Did Sony do away with the Sony/Zeiss (ZA) Lineup in favor of G-Master?

I have a friend who loves the E mount ZA lenses. He claims to not be able to stand both G-Master or Zeiss (like the Batis) lenses, and will only shoot professionally with the Sony/Zeiss branded lenses. Today he told me he would buy the Sigma Art lenses to "hold him over" until Sony released the same lenses under Sony/Zeiss.

I did some research and it appears that Sony may have phased out the ZA lens lineup in favor of G-Master. It looks like they stopped making ZA lenses around the same time as the last A mount lenses, the one exception being the 50mm ZA which came out the same year as the 85 GM. But there hasn't been a ZA lens since the first GM.

So are ZA lenses dead? I think they still have a place if Sony made sure that they were a high quality, smaller and lighter option to the G-Master. This would probably mean more narrow max apertures than G-Master.

Jarvis Creative Studios wrote in post #18584955
But there hasn't been a ZA lens since the first GM.

Not quite true. The 85mm GM and 24-70mm GM were released February 2016. The Sony Zeiss Planar FE 50mm 1.4 ZA was released July 2016.

Jarvis Creative Studios wrote in post #18584955
This would probably mean more narrow max apertures than G-Master.

Note the above. They first announced the 85mm 1.4 GM and then five months later announced the 50mm 1.4 ZA - not a narrower aperture.

All that said, it is indeed a mystery whether Sony’s going to put a Zeiss badge any future lenses. If I were to guess, I’d suggest that a Apo Sonnar 135mm ZA might be a possibility, since they already have one in their a-mount line.

But, it’s also possible that they don’t feel that they need the Zeiss badge any more. When the system was first introduced it was all Zeiss-badged lenses (except the kit 28-70), which I think was a sort of marketing crutch for them. Now that they’ve built up a lot of photographers respect and admiration with the high-performing GM lenses, maybe they don’t need Zeiss any more. For my part I hope not...I’d love to see more Sony/Zeiss lenses released.

I actually like the zeiss ones as well. more so if they used the old legacy formulas with a little tweak for the tech advances. nothing crazy though as I feel that the complexity of the current lens designs have resulted to that very flat looking photo

do I have scientific proof - nope. maybe I'm just band wagoning hehe.

but the old designs allow for less glass and less weight which is one of my critical criterion in buying a lens in my current photographic phase.

David Arbogast wrote in post #18585100
Not quite true. The 85mm GM and 24-70mm GM were released February 2016. The Sony Zeiss Planar FE 50mm 1.4 ZA was released July 2016.

Note the above. They first announced the 85mm 1.4 GM and then five months later announced the 50mm 1.4 ZA - not a narrower aperture.

All that said, it is indeed a mystery whether Sony’s going to put a Zeiss badge any future lenses. If I were to guess, I’d suggest that a Apo Sonnar 135mm ZA might be a possibility, since they already have one in their a-mount line.

But, it’s also possible that they don’t feel that they need the Zeiss badge any more. When the system was first introduced it was all Zeiss-badged lenses (except the kit 28-70), which I think was a sort of marketing crutch for them. Now that they’ve built up a lot of photographers respect and admiration with the high-performing GM lenses, maybe they don’t need Zeiss any more. For my part I hope not...I’d love to see more Sony/Zeiss lenses released.

Good to know. When I was looking up the times they were both listed as 2016 and the GM was listed after the ZA, so I assumed the GM came later. I'd like to see more ZA as well, but I do think it would be weird specifying which was the "pro" lenses. Maybe it wouldn't be. Canon has 70-200 f4, 70-200 f4 IS, 70-200 2.8, 70-200 2.8 IS, and 70-200 2.8 IS II all under the "L" badge, and everyone knows which is the top dog out of that lineup.

ccp900 wrote in post #18586034
I actually like the zeiss ones as well. more so if they used the old legacy formulas with a little tweak for the tech advances. nothing crazy though as I feel that the complexity of the current lens designs have resulted to that very flat looking photo

do I have scientific proof - nope. maybe I'm just band wagoning hehe.

but the old designs allow for less glass and less weight which is one of my critical criterion in buying a lens in my current photographic phase.

I think it might just be bandwagoning lol. Since the ZA glass was basically all Sony with a Zeiss stamp of approval before it leaves the factory. Not saying that makes them any less quality. In fact I don't find the 35 f2.8 ZA and 55 f1.8 ZA to be flat in the slightest. I love those lenses.

Jarvis Creative Studios wrote in post #18587584
I think it might just be bandwagoning lol. Since the ZA glass was basically all Sony with a Zeiss stamp of approval before it leaves the factory. Not saying that makes them any less quality. In fact I don't find the 35 f2.8 ZA and 55 f1.8 ZA to be flat in the slightest. I love those lenses.

agreed and if I'm not mistaken it's because they actually use the old design. zony 55 is 7 elements in 5 groups very close to the legacy design and isn't as crazy as let's say the sigma 50 art which has 13 elements in 8 groups.

compare this to the Contax zeiss 50 1.7 planar which is 7 elements in 6 groups and the sonnar 50 1.5 which is 6 elements in 4 groups.

even the old Nikkor 50 1.4 D which also has great 3d pop rendering also has 7 elements in 6 groups. voigtlander 58 1.4 also has 7 elements in 6 groups. this is another lens with great 3d pop.

I sort of believe the theory that if you start having so much glass inside the lens it removes the flaws but you end up with a flatter image simply because it has been over corrected. Another side effect of that is the lens starts being large and heavy which I am starting to veer away from.

ccp900 wrote in post #18588349
agreed and if I'm not mistaken it's because they actually use the old design. zony 55 is 7 elements in 5 groups very close to the legacy design and isn't as crazy as let's say the sigma 50 art which has 13 elements in 8 groups.

compare this to the Contax zeiss 50 1.7 planar which is 7 elements in 6 groups and the sonnar 50 1.5 which is 6 elements in 4 groups.

even the old Nikkor 50 1.4 D which also has great 3d pop rendering also has 7 elements in 6 groups. voigtlander 58 1.4 also has 7 elements in 6 groups. this is another lens with great 3d pop.

I sort of believe the theory that if you start having so much glass inside the lens it removes the flaws but you end up with a flatter image simply because it has been over corrected. Another side effect of that is the lens starts being large and heavy which I am starting to veer away from.

Yea the Sigma Art lenses have always been huge. People seem to love them though. I owned one and used a few more when I used to shoot Canon, and I was not a fan. Too green for me.