A lot has already been written about the technical wotnots of the Zeiss Otus primes, and I have little to add – except to say that they’re big, heavy, and forged in the heart of a dying star by wizards out of magic glass that was stolen from a dragon. According to Zeiss, they’re created without compromise, and reviewers who shoot brick walls then compare notes all seem to agree that they’re excellent. Love or hate the design, there’s no denying that they’re sharp, contrasty, largely distortion and aberration free, and can out-resolve any of today’s full-frame digital sensors.
Which got me wondering, what would the Otus 55mm be like on film?
I bought the 55mm and 85mm f/1.4 for digital and after a year or so of use, I can tell you that they’re no more cumbersome than a good 24-70. Manual focus is only an issue if you have issues with manual focus (it’s an easily-learned skill if you stick with it, but I still fudge it sometimes wide open). I wouldn’t personally use them for fast-moving subjects, but they’re terrific lenses and when everything aligns the results can be beautiful.
My wife and I recently welcomed a new addition to the family, so I had the perfect excuse to haul the camera around without too much of the usual eye rolling. My apologies for making you all sit through a family slide show.
All shot wide open on Portra 160 – which I usually don’t get along with due to the weird browny undertones and unpredictability when underexposed. Un-retouched except for a slight S on the tone curve, and while I don’t really buy into the whole ‘Zeiss 3D pop’ thing, I was quite happy with the results.
Then again, it’s my family and I’m biased.
Notice the vignetting wide open, which largely disappears by f/2.8 – easily fixed but I kind of like it in these shots.
Developed and scanned by FilmNeverDie, who along with the great team at Hillvale Photo make shooting film in Melbourne an absolute pleasure.
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Nigel Cliff on 5 Frames with a Zeiss Otus 55mm and Canon EOS 1V – By Bent_Brent
Comment posted: 06/06/2018
Comment posted: 06/06/2018
anil mistry on 5 Frames with a Zeiss Otus 55mm and Canon EOS 1V – By Bent_Brent
Comment posted: 06/06/2018
Comment posted: 06/06/2018
AJ on 5 Frames with a Zeiss Otus 55mm and Canon EOS 1V – By Bent_Brent
Comment posted: 06/06/2018
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RE: "According to Zeiss, they’re created without compromise, and reviewers who shoot brick walls then compare notes all seem to agree that they’re excellent."
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Talk is cheap......my Sony/Zeiss 35mm.F2.8 shows "real" 3D, even at 72dpi resolution. Click on photo for enlargement
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https://imgur.com/a/4Zj4w3k
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AJ
Comment posted: 06/06/2018
Aaron on 5 Frames with a Zeiss Otus 55mm and Canon EOS 1V – By Bent_Brent
Comment posted: 06/06/2018
would love to shoot the nikon version on my FM3A ???? - you're living the film dream!
Comment posted: 06/06/2018
Ashley Carr on 5 Frames with a Zeiss Otus 55mm and Canon EOS 1V – By Bent_Brent
Comment posted: 07/06/2018
They’re all just too perfect. They’re all wickedly sharp, all have bags of contrast, all designed on state of the art computers and manufactured to the tightest tolerances.
And yet the one thing that’s been lost in this quest for perfect numbers is the one thing I value most in a lens..character.
I have a fairly recent Zeiss lens, the ZM 35/2 Biogon. I use it on my Leica M2 and very occasionally on a Fuji x-thingy. Is it a sharp lens...very, does it have contrast...too much, does it have any barrel distortion...non at all.
Is the Zeiss better than a Canon screw mount 35mm from 50 years ago...damn straight it is. But one thing the modern Zeiss lacks that the much cheaper, less sharp, low contrast old Canon lens has in spades is character.
This character I talk about is difficult to quantify in numbers, the same numbers all these modern lenses are designed by, but yet the look of the images from these older less perfect lenses feels more natural, more organic...they have feeling.
Not all new lenses suffer from this. I recently picked up a Voigtlander VM Heliar 50/3.5 for the aforementioned M2. Is it sharp, incredibly so, but yet it seems to have been designed by someone who’s interest wasn’t making a perfect lens but rather one with character.
Comment posted: 07/06/2018
Aivaras on 5 Frames with a Zeiss Otus 55mm and Canon EOS 1V – By Bent_Brent
Comment posted: 08/06/2018
Comment posted: 08/06/2018
scioc on 5 Frames with a Zeiss Otus 55mm and Canon EOS 1V – By Bent_Brent
Comment posted: 08/06/2018
Comment posted: 08/06/2018
scioc on 5 Frames with a Zeiss Otus 55mm and Canon EOS 1V – By Bent_Brent
Comment posted: 08/06/2018
Zeiss Otus 55mm and 85mm lenses on 35mm emulsions - Owls on Film - By Bent_Brent - 35mmc on 5 Frames with a Zeiss Otus 55mm and Canon EOS 1V – By Bent_Brent
Comment posted: 24/05/2020