Smart_Photography_-_January_2016_

T

his new offering from Zeiss is

the �irst wide-angle and the

third overall in the Otus series

of premium grade lenses. As with all

Zeiss D-SLR lenses, this is a manual

focus only lens but with electronic

contacts. This particular model is

available in Canon and Nikon mounts.

Zeiss is one of the few manufacturers

who deliver their lenses with a signed

inspection card indicating that lenses

have been inspected individually.

Design and Build Quality

The Zeiss 28mm f/1.4 Otus APO

Distagon lens is built like a battleship.

It has all metal construction (except

for the rubber covered aperture

and focussing rings) and is �inished

beautifully in satin black. The lens

widens considerably in the front.

The supplied metal lens hood is

petal shaped and is very well built

• strong, with good �locking. The
  shape of the hood has been designed
  to blend nicely with the lens body
  contours. While it is a MF lens, the
  electronic contacts make it behave
  in all other respects like an AF lens
  with focus con�irmation. It retains full
  compatibility with all exposure modes
  and meter patterns.

The Otus is extraordinarily large

and heavy for a wide-angle lens. It is

monster-sized with a gigantic �ilter

diameter of 95mm!

On the plus side, it is packaged in a

beautiful white coloured box with a

custom cut foam insert to hold the lens

snugly and safely.

Key Features

The Zeiss 28mm f/1.4 Otus is based on

an extremely complex design (with no

less than 16 elements in 13 groups).

It also uses Zeiss’ famed T* multi-

coating to reduce re�lections. This lens

design is apochromatic, meaning that

chromatic aberrations are virtually

eliminated. This is achieved by using

A superlative

manual focus

wide-angle lens!

no less than eight Anomalous Partial

Dispersion elements. Likewise

the Distagon design (used on most

Zeiss retro-focus wide-angle lenses)

eliminates distortion for all practical

purposes. All numbers and markings

are engraved (not screen printed)

in very legible bright yellow colour.

However, both meters and feet on the

distance scale are marked in the same

yellow colour and this may lead to

confusion.

Zeiss 28mm f/1.4

Otus APO Distagon

T* Lens^ `3,29,950 Ashok Kandimalla

✓ Lens

✓ 95mm snap-on front lens cap,

✓ Rear lens cap

✓ Metal lens hood

✓ User manual

✓ Warranty card

✓ Inspection card

✓ Box with custom cut foam insert.

Inside the Box

LENS

REVIEW

110

Smart PhotographyJanuary 2016

http://www.smartphotography.in