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85/1.4 Planar Main Page
The Zeiss ZF 85mm f/1.4 Planar is much more appealing than Nikon’s 85mm f/1.4G in terms of build quality, particularly for anyone desiring manual focus, where the focusing helicoid of the 85/1.4 Planar feels lovely.
The main issue with manual focus and an f/1.4 lens is the focusing screen on modern DSLRs, particularly cameras such as the Nikon D800; the screen does not allow fine focus discrimation for fast lenses. This is the main point which discourages manual focus. In this regard, most users will find the Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.4g or 85/1.8G much easier to deal with.
The Zeiss 85mm Planar also competes with two outstanding lenses from Canon: the 85mm f/1.8 and the 85mm f/1.2L II. Optically excellent, those two Canon lenses just are not of the same build quality as the Zeiss Planar. Even the US$3500 Leica 90/2 APO-Summicron-R has nothing over the ZF Planar in terms of build quality. But again, the prospective buyer of the 85/1.4 Planar will find focusing the primary challeng.e
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Zeiss ZF 85mm f/1.4 Planar @ ~f/5.6