Zeiss Planar T* 50mm F/1.4 ZF.2 Lens for Nikon F-Mount Cameras

Some years ago we analyzed the Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.4 on an APS-C DSLR and the results were truly impressive there. However, on a full format DSLR the performance leaves a bit to be desired actually.

The Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.4 ZF is an anachronistic lens these days. It is fully manual both regarding focusing as well as aperture control on the lens. It is not even a perfect lens - the vignetting figures are in line with the rest of the gang and the level of distortions and CAs is even a...

A modern implementation of a classic design, manual focus lens. If you want/need/expect auto-focus, this lens is not for you.Superb build quality, a true joy to handle and use. Long-throw focus is silky smooth and very precise. Colors are contrast-rich, natural and nicely saturated.

This is a very solid lens and once you handle it for the first time you can tell the quality. So far I am very happy with the quality of the pictures.

This is an update to an earlier 5-star review I wrote for this lens. It is now tested for street toughness! Yesterday I slipped on the ice with the Zeiss Planar T* 50 inside of a sling bag under my arm. All 200 pounds of me landed perfectly on my back--- and onto my lens.

I'm a pro video shooter and I chose this Zeiss 50mm, 1.4 over the Sigma ART 50mm, 1.4, and the Veydra 35mm E-mount 2.2. I tested it for a few days against the other two. The Zeiss and the Sigma were about equal for resisting lens flare.

I use this lens as my workhorse. It produces extremely sharp images and I love that it has such a large aperture. The zoom is very smooth and nice; however, it should be noted that it doesn't automatically focus. I prefer manual focus so this wasn't an issue for me.

The build quality is amazing and this lens is super sharp

Completely hated it at first, I was going to return it, even had the return slip thing. But I tried it one more time, and took my time to learn it, and not it is amazing... There is a learning curve; but you really need to use Carl Zeiss, instead of the new stuff that Nikon now releases.

Horrible fringing, and horrible color distortion in astro photography. Really not worth the issues for what I shoot. Very hard to focus. When you look at your photo preview, nearly always out of focus, but at the same time in focus. Will be returning for a refund as soon as I can.