Zeiss Planar T* 85mm f/1.4 ZA ( Sony SAL-85F14Z ) - Review / Test Report - Sample Images & Verdict
Lens Reviews - Sony Alpha/NEX (APS-C)

Sample Images

Here're some sample images taken with the Alpha 700 and RAW-converted via CaptureOne 4.1.

Click on a thumbnail to view the original file (opens in a separate window). Please note that the originals are FULL SIZE samples (=several megabytes) thus requiring a significant amount of bandwidth so please take care of the limited resources here.

Make SONY
Model DSLR-A700
ISO Speed 200
Focal Length 85.0mm
Exposure Data: f/5.6 @ 1/400s
Size 2848x4272
Make SONY
Model DSLR-A700
ISO Speed 200
Focal Length 85.0mm
Exposure Data: f/5.6 @ 1/1250s
Size 2848x4272
Make SONY
Model DSLR-A700
ISO Speed 200
Focal Length 85.0mm
Exposure Data: f/1.4 @ 1/4000s
Size 4272x2848
Make SONY
Model DSLR-A700
ISO Speed 200
Focal Length 85.0mm
Exposure Data: f/1.4 @ 1/5000s
Size 4272x2848
Make SONY
Model DSLR-A700
ISO Speed 200
Focal Length 85.0mm
Exposure Data: f/1.4 @ 1/2000s
Size 4272x2848
Make SONY
Model DSLR-A700
ISO Speed 200
Focal Length 85.0mm
Exposure Data: f/1.4 @ 1/2000s
Size 2848x4272
Make SONY
Model DSLR-A700
ISO Speed 200
Focal Length 85.0mm
Exposure Data: f/2.0 @ 1/5000s
Size 4272x2848
Make SONY
Model DSLR-A700
ISO Speed 200
Focal Length 85.0mm
Exposure Data: f/2.2 @ 1/1000s
Size 2848x4272

Verdict

The Zeiss Planar T* 85mm f/1.4 ZA is a great lens but we expected no less than that anyway, didn't we ? :-) It is already able to produce exceptionally sharp and contrasty results straight from f/1.4. The excellent performance peak is reached around f/4. The center to border quality is very even (although that's a lesser issue regarding the typical applications of such a lens). The quality of the bokeh (out-of-focus blur) is buttery and about as good as it gets. Distortions, vignetting and lateral CAs are non-issues in field conditions. Nonetheless there's also a bug - longitudinal CAs, sometimes also called "Bokeh CAs", are very pronounced at large aperture settings but that's a fate the Zeiss shares with fellow lenses such as the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 USM L and Nikkor AF 85mm f/1.4D. Thanks to an all-metal body the lens feels very solid. If you're nit-picky you may criticize the focus ring which shows a little play when changing the focus direction. The AF speed is fine although nothing to rave about. At around 1200EUR/US$ the Zeiss ZA 85mm f/1.4 isn't cheap but definitely worth a deep thought regarding its optical qualities.

Optical Quality:    
Mechanical Quality:
Price/Performance:
      
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