Zeiss Milvus 1.4/35 Lens Review

Last Updated on January 13, 2019

With a fast aperture, the Zeiss Milvus 35mm f/1.4 lens, plus its 35mm focal length, makes it the ideal lens for just about any occasion. The lens’ high aperture allows the subject to clearly stand out against the background. It’s the same feature that makes it possible to capture architectural detail more precisely and take landscape photos that are more detailed.

Chromatic aberration is usually seen in pictures that are shot with wide apertures, and one of the ways to prevent it from happening is to use a smaller f-stop. But this lens almost completely eliminates this particular issue.

The Zeiss Milvus 1.4/35 lens ensures images have outstanding edge-to-edge detail even when shot at full aperture.

Design & Features

The lenses in the Milvus line feature a robust metal barrel, and the 1.4/35 follows in the same thread. It’s also a lens promoted to be “perfect for every occasion” and Zeiss makes good on that by giving the lens protection against dust and splashes.

The 1.4/35 takes really detailed images, and it even works when shooting in difficult lighting conditions. Stray light is reduced through the use of different measures such as Zeiss’ own T* antireflective coating and a special pitch-black lacquer. The occurrence of reflections is also prevented with the use of specially designed surfaces and light traps in mechanical components. Color fringing at high-contrast edges are also reduced by having each focal length have its own individual optical design.

By limiting the amount of stray light getting in, Zeiss has designed a lens that can cope with changes that new cameras might implement, including an increase of a sensor’s high dynamic range. Combine that with the reduction of astigmatism, coma, and spherical aberrations, this is a lens that can deliver as camera technology gets better.

Manual focusing involves physically taking control of the output. As such, it calls for ergonomic design. The 1.4/35 lens comes with a large rotation angle that allows pinpoint focusing; it also moves smoothly without any backlash. The changes made are also immediately reflected in the viewfinder of display.

The 1.4/35 also ensures a stable performance across the entire focusing range thanks to a Floating Elements Design that sustains image performance across the focal plane.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• It allows the creation of very detailed images. The image quality is fantastic and really sharp. Be it landscapes, portraits, or architecture, this lens sure makes an impression with the image quality it produces.
• It can be taken along no matter the weather condition. Cameras are becoming an essential item in the bag no matter the destination or weather. And it helps to have a lens that can still take gorgeous shots no matter no matter the weather condition.

Cons

• It is for Canon and Nikon cameras. It’s a shame that the lens isn’t offered for other camera brands as users could really use this kind of lens.
• It is expensive. As with all high-quality products, this too comes at such a high price: $2000.