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Lens review

Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE

28 January 2013
Arkadiusz Olech

11. Summary

Pros:
  • excellent build quality and a very solid casing,
  • brilliant image quality in the frame centre,
  • good or decent image quality on the edge of the frame,
  • great correction of the chromatic aberration,
  • slight distortion,
  • very good astigmatism correction.

Cons:

  • image quality on the edge of the frame near the maximum relative aperture leaves something to be desired,
  • high coma.

Without doubt the Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE is optically and mechanically a very well done lens. We can also add that it will be a splendid full frame standard and a decent macro lens as well. Is there anything that might spoil such an idyllic image? You can ponder on the matter of price. Compared to other 50 mm standards it is indeed high but if you take the best macro lenses into account it seems no longer so extravagant. Mind you, this lens actually combines those two functions. What’s more, you should keep in mind the fact that you deal here with a high quality, metal manual lens of great workmanship, practically without any electronic parts which usually break down first. You can be sure this instrument will take splendid photos for a long time after its purchase - something which cannot be said about a lot of new devices, currently available on the market.


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Sample shots

Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/2.0, exp. 1/1000 s, ISO 400
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 8.26 MB
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/2.0, exp. 1/500 s, ISO 400
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 8.24 MB
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/2.0, exp. 1/320 s, ISO 400
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 8.98 MB
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/2.0, exp. 1/400 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 8.03 MB
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/2.0, exp. 1/2000 s, ISO 400
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 9.01 MB
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/2.8, exp. 1/800 s, ISO 400
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 13.46 MB
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/2.8, exp. 1/200 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 9.01 MB
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/2.8, exp. 1/250 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 9.12 MB
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/2.8, exp. 1/160 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 10.4 MB
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/2.8, exp. 1/250 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 7.92 MB
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/160 s, ISO 400
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 8.81 MB
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/640 s, ISO 400
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 9.09 MB
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/160 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 3.9 MB
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/160 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 8.13 MB
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/160 s, ISO 400
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 11.05 MB
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/5.6, exp. 1/200 s, ISO 400
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 15.08 MB
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/5.6, exp. 1/80 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 8.37 MB
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/5.6, exp. 1/125 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 7.95 MB
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/5.6, exp. 1/320 s, ISO 400
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 9.09 MB
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/5.6, exp. 1/125 s, ISO 400
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 6.3 MB
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/8.0, exp. 1/50 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 7.7 MB
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/8.0, exp. 1/50 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 5.2 MB
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/8.0, exp. 1/40 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 8.45 MB
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/8.0, exp. 1/40 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 4.86 MB
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/8.0, exp. 1/50 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 5 MB
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/11.0, exp. 1/20 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 7.97 MB
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/11.0, exp. 1/30 s, ISO 400
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 6.71 MB
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50 mm f/2 ZF/ZK/ZE - Summary
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/11.0, exp. 1/25 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 4.08 MB
Camera: Nikon D3x
Parameters: 50 mm, f/16.0, exp. 1/15 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 8.78 MB
Camera: Canon 1Ds MkIII
Parameters: 50 mm, f/2.0, exp. 8 s, ISO 1600
File: JPEG, 5616×3744 pix, 10.53 MB



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