Zeiss Milvus 35mm f/2 : Specifications and Opinions

Reviews

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Jörg Beschmann

sent on 18 Maggio 2021

Pros: Hard stop for infinity. Sharpness. Resolution. Bokeh. Build ...

Cons: None

Opinion: I like the 2/35mm Milvus. I bought it in addition to my Contax Zeiss Distagon 2.8/35mm. When you use it with a Sony A7II, you will need the battery grip to have a good ratio of lens weight and camera weight. The 2/35mm Milvus is a heavy solid build lens. I shoot raw files only. It's always amazing what happens in post production. The key activity is to apply the correct value for the white balancing. I usually set a gray point in the picture. Using a gray card is defintely a good idea and sometimes required. The lens is very sharp and has a great resolution. There are situations for which the lens is too sharp It's difficult to capture a mood with a lens which delivers so many details - pictures might appear nervous. And then it's a good ideas to mount the Contax Zeiss Distagon 2.8/35mm with its lower resolution. When you want to use filters, pol filters or vario gray filters, 72mm filters with step up rings works very well and with out any issues. I think the 2/35mm Milvus is a modern lens for old school photographers. If you are uncertain to get it used. There are not some many alternatives. For me only the new Voigtlander APO-Lanthar 35mm f/2 Aspherical would be an option. Other people would also consider the Carl Zeiss Distagon 2/35mm ZF.2. Autofocus lenses are out of competion for me, cause I prefer the workflow with manual focus lenses.

The following opinions have been automatically translated with Google Translate.

Alessandro Pollastrini

sent on 19 Giugno 2020

Pros: Small and compact, sharpness, neutral image, very clean colors, excellent anti-glare treatment, very pleasant blurry, low geometric deformation, very low vignetting, very low field curvature, mechanical construction of excellence, tropicalization.

Cons: Tracks of ac at full opening, front cap that tends to come off, high price.

Opinion: Global judgment: very good optics. The Milvus 35 F2 is a dated pattern optics compared to the most modern Zeiss optics, has few lenses and no aspheric, and this gives it advantages and disadvantages: compact size and weight, clean and natural colors, readable shadows, very pleasant blurry, but traces of AC at full opening, as well as medium vignetting, both solvable with one click, and very high sharpness all over the frame from F 4 onwards , the field curvature is very low. Excellent anti-glare treatment. The mechanics are excellent, very fluid rings, you can operate the diaphragm continuously to make movies, perfect lampshed, with velvet carry-over inside. MaF's ring stops at infinity but still allows the MaF endlessly on my three cameras.

Gioberfoto

sent on 20 Aprile 2020

Pros: Didn't have it before

Cons: Aberrations to TA but manageable.

Opinion: Superb optical sharpness to smooth dial balanced on the d850. The manual focus I have to tell the truth at the beginning creates problems of out of focus even if a little,but after a few clicks you can figure out how to look both in the viewfinder and helping with focus peaching. All the merits said by those who preceded me correspond to truth. On the AC at full opening I thought worse , there are but recover in CR. I had both the Nikon and the sigma , and I have to say that this optics outweighs them in everything, I do not agree on the sharpness that here in the reviews someone says that it is not so sharp. I think it's the fault of the manual system of focus repeat is not easy in manual but I made pictures to sharp f2 that I have never seen on sigma or Nikon. Not to mention the Zeiss anti-reflective treatment, I tried in every way to make a reflection come in the photo ,I did not succeed, amazing. Weird taken used equal to the new sacrificing with pleasure a 24/70 Nikon f2.8 VR that stood there in the bag because the work for him ended up with even a refund. I would like two more of these Zeiss on the 21st and 135th we see the after covid.

Ferorake

sent on 01 Marzo 2019

Pros: Microcontrast at the highest levels, sharpness, epic construction

Cons: Too many aberrations, not so lofty sharpness, weight

Opinion: Lens that replaces the always magical 35mm F2, maintaining the optical pattern and changing only the anti-glare coating (basically two lenses are equal). From the egregious construction like every milvus (practically waterproof and with brushed metal hood with Velvet inside), manages to excite with a crazy three-dimensionality, spans and spans over any 35 mm modern (apart from Voigtlander and some Chinese house). Unfortunately this three-dimensionality has a very salty cost, and the aberrations are many, really too many. The sharpness is high but not to be solved 50 mpx, and for a similar product, it is something that makes a little twist the nose. I recommend a lot to those who photograph in black and white, because it really will change your photos in an important way. You'll be able to have a micro-contrast of vintage lenses, with a sharpness of a modern lens. The negative part is the aberrations, so forget about exploiting the light in an overly creative way, because it's a moment to make a mess. At the price to which it is sold today I do not know how it makes sense, also because Voigtlander proposes similar lenses at decidedly lower prices, or lenses of much higher (Voigtlander 40mm f 1.2) at similar prices. I believe in this case should be assessed the exclusivity of the brand and the emotions that this entails, rather than the simple characteristics. A slightly avant-garde photography concept, so much is the only way to justify a 35 mm F2 from 700gr from the cost of over €1,000.

Lupaccio58

sent on 28 Febbraio 2019

Pros: Balancing, materials, true tropicalization, sharpness, beauty and realism of colors, price more than honest

Cons: Vignetting to TA and the usual front and rear caps, which really suck

Opinion: I read in amazement the review of Filippetti below, but it is obvious that they gave him a broken specimen. Our 35 is truly a high quality, solid and reliable handyman lens, capable of uncovering a truly unparalleled palette of colors. Certainly does not have the three-dimensionality of the Milvus 21 in the surgical hyperdefinition of the 100 Makro Planar But, gentlemen, here we talk about a 35 mm and therefore must be assessed in its context! The judgement I can give is very high, in my house has climbed in a Amen the excellent 35 F 1, 4g Nikon. The problem of the milvus is always the same, the more you buy and the more you want to have!

Pizzapazzapezza

sent on 16 Marzo 2017

Pros: Construction, perceived quality, color rendering, character.

Cons: Weight (plus a pro and a con)

Opinion: optical character and not suitable for everyone, as it always does Zeiss school and divides masse.rnIl mediocre photographer you see intimidated by a manual focus which I think allows you to enjoy and reflect on the photo giving a splendid amarcord.rnNon are slow for everyone also given the cost but I'm out of perhaps tempo.rnSono free from defects? NOPE! rnVignettano much, fall of sharpness at the edges but have character and have their timbro.rnNon there is a perfect optical but to me the number I Milvus gusto.rnBuona very light.

Filippetti Livio

sent on 16 Marzo 2017

Pros: Finishes and substance

Cons: The yield is not up

Opinion: After numerous tests have concluded that the Zeiss enjoy a great name but as they are not made at all, much less this Milvus 35mm f / 2. Sharpness only in the center, clear chromatic aberration, if it had been a Canon would have slaughtered all but with this name all at his feet, along the building but the photos do not do only with building or designers .... ..the yield is a mediocre lens of 250 Euro, indeed even ..........

Eder1983

sent on 22 Novembre 2016

Pros: Metal construction, weather sealing, diaphragm Scancio x video, perfect MAF ring, mtf record.

Cons: nobody, weight and manual maf are not, otherwise you do not buy one Zeiss. the only flaw that I see as an advantage is the vignetting in TA, in my view excellent in ambientati portraits.

Opinion: Excellent new finish and construction of Milvus series, seem of the design objects. In the past I had the 35/2 zf. first version, the optical design is the same as well as the yield, but this Milvus has been further improved. backlit now there is no flare shadow, ring maf already perfect in the past has been improved, now is rubberized, to touch the feeling of having total control of the focus, the accuracy is amazing. Grafted on the Nikon Df is quite balanced, as opposed to the 35 / 1.4 ZF.2 that I had, which was rather unbalanced forward. great for street, made incisissima and made unique uniformity from f2 to F.16 rnInteressante also the possibility of being able to use the diaphragm with fluid, releasable through a metal stick, making it also suitable for film makers.

Alessandro Sassi

sent on 04 Novembre 2016

Pros: impeccable construction, elegant design, tropicalization, picture clarity, smooth focusing.

Cons: Nobody

Opinion: Yet another creature of the house Zeiss, solid, well-built, high yield. Like all Zeiss, and in particular the Milvus series, impresses the focusing movement capable of transmitting a control pleasant sensation. Goal must-have for lovers of the street genre. The sharpness from edge to edge is rewarding as well as color rendering. The Milvus series is the lightest, least expensive, and perhaps the most versatile and utile.rn

Paolotomasct

sent on 10 Luglio 2016

Pros: impeccable construction, size, weight, finish, lens hood metal scream. Focus on precision rifle.

Cons: anything

Opinion: is so well-balanced on the 5D Mark III I took to 1/15 and the photo has no trace of camera shake even zooming in to 200%. as for the 21 mm, bought last month, the manual focus is a pleasure difficult to describe. The ring on an excursion constant, without being either slow or hard, are you doing the hand after the first three shots. € 1,000 and applies them all, I would say more ...