Zeiss ZE Otus 100mm 1.4 für Canon EF

Highly Recommended – Outstanding Zeiss performance and quality, inevitably at a price.

The Zeiss Otus 100mm f1.4 is a high-end medium-length telephoto lens corrected for full-frame sensors and available in Canon EF and Nikon F mounts. It’s the fourth lens in the acclaimed Otus series, joining the existing 28mm, 55mm and 85mm models, with all sharing the same f1.4 focal ratio, manual focusing and uncompromised approach to image quality. In my tests the Zeiss Otus 100mm f1.4 was, unsurprisingly, an excellent performer, delivering extra sharp images across the full-frame sensor, even with the aperture fully opened to f1.4. The Bokeh produces very soft backgrounds and longitudinal color aberrations are well controlled as is coma. It’s an excellent lens, no doubt, surpassing the image quality of Zeiss's own 85mm f1.8 Otus which is no small feat. Like all Otus lenses, the lack of autofocus means this lens is best-used in live view where you can use assistance to nail the distance, and when mounted on a Sony or Nikon mirrorless camera you also resolve the absence of stabilisation; indeed with the longest and most demanding focal length in the Otus series to date, it feels most usable on a modern mirrorless camera rather than a DSLR. The overall performance earns the Zeiss Otus 100mm f1.4 a Highly Recommended, but with the caveats mentioned regarding manual focus, lack of stabilization and of course the eye-watering price. Also remember there are some excellent, not to mention more practical rivals, most notably the Sigma 105mm f1.4 ART which not only has autofocus, but costs less than a third of the Otus 100mm.