Carl Zeiss Planar T* 1,4/85 Pro Reviews

Zeiss Z-series lenses are controversial beings because they lack auto-focus. However, Zeiss is a legendary brand name and some lenses do live up to this reputation - the Planar T* 85mm f/1.4 does qualify here - mostly at least. The lens is capable of producing bitingly sharp results when stopped down a little. The vignetting characteristic is about typical for a lens in this class. Distortions are a non-issue. The quality of the bokeh is very good. However, there are also a few weaknesses. The Zeiss lens shows a somewhat "dreamy" contrast characteristic at f/1.4. Whether this is a bug or a feature is a matter of application - portrait photographers will like it whereas still-life photographers probably won’t. Typical for ultra-large aperture lenses there's also some degree of bokeh fringing at large apertures. Due to the large front element the T* 85mm f/1.4 isn't quite as resistant against flare as its (Zeiss) cousins but certainly not worse than comparable lenses.

Once again, Zeiss has produced an excellent prime lens, comparable with any of those offered by the manufacturers it can be used with. If you don't need or want autofocus, this is an excellent manual focus alternative; its 250 degrees of manual focus action are really quite lovely to work with, allowing you great fidelity when finding the correct focus point (and when working with the ƒ/1.4 aperture, you'll need it).

Zeiss Z-series lenses are controversial beings because they lack auto-focus. However, Zeiss is a legendary brand name and some lenses do live up to this reputation - the Planar T* 85mm f/1.4 does qualify here - mostly at least. The lens is capable of producing bitingly sharp results when stopped down a little. The vignetting characteristic is about typical for a lens in this class. Distortions are a non-issue.

The first question you must ask yourself when considering the purchase of the Zeiss 85mm f/1.4 ZE Planar T* Lens is: Do I need autofocus? If so, this obviously is not the lens for you. Otherwise, you will not likely find a better built 85mm lens for your purposes. It's definitely a joy to use a lens this well built. Image quality is not as top-of-the-line as build quality (and I don't like the focus shift issue), but it is not bad - and the ZE 85's price is also not top-of-the-line.