The Legendary Zeiss Otus DSLR Lenses Have Been Discontinued
As Zeiss turns the page to its Otus ML series of lenses for full-frame mirrorless cameras, it appears that the company’s legendary Otus DSLR lenses are finally finished.
As Asobinet reports, Zeiss Otus lenses for Canon EF and Nikon F mount cameras, including the Otus 28mm f/1.4, 55mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.4, and 100mm f/1.4, are marked as discontinued at numerous major photography retailers, like Camera Kitamura, Map Camera, Bic, and Yodobashi.
Stateside, Adorama no longer lists the lenses at all, and B&H has marked the Otus lenses for EF and F as “Discontinued.”
While this is not entirely surprising news, not all of Zeiss’ classic Otus lenses have been replaced in the company’s Otus ML lineup, which began last year with the Otus ML 50mm f/1.4 and Otus ML 85mm f/1.4 prime lenses. Zeiss released its third Otus ML manual-focus prime lens earlier this year: the Otus ML 35mm f/1.4, a wholly new focal length for the Otus. Technically, the ML 50mm f/1.4 marked a new focal length for the company, too, but arguably the older Otus 55mm f/1.4 is meaningfully similar.
In total, Zeiss released four Otus lenses for DSLR cameras, starting with the Otus ML 55mm f/1.4 way back in 2013. This was followed by the 85mm f/1.4 in 2014, the 28mm f/1.4 in 2015, and finally the 100mm f/1.4 in 2019, which is not all that long ago.
The classic Otus lenses remain available on the used market, although they are not plentiful. For example, KEH, one of the largest used photography gear retailers, has just the Otus 100mm f/1.4 APO Sonnar ZE T* available for Canon EF mount, while the rest of its Otus lenses are used Otus ML primes.
Many photographers love the classic Otus lenses thanks to their excellent build quality and impressive image quality. However, they have always lost some appeal due to their extremely high price tags. The Otus 100mm f/1.4 launched in 2019 for $4,500, for example. All the Otus DSLR primes cost between roughly $4,000 and $5,000, far above the asking prices for the new Otus ML lenses.
If any photographers want a brand-new Zeiss Otus lens for Canon EF or Nikon F DSLR cameras, they will need to act fast.
As for where the Zeiss Otus ML series goes from here, there’s no question the series could benefit from either a wider lens than the new 35mm f/1.4 or a longer telephoto prime, akin to the 100mm f/1.4 for DSLRs. A Zeiss Otus ML 135mm f/1.4 could be a very interesting addition to the family, too, although Zeiss has never made an Otus lens that long before.
Image credits: Zeiss
