Video: Matt Granger Reviews the ZEISS Otus 85mm, and It’s Absolutely Astounding

Matt Granger, one of our favorite photographers/photography educators, was one of the fortunate souls who got to spend the last 4 months putting the newly announced ZEISS Otus 85mm f/1.4 through its paces, and he’s created a video review to show you just why this lens is worth every penny of the $4,490 asking price.

To be fair, after the high bar the 55mm Otus set, few enough of us were expecting the 85mm followup to fall short. That being said, it’s still astounding to see just how unbelievably, astoundingly, *insert another hyperbolic adjective here* sharp the images out of the Otus came out.

Here is one of the photos from the review, followed by a 100% crop of the same image, that Matt was kind enough to let us use. Click on the image for higher-res:

© Matt Granger. Click here for the full review.
© Matt Granger. Click here for the full review.
© Matt Granger. Click here for the full review.
© Matt Granger. Click here for the full review.

What’s even more impressive than the results out of the Otus by themselves is seeing how they compare to other high end, super high-quality lenses like the Nikkor 85mm f/1.4G. One of Granger’s favorite lenses, and the second sharpest lens Nikon makes, the Nikkor 85mm falls dramatically short of the ZEISS when Granger tested contrast by photographing text.

But enough with words, check out the video at the top to see it all for yourself, and then head over to Granger’s website where you can see high-res sample shots or even download a RAW file shot with the Otus attached to a D800E. We apologize in advance for the copious amounts of drool all over your keyboard.


Image credits: Photographs by Matt Granger and used with permission

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