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 Loxia 35mm f/2 Review

Zeiss Loxia 35mm f/2 Review

By Nasim Mansurov 15 Comments
Last Updated On November 9, 2024

«»

Summary

It is exciting to see Zeiss pushing a number of great lenses for the Sony FE mount, making the Sony mirrorless system more and more attractive, especially for those who are looking at potentially switching from a DSLR system. Since the debut of the Sony A7 cameras, lack of solid native-mount lenses has been the biggest problem, but with both Sony and Zeiss actively working together, gaps are quickly getting filled with good lens choices.

Zeiss Loxia 35mm f2 Sample Image (11)
ILCE-7S + E 35mm F2 @ 35mm, ISO 640, 1/60, f/8.0

Although the Loxia 35mm f/2 might not initially look very appealing to all Sony mirrorless camera fans out there due to being limited to manual focus operation and the rather steep MSRP price of $1,299 (while the AF-capable 35mm f/2.8 sells for $800), just holding the two lenses in hands is enough to see a major difference in quality. And while the Loxia 35mm f/2 might not be great in sharpness across the frame like the FE 35mm f/2.8, its optical design is optimized to yield very pleasant-looking images with beautiful colors and bokeh. In addition, while the FE 35mm f/2.8 suffers from heavy vignetting and more pronounced distortion, the Loxia 35mm f/2 is practically distortion-free and its light vignetting is actually pleasant to look at in images. The Sony counterpart simply cannot compete with such optical characteristics, so if you add everything up, it makes sense why there is such a price difference between the two – the Loxia is simply a much better lens.

Overall, I really enjoyed shooting with the Zeiss Loxia 35mm f/2 lens and I would certainly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a high-quality 35mm prime for the Sony FE mount. Although it is certainly not a cheap lens to recommend, keep in mind that it is a beautiful, high-end prime lens built to last a lifetime…

Where to Buy

B&H is currently selling the Zeiss Loxia 35mm f/2 lens for $1,299 (as of 01/12/2020).

Zeiss Loxia 35mm f/2
  • Optical Performance
  • Features
  • Bokeh Quality
  • Build Quality
  • Focus Speed and Accuracy
  • Handling
  • Value
  • Size and Weight

Photography Life Overall Rating

Photograhy Life Gold Award
4.6

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

Subscribe via Email

If you like our content, you can subscribe to our newsletter to receive weekly email updates using the link below:

Subscribe to our newsletter

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
  • Subscribe
  • Workshops
  • Support Us
  • Submit Content

Copyright © 2025 ยท Photography Life

You are going to send email to

Move Comment