Zeiss introduces 21mm f/2.8 Loxia for FE

Finally a native FE mount lens in the 20mm range, the new Loxia 21mm f/2.8 (Sony has an adpter for the 28mm that takes you down to that but there are some big optical compromises in that approach compared to a purpose built lens)
http://lenspire.zeiss.com/en/zeiss-loxi ... irrorless/

Based on the Distagon design too, although looks like vignetting will be stronger. Excellent. Finally a decent native wide option

Pretty much all of the Zeiss lenses have significant light fall-off in the corners but it's in a really smooth and controlled way, not sudden (think Canon 24-105 on the wide end - now that is a disastrous roll-off). It is almost imperceptible due to how it rolls off very gently. Of course lens profiles generally take care of it. I have used and own a lot of Zeiss lenses and it just hasn't ever been a real world problem - at least not for me.

A 52mm thread on a 21mm f/2.8 makes for a pretty compact lens - compare that to the 82mm on the Canon and Nikon mount 12mm f/2.8 Distagons.

I agree, just looks shocking on paper Having a 52mm thread will be great, what a compact little landscape camera the A7 series can be.

Neilyb wrote:I agree, just looks shocking on paper Having a 52mm thread will be great, what a compact little landscape camera the A7 series can be.

I could see a kit that includes something like the Voigtlander 12mm and 15mm, the Loxia 21mm, Batis 25mm, Sony 28mm, Loxia 35mm and Loxia 50mm...

It just shows how well the Sony bodies have been received and what a boat the big DSLR makers have missed!

E.J. Peiker wrote:Finally a native FE mount lens in the 20mm range, the new Loxia 21mm f/2.8 (Sony has an adpter for the 28mm that takes you down to that but there are some big optical compromises in that approach compared to a purpose built lens)
http://lenspire.zeiss.com/en/zeiss-loxi ... irrorless/

Have you used the adapter 21mm with the 28 EJ?...there doesn't seem much info about this combination.

Mike in O wrote:

E.J. Peiker wrote:Finally a native FE mount lens in the 20mm range, the new Loxia 21mm f/2.8 (Sony has an adpter for the 28mm that takes you down to that but there are some big optical compromises in that approach compared to a purpose built lens)
http://lenspire.zeiss.com/en/zeiss-loxi ... irrorless/

Have you used the adapter 21mm with the 28 EJ?...there doesn't seem much info about this combination.

Yeah I checked it out - it would be great on the a7S pixel density, just adequate on the a7 and a7 II but completely inadequate on the a7R or a7R II in my opinion. The fact that Sony slowed the combination down to f/2.8 on something that is natively f/2 (adding a wide angle converter does not slow down the optics like a TC does other than a bit of transmission loss) also tells you that optically it is not a great combo.

BTW, the 28mm without the WA adapter is an excellent and relatively fast lens for the money.

Never satisfied. I want an 18mm.

prairiewing wrote:Never satisfied.  I want an 18mm.

Just adapt the current Zeiss 18mm f/3.5
http://www.zeiss.com/camera-lenses/en_d ... t3518.html

E.J. Peiker wrote:

prairiewing wrote:Never satisfied.  I want an 18mm.

Just adapt the current Zeiss 18mm f/3.5
http://www.zeiss.com/camera-lenses/en_d ... t3518.html

I looked at that one but passed on it. It doesn't seem to get much love from some who have owned it.

prairiewing wrote:

E.J. Peiker wrote:

prairiewing wrote:Never satisfied.  I want an 18mm.

Just adapt the current Zeiss 18mm f/3.5
http://www.zeiss.com/camera-lenses/en_d ... t3518.html

I looked at that one but passed on it. It doesn't seem to get much love from some who have owned it.

It is the weakest lens in the lineup but it still blows away the 18mm setting of any zoom on the market

E.J. Peiker wrote:

Neilyb wrote:I agree, just looks shocking on paper Having a 52mm thread will be great, what a compact little landscape camera the A7 series can be.

I could see a kit that includes something like the Voigtlander 12mm and 15mm, the Loxia 21mm, Batis 25mm, Sony 28mm, Loxia 35mm and Loxia 50mm...

EJ,
Why the Loxia 50mm over the Sony/Zeiss f1.8 55mm( this is first on your rec list)?

Thanks for all of your help and info.

Bill, either would be a great choice.  The Sony 55 is perhaps even the better lens but also a bit bigger and heavier.  Personally if given a choice of having an aperture ring or not I'll usually choose the one with the aperture ring so that plays a role in the decision for me.  Of course the Sony has AF going for it which the Loxia dies not... 

This will be the point where I have to decide if I want to fully commit to Sony or if I'll keep the backdoor open in case Canon one day offers cameras with sensors that can stand up to the Sony sensors. I currently use the Canon Mount 21mm Distagon with a Metabones adapter. If I buy the 21mm Loxia I'll trade in the Distagon, which may or may not be a good idea.

I think I will get the 35mm Loxia first - a focal length I currently don't have - and after using it for a while decide what I will do with the 21mm Distagon.

Jens Peermann wrote:This will be the point where I have to decide if I want to fully commit to Sony or if I'll keep the backdoor open in case Canon one day offers cameras with sensors that can stand up to the Sony sensors. I currently use the Canon Mount 21mm Distagon with a Metabones adapter. If I buy the 21mm Loxia I'll trade in the Distagon, which may or may not be a good idea.

I think I will get the 35mm Loxia first - a focal length I currently don't have - and after using it for a while decide what I will do with the 21mm Distagon.

I agree, many of us that have adopted the a7 series are reaching a crossroads.  There are so many great new lenses coming out it now becomes a question of whether or not to keep the older Nikon (or Canon) mount lenses as you can use them on either platform or go all-in and cut-off the option of using lenses on either system and getting the newer, smaller, lighter, and in some cases significantly better optics becoming available in full frame E-mount.  So far I still have my Zeiss 15, 21, and 25 and Sigma 35 in F-mount but other than the 15, there is a much smaller and lighter 21 on the horizon (the subject of this thread), the 25mm f/2 Batis lens in some ways is superior to my Zeiss 25/2 in F mount and the 35mm Loxia, while not quite up to the standards of the Sigma 35 f/1.4 is tiny and light in comparison and I doubt that in real world applications you'd ever really see the difference.  Then there's the new Voigtlander stuff that is coming out in the next 6 months that will allow us to venture into focal lengths and perspectives the likes of which we have never seen.  But, the drawback is that the old lenses can be used on either Nikon/Canon and Sony FE but the new lenses can only be used on Sony thereby potentially cutting us off from when Canon/Nikon finally does get their act together and realize that for a very large portion of photography, the DSLR is a dinosaur and will soon be relegated to a niche specialty segment.

I think many of us wildlife shooters are in the same boat, I love the Sony and it's IQ and small lenses but for wildlife I cannot live without the DSLR and long tele's... which leaves me buying a lens like the 16-35 Canon just in case.

Neilyb wrote:I think many of us wildlife shooters are in the same boat, I love the Sony and it's IQ and small lenses but for wildlife I cannot live without the DSLR and long tele's... which leaves me buying a lens like the 16-35 Canon just in case.

I think we are only one or two product generations away from DSLRs being inferior in that regard too.  Just take a look at eye-focus for example, something that would be very difficult, if not impossible to do using DSLR AF systems.  It already works pretty darn well - the photographer doesn't need to worry abut moving an AF sensor to the eye of the subject, the camera knows where it's at and instantly acquires focus, so no delay between putting the camera on the subject and being able to take a shot where the eye is the point of focus and without any of the DSLRs AF errors due to the AF detection array being in a different place inside the camera as the imaging sensor.  Add to that the fact that with no mirror, frame rates can be much higher so the spray and pray crowd will now get 200 shots of exactly the same thing instead of just 20

This is very true E.J. and the eye focus peaked my interest (how often have I missed focus on an eye due to movement or the AFpoint being too big and hitting a cheek?). Add to that the possibility to take completely silent shots, which right now shooting skittish wild boar on a 1Dx seems like a dream, will make a deal of difference. But first please some more options in long glass, and for that glass a bulkier grippier camera...small is great for small lenses.

I imagine Sony could within 2 years create something quite action capable, perhaps using a CFast or QXD card to shift those bulky "uncompressed" files

Static AF using Canon cameras on the Sony a7R II is already very good and even tracking has improved markedly. I can imagine that in two generations, simply attaching a Canon 500 or 600 or whatever via a two generation later adapter would result in very little difference in AF speed and even tracking and with greater accuracy. My biggest concern for that is sourcing enough current from those tiny little FW50 batteries. I think we would need higher current density batteries. Batteries are the absolute achilles heal for these cameras so far. I just got back from Scotland and I kept track of battery life shooting every battery to exhaustion for more than a week and the vast majority of that was with just a 16-35. I never used OSS, WiFi always off, but about 33% of the exposures were of the 1 second or longer variety. I averaged just 92 shots per battery in about 14 degree C weather for 9 days on the a7R II. If you had to drive a Canon 600 f/4 with IS I think the battery life would be awful. Sure you can add a grip and double it but besides continuing the incredible pace that o sensor PDAF development is on, battery technology is the biggest stumbling block, IMHO.