Ed. note: As promised recently, I've collated all our readers' comments about the Zeiss Batis 40mm (and other lenses in the Batis line). Many readers mentioned or speculated about the new Sony lenses that were then just about to be introduced, and generally I have edited out those comments.
The Zeiss Batis 40mm ƒ/2 full-frame lens for Sony E-mount
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The Zeiss Batis lens lineup at Amazon;
the Batis 40mm ƒ/2 at B&H Photo
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Kenneth Tanaka: "The Zeiss Batis 40mm ƒ/2 is a lovely lens, perfect for carrying only one lens during a long walk. Personally, I like the 'tweener' focal length of 40mm. It's sharp wall-to-wall, with excellent contrast, and it has that slightly-cool Zeiss lens look. It's also a pretty fast focuser in all AF modes I’ve used on the Sony A7R IV.
"No, it's not an inexpensive lens, but it's a good value all-'round companion lens that I've owned for some time and would buy again if it was lost.
"At just under 14 oz. it’s easy on the neck! The lightness is, no doubt, due in no small part to having a polycarbonate, rather than metal, body.
"It features a sometimes-handy focus limiter switch, good for the macro moments.
"When the lens is switched to manual focus an LED display comes alive indicating the current focal length and focal bracket. Also note that the focus ring is by-wire and there is no aperture ring (which is fine with me).
"These little JPEGs aren't going to tell anyone anything about the lens. But they’re perfectly fine, especially considering they're just shot out my home windows just now!"
David Stock: "The Batis 40mm is currently my favorite lens, and has been for some time. I love this focal length, and this is a killer 40mm, at least for my kind of street and landscape photography. The lens is kind of fat, but pretty light and easy to hold. It has fast, accurate autofocus. And close-focus capability, which I love. The digital distance/depth of field scale is a bit gimmicky, but I've actually used it to zone focus. It can be turned on or off. Manual focus is okay, but nothing special.
"As for image quality: this is classic Zeiss blended with the best of modern lens design. The rendering reminds me of my Zeiss Contax lenses, except that the Batis is better corrected and better behaved in every way optically. Besides, it's sharp across the frame wide open, incredibly sharp across the frame stopped down a bit. Still very sharp at ƒ/11 plus. Flat field, minimal focus shift. This may not be the perfect lens for somebody who always shoots wide open in order to blow away the background. It's 'only' an ƒ/2 lens. Bokeh is very good, but not as creamy or controlled as, say, the new Voigtländer 50mm. What the Batis does do very well is make detail look convincing in areas that are slightly or moderately out of focus (for instance, in front of and behind the plane of exact focus).
"For any kind of landscape, a superb lens. I have the Batis 25mm and 85mm also. Excellent lenses. But this is a cut above."
Herb Cunningham: "Have owned a couple of Batis lenses; not a fan. Prefer the manual focus lenses. Auto focus is needed for fast moving subjects, but not the rest, in my humble opinion."
Peter Jehle: "I own the Zeiss Batis 40mm and use it with a Sony A7R III. The handling is lovely, well balanced and lightweight. Autofocus is quick and accurate. The rendering is beautiful and it is super sharp wide open. Close focusing with the additional benefit of a focus limiter switch with three settings. I own or have owned 35mm and 50mm lenses and always felt they were either slightly too wide or too long so 40mm suits the way I see, obviously this may differ for you. I have read that this lens suffers from some focus inaccuracy at close distances but I have not noticed any issues on my copy. I often use this lens in conjunction with my Batis 135mm ƒ/2.8 and find it makes a great two-lens kit. The lens has quite a large circumference especially when the hood is fitted, therefore if I want to be more discrete I will use my Loxia 35mm instead."
Grant Kench: "I have and use the Batis 85mm ƒ/1.8 lens. It is touted as a portrait lens. I use it for landscape. It is a beautiful lens but not perfect on account of its manual focus issues. That would be the same for the 40mm. Focus 'on the wire' just does not work for me being much too difficult to finesse."
Piotr Edelman: "I have a 18mm Batis. Big sky, architecture, city, outdoors. Feels to me as good as all the reviews said. Perfect AF, very good manual mode. If I have to pick something negative, then maybe the fact is doesn't have a dedicated auto/manual button. You have to control it from the camera."
Christer: "After a lens clean-out I am left with four lenses, three of them Batises. I have, listed here by acquisition date, the 85mm, the 40mm, and the 135mm. (I also have the Sony 20mm ƒ/1.8G.) I like all of them, otherwise I would not have kept them. A Batis may look large, especially with the sunshade mounted. But they are the right size for my medium-sized hands...and they feel good when you hold them. And I only use the sunshade when it is really needed. The lenses may look large, but they are by no means heavy. Indeed, they are lightweight compared to some Leica lenses I used to own like the 90mm ƒ/2 ASPH. I sometimes use a tripod and then the low weight is a true blessing. I can use a lighter tripod and smaller head. They all focus fast enough for me, but I am not a sports photographer, I am rather a people and things photographer. Eye focus works really well. (I use a Sony A7R III.) Both the 85mm and the 135mm have in-lens stabilization. I am pretty convinced that this is a valuable feature. Many reviewers make negative remarks about the rubberized surface of the manual focusing ring. Man, do they have problems. Problems to fill their 15+ minutes review videos. Well, I had a problem too. The blue dot for lining up the lenses correctly is difficult to see. Mine is now white. I have many images on my web site, mainly made with the 85mm. Here are some direct links: SV-JA, Portraits, Eyes 'n' Lips."
San Warzoné: "I came across a deal on a brand new Zeiss Batis 85mm ƒ/1.8 with stabilization for my Sony A7 III. It's a perfect size, handles great and produces amazing clarity and color. My style of street hunting may not lend itself to an 85mm but the results can't be denied. It has taken me awhile to keep reminding myself to keep stepping back, but when I do there's a true 'Wow' moment."
Phil Service: "About the Batis lenses: I've owned all but the 40mm. The main attraction is that they are light, although strangely bulky. The 85mm has rather more distortion than you might expect for a lens in this class. Despite the fact that they have relatively modest maximum apertures, they need to be stopped down two stops for maximum center sharpness. I just sold my 18mm and 25mm on eBay and replaced them with the Sony FE 20mm ƒ/1.8 G, which is more compact, slightly heavier and optically superior."
CWM: "The Batis lenses from Zeiss are the single largest reason for my use of Sony bodies. Forty millimeters is a favorite focal length and this version is the epitome of Zeiss 'pop' or whatever adjective you like to use for amazing micro-contrast, etc. Images just look 'right' and I feel that my intent for the photograph is rendered perfectly.
"In 2019, I did the 'Grand Tour' of Europe with the A7R IV and Zeiss Batis 40mm and 135mm. Also brought the Voigtländer 21mm ƒ/1.4 and 65mm ƒ/2 (manual focus), also manufactured by Cosina in Japan. No zooms were needed on this trip. Everything fit in a reasonable size Manfrotto bag. At 65, I just can't, or won't, haul those huge bodies and zooms anymore. Great sensor and four fantastic primes...photo heaven for me. If you are OK with manual focus, then I also highly recommend the 21mm ƒ/1.4 for travel. Best museum lens ever! I was very skeptical of using the 135mm ƒ/2.8 but I needed to keep overall weight down and still have some 'reach.' The Batis 135mm is simply the best I've ever used at that focal length and I've shot with at least a dozen or so over the last 40+ years. With this level of lens quality, I kept to ƒ/5 or wider to avoid diffraction issues on the high resolution 61mp sensor. Lesser lenses are less finicky, but these Zeiss and Voigtländer models can truly take advantage of these incredible high resolution sensors. Wall art metal prints at 24x36" are astounding; 8K sized files for playback on 4K monitors were also a joy to view."
Glenn Allenspach: "I do own and use a Batis 40mm. I also have the Batis 25mm and 135mm, plus four of the Zeiss Loxia lenses and two of the Sony/Zeiss lenses. You’re right, I’m a lens junkie. I’ve gotten very satisfactory results from all my Batis lenses, although I find myself using the 25mm more often. I discovered long ago when I owned a 25mm Distagon in Contax/Yashica mount, that, for myself, the 25mm was a nearly perfect fit for my vision. As you often say, 'your mileage may vary.'
"I think you’ve touched on another issue with lenses in general, which is the size. Batis lenses are big and impressive, and as such, tend to draw attention to themselves when I’m on the street. I sometimes get comments like, 'That’s quite a lens you have there,' or some such. This never happens when I’m working with the more modestly sized Loxias. So even though they are manual focus, and a little slower to use, they can actually be more discreet. As you know, Zeiss was never shy about physically big lenses. Remember the C/Y mount 35mm and 85mm ƒ/1.4's? Quite huge (and heavy) for their day. And in today's AF/VR/zoom world, big heavy lenses are common. Just check out anyone's 24–70mm ƒ/2.8, or 24–105mm ƒ/4. I don’t own any mid-range zooms any more, by the way, so maybe there’s hope for me after all."
Henry Rinne: "My primary full-frame kit is a Sony a7R II and three Batis lenses: 25mm, 40mm, and 85mm. I also have the Sony 55mm ƒ/1.8 and the 16–35mm ƒ/4. The 40mm Batis is on the camera far more than any other lens. I find comfort in the slight wide angle field of view. All of the Batis lenses are extremely sharp and have excellent contrast and microcontrast touted by Zeiss. The ƒ/2 is fast enough and I love the close-focusing ability of the 40mm. It had some bad press because of the slight closing of the aperture when focused in close. I do not see it as a problem. The other issue was the use of eye AF causing a small amount of front focus. Both of these issues were dealt with in a firmware update but neither were eliminated completely. In my experience, I see the eye AF issue in one out of ten shots. Still not a bad hit rate. I love the the lens and have maintained my Sony kit because I just like the rendering of these lenses."
Eric Brody: "I've had the Batis 40mm since it became available. I've read all the reviews, including the negative one by Phillip Reeve, whose reviews I highly respect. When the firmware upgrade was released I did it and have not looked back. New lenses have and will arrive. It's not as if the older equipment stops working when the new version arrives, though manufacturers might like that. The Batis 40mm is not petite but it's light, sharp, focuses fast, and focuses close. It's my go-to when I want to go out and carry just one lens.
"I'm as much of a lens lover as anyone and probably have too many but I have two 'Batii,' the 40mm detailed above and the Batis 135mm ƒ/2.8. That is a lens I shall never sell. It's pretty light, especially compared to the Sony and Sigma ƒ/1.8 versions. It's one of the sharpest lenses I've ever used, and I've used a lot of lenses in my 60-odd years of photography.
"Zeiss has gone from the dream brand to I'm not sure what and everyone seems to enjoy bashing the 'Batii,' or as someone once said the bad-ass lenses. The business is understandably infatuated with the newest and latest. There's always been some of that but the digital era has greatly accelerated the desire to toss something a few years old in favor of the newest even if the differences are hard to see. Dire Straits said it well in their song 'Money for Nothing,' 'We got to move those refrigerators, got to move these color TVs.'"
Alan Sue: "I have several Batis lenses, the 25mm, 40mm and 85mm, along with a couple of Loxia lenses. I guess I like Zeiss. The size and shape of the Batis make it a nice winter lens as I shoot through the winter with gloves on in pretty cold weather. The optical quality suits me as well. The Sony A7R bodies aren't that much fun to shoot with gloves but that's another story. The new Sony 40mm will likely be a nice fair-weather lens."
Tom Hassler: "I have the Batis 25mm ƒ/2 and Batis 85mm ƒ/1.8 for Sony, have used them on an A7R II and A7R IV. They are great! Integration with both Sony cameras is excellent (i.e.: fast autofocus and tracking.) Optically they have all the Zeiss-y goodness that one expects from the brand, especially that wonderful 3D quality that is hard to quantify but always present in Zeiss optics. They are a bit bulky, but feel light and well-balanced on the camera. They might be a little pricey compared to some, but they do not disappoint."
Rodolfo Canet Castelló: "I had two Batis for my long-ago sold Sony 7RII: 25mm and 85mm. Both were well-built lenses and competent performers but a little...I don't know how to say it...boring or characterless, and quite contrasty without joy. I've had several Zeiss lenses during my long career of buying expensive new gear for other people to get it cheaper from me later, and this pair weren't my favourites."
Mein Batis 40mm
Finally Christer Almqvist pointed out an eBay sale page for a near-new Sigma 35mm ƒ/2 in Germany. The seller's explanation of the reason for the sale was, "fast nicht genutzt da ich mein Batis 40mm doch weiterhin benutze deshalb der auch der Verkauf," which Google translates as: "almost not used because I still use my Batis 40mm, which is why the sale."
Mike
Products o' the Week:
The Zeiss Batis lens lineup at Amazon;
the 40mm ƒ/2 at B&H Photo
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Original contents copyright 2021 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.
(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:
Josh Hawkins: "Not Batis related at all, but related to one of the comments. 'Images just look "right" and I feel that my intent for the photograph is rendered perfectly.' This is very particular to each photographer, of course. I’ve been using a 50mm Summicron DR for about a year and I’m finding I just love the look. Not too contrasty, holds shadow details well, and has a nice look for backlit images. The problem I’m having is finding any other lenses that match up with that look; wide angles, let’s say 24mm or wider, from the early '60s aren’t super common. Is there anything made currently without the supercontrasty feel? The only other lenses I’ve gotten a similar vibe from is an 80mm Hassy lens that may not even be a T*. It has a great vibe to it.
"And just what I need, more stuff. I should learn how to sell my old gear."
Mike relies: I had one of those for a while. I'd be surprised if you didn't sell it to me! But I don't remember.
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