We have reported here before about the rumored ZEISS Otus 100MM F/1.4 lens. Now, this lens is a real fact and prepared for preorder with the price tag of $4,990. Read below about this nice telephoto addition to the Otus family. 

The Telephoto option

The ZEISS 100mm F/1.4 is joining to the Otus family which consists of 28mm, 55mm, and 85mm all with fast f/1.4 aperture. The ZEISS Otus 100mm F/1.4 is available in Canon EF and Nikon F- mount. The Otus 100mm is a solid piece of glass (1.4Kg) and has some unique characteristics.

The anti-reflective coating has also been applied to significantly reduce ghosting and lens are for improved contrast and color fidelity when working in harsh lighting conditions

Photo lens that is ideal for filmmakers: 8K ready, expanded focus rotation and robust structure

The Otus family is characterized by high contrast, practically no color fringes, no distortion when shooting wide open. The Otus is considered as ZEISS’ flagship photographic lenses. However, although the Otus is not defined as cinema lenses series, the long focus throw allows some cinematography advantages as well as the 8K resolution abilities since the Otus series is capable of full-frame sensor coverage. Also, the lenses are characterized by a robust physical design for harsh productions environment. It’s important to mention that the Otus series are all manual focus lenses. The lens owns a rubberized focus ring for fine-tuned, precise control over focus position. 

According to ZEISS, an anti-reflective coating has also been applied to significantly reduce ghosting and lens are for improved contrast and color fidelity when working in harsh lighting conditions.

Below there are two examples from ZEISS demonstrating the strengths of the Otus 100mm regarding image contrast and minimal color fringing.

Click on the images to get a larger  view:

ZEISS Otus 100mm F/1.4 highlights and tech spec

• EF-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format – Aperture Range: f/1.4 to f/16
• One Aspherical Element
• Nine Low Dispersion Elements
• Apochromatic Sonnar Optical Design – ZEISS T* Anti-Reflective Coating
• Floating Elements System
• Manual Focus Design
• Anodized Metal Barrel, Rubber Focus Ring

For Technical Specifications check out the table below (click on the table to get a larger image):

Price and availability

The lens is now available for preorder on B&H with the price tag of $5,000.

Summary

It seems that the ZEISS 100mm constitutes as a pleasant addition (telephoto solution) to the Otus family. That is an excellent example of a photo lens that will be utilized by many filmmakers due to its unique cinematography characteristics.

Have you got the chance to use the Otus lenses in filmmaking application? Would you consider to add the 100mm to your arsenal? Let’s know your insights in the comments section below.