Review on Zeiss Normal Planar Manual Cameras by Adithep Saengdern

Name: Zeiss Normal Planar Manual Cameras
Item: Zeiss Normal Planar Manual Cameras
Rating: 5

November 28, 2022

I really like the product, it fully meets my expectations.

I have been using the lens since the fall of 2022. Used on 5D Mark II, now on 1Ds Mark III: landscapes and architecture (at f / 5.6-11), portraiture (f / 1.8-2.2). Many people compare it with Canon's "50" f/1.4, but I don't think this is entirely correct, Zeiss surpasses native glass in terms of image quality (I shot alternately with both lenses for almost a year), and the bokeh is beyond praise. A lens for thoughtful creative work. An excellent result gives only positive emotions. Definitely recommend for purchase to those who are willing to put up with the lack of autofocus, putting in the first place an excellent picture.
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Pros

- branded "Zeiss" bokeh (this is his strong point at aperture from 1.4 to 1.8 and the main motive for buying); - amazing color reproduction, elastic juicy tones with excellent contrast (as a result, minimal post-processing in editors); - sufficient sharpness over the entire field of the frame without "soap" at the edges and minimal distortion; - high-quality enlightenment of optics; - electronic aperture control with focus confirmation; - impeccable design (only glass and metal).

Cons

Basically, rather features due to the design: - due to manual focusing at the maximum open aperture with a very small depth of field, blurring is possible, it is eliminated by using the "LV" mode or mounting it on a tripod; - pronounced "soft" effect on the open aperture; - decent chromatic aberrations at apertures from 1.4 to 1.8 (the reverse side of the coated high-contrast optics - you have to select the scene or shooting conditions); - requires the installation of very high-quality filters of the premium segment (so as not to ruin the potential of glass); - good resolution only for matrices up to 21 MP; - not for "astro" and "macro" shooting (for these purposes it is better to choose specialized optics); - the installed lens hood does not allow the use of polarizing filters. - slightly "green"; - difficult to fix (just nowhere .).