Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2 Review

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19 Responses

  1. Tomas says:

    clearly the best review of Batis 25, thanks a lot ! especially flare section was very important for me as I often shoot with Sun in the frame

  2. Roman says:

    Thank you, Victor, very much for your impressive reviews! And this one (again) was probably the most useful review of the Batis 25 I have found. I just got a stupid question. At the moment I am considering to buy either the Batis 25/2.0 or the Loxia 21/2.8. One thing I am wondering about is the reliability and durability of these lenses. Now in your Batis 18 review you write:

    “Batis 18/2.8 is certainly well made, modern lens, but I can not escape the impression that it won’t last as long as legendary Zeiss C/Y lenses would. Sure, we are living in time, when all those products are considered as consumables and they should flawlessly work for (extended) warranty time and probably a little longer. If you want quality that will last for decades or maybe even centuries, you won’t find many of those lenses any more …”

    You have used and reviewed both lenses. What is your personal impression: Will the Loxia (probably) be useful for a longer time (given that it is a manual lens, no autofocus engine which could die etc.) than the Batis? Is the Loxia really more stable or does it just feel so? Thank you very much for your help!

    • Hi Roman,
      I believe that Loxia is “better” built. When I said better, I mean more conservative, with more substantial feel. Manual focus transmission should IMHO last longer than any electronic focus geared system. Looking at the recent “legacy” lens trend, it might hold its relevance value longer too.
      Cheers,
      Viktor

  3. Kinson says:

    Hi Viktor,

    Great review. Are you able to show the B25 CA test shot after CA correction?

    • Hi Kinson,
      Thank you for the kind words. I should be able to find that file in archive and do the correction in pp, but that will not refer about lens itself, rather about my pp skills. The final result will depend on particular scene, used software, output resolution etc. Level of PF presented in the shot above (tree branches) is very high and after removing color channel, it will cause loss of edge contrast and probably involve some artifacts. However, tree branches against cloudy sky with exposure to the shadows, is extreme situation and if you are considering buying Batis 25/2, you shouldn’t be much worried about this aberration. It is rather small price for its compact design and outstanding field flatness, together with low distortion. My obsession with PF is entirely my psychological problem, don’t take it too seriously 😉
      Cheers,
      Viktor

  4. Yasser Sultan says:

    Thanks Victor for the awesome review! To my eyes, the Loxia produces more beautiful colors than the Batis in the graffiti picture. Is this your impression as well or were the two pictures taken at different times?

    • Thanx Yasser, graffiti images were taken with a slight time difference. That is obviously always the case when performing outdoor lens tests. I would say that Loxia does have somewhat more saturated color rendition but we are splitting hair here.
      Cheers,
      Viktor

  5. Sean says:

    Hi Viktor,

    I need your help. I do landscapes, cityscapes, architecture and astrophotography sometimes.

    I’m split between 18/25BATIS and 21LOXIA And I’ve sold my 16-35f4

    Can you advise?

    • Hi Sean,
      why did you sell 16-35/4? What focal length did you use mostly? What is your key criteria for the selection of the new lens? (Sharpness across the frame at which aperture, flare resistance, compactness, something else)
      Cheers,
      Viktor

      • Sean says:

        Hi Victor,

        Thanks for replying so quickly.

        I sold the 16-35mm mainly because it was at f4 and on an A7R, it was really hard to do astrophotography. It was optically very sharp but I told myself I wanted a faster prime to do astrophotography as well as the sharpness capabilities for landscape.

        I mainly go as wide as possible for landscapes.

        The key criteria of the new lens is sharpness across the frame and mainly coma for astrophotography.

        Both the 18 and 25 are very good lens. One is faster, One is wider. Both are sharp. Hence the dilemma.

        • Hi Sean,
          If coma is your priority, than I won’t recommend any of those lenses. For the astrophotography I will go with Samyang/Rokinon 24/1.4 because of the very well corrected coma. It is cheap and good for astro. From the lenses you listed, lowest coma comes with Batis 25/2 based on my testing, but there is still some aberration toward image corners. Batis is also fastest lens of the bunch, which is good for astro-photography and has great sharpness across the frame.
          Cheers,
          Viktor

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