Used Zeiss 12mm f/2.8 Touit Series for Sony E-mount NEX Cameras

2021-09-20T20:13:55

Got this back when they had the two-fer deal going and figured it would solve my wide angle needs. It gives expected results 3/4 of the time. For some reason, certain subjects and shapes seem a bit soft and have me questioning the lens but then it gives a series of great results. I use it less than expected so perhaps I need to exercise it more and get to learn its strengths? Most reviews are quite positive so it's likely related to some of things I've used it for. Made well without being too bulky or heavy and the hood is quite functional.

Craig S.

2020-04-22T14:30:20

One of my favorite lenses. Superb Zeiss color and contrast. Much more enjoyable to use than any of the other wide angle options for Fuji X. This is the widest AF prime lens available for X-mount. The only wider AF lens is the 8-16mm which has terrible distortion. The 12mm Zeiss is optically corrected for very low distortion requiring no post-processing corrections.

Jeff B.

2018-02-13T07:56:27

Originally got the Rokinon 12mm Manuel focus lens and no matter how it tried to focus it was just not sharp. Say this on sale and scooped it up and for astrophotography it is perfect. a little pricey for a fixed lens wide, but it is Zeiss glass so to be expected and fast focus.

MICHAEL C.

2017-09-28T02:14:35

My go to lens on my XT-1.

Paul Y.

2016-05-23T11:40:37

This is a typical Zeiss quality piece of glass. I use it for interior church pictures used in club competition. I did give it 4 stars only because there is little in the rectilinear ultra-wide Sony E-mount NEX by any manufacturer for comparison. Images are clear and sharp with very manageable chromatic aberration. Usual distortion is easily corrected in Photoshop. Would highly recommend.

DONALD S.

2015-08-27T21:00:00

This is my first foray into wide angle lenses. The lens balances the XT-1 body nicely. Ie is lightweight and easy to use. Autofocus is fast. I'm looking forward to using this lens more. I have other Zeiss optics, rifle scope and binoculars. Zeiss does not disappoint.

PAUL Y.

2015-04-13T21:00:00

This lens has become my favorite go to lens for travel and day to day adventures outdoors on hikes,the picture quality it produces are stunning and sharp, what is great is the lens is very light and combined with the Fuji XT1 makes for a compact walk around combination, lens speed is great after all it is a wide angle lens. You will not be disappointed

SANDY W.

2015-03-23T21:00:00

Great optics, terrible auto focus and NOISY. Even manual focus is crazy loud. Just turning the manual focus ring causes the motors inside to click like they are trying to escape! No usable audio in our videos due to this. The Sony lenses, while optically inferior, are super quiet and don't hunt while auto focusing.

Cbarb

2014-07-08T21:00:00

I bought this lens to use on my X-E2 and am very happy with its performance. I just traveled for two weeks and used only this lens and the 18-55mm kit lens with great results. That step up from 18mm to 12mm is really quite amazing. The lens has a very solid build and quick focus. Has a bit of noise when focusing but really not an issue. The price was a real deal at the time as it was part of the combo with the 32mm.

Douglas N.

2014-06-08T21:00:00

landscape and abstracts. optics and resolution are wonderful. bokeh superb! can you imagine a zeiss lens without a depth of field scale, especially wide angle? try all of the touits. the focusing ring may look elegant but it is hard to distinguish from the aperture ring and has no texture, only redeeming quality is it is inexpensive to manufacture. more hype than quality. as usual the lens caps, well purchase off market brand if you want it to work well. oh yes, overnight zeiss drops the prices of two of its touits at a rate if it was a commodity or a stock you would be livid. there was a time when you could expect a good resale and zeiss was an investment.

dmitri

2014-03-31T21:00:00

I use the Fuji X system which has several excellent prime lenses. I rented this lens for a trip, an though I have the Fuji XF 14, I purchased the Zeiss 12 as soon as I viewed the images from my trip. The lens has a quality that is hard to explain, but I could immediately distinguish the images that were shot with it from the ones shot with the Fuji lenses (the 14, the 35, and the 60). It has the Zeiss "look" , whatever that is. I also purchased the Zeiss 32. The build quality, etc. is superb on both lenses and I expect they will last me a long time. I may or nay not keep the similar Fuji lenses, but even if I do I'll be using the Zeiss ones for most of my shooting.

TEDDY R.

2014-02-26T19:00:00

I use this camera (NEX7) and lens for personal/hobby photography and for my profession as a residential real estate agent. I mainly purchased it for real estate photography. I also have the SEL24f18z and at the moment I find this Touit 12mm much more forgiving than that lens. Shots with the sel24 seem to be hit or miss when it comes to clarity. The Touit 12mm just hits more often. The wide angle of this 12mm lens is perfect not just for my real estate stuff but even with the personal photos as I continue to develop my skills... use this lens and get right up in the face of the subject. The lens is noisy when focusing and it is constantly focusing. I can see this being an issue if you want to use it for video.

STEPHEN S.

2013-11-11T19:00:00

I usually shoot large format and own only the best German lens available. The Fuji system is my first step into the digital world so I decided to buy the best name in German lenses: Zeiss. The color rendition, contrast, bokeh, build quality and functioning on my Fuji XE-1 are perfect.

JERRY S.

2013-10-14T21:00:00

I do a lot of travel landscape photography and was looking for a wide quality lens. I'm impressed the last week I took shots of hillsides with fall foliage and ths lens has great resolution and color balance. Feels like it has no plastic parts. Pricey, but I guess you get what you pay for.

RICHARD G.

2013-07-07T21:00:00

I was unsure of whether to get this lens at first, but I'm so glad I got it. It is SHARP!!! I love photographing landscapes, and usually use the Zeiss 24mm on the Nex-7, but found myself stiching a lot of panoramas. Then I got the Sony 16-50mm... way too much distortion, but a good lens to take to concerts with the NEX, since they don't like cameras with big lenses. I thought I wouldn't use the Touit 12mm much, but it's been a great lens! Very sharp corner to corner, no discernible distortion (I bet target shooters can find some, but since I like shooting real things...), very crisp and contrasty. My favorite thing is the flare control. With a lens so wide, you HAVE to have great flare control. I shoot a lot of stereographic panoramas with it (little planets), and it's PERFECT for that. Some of these will easily take 60-90 shots with the 24mm, but only 20-30 shots with this lens. Don't waste your time with a polarizer. With a lens this wide you will only get weird banding in the sky. Get a zeiss UV filter and go to town. I'm contemplating a Lee system for graduated filters next. Autofocus is SLOW with the Touits. I'm a manual focus shooter, but sometimes will use autofocus. Yeah... not with the Touits. Very slow and annoyingly loud. OK, you can hear it but other people can't... it's too loud for video anyway, even on manual, since it uses a motor. If you use external mic, though, go to town.

NIELS N.