Zeiss believes that the digital market has not lost its passion for manual glass and are announcing a new family of lenses – the Loxia. Those are manual-focus, manual-aperture lenses.

Te lens will come in two flavors, both with max aperture of f/2 – a 50mm version and a 35mm version. Both lenses are compatible only with Sony e-mount. The list of features (which we’ll address shortly) suggests that Zeiss is targeting video shooters as well as high-end stills photographers in the same lens.

Aside from the optical qualities, both lenses are winking at the video market with an interesting set of features:

Declickable aperture – Interestingly, you can choose to have the lens ‘click’ on regular f stops (2, 4, 5.6, …) which is more inline with tills shooting style or to have the aperture ring declicked, which means it can have any random f stop, which is more movie style.

large focus rotation angle – This is another feature coming from movie lenses, the large rotation angle (180) allows pinpointing the focus. While this feature it movie oriented, it fit well with the lens having manual focus which needs fine tuning and precise control.

small filter thread which you’ll appreciate when getting that expensive ND filter.

Zeiss explains why Sony-E: ZEISS Loxia lenses were specifically designed for Sony α7 cameras. This means that they can make the most of the mirrorless, full frame system, while giving you all the creative possibilities of ‘classic’ photography with manual focus at the same time

Being Zeiss, this lens should be a treat for stills shooters as well, here are the declared qualities from the press release:

The Loxia lens family has been specially optimized for digital sensors. The optical design of the Loxia 2/35 is based on a Biogon and consists of nine lens elements in six groups. With a full-frame focal length of a moderate wide angle, this lens is particularly well suited for nature, landscape and architectural photography. Its creative potential also comes to the fore thanks to its low minimum object distance of 0.3 meters, which allows close-ups with an unusual perspective. The design of the Loxia 2/50 is based on a Planar and has six lens elements in four groups. As a ‘classic’ normal lens with a full-frame focal length of 50 millimeters, it offers photographers a field of view that corresponds to natural eyesight. The Loxia 2/50 is ideally suited for a wide range of situations, from travel photography, family photography and photojournalism to portraiture – and with a minimum working distance of 0.37 meters it is suitable for close-ups, too. The Loxia 2/50 is an uncomplicated but at the same time high-quality standard lens that photographers can keep on their camera continuously, therefore allowing them to react flexibly to a wide range of everyday situations. Both Loxia lenses have a high speed of f/2, which expands the creative possibilities even more. Two examples are the effective isolation of motifs with a low depth of field or free-handed photography, even with poor lighting conditions.

Price for the lenses is set to $949 (2/50) and $1,299 (2/35), which seems to be a straight head to head with the sigma 50mm art lens.

Lastly, here are some sample photos from Zeiss’s Flickr account:

Loxia 2/35 (click for bigger versions)

Loxia 2/50 (click for bigger versions)

Technical data Loxia 2/35

Focal length – 35 mm

Aperture range – f/2 – f/22

Lens elements / Groups – 9 / 6

Focusing range – 0.3 m (11.81″) – infinity

Free working distance – 0.23 m (9.06″)– infinity

Angular field** – 63.02° / 54.06° / 37.57°

Diameter of image field – 43 mm (1.69″)

Coverage at close range (MOD)** – 210.2 mm x 139.4 mm (8.28″ x 5.49″)

Image ratio (MOD) – 1 : 5.8

Rotation angle of focusing ring (inf –MOD) – 180 °

Filter thread – M52 x 0.75

Diameter max. – 62.1 mm (2.44″)

Diameter of focusing ring – 62.1 mm (2.44″)

Length (without lens cap) – 59.2 mm (2.33″)

Length (with lens cap)

66 mm (2.6″)

Weight – 340 g (0.75 lbs)

Camera mount – E-mount

Technical data Loxia 2/50

Focal length – 50 mm

Aperture range – f/2 – f/22

Lens elements / Groups – 6 / 4

Focusing range – 0.45 m (17.72″) – infinity

Free working distance – 0.37 m (14.57″) – infinity

Angular field** – 46,78° / 39,38° / 26,70°

Diameter of image field – 43 mm (1.69″)

Coverage at close range (MOD)** – 255.1 mm x 168.3 mm

Image ratio (MOD) – 1 : 6,9

Rotation angle of focusing ring (inf –MOD) – 180 °

Filter thread – M52 x 0,75

Diameter max. – 62.1 mm (2.44″)

Diameter of focusing ring – 62.1 mm (2.44″)

Length (without lens cap) – 59.2 mm (2.33″)

Length (with lens cap) – 66.2 mm (2.60″)

Weight – 320 g (0.71lbs)

Camera mount – E-mount

You would be able to see the lenses at ZEISS’s booth at photokina in Cologne from September 16 to 21, 2014 , which we of course we’ll do and share.

[Loxia 2/35, Loxia 2/50]