A New Zeiss Lens Is Expected Next Week, First for Company in Six Years

Zeiss, which has always had a group of photographers dedicated to the company’s excellent quality lenses, has recently set these fans buzzing with excitement by posting a few teaser posts on their Instagram page, both featuring owls. One photo has a label that reads, “Landing soon,” and a corny caption that reads, “Get ready for owlsome news!” The other features two sleeping owls and the date February 25, 2025, stamped on the photo.

It’s been six years since Zeiss last introduced a new lens for still photography, which in tech years is like dog years. In other words, it’s been a long, long time: What was last introduced? In April 2019, Zeiss debuted the OTUS 100mm f/1.4 prime lens for DSLRs. But since then, it’s introduced no lenses designed for any cameras. But that appears to be changing: According to Zeiss’ Instagram and website, on February 25th, Zeiss will be releasing a new OTUS Zeiss lens.

Why an OTUS lens, instead of Batis, Loxia, or Touit? It was noted in a caption for an image of an owl on Zeiss’ Instagram page. Also, apparently “Otus” is the genus of scops owls, which is depicted in the image. But other than those cryptic clues, we don't really know.

Editor's Note: All of the product names are bird species. Otus is owl, Batis are cute fluffy birds, Loxia is a species that includes the rare crossbill, and Touit is a species of parakeet. If you know, you know. 

Zeiss’ Legacy and Why the New OTUS Lens is Evolving

Zeiss has had an excellent record of producing very high quality lenses for film, digital, and cinema cameras. Here’s a short list of Zeiss lenses that many photographers feel are excellent quality lenses:

Zeiss Otus 100mm f1.4 
Read our Review 
Check Price or Purchase

Zeiss Otus 28mm f1.4
Read our Review
Check Price or Purchase

Zeiss Otus 85mm f1.4
Read our Review 
Check Price or Purchase

Zeiss Batis 40mm f2 CF
Read our Review 
Check Price or Purchase

Zeiss 25mm Batis f2
Read our Review
Check Price or Purchase

Zeiss Batis 85mm f1.8
Read our Review 
Check Price or Purchase

Of course, since so much time has passed since the last lens was introduced, it’s likely that this new lens will differ significantly from the older OTUS models. For instance, it appears the new lens will be built for Sony’s E-mount full-frame mirrorless cameras. Zeiss produced the previous crop of OTUS lenses for an older system—either the 35mm (full-frame) Nikon DSLR mount or Canon DSLR mount.

Pricing and Availability

At press time, there’s been no news on the name of the lens, how much the lens will cost, its features and specifications, nor its availability. However, we hope to learn more news on February 25, 2025.