Thank you for a honest, heartfelt review. I understand your fondness for the Loxia lenses. I had the 21mm and loved the colors and presence of the images (the only way I can explain it). I went immediately to KEH and bought a Loxia 50mm f/2. You are a wonderful writer. Thank you
Bjoern
November 22, 2016 12:19 pm
Thank you for the interesting review. But I have a quation for correct understanding of your MTF charts. I’m owner of a Sony A7 and several Nikkor Ai/AiS lenses. One of my favorite is the Nikkor 55mm/F2.8 Ai-S Micro, which was testet from you earlier. Link: photographylife.com/lense…-f2-8-ai-s
If I compare the MTF charts, the old Nikkor seems to be much better. Is this fact or is there any change in your measurements methods and I’m interpretating your charts wrong?
Doug Bey
June 8, 2016 8:53 pm
I rented both a Sony A7ii and the Loxia 50 and it was a wonderful experience. The sharpness, bokeh, colors, contrast from this lens are superb! It’s the best 50mm lens I’ve every used by a wide margin. Now I want both the camera and lens! Thank you for this great review.
Damir Colak
May 12, 2016 9:41 am
The problem is, when you move the ring, camera focuses on the center of the image and you really wanted to focus on the other part. So, you click click click click to move the rectangle while not being able to see the whole picture.
Unless you already have the rectangle more or less where you want it to be. It’s called preparation, and that is what I do.
ron
November 15, 2015 1:34 am
I read elsewhere that the diaphragm is manual, that one must open the aperture before focusing and then close it down for picture taking. Is this true? If so that sounds like quite a pain.
Ron, of course the diaphragm is manual – the lens is a fully manual focus lens, just like many others. When you have a lens like this, you stop down to your desired aperture, focus and take a shot. There is no need to open or close down the aperture, unless you have no light to work with and you want to let in more light by opening up the aperture.
I much rather prefer this method, because most camera systems and lenses by default are set to be wide open. This means that when you focus, lenses are acquiring focus at their maximum aperture. Then at the time of exposure, they stop down. This is a huge problem for lenses that suffer from focus shift!
So wherever you read that from, they are either misunderstanding the focus function, or you misunderstood what they were stating. Not a concern for Loxia – I never had to open up or close down the aperture before taking a shot, that would be a huge waste of time.
I’m not sure why you say ‘of course the aperture is manual’; why ‘of course’? Most manual lenses focus at maximum aperture; and this is the big problems using Leica lenses on a mirror-less camera as they are like the Loxia seems to be; full manual lenses.
I realize focusing near the maximum aperture wouldn’t be a big issue with a manual aperture but if you’re shooting, say, at f8 and want to set the focus point precisely, so one gets the 1/3 – 2/3 focus range where one wants it, focusing at the taking aperture will be an issue. One would need to focus at maximum aperture and then step down to the taking aperture. NO?
Dave
June 24, 2015 10:36 pm
Thanks for that review Nasim. A comparison with the Voigtlander 1.5/50 would be very interesting.
That is a nice shot. The colour is nice and it has an impressionist feel to it. But wouldn’t you say that the look of the bokeh in that shot has more to do with the shape of the flowers in the background than the capability of the lens? If you look at the yellow daffodil in your sample gallery, don’t you think you could have gotten a much nicer bokeh and overall photo with another lens?
But to answer your question, the bokeh or background looks busy and doesn’t help to isolate the subject. Maybe I’m wrong, given that my knowledge of lenses and photography is quite limited compared to yours, and that I’m comparing the Loxia, perhaps wrongly, to the Nikon 105mm macro that I’ve been shooting with lately.
Jano
June 23, 2015 3:02 am
The images look great and I’m really happy Sony is slowly getting a few lenses for their otherwise attractive system.
But really, I don’t get this lens. This lens is so freaking expensive compared to other 50s that it is actually rather ridiculous to name the AF licensing costs as a reason for MF. But since CaNikon 50s aren’t built very well let’s compare this to the Fuji 35 f1.4: – Nearly identical minimum DOF but the Fuji gives you faster exposure. – Both have great image and build quality. The Zeiss might have better micro contrast but I don’t know that. – The Fuji has AF – Fuji is slightly smaller in length and lighter (187g vs. 320g, Zeiss is 70% heavier) – Fuji is quite a bit cheaper
Sorry, but who in their right mind would pay 950$ for this? I’m sure it’s a great lens but it is way overpriced for a 50 f2 lens without AF. The only people who should buy this plus A7 over X-T1 with 35 f1.4 are people who print very big where you might see that mystical micro contrast (and are paid well for that). For normal people and even most photographers I don’t see this as a very convincing reason to choose Sony over Fuji (price and no AF). We’ll see how this plays out and how many buy this instead of the 55…
Would not buy Fuji as I have no desire to own the Xtran sensor. There are people who pay quite a lot more money for manual Leica lenses. This lens is great and well worth it’s price. The 55 is a bit too clinical with its look, some of us who our out of are minds are looking for something different.
Fuji obviously has drawbacks as well. It’s not the best choice for everyone. And as I said there are some people this lens might be good for and will be worth the price. You seem to be one. But I don’t think that applies to many people.
That being said the 55 isn’t much cheaper so between those two I might also choose the 50 f2. But if I had the choice between the expensive Zeiss and a cheap Sony-version of the Nikkor 50 1.8G I would surely choose the latter.
Nice review. I’ve owned Zeiss lenses in the past and shot them on my Nikon and the experience was completely different. Extremely difficult to focus even when adding a split prism screen to your DSLR. The 50mm Loxia on the other hand is a join to use. My keeper rate is extremely high. It is so convenient that this lens will trigger the camera to auto focus zoom when turning the ring. I absolutely love everything about mine and intend to own it for years to come. It balances extremely well on the camera.
How do you like the 50mm compared to the 35mm? I find the 50mm + Sony 28mm to be a great small size kit.
Thank you for a honest, heartfelt review. I understand your fondness for the Loxia lenses. I had the 21mm and loved the colors and presence of the images (the only way I can explain it). I went immediately to KEH and bought a Loxia 50mm f/2. You are a wonderful writer. Thank you
Thank you for the interesting review. But I have a quation for correct understanding of your MTF charts.
I’m owner of a Sony A7 and several Nikkor Ai/AiS lenses. One of my favorite is the Nikkor 55mm/F2.8 Ai-S Micro, which was testet from you earlier.
Link: photographylife.com/lense…-f2-8-ai-s
If I compare the MTF charts, the old Nikkor seems to be much better. Is this fact or is there any change in your measurements methods and I’m interpretating your charts wrong?
I rented both a Sony A7ii and the Loxia 50 and it was a wonderful experience. The sharpness, bokeh, colors, contrast from this lens are superb! It’s the best 50mm lens I’ve every used by a wide margin. Now I want both the camera and lens! Thank you for this great review.
The problem is, when you move the ring, camera focuses on the center of the image and you really wanted to focus on the other part. So, you click click click click to move the rectangle while not being able to see the whole picture.
Unless you already have the rectangle more or less where you want it to be. It’s called preparation, and that is what I do.
I read elsewhere that the diaphragm is manual, that one must open the aperture before focusing and then close it down for picture taking. Is this true? If so that sounds like quite a pain.
Ron, of course the diaphragm is manual – the lens is a fully manual focus lens, just like many others. When you have a lens like this, you stop down to your desired aperture, focus and take a shot. There is no need to open or close down the aperture, unless you have no light to work with and you want to let in more light by opening up the aperture.
I much rather prefer this method, because most camera systems and lenses by default are set to be wide open. This means that when you focus, lenses are acquiring focus at their maximum aperture. Then at the time of exposure, they stop down. This is a huge problem for lenses that suffer from focus shift!
So wherever you read that from, they are either misunderstanding the focus function, or you misunderstood what they were stating. Not a concern for Loxia – I never had to open up or close down the aperture before taking a shot, that would be a huge waste of time.
I read that from Ming Thein’s review.
I’m not sure why you say ‘of course the aperture is manual’; why ‘of course’? Most manual lenses focus at maximum aperture; and this is the big problems using Leica lenses on a mirror-less camera as they are like the Loxia seems to be; full manual lenses.
I realize focusing near the maximum aperture wouldn’t be a big issue with a manual aperture but if you’re shooting, say, at f8 and want to set the focus point precisely, so one gets the 1/3 – 2/3 focus range where one wants it, focusing at the taking aperture will be an issue. One would need to focus at maximum aperture and then step down to the taking aperture. NO?
Thanks for that review Nasim. A comparison with the Voigtlander 1.5/50 would be very interesting.
I don’t find the bokeh to be pleasing at all.
Stephen, what’s not to like bokeh-wise in this shot?
That is a nice shot. The colour is nice and it has an impressionist feel to it. But wouldn’t you say that the look of the bokeh in that shot has more to do with the shape of the flowers in the background than the capability of the lens? If you look at the yellow daffodil in your sample gallery, don’t you think you could have gotten a much nicer bokeh and overall photo with another lens?
But to answer your question, the bokeh or background looks busy and doesn’t help to isolate the subject. Maybe I’m wrong, given that my knowledge of lenses and photography is quite limited compared to yours, and that I’m comparing the Loxia, perhaps wrongly, to the Nikon 105mm macro that I’ve been shooting with lately.
The images look great and I’m really happy Sony is slowly getting a few lenses for their otherwise attractive system.
But really, I don’t get this lens. This lens is so freaking expensive compared to other 50s that it is actually rather ridiculous to name the AF licensing costs as a reason for MF. But since CaNikon 50s aren’t built very well let’s compare this to the Fuji 35 f1.4:
– Nearly identical minimum DOF but the Fuji gives you faster exposure.
– Both have great image and build quality. The Zeiss might have better micro contrast but I don’t know that.
– The Fuji has AF
– Fuji is slightly smaller in length and lighter (187g vs. 320g, Zeiss is 70% heavier)
– Fuji is quite a bit cheaper
Sorry, but who in their right mind would pay 950$ for this? I’m sure it’s a great lens but it is way overpriced for a 50 f2 lens without AF. The only people who should buy this plus A7 over X-T1 with 35 f1.4 are people who print very big where you might see that mystical micro contrast (and are paid well for that). For normal people and even most photographers I don’t see this as a very convincing reason to choose Sony over Fuji (price and no AF). We’ll see how this plays out and how many buy this instead of the 55…
Would not buy Fuji as I have no desire to own the Xtran sensor. There are people who pay quite a lot more money for manual Leica lenses. This lens is great and well worth it’s price. The 55 is a bit too clinical with its look, some of us who our out of are minds are looking for something different.
Fuji obviously has drawbacks as well. It’s not the best choice for everyone. And as I said there are some people this lens might be good for and will be worth the price. You seem to be one. But I don’t think that applies to many people.
That being said the 55 isn’t much cheaper so between those two I might also choose the 50 f2. But if I had the choice between the expensive Zeiss and a cheap Sony-version of the Nikkor 50 1.8G I would surely choose the latter.
Agreed!
On the summary page, I think you meant to write Zeiss “ceased” (not “seized”) production in Europe.
Thank you Tonio! I fixed the typo.
Nice review. I’ve owned Zeiss lenses in the past and shot them on my Nikon and the experience was completely different. Extremely difficult to focus even when adding a split prism screen to your DSLR. The 50mm Loxia on the other hand is a join to use. My keeper rate is extremely high. It is so convenient that this lens will trigger the camera to auto focus zoom when turning the ring. I absolutely love everything about mine and intend to own it for years to come. It balances extremely well on the camera.
How do you like the 50mm compared to the 35mm? I find the 50mm + Sony 28mm to be a great small size kit.