Zeiss 35mm F/1.4 Distagon ZE

For that this lens is only limited to things that are static....I can't imagine doing a portrait with live view

Noodlz wrote in post #13492292
Indeed, it's not a lens you can get brilliant results with straight out of the box especially without a precision focusing screen. The DOF is super thin wide open and not forgiving but with time you will get a feel for which area of the image is sharp.

In low light situations and mid range distances I would still go live view to hit focus as well since the focus confirm doesn't work effectively in the dark and it's very hard to see what's in focus.

All in all don't expect to nail focus in a hurry with moving subjects wide open a lot of the time. You have to take a few more shots sometimes as well as micro-tweaking the focus to get that shot. But it gets easier with time and well worth it imo.

Ferrari_Alex wrote in post #13492297
For that this lens is only limited to things that are static....I can't imagine doing a portrait with live view

It's an option if you need critical focus, I get by with eyeballing and the focus beep most of the time

Noodlz wrote in post #13492329
It's an option if you need critical focus, I get by with eyeballing and the focus beep most of the time

So far I nailed only 1 shot

ISO 800, f/2, 1/25th of sec:

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Alex, buy a 1Ds III. You get 45 AF points to choose from.

jdizzle wrote in post #13492554
Alex, buy a 1Ds III. You get 45 AF points to choose from.

I'll play with what I have for some time For now I am not very convinced - it is not really as sharp as 70-200...it has some interesting qualities, but I cannot get eyes very sharp...which is essential for portrait.

Is it at all possible? With this lens, I mean

Just wondering, is this lens capable of something like this?

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Two more from my first outing with this lens.
Not particularly happy - no matter how hard I try, I cannot get eyes very sharp....

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Alex! like your portret,nice composition and girl,try more
interesting how canon 35 1.4 compared to zeiss 1.4 in same aperture?

boris65 wrote in post #13492703
Alex! like your portret,nice composition and girl,try more
interesting how canon 35 1.4 compared to zeiss 1.4 in same aperture?

By the way, I am not impressed with these images - thy are very soft. I had to do a lot of PP to make them look more or less sharp. I do not have 35L to compare. I wish I had

Folks with the lens....can some of you help? Can you produce as sharp image as this one with the lens?
This will tell me how good is my copy:

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may be full image looks soft,but this web croped looks very nice for me

boris65 wrote in post #13492760
may be full image looks soft,but this web croped looks very nice for me

Web yes, but trust me...these images are nothing like the eye I posted above...

Ferrari_Alex wrote in post #13492774
Web yes, but trust me...these images are nothing like the eye I posted above...

What kind of pictures are you comparing? 1/2 to 3/4 length shots with the 35 to head shots with the 70-200? Just trying to find out if we are talking apples to apples. You know what I am getting at what percentage of the picture is eye is it the same?

Alex, nice portraits.
If the eyes aren't sharp, you just aren't nailing the focus. Since you're using the focus confirmation, i's possible that it needs some microadjustment.
Have you tried focusing with liveview? That way you'll find out quickly.

My copy really is very sharp. Sharper and better microcontrast than the 35L at all apertures.
Here's a quick testshot that I took after just getting the lens some months ago:

At f1.4:

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