Zeiss Otus 100mm F1.4 APO Sonnar Review

Dustin Abbott has completed his review of the Zeiss Otus 100mm F1.4 APO Sonnar.

At a glance;

• EF-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
• Aperture Range: f/1.4 to f/16
• One Aspherical Element
• Nine Low Dispersion Elements
• Apochromatic Sonnar Optical Design
• ZEISS T* Anti-Reflective Coating
• Floating Elements System
• Manual Focus Design
• Anodized Metal Barrel, Rubber Focus Ring

Pros:

• Beautifully crafted piece of mechanical art
• Gorgeous global “look” to images
• Great detail, color, and microcontrast
• Lovely focus ring that is very precise and a joy to focus
• Extreme sharpness even at F1.4
• Excellent control of chromatic aberrations
• Great three dimensional pop to subjects
• Precise color that is also richly saturated
• Excellent resolution at any focus distance

Cons:

• Extremely expensive
• Large and heavy
• No weather sealing
• Manual focus
• Can flare heavily in certain situations

Dustin's conclusion;

Are the Otus lenses for everyone?  Obviously not.  Not everyone wants to deal with manual focus.  Few people are interested in spending $5000 on a medium telephoto prime.  It’s an extreme instrument which takes a more careful, deliberate approach to using.  But it also produces incredibly special images (especially portraits), and should be on the short list of those who can be deliberate about their photography and want their portraits to stand out as unique and special.  If you don’t want to spend the money, then by all means don’t shoot with one for a portrait session.  Your mental calculus will definitely get messed with.  You’ve been warned.

Read the entire review here