14 DAY TRIAL // Reputed optics manufacturer Zeiss has just extended its Otus family of products by adding a new member coming in the form of a new 85mm f/1.4 lens.
This lens has been designed to provide the best of the best and the company says photographers who “do not accept any limitations when it comes to detail” should definitely pick this baby up.
The new optics will be on display at Photokina 2014
Since once of the biggest imaging events of the year is on our door step, a few days away we can expect to the see the 85mm f/1.4 lens on the grounds in Germany, beginning September 16.
Even if the main focus of the new lens is portrait photography, its use can be extended to include studio, fashion, nature and architecture photography too.
Zeiss calls its latest Otus spawn an “all-rounder” in an effort to highlight the numerous possibilities users have at their disposal, if they choose to purchase it.
The new lens comes bundled with some great feats
For starters, Zeiss claims the optics should have no problem shooting in low-lighting conditions. It has superfast aperture, so you can count on it to capture fast-moving objects or people, even when natural lighting conditions are less than perfect.
Zeiss also says it has borrowed some traits from the owl species, so cameras taking advantage of the new lens should be able to “see” in the dark.
As for technical details, the Otus 85mm f/1.4 lens comes equipped with 11 elements in nine groups. This is an apochromic lens which means it’s quite capable of dealing with chromatic aberrations. On top of that, your end results should see reduced ghosting, flare and distortions.
We should also mention that the design of the new Otus has been inspired by the legendary Planar model and has an aspherical element plus six special glass elements.
The lens supports manual focusing, which was the scenario Zeiss chose in order to keep the lenses as light and portable as possible.
Given the fact that this lens is targeted at professional users, the absence of automatic autofocus shouldn’t be a problem.
The minimum focus distance has been set at 80 cm / 31.5 inches. The new device has a filter thread of 86mm and a diameter of 101mm.
The Zeiss Otus 85mm f/1.4 will be released for Canon EF and Nikon F mounts and you should expect it to be a high-end product coming in with a premium price tag to match.
So, if the new Zeiss sounds good to you and it probably does, you should know you’ll have to pay up to $4,490 / €3,486 to get one.
The Canon and Nikon mounts are already up for pre-order at B&H Photo.
For those who are curious to find out some first-hand impressions, the first global review of the new Zeiss Otus 85mm f/1/4 lens has been posted and you check it out here.
