Thornwood, NY—Zeiss has added a telephoto prime lens for Sony’s mirrorless, full-frame, E-mount cameras to its Batis lens family. The company announced that its new Zeiss Batis 2.8/135 is the first 135mm AF focal length for Sony’s Alpha a7 camera system utilizing the E mount. On APS-C-format cameras, the lens will provide a 202.5mm-equivalent focal length.
Like all Zeiss Batis lenses, the 2.8/135 is engineered for fast, smooth and precise autofocus, employing a linear AF motor. For manual focusing, a rubberized ring offers greater tactile control for placement of focus. Furthermore, to avoid the effects of camera shake, which can occur easily with telephoto lenses, an optical image stabilizer was incorporated into the design.
The Zeiss Batis 2.8/135 is particularly geared for portrait photography. “The tele focal length means the subject can stand out nicely against the blurred background,” said Michael Pollmann, product manager for Zeiss. “The bokeh works very well indeed, and the optical design—an Apo Sonnar—ensures outstanding images time and again.”
The 2.8/135 lens could also be a great option for event and wedding photography, added Pollmann. “The advantage of Sony’s mirrorless, full-frame system is that despite its compact size, it delivers exceptional image quality. Zeiss has continued to bring the design of the Zeiss Batis 2.8/135 into line with the needs of Sony photographers. It was important to build a comparably handy lens, in spite of the rather long focal length. We made a conscious decision to strike a balance between compactness, weight and light intensity.”
Zeiss Batis OLED Display
Like all Zeiss Batis lenses, this latest addition features an OLED display integrated on the top of the barrel to enable precise visualization of the depth of field. Furthermore, photographers can check focus distance and see that the image is in focus in the right places.
In addition, the lens features a metal housing designed for durability. The company also ensures the lens is dust and weather resistant, so that it can be used in inclement weather.
“We have put a lot of effort into the optical design and into correcting our lenses,” added Pollmann. “For example, we are experimenting with special types of glass in order to rule out as many kinds of image errors as possible. We have thus been able to ensure corrected chromatic aberration in the Zeiss Batis 2.8/135 so that we have virtually no image errors.”
The lens also features an optical construction of 14 lenses been built into 11 groups. In addition, it has a Zeiss T* antireflective coating to suppress flare and ghosting while working in strong light.
The Zeiss Batis 2.8/135 lens will ship starting May 2017. It will have a suggested retail price of $1,999. zeiss.com
