I have been using the 2/35mm Milvus lens, primarily for my work. It is small, light, and a very nice lens. It's not as sharp in the corners as some of the other ZEISS lenses, but it works great for my work.



I have been spoiled by the edge-to-edge sharpness of the 1.4/55mm Otus, 1.4/85Otus, 2/135mm Apo Sonnar, and the new 1.4/25mm Milvus lenses. After reading comments about this 1.4/35mm Milvus lens by Lloyd Chambers, I realized I needed to try it. The famous "ZEISS Look", gorgeous color, and spectacular micro-contrast make this a keeper. It's long-throw focusing ring makes for incredibly accurate focusing, especially when using Live View at 100%. It is perfectly suited to high-res cameras such as my Nikon D850.



It's much bigger and heavier than the 2/35mm Milvus, but it's worth it for my landscape images. I'll still use the 2/35mm Milvus for work, which it's perfect for. But for near-Otus quality, the 1.4/35mm Milvus is superb.

Just like other zeiss this one makes otherwise uninspiring pictures pops up. Yes it is sharp. But there's so much more beyond sharpness and I don't see in other lenses.

The Zeiss Milvus 35mm f/1.4 is not an Otus, but it is as close to one as I have seen a less expensive lens come. And it fills a gap in lenses that, as a close-up photographer, I need, although I have other 35mm lenses, but I don't like them. Is it sharp? Yes, it is sharp, not ultra-ultra sharp but sharp enough to pass the sharp test with me, easily. It does not distract me for lack of sharpness. The color is good. There is some very, very minor fringing, I believe, but not enough for me not to use the lens. I am not so concerned with traditional one-off photos, but more in how the lens will stack. It stacks well for a wide-angle. Does it take extension? Yes, it takes the K1-Ring, 5.8mm of extension... pretty well, which is good for a wider-angle lens. It has 9 rounded blades. The close range is 11.81 inches (30 cm), which is excellent. The filter is 72 mm. It is manual focus, which is all I use anyway. It has an ample focus throw, which is wonderful, since many wide-angle lenses have a short throw. The only fault I have found so fa, and it can be anticipated is that it does not do super well with highlights and light areas. It's OK, and I can work around it, but the highlights seem to wash out early IMO. I order, but send many lenses back. I believe I will keep this one.

A historically little used focal length for me.....taking off the lens cap has been a delightful reintroduction to this way of thinking.

Don't ever let people tell you that they don't make them like they used to because here is proof that they do in fact make them better than ever before in Japan. Holy wow, this is such a spectacular lens, from the build quality, mechanics, feel, optics, rendering, color, character, it really has everything I've ever wanted in a 35/1.4. The lens is so good that it reveals details and also flaws in my technique, and pushes me to elevate my technique while also accommodating a new level of imaging that I've never experienced. I mostly use this on a Nikon D810, but have also used it on film SLR bodies. Yes the lens is very sharp, even wide open, but that doesn't begin to describe the beauty of how it renders in 3D...the sharpness is only part of the equation. Objects in a scene that are in focus tend to be contrasty and crispy, while out-of-focus objects melt away with lower contrast. The bokeh effect is thus a combination ofsharpness in addition to contrast. And the transition is smooth as butter. This allows this 35mm lens to produce very nice bokeh subject separation, something I would not ordinarily expect a 35mm lens to do so well. I struggle to produce any CA at any aperture, it is superbly controlled. It is a heavy chunk of metal and glass but you won't mind leaving all your other lenses at home and taking this one by itself. I will never need another 35mm lens again.

Zeiss has produced a near perfect 35/1.4 with this Milvus. The pictures are very sharp. The color is near perfect. The microcontrast rivals the Otus 55 and 85. I find this a sensational, but rather heavy lens that is versatile and formidable. It will be my go to lens for non telephoto use. Zeiss delivers with this one.

The Zeiss Milvus 50mm f/1.4 is 95% as good as the Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4 according to Ming Thein, who is a reviewer whose opinion I trust. Lloyd Chambers says much the same. Then why not get the Otus? Because it is too big and heavy. I had been using the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G. It has always slightly disappointed because it is noticeably not as sharp (resolution) and contrasty (accutance) as my other primes: Zeiss 21mm f/2.8 Distagon, Zeiss 35mm f/2.0 Distagon, Zeiss 135mm f/2 Apo Sonnar. The Zeiss Milvus 50mm f/1.4 corrects the problem. It has noticeably better resolution and accutance than the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G. Field of view aside, there is no practical difference between photos taken with any of the above mentioned Zeiss primes. So, if you have experience with any of them, you know what to expect. The Zeiss focuses accurately enough for my needs using the D810's viewfinder focus indicator. Others, shooting at close distances with wide apertures, may think differently. In which case the lack of autofocus might be an issue. However, under these conditions, the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G would require a tripod and magnified live view manual focusing also. I have no experience with the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art lens. It's only slightly larger than the Zeiss Milvus 50mm f/1.4 and might be a viable alternative. Nasim Manurov's review says that it does not focus as accurately as the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G, especially in low light, which is why I did not consider the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art lens. Lastly, unlike my other Zeiss lenses, the lens hood on the Zeiss Milvus 50mm f/1.4 changes easily from the installed to retracted position. The lens is actually usable with the lens hood in the retracted position, which is useful if one is trying for a grab shot.

This lens is better optically than my Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH. Absolutely perfect wide-open on a 60mp sensor on my Sony camera (I use an F-mount adapter).


However, this lens is nearly 3x heavier and bigger than the Summilux, which severely limits its usefulness. I see it as an optically perfect lens for low-light situations and shoot it exclusively in f/1.4 to f/2 range. If that's your case, you'll love it!

I have owned 2 (this lens and Nikon 1.4G) and used several others (Sigma 28 Art, Nikon 28E, Otus 28, Sigma Art 40) lenses in this and similar focal lengths. Of these, the Otus 28 is undisputedly the best on image quality, but this lens and the 28E and 40 Art are also superb.


Yes, it is big (like most modern f1.4 super high performance designs) and MF only. No, it is not an Otus - and no, calling it 95% of an Otus makes no sense (there is Mozart and there are other composers, 95% of Mozart = no Mozart). But it is a superb lens, especially for portraits. Its biggest strength is consistency with other modern Zeiss designs like the Milvus 25 - similar color response, similar microcontrast. Unlike the Milvus 25 which is optimized for landscape uniform sharpness, this lens seems to excel at foreground / background separations, and smooth transitions (the Otus 28, on the other hand, does all of that while creating an extremely realistic sense of depth).

I bought the new Milvus as an upgrade to my Distagon "classic" version that I've used and loved for years. Having read reviews, I knew that the new version has improved color correction, among other things, but I was concerned that the "classic" wonderful wide-open bokeh would be altered.

I needn't have worried. I've tested identical compositions, lens-to-lens, and bokeh is virtually identical from both lenses at both close range (flowers) and medium distance. It also retains the classic's lovely 3D rendering.

Color correction has received major improvement. Green and violet "color bokeh" are almost entirely gone, as is violet fringing on high-contrast items (twigs, backlit leaves, etc). Corner to corner sharpness is likewise improved, with even sharpness over the frame. While I can't say that it's at Otus level wide open, it's close, and is basically Otus quality stopped down a few stops.

It's a solid refinement over the "classic" that I can see using on increasingly high-definition cameras well into the future. I use it on a Sony A7RII with Metabones adapter.