Sony / Zeiss Lenses

An interesting explanation of the Sony / Zeiss partnership.
http://blogs.zeiss.com/photo/en/?p=6131

Even though the article reads "ZEISS was virtually unknown in the wider consumer market", I remember it being a household name in Germany where I grew up and lived from the mid-50s to the mid 80s. It was spoken with the same respect the name "Mercedes" enjoyed, both products being considered hopelessly out-of-reach for the common man.

Which may explain why I still stick with the Sony A7, despite frequently complaining about its shortcomings, and even comparing my sympathy for it with that of a parent for a retarded child. My trust in Zeiss is - instinctively, rather than rationally - so strong, I reason that it is safe to invest my photo budget where Zeiss invests its development budget, i.e. Sony. For the time I am still using this camera mostly with my Canon-Mount Zeiss lenses, but expect to purchase my first lens dedicated to a Sony camera before this year is out; most likely the 35mm Loxia.

My first 35mm camera was a used Contax III with Zeiss 50mm f/1.5 lens back in 1953. It had a builtin light meter that was broken when my dad brought it, hence a big discount on the price. The camera worked fine for years till the day I sold it.

Jens Peermann wrote:Even though the article reads "ZEISS was virtually unknown in the wider consumer market",

I heard about Zeiss long time ago not because of its lenses for cameras but its lenses for eye-glasses. It was before I was into photography. Then I also heard that there were sort of two Zeisses: one in East Germany and the other one in West Germany. Guess that was true according to here:

Carl Zeiss AG