Zeiss Loxia 35mm F/2 Review
There aren’t many lenses that make me feel like they warrant a review. Usually the lenses I lean toward tend to be rather impressive but ‘standard’ offerings that produce sharp images and generally perform very well. However, this also tends to mean that there’s nothing interesting and no opinion worth expressing about them. The Zeiss Loxia 35mm however, is the first lens I have bought for any of the Sony Mirrorless cameras I have owned in the last 5 years that I would consider genuinely interesting… That is not to say it is necessarily a great, or even a good lens (although I do think it is a good lens, but more on that later), it is purely to say it is interesting, and there are not many interesting lenses for Sony FE mount in my opinion.
In this review, I’ll cover all the usual things; price, features, build and image quality. None of my review is particularly scientific and is first and foremost a collection of thoughts and empirical findings from my use of the lens. There’ll also be a nice sample gallery for you to feast your eyes on the end, with images edited in Lightroom, so you can get a feel for what the lens is capable of with a bit of work.
Price and Features
The most important thing to note with the Zeiss Loxia is that it is a fully manual lens that comes in at a whopping £1045 ($1,129.00 RRP at time of writing), which is in my view is really quite a silly amount of money for a manual focus only offering. This is especially when considering that on Amazon in the UK right now, you can pick up the Sony FE 35mm F/1.4 GM (a G Master lens that is faster, sharper and has extremely quick autofocus) for £1,179.00. Needless to say, I did not pay RRP for the Loxia and instead opted to purchase the lens pre-owned and in ‘Excellent’ condition from Wex Photo for a fraction of the cost (£373.00). So my review here is weighing up the Loxia against other lenses around the £400 mark, where I truly feel this lens should have been priced, as opposed to lenses around the £1000 mark where it is actually priced.
In terms of features, there is not a huge amount to note with the Loxia 35mm. There is a very smooth manual focus ring and an aperture ring that can either be clickable or, through the use of a little proprietary screw on the mount, be made smooth, something that is particularly useful for video work. Since I very rarely take any video, I have mine set to click. It is worth noting that the Loxia features a fully mechanical focus mechanism rather than an electronic ‘focus by wire’ mechanism, which should please some purist photographers. One feature that is extremely useful and is benefited by Zeiss’ close relationship with Sony, is the electronic contacts on the mount, which means the lens can interact with Sony bodies to embed metadata into the images (such as aperture info etc.) whilst also providing focus peaking functionality for its manual focus operation (focus peaking is a feature that overlays coloured dots that are concentrated around in-focus areas to indicate where the depth of field is set and what is in focus). While the focus peaking functionality is useful, I have experienced some issues with the focusing capabilities of this lens that I’ll cover in more detail later in my review.
There is also included in the box a lens hood, which is metal like the lens housing and of good quality, though it is lined on the inside with a black felt that while absorbing light and preventing reflections, also attracts and catches dust. As expected you’ll also find in the box a plastic lens cap, though aside from these, there is no more to report with regard to features. No AF/MF switches on the body (obviously as it is MF only), no programmable buttons to speak of, just a nice simple and slightly retro design.
Build Quality and Size
Despite my qualms with the pricing of the Loxia, my first impression when I took the lens out of the packaging was just how substantial and well-built it is for such a compact lens. Its all metal construction, tactile clickable aperture wheel and smooth manual focus ring make using the Loxia incredibly satisfying and adds to my designation of the Loxia as an interesting lens. At 340g (0.75lbs), the Loxia is definitely lightweight, but it has a reassuring amount of heft to make it feel robust, as though there is a healthy amount of glass within to soak up and correct all the light it gathers at a reasonably fast F/2. Its compact size and relatively wide field of view at 35mm make it, in my opinion, a perfect lens for Street Photography or general travel photography, where lighter weight and smaller size may be beneficial. For Street Photography the lens is inconspicuous and suitable for trying to capture those candid moments without drawing too much attention to yourself.
Image Quality and Focusing
I would like to preface this section by stressing that this is not by any means a scientific review of the image quality. I won’t be commenting on Chromatic Aberration, Longitudinal Aberration, distortion or Coma. It is simply a few observations from real-world use and while viewing and editing the images from the Loxia paired with my Sony A7IV.
Image quality from the Loxia 35mm F/2 is a mixed bag. I do find the colour rendition and bokeh pleasing, with colours leaning towards the cool/Blue end of the white balance spectrum. Stopped down the lens offers some nice sun-stars and plenty of detail and sharpness, however when shooting into the sun the Loxia’s image can look washed out and exhibits an almost laughable amount of flaring, to the point where images can be unusable. Used well, this could be a stylistic choice if flare is your thing, otherwise I view it as a weakness of this lens. If you plan on shooting with the Loxia wide open on a sunny day, I’d highly recommend picking up a variable ND filter or even a circular Polarizer, which would go some way in addressing these issues.
One problem I have encountered, and I am unsure if this is due to mine being a pre-owned lens, or if it is a wider issue with the Zeiss Loxia 35mm, is that despite using focus peaking, my images are often ever so slightly out of focus. It is only really noticeable if you zoom further into the images, but you may notice the same when viewing the images in my sample gallery later on in the review. One method I have found that has been helpful in mitigating the focusing issues is using zone focusing, as opposed to relying on focus peaking. Zone focusing is a technique that allows you to quickly and accurately focus your camera without having to rely on autofocus or adjusting your manual focus ring. With zone focusing, I have been able to pre-set my focus to a specific distance based on my aperture (e.g. F/8). This has meant that when using the Loxia 35mm for Street Photography, I have been able to chose a zone to be in focus and ensure I am an appropriate distance away from my subject, rather than constantly adjusting the focus ring dependent on my position. While this has gone a long way to address some of the issues I have experienced with focus peaking, it does not always provide satisfactory results, though this may be due to my own skill using zone focusing rather than through any fault of the Loxia. Either way, I think it worth noting for anyone considering this lens.
Edit (21/08/2024) - Over 6 months after first picking up this lens, it has taken me this long to understand the reason my images appeared to be ever so slightly out of focus. I had tried everything; with metadata passing through from the lens to the camera body, I had expected that the SteadyShot metadata would feed through automatically, but I even tried manually entering ‘35mm’ to the camera settings to make sure the inbuilt IBIS on my Sony A7IV knew to correct for the focal length. I even considered taking this lens to my local London Camera Exchange to see if they could send the lens off to Zeiss to have a firmware reset in case that might help correct my issues with Focus Peaking.
It turns out, I simply didn’t have the shutter speed nearly fast enough… As a beginner photographer about 10 years ago, I first learnt to shoot in full manual mode because that was what I thought all professionals did and had gotten to grips with that first. However, more recently, and at the recommendation of many photographers I admire, I have begun to shoot in Aperture Priority mode 90% of the time. The issue with AP mode on my Sony A7IV is that even with Exposure Compensation dropped to -0.3 or lower, my shutter speed would typically stay at around 1/100 to 1/250 of a second shooting with auto ISO and an aperture set to between F/4 and F/8. For an OSS lens or even an Auto Focus lens without OSS, 1/100 to 1/250 would be perfectly reasonable to get a sharp image and so I never really questioned it being an issue with the Manual Focus only Zeiss Loxia. Clearly I was wrong, and when I happened to go to Manual mode to drop the drop the ISO for a certain shot, I also sped up the shutter speed to 1/500 and lo and behold, the image was perfectly sharp and in focus. And it really is sharp, fantastically so, I can’t fault it for everyday use and street photography.
I think the Loxia has one of the most distinctive looks out of any lens I have picked up for my Sony A7IV and that is a positive. Images have a definite character and look less digital and clean than the images I get out of say my 24-105mm F/4 G at a 35mm focal length which I think is a selling point of this lens. I cannot however, recommend this lens if you are purchasing new at RRP, while it does have a certain amount of character, I think the look is something that could easily be replicated in Lightroom, or even by going manual on an autofocus lens and occasionally missing focus for a slightly retro, dreamy look.
Sample Images
You can see some of my sample images below. Taken with a Sony A7IV, the Zeiss Loxia 35mm F/2 and edited using Lightroom Classic for desktop.
Conclusion
As a lens costing under £400, I am incredibly happy with my purchase. I think the Loxia 35mm F/2 is a well built, compact, fun to use and above all else, is an interesting lens for Sony FE mount, but this is as a lens costing under £400. I don’t think I could in good faith recommend this lens for RRP and I am very glad I didn’t buy mine new. While it’s a nice lens and something I am really glad I own, manual focus only can be very limiting, and the issues I have experienced with focus peaking are forgivable for a £400 lens, but not for an over £1,000 lens. Image quality can be sharp if not washed out in direct sunlight and colours and bokeh are really pleasing and take minimal colour editing in Lightroom. I simply can’t see past the price to attempt to justify this new. However, if you can pick up this lens pre-owned like I did, I think it it well worth the try and is a lovely little lens to use.
Edit (21/08/2024) - My revelation about speeding up the shutter speed does change my opinion of this lens somewhat. I think it is still overpriced brand new with an RRP of over £1,000. However, buying used at around £400, this is now easily one of my favourite lenses. It is mighty sharp, has very pleasing rendering, is well built and is a joy to use. 35mm is fast becoming one of my favourite prime focal lengths and the F/2 makes it versatile enough to be used in most situations and times of day. With a fast enough shutter speed in good lighting (i.e. 1/500s) and using Range Focusing, the Loxia makes for a perfect Street Photography lens for the Sony A7IV.
After trying and testing the Zeiss Loxia 35mm F/2, there are a few lenses I would be tempted to look to as alternatives either at a similar RRP but better or for a similar price to what I paid for my pre-owned Loxia, these are the:
Voigtlander 35mm F/1.4 (Similar size and all metal construction, manual focus only like the Loxia, similar features, faster and just over half the price. Has character and likely the closest competitor).
Sony FE 40mm F/2.5 G (I own this lens and would highly recommend it. Not quite as wide as the Loxia but it’s a nice in-between 35mm and 50mm. It’s just as compact as the Loxia and has good auto-focus).
Sigma 35mm F/2 Contemporary (Comparable in terms of size, focal length, speed and build, with auto-focus and just over half the price of the Loxia RRP).
Sony FE 35mm F/1.4 GM (not nearly as compact or lightweight but for a similar price as the Loxia RRP, I don’t think it can be ignored. This or the Sigma 35mm F1.2 Art).
I’d be interested to know if you have owned or used this lens and what your thoughts are. Drop me an email or connect on Instagram for a chat and share any images you have taken with this interesting little lens! I’d like to know if I am the only one with focus peaking issues too…
