FS7: Zeiss Milvus

Funny - I have read a lot about how great the 21mm Zeiss ZF was supposed to be but I had way better results with Nikon 17-55 and 17-35 zoom. Sharper and the Zeiss seemed extremely warm - didn't match other lenses. I tried & returned 2 of them.
These days I'm hard put to find my wider primes are any better than the Sigma 18-35 which is faster as well. The zooms might not be as rectilinear though.
 
Lenilenapi said:
Funny - I have read a lot about how great the 21mm Zeiss ZF was supposed to be but I had way better results with Nikon 17-55 and 17-35 zoom. Sharper and the Zeiss seemed extremely warm - didn't match other lenses. I tried & returned 2 of them.
These days I'm hard put to find my wider primes are any better than the Sigma 18-35 which is faster as well. The zooms might not be as rectilinear though.
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The 18-35 is a great lens. Very sharp and nice focal range. But it has a tiny focus throw and is not full frame. Would love a rehoused one.
 
Why would you need full frame on a 1.8 wide angle?
Focus throw does suck though and the markings are ambiguous as the lens rolls past the infinity mark. My Zeiss ZF 28 doesn't set any records for focus throw either though the 35 is a little better. Hmmm maybe I should keep my 35mm - damn Nikon focus direction...
 
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Lenilenapi said:
Funny - I have read a lot about how great the 21mm Zeiss ZF was supposed to be but I had way better results with Nikon 17-55 and 17-35 zoom. Sharper and the Zeiss seemed extremely warm - didn't match other lenses. I tried & returned 2 of them.
These days I'm hard put to find my wider primes are any better than the Sigma 18-35 which is faster as well. The zooms might not be as rectilinear though.
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Was this the Milvus version?

I've used the classic ZFs, found them super shsrp and a touch cold.
 
:)

I'd be intrigued to know if they are doing anything to the 25mm because whilst it was always one of my faves that was more down to character than outright performance. Again, close focusing on the old one was insane.
 
BTW Ben, what other lenses are you using with your Otus? Do they cut? One reason I'm looking at the Milvus is so I can buy a complete set and just have additional lenses for the extreme wide or extreme long.
 
Publimix said:
What is the problem with the sony lens? I is said in some reviews it is second best.
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Pretty sure this was covered in the 'good v fantastic' thread.

Most modern lenses test very well e.g. the Batis 85mm is very close to the Otus 85mm in the numbers game but you cannot compare a purpose built manual lens with an autofocus lens for usability on a production. Then there's all of the tiny but fiendishly expensive optimisations that fall into the area of the law of diminishing returns that makes the Otus so good at rejecting all manor of visual aberrations that the Batis cannot come close to. When you need that silhouette shot directly into the sun without any aberrations or flares the Otus pays for itself.

The only numbers game that I'm interested in is £s. I couldn't justify a set of Otus lenses but I could easily justify 3x Milvus lenses for the price of 1x Otus. With a speedbooster you've effectively got 6 Prime focal lengths for just over £3k, which is a bargain whichever way you look at it.
 
Ben Scott said:
For the record I bloody love a fast, close focusing wide. Real Gilliam/Jeunet opportunities.
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That's why I'm waiting to see how Hanse Innotech do with this 18.5mm T/1.6 full-frame prime that they've promised. I got to see the rest of the set up close recently and was very impressed for the price point - they're not perfect wide-open, but very solid, and basically everything cleans right up by T/2 - so they seemed very usable. They've packed a lot of very useful features in - interchangeable mounts, 77mm filter threads up front (so you can use screw-on filters if needed), a specific mounting system for rear nets, and they share the same lens coatings as Angenieux. Very interesting stuff.

An 18.5mm PL-mount superspeed that doesn't cost $13,000 is a genuine game changer. So if they can pull that off, I suspect I'll be bankrupt once again.
 
The price of the Milvus does look good, but you can argue the price of the Otus looks good too when compared with a Master Prime. With Otus, I'd be a little concerned by the lack of focal lengths currently available.
 
Liam Hall said:
BTW Ben, what other lenses are you using with your Otus? Do they cut? One reason I'm looking at the Milvus is so I can buy a complete set and just have additional lenses for the extreme wide or extreme long.
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Absolutely they cut. I am at the beginning of being in Otus Land and still fleshing out the set but the short version is Milvus and Otus will intercut very well, Otus and Contax Zeiss cut very well but you may need to add a touch more contrast to the Contax shots and be conscious of their tendency to flare more easily.

My standard two must-have lenses which I will be keeping from my old collection are the Contax Zeiss 28-85 and 80-200 which are both cheap and beautiful. Sharp enough to be used as variable primes and real workhorses.

Then currently of the glass I have remaining the Contax 18mm f4 is ace and comes in handy. Will probably offload my Contax 135 2.8.

Just got got rid of my Contax 21mm for more than the cost of a new Milvus 21! Will probably pick up a Milvus 21 to flesh out the set down the line but I think Otus 28 is next on the list.

The 15mm ZE was probably the best ultra wide angle on the market but I use 15mm so rarely it is hard to justify the expens for me. Maybe makes more sense to keep the Contax 18 on a Speedbooster :)
 
Thanks Ben, I shoot super-wide a lot, so the 15mm might have to come to the party. And good to hear they're not too many issues matching old and new.

Hmm...
 
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