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Overview of Milvus 100/2M
The Zeiss Milvus 100mm f/2M Makro-Planar utilizes the same optical formula as its ZF.2/ZE predecessor. The main implication of using the same design as its predecessor is thus that secondary color remains the main drawback of the lens, particularly for focus stacking, that secondary color resulting in a greenish background and magenta foreground tint—stop down to greatly reduce this effect*.
Flare control has been slightly improved over its ZF.2/ZE predecessor, by use of improved coatings on one lens element.
When focusing, the extended (revealed) portion of the lens barrel now has engraved markings for distance and reproduction ratios.
The about $1843 Zeiss Milvus 100mm f/2M is my preferred all-around telephoto. While marketed as a macro lens, it is also superb at distance with “high and flat” MTF free of field curvature plus no focus shift and no distortion and unrivalled bokeh. It delivers richly saturated colors with very high contrast. No other lens in its range can pull all that together. So many shots just have a special quality to them that I have never seen in any other lens in its range.
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Diglloyd Guide to Zeiss offers comprehensive integrated coverage of Zeiss DSLR lenses for Canon and Nikon. Nearly a decade in the making, it covers everything you need to know for every lens in the ZF.2, ZE, Milvus and Otus lines. Guide to Mirrorless and Zeiss ZM rangefinder lenses in Guide to Leica.
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