Zeiss unveils new Milvus 1.4/35 lens for Canon and Nikon mounts, offering a fast wide-angle prime optic

posted Wednesday, June 21, 2017 at 9:19 AM EDT

Update at 5:20 PM ET: Corrected minimum focus distance and working distance information.

Zeiss has announced a new full-frame lens for Canon and Nikon mounts, the Zeiss Milvus 35mm f/1.4. This 35mm f/1.4 prime lens joins the Zeiss Milvus 35mm f/2 lens as a faster alternative. Of the new lens, Christophe Casenave, Product Manager at Zeiss, says, “This means the photos are practically free from chromatic aberrations. The resolutions of camera sensors are constantly becoming higher, and this also increases the demands made on the lenses. For Zeiss Milvus lenses this is no problem. They are a solid investment in the future.”

The tenth optic in the Milvus family of lenses is stated to be particularly suitable for portrait photography given its fast maximum aperture. Casenave continues, “The high maximum aperture enables the subject to stand out clearly against the background, and the photographer can achieve creative combinations of focus and blur. The manual focus enables very exact focusing, and the creamy bokeh provides an excellent image look. And even at full aperture the image quality leaves nothing to be desired.” Of course, the 35mm focal length is great for other kinds of photography as well, including landscape work. When shooting in bad weather, photographers need not worry, as the lens is dust and splash resistant and is constructed with a metal barrel.

Zeiss Milvus 1.4/35

The Zeiss Milvus 1.4/35 has 14 lens elements across 11 groups. The manual focus lens has a minimum working distance from the front of the lens of 5.43 inches (0.14 meters) and a minimum focus distance of 11.81 inches (0.30 meters). Its robust metal construction comes with a weight of between 39.9 ounces (1,131 grams) and 41.4 ounces (1,174 grams) depending on the mount, with the Nikon version being the lighter of the two. Its maximum diameter is 3.34 inches (84.8 millimeters) and the lens is just under five inches (around 125 millimeters) long without the lens caps. Its filter thread is 72mm in diameter.

Update: Pricing information for the lens is now available. The Zeiss Milvus 1.4/35 will cost just under US$2,000 and will be available starting in August. To preorder the new lens, click the links below. For additional information on the lens, see our Zeiss Milvus 1.4/35 preview.