Carl Zeiss announces Canon EF-mount “ZE” lenses

Carl Zeiss has announced that it is expanding its line of SLR lenses to Canon EF mount. The big plus for Canon users is that the lenses are electronic mount so that all features work from the camera body (aperture control, exposure modes, focus confirmation). The lenses remain manual focus.

The first two lenses will be the 50/1.4 Planar and 85/1.4 Planar, with more lenses to follow. Optics are identical to the Zeiss ZF line for Nikon (confirmed by Zeiss US). Quoted pricing appears to be higher than the equivalent ZF models, but until the street price is established by lenses actually for sale, this remains to be seen. Zeiss certainly has a marketing challenge ahead in the Canon world where Canon offers four 50mm lenses and two 85mm lenses, including the stellar 50/1.2L and 85/1.2 aspherics.

 
Zeiss ZE 50mm f/1.4 Planar

 
Zeiss ZE 85mm f/1.4 Planar

One disappointment for Nikon users is that Zeiss so far has not offered electronic “CPU” versions for Nikon, relying instead on the 1980's mechanical AI-S mount. Coastal Optics can do it. Voigtlander can do it, ditto for Tamron and Sigma, so why not Zeiss? Presumably it's the usual intellectual property issues, but other vendors seem to have it worked out.

More optics for everyone
ZE: Carl Zeiss SLR Lenses Now Also With EF Bayonet

Thornwood, NY, September 2008: Carl Zeiss is expanding its successful line of SLR lenses with the introduction of the Zeiss ZE Lenses with EF bayonet for all analog and digital EOS camera models.

As with all EF compatible lenses, the new ZE lenses from Carl Zeiss transfer all information exclusively via electronic contacts. This means that all exposure modes such as programmed auto exposure, shutter priority, aperture priority and manual setting are supported. The aperture setting is controlled from the camera body and the automatic focus confirmation remains available to an unlimited extent with these manual focus lenses. With digital SLRs, the lens data and all exposure data can also be accessed via the camera’s EXIF file. Even E-TTL flash metering is supported.

The first lenses to be available will be the Planar T* 1,4/50 ZE and the Planar T* 1,4/85 ZE in the last quarter of this year. Further focal lengths will be added to the line within the next few months.

 
Zeiss specifications for ZE 50/1.4 Planar, 85/1.4 Planar