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Review Summary
2019-11-19T07:28:24
An excellent portrait lens for babies, as flashing lights are not allowed...
SHIHUA C.
2019-04-22T07:11:10
Great lens. Came in perfect shape.
Matt N.
2016-12-21T10:56:21
The subject pops out of the image (the Zeiss 3D pop effect is the strongest with this specific lens), with realistic, sweet colors without any special settings and without editing. You'll be "wow" with the image right out of the camera. This is not a landscape lens, and the manual focus doesn't make it a general scene lens for today's world. But it is, if not the best, at least among the 3 best portrait lens in the world of photography.
Eleftherios K.
2015-12-30T08:50:48
Nice piece of glass - not for the casual user. Takes some learning. A good split prism focus screen is a help
BENJAMIN B.
2015-08-24T21:00:00
I purchased this product for portraits and landscapes mainly. It is a beautiful looking lens, but the output is amazing. Color rendering is bright and actually "gives life" to subjects. The lens captures something more, in color, sharpness and rendering. This is hard to explain and better described in pictures, a few of which are attached. The focal plane is razor thin a large apertures, so be sure you are in focus, even a small difference can make one eye in focus and the other way out. So chose your apertures carefully. It's heavy and manual focus, but you can take action pictures by pre-focusing and careful panning.
Michael C.
2015-05-24T21:00:00
It´s a great lens for portraits. The image quality is beautiful. The construction is great, and its short in its lenght. It´s very nice for pictures with enough time to focs manually, not an action lens... It would be nice to have the same Zeiss lens with this size, with autofocus for that purpose... But if your ok with manual focus and have a lens to cover that need, it´s worth it.
Nicolas
2013-07-10T21:00:00
This is probably as sharp as it gets. It is a wonderful lens. It is built to last at least 50 years. The best lens I've ever had so far. If you can get it buy it, in 20 years you will still be using it.
JUAN B.
2012-09-19T21:00:00
KQSW Productions, LLC, does video, mainly. For obvious reasons we went with 5D DSLRS. Needed the best primes, so Zeiss was IT! This 85mm completed the set. Heavy physically, but great images. Only Canon lens we like is the 70-200mm... Having primes means when Canon upgrades their bodies, our lens set will stil be perfect!
TERRY T.
2011-01-14T19:00:00
Great lens for portraits and Headshots. The color and contrast are superb. Much better than canon lenses. It takes more time and patience to focus manually, but the results are clearly worth it. The bokeh is super creamy. A little soft wide open, which is great for portraits. Tad sharp when stoped down if you'd like to use it for landscape. Needless to say that is great for video too.
Lenny
Zeiss
1677838
Zeiss ZE
Black
Telephoto
Canon EOS
Full Frame
Manual Focus
N/A
39.3" / 100cm
N/A
N/A
85mm
29 deg.
Not Applicable
9.4 x 14.17" / 240 x 360mm
f/16
f/1.4
0.1x
N/A
N/A
N/A
72mm
6 Elements / 5 Groups
N/A
3.0 x 3.3" (78 x 85 mm)
23.9oz / 680g
None
Yes
N/A
N/A

Buying Guide. Updated for Holidays 2013. If you own a Canon DSLR, you may be thinking about buying a portrait photography lens. Most professional photographers recommend the 85mm lens for portrait photography, but if you're a Canon DSLR shooter, you are faced with a choice of 8 different lenses a...

The Art of shooting Great portraits, and yes it is a bit of an art is the ability to use your eye to see the great moment that captures the essence of the person your photographing.

Chances are if you bought your first interchangeable-lens camera, a DSLR or MILC, you got a mid-range zoom "kit" lens. For a while things were good, but then you became frustrated with the lens's limits.

Zeiss today launched the third lens in the ZE series for Canon EF mount cameras, the Zeiss Distagon T* 3.5/18 ZE. It's an ultra-wide angle lens designed for full-frame DSLRs, delivering a 99-degree field of view. Like the Planar T* 1.4/50 and 1.4/85 ...
Great Portrait Lens
By Lenny
Great lens for portraits and Headshots. The color and contrast are superb. Much better than canon lenses. It takes more time and patience to focus manually, but the results are clearly worth it. The bokeh is super creamy. A little soft wide open, which is great for portraits. Tad sharp when stoped down if you'd like to use it for landscape. Needless to say that is great for video too.
Beautiful images, great quality.
By Nicolas
It´s a great lens for portraits. The image quality is beautiful. The construction is great, and its short in its lenght. It´s very nice for pictures with enough time to focs manually, not an action lens... It would be nice to have the same Zeiss lens with this size, with autofocus for that purpose... But if your ok with manual focus and have a lens to cover that need, it´s worth it.
Under the umbrella of superior quality lenses, the Zeiss 1677838 85mm f/1.4 Planar T* ZE Lens for Canon EF stands out as a remarkable short telephoto lens. This lens, a classic choice for portrait photography, is further enhanced by a long barrel rotation, offering precise control over the focus point in your image.
The Planar T* 1.4/85 lens is specifically optimized for medium to longer distances, ensuring distortion-free performance that only improves as the lens is stopped down. Its fast f/1.4 aperture is a key feature, offering creative control over the depth of field, allowing photographers to create stunning, professional-grade images with ease.
The nearly circular diaphragm of this Zeiss lens contributes to a pleasing 'bokeh' effect in the out-of-focus areas, adding an artistic touch to your photography. When combined with a DSLR with a 1.5 crop factor, the lens effectively becomes a focal length of 128mm, expanding its versatility.
Whether you're capturing stunning headshots, detailed landscapes, or high-quality video, the Zeiss 1677838 85mm f/1.4 Planar T* ZE Lens for Canon EF is a reliable choice, designed to deliver exceptional results for years to come. This lens is not just a piece of equipment, but a long-term investment in your photography journey.