I am tossing up whether to get a Sigma 35mm F1.4 and a Nikon 70-200mm F4 for my D800E or the Zeiss 135mm F2.I shoot a lot at 135mm with my mirrorless cameras and you can get more shots than you would think at 135mm so its somewhat useful, even if a tad specialised.Anyone using this lens now care to give their thoughts?Greg.

Hi GregLove your astro work - I remember the first one you shared after you got the D800, the Milky Way with your own music. Great stuff!The Zeiss 135/2 has much less CA than other lenses - I think that is what the practical definition of APO is. On a high res camera at 100% you will be able to spot some but significantly less than most other lenses.I haven't had a chance to do any real shooting with it but first thoughts are this lens is sharp, sharper at f/2 than anything I've seen. There is virtually no CA or anything unpleasant wide open.Here are a couple of shots (NEFs) I just took at distance (around 800m and 2km at f/2 and f/5.6 on a D800E) download and have a look for yourself. I just started uploading them to my Dropbox so if you can't download them now, try again in a bit for the upload to complete.https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53436632/20130425%20-%208000614%20-%2014655.NEFhttps://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53436632/20130425%20-%208000614%20-%2014656.NEFhttps://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53436632/20130425%20-%208000614%20-%2014657.NEFhttps://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53436632/20130425%20-%208000614%20-%2014658.NEF

Astrophotographer 10 wrote:I am tossing up whether to get a Sigma 35mm F1.4 and a Nikon 70-200mm F4 for my D800E or the Zeiss 135mm F2.I shoot a lot at 135mm with my mirrorless cameras and you can get more shots than you would think at 135mm so its somewhat useful, even if a tad specialised.Anyone using this lens now care to give their thoughts?Greg.I just got my copy today. Did not really have time to shoot yet. Adorama was the vendor. Lens rentals got 8 copies, they have test posted on the blog. Should start seeing many more reviews. I'll post very soon.

wow, those images look so sharp and deep. Thanks, post more when you can.Carey

Windy night but on a solid tripod. Make sure to zoom in for detail in the office buildings.Here is one at f5.61:1 detailBokeh at f2Mássimo http://10000lakesphotography.com/

Thanks very much for your compliments.I'm downloading those samples and will check them out.I think this lens could also be good for astrowork as no CA is more important there than other factors.A Nikon adapter for my astro camera and this lens could do some interesting images.Greg.

Astrophotographer 10 wrote:I am tossing up whether to get a Sigma 35mm F1.4 and a Nikon 70-200mm F4 for my D800E or the Zeiss 135mm F2.I shoot a lot at 135mm with my mirrorless cameras and you can get more shots than you would think at 135mm so its somewhat useful, even if a tad specialised.Anyone using this lens now care to give their thoughts?Greg.greg i have had mine since march 29...order today - no regrets

135/2 @ f/2, 100/2 @ f/2.8

Astrophotographer 10 wrote:Thanks very much for your compliments.I'm downloading those samples and will check them out.I think this lens could also be good for astrowork as no CA is more important there than other factors.A Nikon adapter for my astro camera and this lens could do some interesting images.Greg.I think I recall you asking (perhaps someone else?) whether the 135/2 uses a hard infinity stop - it doesn't.Zeiss 100/2 zf.2 (left), Zeiss 135/2 zf.2 (right) Both lenses are shown at their positions focused to infinity (in this case a subject 2-3km away).Unlike the 100 Makro Planar and some other Zeiss zf.2 lenses, the 135 APO Sonnar can be focused past infinity - something to keep in mind for your astro work. However, note that (my copy at least) focuses dead on at the infinity mark.