Carl Zeiss announces three new lenses for NEX cameras!

[Poki]

So, it's Photokina time and Carl Zeiss was very proud to announce three new lenses for the NEX system! I never found an info if they will be manufactured by Sony like the 24mm one, but as they have AF and similar design, I think so.

The lenses are:
12mm f/2.8
32mm f/1.8
50mm f/2.8 macro

All three will be priced around 1000 USD and will be released in the mid of 2013.

What do you think about these? I'm definitely going to buy the 12mm f/2.8 instead of the Sony 10-18mm zoom now, as the price is pretty close and I need the extra aperture for astro photography. Oh, and I love primes more than zooms ...

Update: The lenses are NOT manufactured by Sony, but by Zeiss itself!

Via Sonyalpharumors

 

[quezra]

More info at Zeiss blogs: New Family of Lenses for Mirrorless System Cameras | Camera Lens Blog

 

[JimR]

The 12mm! That sounds like a winner.

 

[Poki]

Now that I think for it a little bit longer, I can well imagine to use the 12mm 2.8, 24mm 1.8, the 50mm 2.8 macro and a future 85mm 1.8 CZ portrait lens as my perfect kit without anything missing! Now I just got to save some years and hope they decide to make a 85mm lens.

 

[Bill]

Buying the 12mm over the new zoom makes a lot of sense.

The other two (the 32mm and 50mm), however, will have to be real stars, as the current Sony 50mm (although not a macro) is faster, has OSS -- and performs very well on my NEX-7. Of course we'll have to see how well the new Sony 35mm performs.

In their PR, Sony has been saying that they expect the new lenses to be of comparable quality to the Zeiss 24. The new Sony lenses will also have OSS and the 10-18 and the 35mm are supposed to be here this year.

On the Zeiss lens blog, Dr. Michael Pollmann, Consumer Lenses Product and Program Manager in the Carl Zeiss Camera Lenses Division had this to say about OSS:

"No, those three lenses we mentioned do not come with image stabilization. With short focal lengths image stabilization is not only not necessary – stabilization of lens elements can impair the imaging performance of the lens. Thus we decided for quality reasons to develop the lenses without image stabilization."

I find the OSS a real benefit. Without a tripod, it usually helps my pictures.