Zeiss Milvus 85mm f/1.4 : Specifications and Opinions

Reviews

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Jörg Beschmann

sent on 25 Giugno 2023

Pros: The images it creates

Cons: Big, heavy, expensive.

Opinion: This is a very nice lens. Although you can user adapters to mount it on any camera, I would use it on a Nikon Mirrorless with a batterygrip. The lens is super sharp, but it is difficult to judge sharpness in the viewfinder. I have set up a button for the 200% magnification. Setup the maxium quality for the images. In my case it's 14bit raw with AdobeRGB. Camera + battery grip + lens is a heavy combination. It's bad for carrying, but nice for shooting. The lens itself has all attributes Zeiss is famous for. Although it is highly corrected against most flaws it creates very nice vivide pictures which appear three dimensional. The limiting factor is the camera. I cannot recommend the lens for the usage with a Sony A7II or Sony A7RII. I cannot complain about the price, because I bought it used. I'm quite sure that this lens will be superceded by Zeiss in the future. On the other hand the lens is so great that it requires a very good camera. It was released when the D800 was current, but it requires a Z6, Z7 or better to see what the lens can do. There many 85mm lenses which are also nice and have autofocus. I think the Milvus 85mm is for people which already have a 85mm.

The following opinions have been automatically translated with Google Translate.

Orion

sent on 14 Giugno 2025

Pros: Record-breaking optics photographically speaking. Handling it is an orgasm for the pleasure of having in your hand the essentials to capture real and dreamlike images. Anti-mine construction, a real tank. Of course for those who are used to plasticists with autofocus, stabilizers etc., they will find themselves displaced and broken (the arms).

Cons: Well, for those who love speed and haste, look elsewhere.

Opinion: In the age of artificial intelligence, this perspective makes no sense, it is out of place. For those who still love photography in a world where time passes slowly, perfection is made a tool to capture images and sensations that translate over time. It is certainly not the 50 fps lens, it is not even the lens for sporting events. It is the perspective for the contemplation of beauty in all genres. This is said by someone who has used his illustrious predecessor Contax Zeiss for years. Its direct rival, the Canon 85 1.2 does a different and complementary job. One does not cancel the other. While the Canon that I obviously love, focuses everything on the centrality of the image and then makes the rest like a Monet brushstroke, this creates a more progressive bokeh and a resolution distributed over the entire frame. In short, Cain and Abel for lovers of portraiture and beyond.

Skender Buci

sent on 28 Novembre 2019

Pros: Great construction all glass and metal really a zeiss!!

Cons: Maybe mf that sometimes I lose many photos!!

Opinion: Really a great lens I gave away the nikkor 135mm f2 which by the way was really gorgeous, but in front of this milvius ce little to do it beats it with low hands, the complexion on the portraits are really natural on my nikon d800and gave me a lot of satisfaction ,even on the d3 really is fine I'm having fun doing portraits of my second genius with his blue eyes with his fantastic colors!! beautiful lens congratulations to the zeiss!!

Andrea Biagiolini

sent on 14 Novembre 2019

Pros: Construction, colors, precision and graduality of the MAF mechanism, blurred charm, balancing on body machine...

Cons: Hard to master, it has no stabilization but I knew it. I would say the ERA rubber, which tends to collect dust and does not seem to me to be of a suitable level to this amazing optics.

Opinion: RESOR: The judgment "against" is aimed mainly at me and therefore does not demerit the optics. My wish was, after trying the optics on the Sony RXIII, to see how a real Zeiss behaves compared to the other brands, in a broad sense. I'm happy with it, really, even though I've just had it and I'm working on it (bitling, more honestly) a little bit up. On the body Canon 5D MKIV goes well but I have to be very careful for the sealing; I wanted it as a throwback, because I wanted to redefine my shooting, going back to the manual sealing. I think I'll have to do a lot of hand and maybe make calibrations - I ask for help in that regard, is it necessary ?? - because even if it appears or signals me in focus, reviewing the image on video I notice that I patch several of them. On ditto stabilization, it is missing and it must be noted. It is an excellent quality optic: the same degree Sigma, already excellent, did not reach the visual complexity of this lens despite being a great product. Made of metal and manual glass, weight ok but not to be used on light machine bodies, penalty imbalance . What else, I will insist and I am convinced of the choice.

Lupaccio58

sent on 04 Marzo 2018

Pros: Exceptional sharpness, realism, bokeh, detachment of floors and much more ....

Cons: Difficult to find the cons, I did not succeed

Opinion: This and the Milvus 50 mm f 1.4 are the lenses that the fans of the brand clamored for! And not by chance on the reviews are compared only to the Otus, which are very close to yield. The difference with the previous ZF.2 is abysmal, not by chance are the only two to have been completely redesigned. The 85 needless to say it is scary, it is a deadly realism, it seems a measuring instrument, it excels in practically everything. It would be wrong to think of using it only for portrait, it is with a generalist use that you really appreciate it. Physically it is big and heavy, it is undeniable, and the maf is strictly manual, but all of this takes second place compared to the exciting performance of this masterpiece. Personally I recommend it to all those who love technically perfect photos as they thought and appreciate the great work of mechanical engineering and optics that characterizes this brand

Bodishet

sent on 12 Febbraio 2018

Pros: It's all a pro, hard to make a list ....

Cons: Lens caps not level

Opinion: It would be wrong for anyone trying to hazard a comparison between the old 85 and the new Milvus, they are two completely different worlds. The old man was a "pacioccone" lens, soft, suitable for all seasons. In short, neither meat nor fish, and it is no coincidence that Zeiss has completely redesigned the Milvus. A monster has come out of it, and I do not exaggerate. In the face of a certain size and a record weight of 1250 gr. the Japanese-Germans have produced an incredible lens, capable of excelling practically everything. Unbelievable sharpness even in open diaphragms, three-dimensionality, fantastic bokeh, it seems to be within the scene. Unrivaled construction and valuable materials in Otus-style, maf ring a little abundant (you will not find well those who have very small hands) with very reduced run. Defects? We could talk about light vignetting at TA (although very pleasant), but the scandalous thing are the front and rear caps, really not level. Conclusions? It is absolutely one of the best lenses ever for my house, and I come from Nikon AFS 85 f 1,4G and 105f 1,4E, to understand each other. In this context, the price is not at all high; on the contrary, I believe that for the absolute value of the object it is also low. Naturally, it is recommended to all those who love these masterpieces of optics and mechanics!

Marco La Rosa

sent on 10 Gennaio 2018

Pros: Sharpness, bokeh, construction, microcontrast and colors.

Cons: weight, focus ring a little wide, is addictive to wanting to use only zeiss lenses

Opinion: Optics with unbeatable performance for colors, sharpness and focus ... all with an impeccable construction ... the price to pay is only in the fact that it is a lens more oriented to the advanced amateur photographer and less to professionals of ceremonies in general .. at least do some work with a certain calm ... I mounted it on my d800 and with the slide dk 17 I can focus more easily than before .. coupled with a zoom type 70-200 you live peacefully with the maximum of opportunity to bring home any type of shooting from the supreme yield ..

Filippo Secciani

sent on 28 Marzo 2016

Pros: I first list the cons, because everything else is pro ...

Cons: Weight, size and price.

Opinion: I give it 9 the poll, because the price and the weight brought him down, though, to make a purely technical thought a 10 would be too tight. You could make a disquisition on the fact that the Zeiss Otus 1.4 / 85 costs over € 4000.00, then perhaps you would think that 10 he deserves it, but the comparison I can do with my finances ... Comparisons with other brands , they are not compatible. We are in another dimension. And to think that I speak as a happy owner of a very good Canon 135mm, (which is lighter and cheaper). The absence of autofocus, I can not find a flaw, because when you need to think about the right focheggiatura does not hurt, adequate mechanical and not adapted, it does not hurt. Perhaps, to be accurate to that genre, you have to make some sacrifices. Milvus the Zeiss 1.4 / 85, finds its natural application with a ring of focus (perhaps a double helix ...), smooth, precise and absolutely flawless. I would say that is mechanically superior to the old Planar 85mm f1.4 C / Y and the newer classesc ZE. Optically it is comparable only to his brother Otus and the old men just mentioned. I have never seen in any goal, in my possession or other colleagues known to me, a concentration of sharpness, dynamic range, readings of the shadows and ... everything else!