Announced hot on the heels of Zeiss’s ZX1 full-frame ‘concept’ camera, the legendary German lens-makers have also announced a new member of their Batis lens family for the Sony E-mount.
The new optic is the Zeiss Batis 2/40 CF, a 40mm optic with a maximum aperture of f/2. This focal length bridges a gap between two lenses in the Batis series – the Zeiss Batis 2/25 and the Zeiss Batis 1.8/85 – providing a useful and versatile standard focal length for street photography and portraiture, as well as a slightly wider perspective that makes it also useful for architecture and landscape photography.
It boasts high micro contrast, a floating internal lens design that promises to provide top-notch optical quality across the entirety of the frame, and Zeiss’s T* coating that is designed to minimise reflections.
Thanks to its weather- and dust-sealed build, the Zeiss Batis 2/40 CF is also hardy enough to be taken on shoots with the more rugged Sony Alpha cameras. It has a minimum focus distance of 24cm (the ‘CF’ in the name stands for ‘Close Focus’), and a magnification ratio of 1:3:3. There are three focusing ranges to choose from 24cm to 50cm, 40cm to infinity, or the full focusing range.
The barrel of the lens carries an OLED display that shows shooting information like focal distance and depth of field, allowing for quick checking of settings mid-shoot.
With the introduction of this new model, the Zeiss Batis family of lenses for Sony E-mount now covers a total of five focal lengths, ranging from 18mm to 135mm.
Pricing and availability
The Zeiss Batis 2/40 CF is expected to start shipping in November 2018, and will be priced at £1,129.99 / $1,299.
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