Zeiss Otus T* 1.4 / 55 mm ZE Canon EF Mount

The Otus 1.4/55 incorporates all the expertise and experience of over 120 years in the optical and mechanical field. Only the best materials and the highest-quality glass are good enough for a lens whose development was committed at every stage to a single idea: to offer the best possible performance in use by demanding photographers. The scops owl ( Otus scops in Latin) is the eponym for the new lens family from ZEISS, which will be joined by other members in the future.

The Otus 1.4/55 offers precision-loving photographers the opportunity to make their equipment more compact without sacrificing image quality. It is well known that current 35mm DSLR cameras with high-resolution sensors place immense demands on lens imaging performance. The Otus 1.4/55 meets these demands with outstanding sharpness and highest image contrast. Chromatic aberrations are almost completely absent. These properties ensure perfect image quality, even at open aperture. The new ZEISS lens sets a new standard worldwide, whether for use in advertising, fashion or studio photography - without compromising on detail.

The standard with which ZEISS drove the development of the Otus was particularly high, as Christophe Casenave, Product Manager at ZEISS Camera Lenses (Photo Lenses), points out: Our goal was to bring the best standard lens to the market. Otus achieves sharpness and contrast reproduction right into the corners of the image. We were only able to achieve this with the complex Distagon optical design, which until now has only been found in wide-angle lenses. Thanks to the low color aberration, almost no aberrations occur. This means that even an illuminated harbor location at night, where many light sources lie in front of or behind the focus distance, can be depicted realistically. The performance of Otus is consistently excellent at all shooting distances, and the high apertures can also be used for close-ups.

Especially in exceptional situations where there is little light, the new lens delivers outstanding results. Here, the high light intensity pays off in particular. Even if the sensitive and low-noise digital sensors of a DSLR camera have meanwhile greatly pushed the limits in low-light photography, the perfection of the Otus is still evident at night. Especially when shooting with numerous image-dominating open light sources, correction deficiencies usually appear. The Otus 1.4/55, however, as an apochromat, corrects chromatic aberrations (longitudinal chromatic aberrations) through lenses made of special glass with anomalous partial dispersion. Color aberrations are practically non-existent. The light-dark transitions in the image and especially highlights are reproduced free of colored artifacts. Although the Otus does not offer a classic focal length for landscape photography with 55 millimeters, the lens convinces with outstanding results here as well. The corners of the image can be fully exploited at all apertures without compositional restrictions.

Other unique selling points of the Otus are the consistently high resolution performance across the entire image field and the very high image contrast right to the edges, even at high apertures. The lens also shows its outstanding performance when working with large apertures in 35 mm format. The technical construction of the Otus 1.4/55 is based on a floating elements design with twelve lenses in ten groups. Among them is one lens with an aspherical optical surface and six lenses made of special glass with anomalous partial dispersion. The special, variable lens arrangement within the lens ensures excellent imaging performance over the entire focusing range - from 0.5 meters to infinity. Color fringing and distortion do not occur.

With its neutral bokeh, the Otus 1.4/55 not only delivers highly detailed images without annoying optical artifacts, but it also impresses with its mechanical quality. The smooth focus travel with a large angle of rotation allows the finest variations in adjustment, and the sturdy metal housing with the pleasantly smooth focusing ring makes life easier for photographers in everyday professional use. In addition, the yellow scale inscriptions - just like those on professional film lenses (ARRI/ZEISS Master Prime) - ensure effortless readability of the setting values.

The Otus 1.4/55 has already received an award for its innovative product design: the if product design award 2013. This also means that the Otus 1.4/55 sets standards, not only in comparison with other lenses, but also as the first representative of a new ZEISS lens family. There is little doubt that the Otus 1.4/55 and the focal lengths of the Otus series still under development will win further awards. Ultimately, however, photographers all over the world will benefit from the new creative possibilities opened up by these outstanding lenses. The Otus 1.4/55 is the first standard lens.