Nat Geo shooter Ben Horton compares Canon glass to Zeiss glass

There have been a lot of debates and forum posts regarding to whether the Zeiss manual focuses lenses are worth the extra dollars, are they more superior to the OEM counterparts, would it be wise to invest into them, etc... 

All these discussions prompted more and more comparison reviews between those Zeiss manual lenses and their OEM counterparts with fancy zoom, AF, and what not.

Ben Horton over at photocinenews just published a comparison review between a few Zeiss lenses and their Canon counterparts. He sums up the Canon L lenses pretty well “...the 22 megapixel sensor can capture more detail than the Canon L lenses can give it” “Using standard Canon glass, any sensor larger 16 megapixels is a waste.”, and he describes Zeiss lenses as “The Zeiss image has much more contrast, color, and less blur when viewed at a 1/1 ratio. The Canon image is soft, and darker (even though I used the same exposure) as well as a little bit gray.” “Zeiss lenses are better. The Canon lens doesn’t have the clarity, contrast, or saturation that the Zeiss lens has.”

Take a look at his review here.

Lens comparison: Zeiss Planar 85mm f/1.4 ZE versus Canon 85mm f/1.2L

Any of you thought of replacing your autofocus lens with its Zeiss manual focus counterpart?
Imran Aziz has posted a comparison between the Zeiss Planar 85/1.4 and the Canon 85/1.2L (ver. I?).
This is what he says:

Finally decided to sell my Canon 85L and keep the Zeiss 85mm for portraits and travel photography. I've posted a short review and comparison on my blog.

Zeiss is a harder lens to use due to being only manual focus and exhibits focus shift at close working distances. Although, once you start nailing focus with practice, I found the colors, bokeh and drawing style to be better than Canon.

Let a look at Imran's comparison review on this blog

All future A-mount Zeiss lenses will be full frame

Sonyalpharumors have sources pointing that Zeiss will not invest anymore on their crop lenses on A-mount. And there will be 3-4 more Zeiss lenses, presumably for A-mount.

That will be a lot of lenses to announce in this short time. Remember there are also 4 manual lenses in the pipeline from our previous rumor.

Links: Sonyalpharumors

Sony Distagon T* 24mm F2 SSM review at dpreview

dpreview.com just published a detailed review on the Sony Distagon T* 24mm F2 SSM. No surprise here, it meets your expectation from Zeiss. However, you may have a tiny complaint on its flare and CA control. This is what dpreview says:

The Sony Distagon T* 24mm F2 SSM is undoubtedly an excellent lens, as we'd expect given it's Carl Zeiss badge. In terms of out-and-out image quality it leaves very little to be desired; sharpness is excellent even wide open, lateral chromatic aberration is exceptionally low, and distortion minimal. On top of this the all-metal build, smooth focusing ring and large easy-to-operate controls make for a satisfyingly tactile package.

Take a look at the full review here.

Sony Distagon T* 24mm F2 SSM specifications

Price	• US: $1250 • UK: £1100 • EUR: €1250
Manufacturer's code	SAL24F20Z
Date introduced	July 2010
Maximum format size	35mm Full Frame
Focal length	24mm
35mm equivalent focal length (APS-C)	36mm
Diagonal Angle of view (FF)	83º
Diagonal Angle of view (APS-C)	63º
Maximum aperture	F2
Minimum aperture	F22
Lens Construction	• 9 elements / 7 groups • 2 aspherical elements • 2 ED glass elements
Number of diaphragm blades	9, rounded
Minimum focus	0.19m / 0.62ft
Maximum magnification	0.29x
AF motor type	Ultrasonic (SSM)
Focus method	Rear
Image stabilization	Via camera body when available
Filter thread	• 72mm • Does not rotate on focus
Supplied accessories**	• ALC-SH110 hood • Front and rear caps • Lens case
Weight	555g (19.6oz)
Dimensions	78mm x 76mm (3.1in x 3.0in)
Lens Mount	Sony Alpha

Photokina 2010: Interview with Bertram Hönlinger, Costumer Support at CARL ZEISS

MegaPixel.co.il interview

Pay attention to what he says at the very last.

Rumors on SLR lenses

I just received a list of anonymously submitted rumors. Here they are:

Distagon 35/1.4 to be available in December. Price comparable with the 100/2 Makro Planar (about $1800). Redesign of 25/2.8 for ZE to be available in May 2011 An ultra-wide angle lens (wider than 18mm) is being designed (for SLR?). There are two lenses longer than 100mm in development.

It looks like Zeiss has an intention to make their manual SLR lineup more complete. I am a bit curious about the ultra-wide angle. Traditionally, Zeiss wide-angles have always been exceptionally good, so I have high expectation on this ultra-wide. It looks rangefinders won't be able to monopolize high quality ultra-wide anymore. Also since the Compact Prime lineup is modified from the manual SLR lineup, perhaps their CP.2 counterparts will come a year later?

Update:
CanonRumors was told that the ultra-wide angle lens will be a 15/2.8.
That for sure will be a Distagon.
Currently, there is a Distagon 15mm f/2.8 in the ZM series. That lens (together with the Sonnar 85/2.0) differs from the rest of the ZM lenses as it is Made in Germany (instead of Japan).  Is Carl Zeiss AG somehow able to move the exit pupil together with the rear element further away yet maintaining the lens speed and optic performance? If so, that would be exciting. The 15mm is a hell of a performer. Take a look at the review at luminous-landscape here.
Having said that, I am more willing to believe it's gonna be a 15/4.0. This 1-stop is the price you pay for moving the exit pupil even further.
I am including its block diagram for design-fanetics to examine this Distagon