It feels rather heavy relative to its small size, and is designed to withstand tough weather conditions, including dust and moisture. I used the lens in very dusty and rainy conditions in Utah, cold and snowy conditions in Colorado and it continued to function well without any problems. I carefully inspected the lens after the Utah trip and saw no signs of dust inside, which indicates that the lens indeed has good sealing – and that’s with the extending lens barrel. So if you shoot in extreme conditions a lot, you can certainly count on the Zeiss 35mm f/2 – it will surely survive and serve you well for years to come. The lens sports 9 optical elements in 7 groups and weighs a total of 530 grams, making it about 70 grams lighter than the Nikon 35mm f/1.4G. Here is how the lens compares against other 35mm lenses (Zeiss is second from left):
The focus ring is located in the middle of the lens barrel and feels very smooth while focusing. The provided barrel-shaped metal lens hood attaches easily and securely on the lens, which I recommend keeping on the lens at all times. Filter size is limited to 58mm, which is expected given how thin the lens barrel is.
3) Lens Operation and Manual Focus
The Zeiss 35mm is equipped with electronic transmitters that provide metering capability and full lens information back to the camera, making it easy to use it with all modern Nikon and Canon DSLRs. Simply lock the aperture ring to the minimum aperture that is marked in orange and you can change the lens aperture on your camera without touching the aperture ring on the lens. One of the biggest concerns photographers have with lenses like the Zeiss 35mm f/2 ZF.2, is manual focus operation. Many photographers are either scared of manual focus, or just do not want to deal with it when using fast primes, especially when shooting handheld. Although manual focus can be challenging and frustrating for portraiture at close distances, especially when your subjects are fast-moving children or pets, focusing with this lens in all other situations is quite easy. The camera viewfinder gives an indication (a green circle) if a subject is in focus and will show which way to rotate the focus ring if it needs to be adjusted.
Now let me talk about the real advantage of a manual focus lens. As photographers, we are often so spoiled by autofocus lenses and automated cameras, that we either inherit or develop the “spray and pray”, point and shoot mentality. Manual focus lenses require some extra work and I find myself putting a lot more thought into framing and composition, rather than just taking quick snapshots.
4) Lens Sharpness, Contrast and Color Rendition
On the first day of trying out the Zeiss, I mounted it on my Nikon D3s and took a picture of my son Ozzy while he was watching TV. As he was sitting still, I moved the focus point on his right eye, set aperture to f/2.0 then started to move the focus ring until the camera set the image was in focus. I then snapped a picture and looked at the camera LCD:
Ozzy’s eye was in perfect focus and I got very impressed by the colors and the quality of the background this lens produced. Next, I zoomed in to 100% and saw this:
That’s one sharp manual focus lens!
Now let’s take a look at how the lens measured in my lab with Imatest software:
As you can see, the performance of the Zeiss 35mm is excellent. Center sharpness is very good even wide open, while the corners start out a tad weaker, but get much sharper by f/5.6 and beyond. Contrast and colors are superb as can be seen from other image samples posted in this review.
5) Bokeh
The bokeh on the Zeiss 35mm looks pleasant for a lens of this class and focal length. While depth of field is not as shallow as on the Nikon 35mm f/1.4G, background highlights look circular and soft, with a slightly visible edge. Nothing to worry about though, because this type of behavior is expected from a wide-angle lens, so there are no surprises here. Here is an example of bokeh shot at f/2:
Here is another shot at f/2:
6) Vignetting
Similar to other Nikon 35mm lenses I tested, the Zeiss Distagon 35mm f/2 has a heavy amount of vignetting at largest apertures, especially wide open at f/2.0. Take a look at lens vignetting properties, as measured by Imatest and compared to other 35mm lenses:
At maximum aperture, the Zeiss 35mm f/2 produces more vignetting than other lenses at f/1.4, reaching almost 3 EV in the extreme corners. As you stop down to f/2.8 vignetting starts to decrease and by f/5.6 onwards it is very subtle. Although this type of behavior is expected from large aperture lenses, especially when they are mounted on full frame cameras, vignetting on the Zeiss 35mm f/2 can be considered unusually high. However, this heavy vignetting does not bother me a bit – in fact, I actually like the way this lens renders images wide open. In addition, vignetting is reduced quite a bit when focusing at close distances, so the 3 EV results you see above are only seen when shooting at infinity. If you look at some of the images in this review that were shot wide open, it is the combination of clear colors and vignetting, which made images look more three dimensional and pleasant to look at in my opinion.
I have a feeling that Zeiss purposefully designed this lens to behave in such a way – moderate vignetting at close distances for portraiture and if one shoots at infinity, they would most likely stop down anyway…
Here is the worst case scenario of vignetting as illustrated by Imatest, at f/2.0 infinity focus:
7) Ghosting and Flare
The amount of flares and ghosting will depend on where you position the light source in the frame. Shooting directly at the sun, you will most definitely get some flares and ghosting if the sun is in the middle of the frame, as seen below. As you move the light source towards the corners, the size and length of ghosting/flares can get dramatically bigger, so take this into consideration when shooting outside. If you see a strong amount of ghosting and flares, try moving the light source in your frame to see where the effect is minimal and acceptable. Take a look at this shot of the Mesa Arch at f/13:
While Zeiss shows a minimal amount of ghosting and flares at largest apertures, stopping it down to f/8.0 and beyond can yield some nasty flares. Note the left bottom corner of the frame in the above shot, where you can clearly see a large orange blob that is taking almost half of the frame and changing the color of the rock. This is the worst case scenario – when an extremely bright and small source of light reflects off the internal lens elements. There are also some purple colors right under the star-shaped sun.
The coating on the Zeiss lens works great when the source of light is larger or slightly diffused though. Take a look at the following shot, with the sun behind the clouds:
As you can see, there is only one small ghost in the frame and no signs of nasty flares throughout the frame. Please note that both images were taken without any filters. Using UV and other filters can potentially introduce more flares and ghosting to your images.
8) Distortion
Distortion on the Zeiss is moderate, very comparable to other 35mm lenses. Let’s take a look at how the Zeiss 35mm f/2 performs in detail:
The clear winner is the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art here, which shows the least amount of distortion compared to other 35mm lenses.
If you use the latest version of Lightroom, it already comes with a lens profile for this lens and many other Zeiss lenses. Simply check “Enable Profile Corrections” in the Lens Correction sub-module of the Development module in Lightroom and all distortion + vignetting issues will be automatically taken care of.
9) Chromatic Aberration
Longitudinal chromatic aberration (which is the effect of color fringing in front of and behind the focused area) is certainly visible when shooting at large apertures:
See how the color on the front of the chart (where the number 6 is) is purple, while on the back of the chart it is green? That’s the effect of longitudinal chromatic aberration. Most prime lenses including the Nikon 35mm f/1.4G have a similar problem though, so no surprises here.
Let’s take a look at lateral chromatic aberration and compare it to other 35mm lenses:
Unfortunately, the lens does seem to suffer from chromatic aberration problems, as seen from the above chart – the Zeiss 35mm f/2 performed noticeably worse than other 35mm lenses. At large apertures from f/2 to f/4, the lens showed over 2 pixels of CA, dropping down below the 2 pixel mark only at f/5.6. Although CA is rather easy to fix in post-processing, keep the above in mind when working in the field.
10) Zeiss 35mm f/2 vs Zeiss 35mm f/1.4
Let’s take a look at how the Zeiss 35mm f/2 compares to its bigger brother, the 35mm f/1.4:
The more expensive Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm f/1.4 is not a very sharp lens at large apertures, as can be seen from the above graph. In fact, when I compared the performance of the lens at f/2 to that of the Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm f/2, I was surprised to see that the latter outperformed its bigger brother optically. Only at f/2.8 was the 35mm f/1.4 able to catch up. Stopped down to f/5.6 where both lenses perform the best in the center, the Zeiss 35mm f/2 still showed superiority in the corners, although it did show some issues with field curvature.
Overall, while both lenses are quite sharp optically, I personally prefer the Zeiss 35mm f/2 to the f/1.4 version – it seems to provide better value in comparison.
11) Zeiss 35mm f/2 vs Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art
Let’s now take a look at how the lens measures against the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art:
Without a doubt, the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art is a strong lens with serious performance characteristics. Look at its wide open performance and compare it to the Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 presented earlier and you will see why it is such a great lens. Its optics are superb and the consistency of its performance at different apertures is quite impressive. Still, the Zeiss 35mm f/2 is a serious contender in terms of wide open performance and its sharpness in the corners is a bit stronger at large apertures. Stopped down to f/5.6, the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 beats pretty much every 35mm lens optically, including the Zeiss 35mm f/2.
12) Zeiss 35mm f/2 vs Nikkor 35mm f/1.4G ED
Let’s see whether the Nikkor 35mm f/1.4G ED can challenge the Zeiss 35mm f/2:
It is pretty clear from the above that the Nikon 35mm f/1.4G ED just does not shine optically when it comes to sharpness – its performance is not good wide open and even when stopped down, the Zeiss 35mm f/2 clearly outperforms the Nikkor in the center…
13) Zeiss 35mm f/2 vs Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G ED
The last comparison is with the Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G ED lens designed specifically for full-frame cameras:
At maximum aperture, the Zeiss 35mm f/2 is sharper than the Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G ED at f/2. Stopped down to f/4 and smaller, both lenses behave very similarly in terms of sharpness, although my sample of the Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G ED did demonstrate superb sharpness in the center at f/4 that surpassed that of the Zeiss.
14) Summary
As I have pointed out earlier in the review, I really enjoyed working with the Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm f/2 lens. It is a very sharp and beautiful lens to use and it optically shines when compared to other 35mm lenses. After you use one of these lenses, you will understand why some photographers go so crazy about the Zeiss glass. After coming back from a trip to Utah, I discovered that I used the Zeiss more than any other 35mm lens I had with me, including the Nikon 35mm f/1.4G – I just did not want to take it off my camera! Besides a couple of optical issues such as heavy vignetting and chromatic aberration (both of which can be fixed in post-processing), there is really not much to complain about – colors, contrast and sharpness are all superb. If you are a landscape or an architectural photographer, the Zeiss 35mm f/2 ZF.2 is an excellent choice with great value, considering its solid craftsmanship. With its all-metal body, the lens is built to last a lifetime and handles extremely well in the field. If you are into people photography and mainly work with models in controlled environments, the Zeiss 35mm can also be a great portrait lens that can beautifully isolate your subjects from the background. However, if you photograph children, weddings and other similar events, the manual focus part might limit your ability to work quickly, especially if you have never worked with a manual focus lens before. On the other hand, experienced photographers should not be scared to use manual focus lenses. In fact, if you have never done it before, try a manual focus lens or switch your autofocus lens to manual focus and give it a shot – you might find yourself taking better pictures and paying more attention to focus, composition and framing. If you are a beginner, I would not recommend this lens though, since lack of autofocus will most likely frustrate you quickly.
Overall, I am very pleased with the performance of the Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm f/2.0 ZF.2 lens. Going forward, I am planning to review more Zeiss lenses, because many of those share the build quality and the optical characteristics of the 35mm f/2 reviewed here.
15) Where to buy and availability
B&H is currently selling the Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm f/2.0 ZF.2 lens for $1,117 and has it in stock (as of 12/31/2014).
16) More Image Samples
All Images Copyright © Nasim Mansurov, All Rights Reserved. Copying or reproduction is not permitted without written permission from the author.
Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm f/2.0 ZF.2
- Optical Performance
- Features
- Bokeh Quality
- Build Quality
- Handling
- Value
- Size and Weight
Photography Life Overall Rating
Nasim, amazing! saw this review and will go deeper at Weekend!
/Karl
Thank you Carl! These reviews take a ton of my time, which is why I have been very slow on publishing more content. I have so many more lenses to review…it is crazy. Currently have 3 Nikon tilt/shift lenses to test and review.
Nasim,
I am with you. Would like to have my own Nikon Blog and would be ready to start a professional driven site;
but it’s a question of time you need for this. And reviews in the quality you do it cost a lot of time! So I decided not to do it. If I would live near you I would like to join you but it’s to far away! Probably expanding your service with some colleague pro’S (Nasim’s gang :-)) could release more capactity …
From your site frequency I mean – it’s very high – for me more then enough. If you look on dpreview.com and their lens tests – I think you released more in an amount of time – and they are a team.
I appreciate your work!
/Karl
Carl, lack of time is definitely the problem! :) If you have some lenses you want to test and write reviews on (or any other photography-related content), let me know and I will create an account for you on our blog. Or we can do a simple guest blog.
It would be nice to add more people to the team, but very few are interested in doing what I am doing, since it is a lot of work with no financial gain, at least at the moment. I can get a lot of expensive gear to test and I have connections, but I can only do so much alone…
Ohh Nasim – I feel honored!
You already said it – it’s just a lot of work!
but I have a lens and do not know if your already tested it;
It is the amazing Nikon AF-S Micro-Nikkor 105mm 1:2,8G VR Objektiv;
– would be interested in a stand alone compare (just could compare it with my 85mm 1.8)
– Some test environment (should be similar to yours) – some kind of resolution chart would be fine – I wold be responsible for that on you tips;
a guest blog – woud do it; guest ist guest, posting on your own blog would (something stronger) be a partnership.
The article should fist be reviewed by you for getting similar quality as in your blog
/Karl Reitschuster
Hi Nasim, i love your blog/site. Your photographs are quite inspirational and your reviews always gives me good advice. I love this lens as my brother is using the version for Canon and the clarity of the photographs are incredible! I am currently using a d60 ( waiting for the “right” one to upgrade to ) and i am wondering if this lens will work on the D60. Are there any limitations?
Thanks very much. And look forward to more posts!!
Thank you Neko. Yes, the Zeiss glass is phenomenal! As for D60, yes, it will work great on any modern Nikon DSLR. Make sure to get the ZF.2 version – the previous one is not electronic and you won’t be able to put non-CPU lens data on your D60.
Awesome Nasim!! Thanks. Keep giving us good tips! And lovely photos!
Great report, showing the strength of the top performers here; The Nikon Nikkor AF-S 35mm 1.4 G and the Zeiss one. So depended on your mission both are winners. Interestingly I had the same feelings/behavior with the manual focussed lens as you had with the Nikon AI S 50mm 1.4; Even the lens has some weak points like vignetting and a slight front focus It’s now one of my favourite lens mounted on my D700;
http://spinthma.zenfolio.com/mannheim_nikon_ais_50_14/h7828a50#h7828a50
Great Review and wonderful images!!!
/Karl
Carl, the Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AIS is nice, but it had some cloudiness to it at f/1.4…not sure if it was my lens sample that had this kind of a problem, or if it is normal for the AIS to do that. Check out my Nikon 35mm f/1.4G review that I posted earlier for examples of 50mm f/1.4 AIS images. But as far as the manual focus part – yes, I really like to go slow and take my time to compose and shoot :)
Thank you for your feedback!
My two cents : THE real winner is the Carl Zeiss Distagon T 35mm f/1.4 !
De-Uks, that’s the lens that I requested, but could not obtain at the time of the test! At the same time, I don’t think the extra stop of difference is going to make it that much sharper. It is certainly nice for portraits, but again, manual focus on such small depth of field is very tricky…
Well, with the new Distagon f/1.4 you get two more glasses (and about 300g extra weight) for better reflection absorbtion, much higher contrast and more vivid colors.
One thing interresting I could find comparing the new Nikkor 35mm f/1.4 AF-S with the ~$600.00 Samyang 35mm f/1.4 AS UMC is the korean lens is sharper in center and especially in the corner than the ~$1750.00 Nikkor from f/1.4 to f/2.8.
I didn’t have time to compare the Samyang and the Zeiss directly but I suspect the Zeiss to be even better…
P.S. you might want to read this review of the Samyang lens : http://www.lenstip.com/297.1-Lens_review-Samyang_35_mm_f_1.4_AS_UMC__Introduction.html
Nasim Mansurov, did you have Nikon AIS 35mm f/1.4 to compare? I was thinking about AIS version.
Richard, I have not had a chance to post the results from the Nikon AIS 35mm f/1.4 in this review. If you want to compare the two, please see my Nikon 35mm f/1.4G review – I have 100% crops from the AIS there. You can put them side by side with images from the Zeiss and make comparisons…
I apologize for the inconvenience.
No problem Nasim, you already did a great job reviews so many lenses…. Thank you!
Hi Nasim,
Great review – thanks for taking the time to share this. I’ve read some mixed accounts of this lens. I was wondering if you would have any thoughts on how this compares with the Canon equivalent 35mm 1.4L which seems to be a bit of a legendary lens.
Also like Del-uks I’m intrigued by the Samyang lenstip review and would love to know what you thought of it. I first came across Samyang regarding the 85mm here:
It seems like a great find for the money but I’m put off by the manual focus as I like to shoot these lenses wide open.
Thanks again.
T
Sorry Nasim,
I meant to post this under the Nikon 35mm review.
Tim
Nasim…. thanks so much for such a wonderful review. Have you had a chance to try either of the Zeiss 50mm’s? I would like to try either the Zeiss 35mm f/2 or a 50mm (probably the macro version) on a D7000 but can’t seem to make up my mind which way to go.
Danny
Mr.Mansurov,
Have you tried the Zeiss 25mm/2.8 Distagon ZF.2? I would like to get this lens for my Nikon D7000 as it would give a similar angle view as the 35mm in your review and would benefit from using it on a crop sensor body. How often do you use your 35mm primes for landscape photography? I have 2 consumer grade Nikkor zooms and would like to try out a high quality prime such as the Zeiss, as I like to use manual focus. I have read your introduction to landscape photography and found it quite useful, thanks!
Thanks for this wonderful review again! i want to buy the distagon 35mmf:2 first for use with my d90. I have to buy the zf2 and not the zf version, right? I will use it with A mode mainly. Beautiful pictures, great lens and great reviewer! Thanks, Philippe
Philippe, yes, get the ZF2 version of the lens.
Every time I looks at samples of this Zeiss lens I’m very impressed and as such considering buying one instead of a Nikon wide zoom or prime. As your review says though, I am a little put off buy the fact that it’s manual focus as it means that you really have to forget about moving subjects.
That said, I’m wanting it mainly for land/cityscape and architecture which isn’t a moving subject and why I’m still considering this very nice lens.
Thanks for the review, awesome as always. :)
I just bought this lens and its super sharp! For a wide angle, the manual focus isn’t too much of a problem, as I’ll be shooting mostly street, landscape and some portraits. The build quality is superb, and the colours have the typical Zeiss warmth. This is my second Zeiss lens and it continues to impress me.
Hi Nasim,
GREAT read and reviews on the Zeiss. I am currently using D3s and I have Nikon 24mm 1.4G I used most of the time, and also 50mm 1.4G and 24-70mm 2.8G. Like what you said, I am also among those who are ‘afraid’ to use manual focus in a real wedding settings but I thought of trying the 50/2 or 100/2 Makro-planar, I figured for macro details works, I can afford to manual focus at my own sweet time, do you have any reviews on these?
I also plan on getting the newer Nikon 85mm 1.8G lens, or should I give Zeiss 50mm / 85mm a try instead? What’s your take?
Thank you.
Thank you for your in-depth reviews. It seems I’m like two other followers – asking if this lens will work with the D7000. If you have time, I’d appreciate your comments.
Cheers,
Cassie
Nasim, I’m a Canon user. If I put this ZF.2 mount lens with adapter into my body, will I still get the aperture control from my body?? Any example of good adapter? I found many of them didn’t have electronic part.
And one more, does ZF.2 mount fit to F-mount of film camera?? (like FM2)
Great review.
Thanks a lot.
Hi Nasim,
Your review is excellent, thank you. I own this lens and use it a lot but like you it has to go in the bag during live people shoots as I’m generally shooting at 2 or 2.2 and its too risky to attempt a sharp shot especially if the subject is more than 2′ away (it can look sharp in the viewfinder but be way out in reality). Vignetting does not concern me as mostly it looks rather nice and as you write can be altered in LR4. The colour rendition, bokeh, contrast, smooth focus for video make this one of my favourite lenses. Clients choose images taken with this lens without knowing why – I’ve done tests with the same subject matter.
I have a theory that I miss some shots because of AF as I’m moving the AF point around the frame to be precise whereas with the Zeiss I rack the focus through frames as a shoot knowing 2 out of 6 will be tack sharp.
The lens is however and if you are hiking with a back pack then it’s a consideration but when it’s on your camera body it’s heft is reassuring and greatly assists with slw shutter speeds.
I hope this helps anyone considering buying Zeiss glass – the 50mm f2 is also a fantastic lens but I have taken it out in the heavy rain, not recommended.
Cheers,
Jonty
Nasim, I have been on the brink of buying this lens for awhile but keep having doubts. I used manual focus all the time when I had film SLR’s, but I always had the help of a microprism focusing screen. Did you find it difficult to focus without anything other than the infamous “green dot” to aid you?
Mark, check out the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 review that I posted last week. Unless you really want to get the Zeiss for its tank-like build, there is little reason to consider any other 35mm lens anymore – the Sigma is of a superb value.
As for manual focusing, I would not trust the viewfinder, especially on high-resolution modern DSLRs. Not when dealing with fast-aperture primes – even slight focus errors will be clearly visible. The green dot / manual focus assist helps quite a bit, but it can also be poorly calibrated. AF Fine Tune can fix calibration issues, but not when they are extreme (beyond +- 20).
I use this lens on a Canon 6D and although it seems large and heavy for its aperture and focal length, I have been very pleased with the results and I find it hard to not want to leave it on the camera all the time. From f4 to f8 it seems incredibly sharp and the photos look very “deep”, the infamous 3D look, its definitely there. The colors are gorgeous too. Its a powerful combination with the 6D sensor, and I will never part with it. I do not find the focus very hard, and used to shoot sports with MF lenses, so slow moving objects or landscapes are not difficult. This lens reminds me why I like zoom lenses less and less and single focal length lenses more and more every year. Nasim thanks for the review and your superb site we are all better photographers due to your efforts.
I’ve been shooting with the Zeiss 35/2 for about a year now, or perhaps a little less. These comments are about manual focus. When I use my autofocus lenses I usually set the camera to single point AF, since I am hesistant to trust the auto-area feature (right or wrong). I have come to the conclusion that the time it takes to manually focus the Zeiss is no more than the time it takes to move the focus point in single point AF! In other words, what am I really getting for my money with autofocus? I realize the advantages of AF with fast moving subjects, but really, what if your fast moving subject is relatively small and doesn’t happened to be aligned with your single focus point when you shoot? I am posting these thoughts in order to encourage others to consider MF. When I started in photography, MF was the only option. It’s not a big deal once you get accustomed to it.
Nasim,
Have you done a Imatest run on the Zeiss 35/2 on the D800e? If so would you include it in the review & comparisons? I am on the fence about what 35 to buy for my D800e …. I currently have a Samyang 35/1.4 that I am somewhat happy with but am looking seriously at the Zeiss 35/2 or Sigma 35/1.4. I really love the Zeiss rendering (have 21/2.8 & 25/2.8) just wondering how the 35/2 stacks up to the others. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Ed, it took me a while to finally re-review this lens and post Imatest data. I apologize for the wait – looks like the lens has very impressive sharpness!
Hello everyone
I totally agree with Nasim, the 35 is one of those sweet lenses that one can own a whole life and use with pleasure, I also have very often on my camera. I had never shot 35mm – I started with a 50-ish background but as you know, the 50 may be at times “very tight” and limiting, so after I got the wonderful ZF2 2/100, my first Zeiss, as soon as I could, I got also the 35 – sure it’s a bit weird the 58mm filter thread but aside from that nothing to complain and I find it very sharp and useful with my D700/D600 also in what could be diffraction territory, F/11, 13, 16, 22. Definitely a must have if you don’t mind the manual focusing.
I use at work on our Photron high speed camera the 50mm version of this lens, I can’t comment about its optical qualities; but mechanically is second to none. the focus ring is like nothing I ever seen from Nikon or Canon. It’s built like a tank, even the hood is high quality metal.
Yes, Zeiss lenses are built to last a lifetime. Glass is amazing too, with very neutral and beautiful colors.
Very nice lens (and review)! But I wonder if it is worth the money over a Sigma Art (offers f1.4 and on par or better from 2.8 on) or even the light weight and cheap Nikon 35/1.8G. If you only go manual and want a life time investment it makes sense. But the other lenses are good for the next 5 (-10) years at least and who knows what we get afterwards?
HF, you are right – the Sigma Art probably has the best value out of all current 35mm lenses. The Zeiss is targeted at a niche market of photographers that want the best build and do not particularly care for AF capabilities. For example, many landscape photographers love the Zeiss 35mm f/2.
Hi Nasim
Thanks for updating the review with the new test results and some new photos. Photography Life always has great photos to back up reviews and I always appreciate that.
The test results make me curious. The Zeiss f1.4 I believe is a newer lens, more expensive and has less distortion / CA / vignetting. I’m sure f1.4 is harder to design and could force some compromises, but I’m surprised to see it so comprehensively beaten in the sharpness tests, especially as I think it was released into a market where distortion /CA / vignetting could be corrected in software, but sharpness cannot. What do you think the design goal for the f1.4 lens was given they already had the f2? Is it more optimised for a different distance? What was the intended market for a manual focus, f1.4 heavy lens that is not as sharp as its smaller stablemate? As someone who has used both, I would be interested in your views. Thanks again.
Tom, it is hard to say why the 35mm f/1.4 tested worse than the f/2, but this is not unusual. When an f/1.4 lens is developed, its optical design is far more complex than an f/1.8 or f/2 lens. To push good overall performance, compromises have to be made to yield acceptable distortion, vignetting, CA, etc, which often result in reduced sharpness. The interesting thing is, the same pattern can be observed in other brands too. For example, Nikon’s f/1.4 lenses are often worse in sharpness than f/1.8 lenses (see 35mm f/1.8G vs f/1.4G and other comparisons). I will be obtaining another copy of the 35mm f/1.4 later this year and I will retest it, just to make sure that it was not sample variation…
Hi Nasim,
I am very curious, have you succeeded in trying another sample of 35mm f/1.4? Your impression slightly contradicts to what I read from others.
I would also like to ask for your advice given the following symptoms.
For a long time I have considered Sigma Art 35mm, but then a bad thing happened: I got addictive to Zeiss picture (to the extent I am able to capture from looking at the pictures in the net) so now I am intensively thinking towards ZF.2 35mm f/1.4.
This focus length is tempting by additional portrait potential. However, I mostly shoot landscapes and if this lens does not allow to firmly sit on both chairs (giving me colour and micro-contrast in the mountains: that surfaces of rocks in different light), I would rather take Zeiss 25mm or 28mm and postpone wide portrait experiments, or go with the 35mm f/2 as you suggest.
And, being not innovative here, thank you very much for your reviews. I have learned a lot from this site, especially from your explanations of the nature of certain optical issues.
Thanks Nasim!
You promised you’d do this (last month?) and you did. Kudos.
Nice to see someone in the photographic web world saying something and doing it in a reasonable length of time – in your case ‘post haste’ :-)
With Zeiss everyone talks about ‘micro contrast’, ‘drawing style’ etc.
How would you compare the Sigma to the Zeiss in those aspects?
The Sigma seems to be the sharper lens but that’s not everything. Bokeh would be a consideration too.
Compliments of the New Year to you, yours and associates.
Fred, you are most welcome!
Microcontrast is not always better on Zeiss lenses, but the drawing style / 3D look / beautiful colors usually are. It is hard to say where the depth comes from, but I think it has to do with the combination of optical design that has a bit of natural vignetting. Zeiss lenses have German glass in them, even though most Zeiss lenses are assembled by Cosina in Japan. That German glass is color neutral and is made by the same company that makes optical glass for Leica, Schneider and many others. Others cannot really compete with Germany’s history of glass molding, it is nearly perfect. That alone is what makes Zeiss lenses so special…
Dear Nasim,
Thanks for your reply. Appreciated.
I was aware that the Zeiss lenses were ‘made’ by Cosina, Japan but hadn’t realised it was German glass from the same company that makes glass for some of the other big names.
Good point- makes sense – thanks for the information!
You should try the Distagon 28mm 2.0; it’s even better than this one!
I bet it is! Will definitely put it in my list of lenses to test later this year!
Well Nasim.. I will have only one question:
Your images are just stunning as usual! But I would really like to know where did you take the two photos shown on the Summary Page?
I love them !
Yannis, thank you for your feedback! Those photos were taken in San Juan Mountains of Colorado. I conduct a workshop each year in the fall there, so you are welcome to join this year. Will post details on the workshop in a few months.
Thanks you for the reply !
I would love to go to one of your workshop , but , coming from Paris (not in Texas), it might be difficult :)
Yannis, we have had a few people from overseas join workshops before – not as difficult as you think, but it is one heck of an experience! If you do decide to come, let me know and I will give you a list of other locations worth visiting in the area. Even if you don’t join us for the workshop, there is plenty to see around here :)
The bottom line question is, is the IQ of this lens compared to other similar lenses worth the astronomical price? Don’t get me wrong, I love Zeiss lenses and have 5 for my Hasselblad. But ask yourself, what is my ROI on a lens this terribly expensive? And for a manual focus lens, one of my greatest criticisms of Zeiss lenses is that even though their focusing is very smooth, the focusing rings are very stiff compared to my MF Nikkors. Try focusing a Zeiss lens with just one finger, good luck with that one.
I wonder if i should use it on my A7R or get the FE3528. anyone?
I’ve got an A7R and plan to buy this nikon fit lens (using a NEX/NIK adaptor on my Sony camera).
Nasim a great overview of this lens and in the end after much consideration I purchased it after reading your review. It is everything you say it is, the fit, build, handling , shots , etc. While the sigma is also an amazing lens once you hold the Zeiss in your hand you are sold. Now I find I go out of my way to find shots that fit my lens vs what lens would be ideal for this shot. I just do not want to take it off my camera .Really enjoying shooting in Manual focuses as you mentioned you take more time, not every shot of mine is tack sharp but once I am able to dial it in you really enjoy the results. Kind of like driving a standard or automatic car ,both get you there but one gets you there with more satisfying involvement .
Thanks for the great review, and as always your personal and authentic pov is what separates yours from the others.
Hi,
Thanks a lot for a very good report of the Zeiss 35mm!
I have just one question; you state that it is weather sealed against moisture and dust, but I can´t find any proof of this in the specifications about the lens anywhere. With the new Milvus 35mm from Zeiss, Which I belive is the successor of the Distagon 35mm f/2 zf2 lens. For this lens Zeiss officially state that it is weather sealed.
I tend to use my gear in quite humid and rough environments and need kit to withstand it without falling apart. Would you still recommend the Distagon 35mm f/2 lens for this kind of purpose?
Thanks in advance!
Are
I had the Zeiss 35mm f2.0 zf.2 lens and sold it a while back. I now have a used Zeiss Milvus 35mm f2.0 zf.2 lens coming this week. I have the Milvus 50mm f2.0 zf.2 lens and its a dandy which is advertised as being water proof.
As was stated in the review the Zeiss has no rubber gasket on the mount and is not sealed against dust or moisture. This is the main reason I am paying a little more and buying the Milvus 35 f2.0 zf.2 due to the weather proofing and tremendous build qualities. I also use my lenses in showery and wintery weather so need a lens that can endure this.
Larry
Hi, Got it after reading your review. Loving every bit of it. A quick question. Can you explain why the texture of the photos is so stunning when shot with this lens. Have always been a prime fan. But this one is different. Very curious. Thanks, John.