REVIEWS - Zeiss 85mm F2 Sonnar ZM

OVERVIEW

Zeiss described the 85mm F2 Sonnar as "the first M-mount tele lens with floating elements, containing Carl Zeiss cine lens technology". The 85/2 ZM was made in Germany by Zeiss, not by Cosina, because of the lens’ complexity. The 85/2 ZM started shipping in 2007 at a price of $2749 USD.

Rumors for discontinuing the lens included low sales due to high price, production costs and production issues such as the infamous Zeiss wobble. I have owned four 85/2 ZM’s, three of them have been back to Zeiss (Germany) to have the “wobble” fixed. Repair cost in 2014 was ~$285 US. My current copy cost over $650 to have serviced by Zeiss plus shipping costs (invoiced in October 2016). The invoice indicated a fixed fee for repair service. Turn around time took around 4.5 months.

BUILD QUALITY

The Zeiss 85/2 ZM’s build quality is excellent with an exquisitely smooth focus ring. The lens is all metal and feels solid. Leica M users are accustom to Leica’s build quality and the Zeiss 85/2 ZM's build quality is certainly on par, perhaps even a bit better. The 85/2 ZM is an odd shape compared to other rangefinder lenses, but on the Leica M9-P and Leica M-P Typ 240 it feels nice and well balanced. On the Leica SL Typ 601 the size and balance are perfect.

Mounting and removing the 85/2 ZM’s hood requires considerable force, and I suspect it contributes, possibly causes the Zeiss wobble. For this reason I do not use the Zeiss hood, instead I use a B+W screw-in metal hood. With regards to build quality, Zeiss certainly gets a couple demerits for the Zeiss wobble. To be fair, some of my Leica M lenses developed wobbles as well, but Zeiss 3-out-of-4 track record is really bad. And if the wobble returns after repair, that would be even more maddening.

PERFORMANCE

The Zeiss 85/2 ZM can be brilliantly sharp at F2 if focus is perfectly placed. At F4, F5.6 and F8 the retail and resolution are stunningly good. The 85/2 ZM is an excellent landscape lens - albeit an expensive lens to shoot at F5.6. The catch-22 is - if focus is slightly off target, then Zeiss 85/2 ZM can exhibit a haziness with hints of purple chromatic aberrations (CA) - most likely a form of halation. If shooting in brightly lit highlights at F2, the purple CA is likely to show itself. The CA clears up at F2.8. Most people would probably will be considering the Zeiss 85/2 ZM for its bokeh potential, so some quick comments on bokeh -

• At F2 to F4 the Zeiss 85/2 ZM has a nice fingerprint, but not as pronounced as the Zeiss 100mm Makro-Planar ZE or Contax 100mm F2 Planar. The 85/2 ZM rendering is more 2D, there is not a consistent 3D feel to its images.
• The Zeiss 85/2 ZM’s draw and bokeh are more pleasing than the Leica 90mm F2 Summicron-M pre-APO. If the purchase decision was between these two lenses, I would probably choose the 85/2 ZM.
• The Leica 90mm F2 Summicron-M APO is a tour de force when it comes to optical prowess. At F2 the 90mm APO is extremely sharp and is CA free in the focus plane. The 90mm APO’s bokeh at F2 can be a bit busy with complex backgrounds, but overall I regard the Leica 90mm APO as the superior lens from a technical standpoint.

I have mixed feelings about the 85/2 ZM’s bokeh. It can be pleasing, but it is not a sure bet. These three test shots show how subtle the differences can be:

The Canon 100mm F2 Serenar M39 LTM has the smoothest bokeh - which is to be expected since it is the longest focal length. However, if the Zeiss 85mm ZM and Leica 90mm APO were moved closer, normalizing the field of view for all three lenses, then bokeh would be even more similar.

CONCLUSION

My first real outing with the Zeiss 85/2 ZM was a trip to Kauai. The 85/2 ZM managed some nice pictures, but some had so much purple fringing at F2 that the pictures looked mis-focused. The CA created a purple glow around the edges, and while the purple color could be removed in Capture One, what was left was a soft edges that looked out-of-focus. In hindsight this Zeiss 85/2 ZM was probably was not my best copy.

The 85/2 ZM is a lens for well experienced M user who understands the nuances of lens performance. At F2 to F2.8, the 85/2 ZM has a narrow performance envelop. The Leica 90mm F2 Summicron-M APO is a more consistent performer, but the 90 APO’s draw lacks that elusive “wow!” The 85/2 ZM has some “wow!” potential, but it is elusive. In some regards I think the Zeiss 85/2 ZM is better suited for the Leica SL2 or Sony A7rIVa because achieving accurate focus (especially at F2) is much easier than with a Leica M camera.