Carl Zeiss will make MicroFourThirds cine lenses!!!
Carl Zeiss will soon offer the Compact Prime CP.2 lenses with Micro 4/3 mount.!!!!!! Those lenses are very expensive $3.900 each at BHphoto (Click here) or eBay (Click here) 
Official press release (Source Zeiss.de):
“OBERKOCHEN/Germany, 08.09.2010.
In 4th quarter of 2010, ZEISS Compact Prime CP.2 lenses will be available with F-mount. The Compact Prime CP.2 series, presented last April, were the first lenses developed especially for shooting with HDSLR cameras. Since then, the lenses have been highly sought after by cinematographers and film photographers alike. In addition to the PL-, EF- and F-mount, Carl Zeiss will soon also be offering the Compact Prime CP.2 lenses with Micro 4/3 and A-mount.
The Compact Prime CP.2 lenses’ inter- changeable mount means the lenses can be used for many purposes. The lenses have a compact and robust build so that they can handle any demand on the film set.
“With the new enhancement of mounts we want to meet the needs of our customers”, says Michael Schiehlen, Head of Sales of Carl Zeiss AG Camera Lens Division. “The possibility of using our CP.2 lenses flexibly for three different camera systems is not only interesting for new customers. Stores that rent cameras and camera equipment also benefit from the lenses’ enhanced flexibility.”
Just in time for the IBC in Amsterdam, Carl Zeiss has announced two new focus lengths that will also be available with F-mount: Compact Prime CP.2 50 mm/T2.1 Makro and CP.2 100mm/T2.1 CF. They complement the seven focal lengths from 18 to 85 millimeters that are already available. ”
Current CP.2 lenses are:
| Super Wide Angle | Aperture | CFD | AOV | Weight | EF | PL | F |
| CP.2 18mm/T3.6* | T3.6 – 22 | 0.3 | 69° | 900 g |  |
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| CP.2 21mm/T2.9 | T2.9 – 22 | 0.22 | 60.9° | 1000 g | |
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| Wide Angle | |
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ZE | ZF | ZF.2 |
| CP.2 25mm/T2.9 | T2.9 – 22 | 0.17 | 52.2° | 900 g | |
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| CP.2 28mm/T2.1 | T2.1 – 22 | 0.24 | 47.4° | 1000 g | |
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| CP.2 35mm/T2.1 | T2.1 – 22 | 0.3 | 38.5° | 1000 g | |
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| Standard | |
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ZE | ZF | ZF.2 |
| CP.2 50mm/T2.1 | T2.1 – 22 | 0.45 | 27.3° | 900 g | |
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| Tele | |
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ZE | ZF | ZF.2 |
| CP.2 85mm/T2.1 | T2.1 – 22 | 1 | 16.7° | 900 g | |
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Dan
3 years ago |That’s actually very good news. The lack of good glass kept me off MFT since I sold the EP-1. With a nice new body and good CZ glass I might be back.
patrick
3 years ago |Great cinema primes but don’t look at the price tag
Korea
3 years ago |It’s too large and expensive for m43.
What is PL?
Is it Arriflex? Red one?
mat
3 years ago |PL is the Arri cinema camera mount
Duarte Bruno
3 years ago |For those who still say that m43 is not a system this another major slap in the face…
Mike
3 years ago |No way, Sony would kill them. There’s something weird…
Mike
3 years ago |Ah, because they are cine lenses. So it just makes sense for they new AG-AF100 camcorder
emde
3 years ago |Why has this PRESS RELASE (also to be found on dpreview) a rumor designation (FT5)? It is NO rumor, it is an officila press release…
admin
3 years ago |Sorry I recieved the rumor first and then someone sent me the link to Zeiss after!
emde
3 years ago |dpreview published it even ealier than you
admin
3 years ago |Dpreview has many people working full time and paid by Amazon. I am working on 43rumors using my iPhone between every coffea pause
four thirds photo
3 years ago |Admin, I think you do a great job with this site. Keep the 4/3 rumors up!
Thanks very much
Mike
3 years ago |This is the best site for 4/3 news, so don’t make the admin angry!
ANGRY Olympus Owner
3 years ago |lol +1
Brod1er
3 years ago |More relevant for the AGF100 mob. Don’t think I will be strapping a kilo of lens onto my gh1!!! I am not so keen on lenses not designed for the format, even if they have the right mount. Having said that, welcome to the party Carl! The more options, the merrier.
sonyalpharumors | Home
3 years ago |[...] via: 43rumors [...]
Gabi
3 years ago |Hmmm, do I miss something here or is there a statement about autocous ability? For that price tag, I would expect full autofocus functionality!
patrick
3 years ago |Cinema lens from Zeiss with AF? Nice joke.
emde
3 years ago |Hmm… cinema lenses with AF. Interesting approach – no professional cinematographer would use them. Please do explain how a focus pull would work with AF…
fjldas
3 years ago |You missed the point about Zeiss introducing CINE lenses….
Brian Palmer
3 years ago |Yawwwwn. big heavy lenses.
CallaWolf
3 years ago |Toys for the wealthy
Jac
3 years ago |These should be for the expensive Panasonic video camera.
mat
3 years ago |…expensive perhaps in the realm of the amateur still photographer, but in the realm of professional cinema all of this (frightening as it may be) is dirt cheap. heck, mark ‘cinema’ on a plastic mattebox and all of a sudden it costs $1600.
mpgxsvcd
3 years ago |I laughed when I saw this news. $3000 for a manual focus F2.1 video lens? That is just stupid. The people buying these lenses do realize that m4/3s video is at most 1920×1080 compressed video, right. It won’t matter how sharp or well built your lens is. At 1080p or 720p it is going to look the same as a $100-$200 Nikon or Canon lens.
What I want is an m4/3s ultra fast prime lens(55mm F0.95) with autofocus and image stabilization.
lander240
3 years ago |It is not a “F” but a “T” 2.1
I'm no expert
3 years ago |Could you explain the difference, please?
foo
3 years ago |http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-number#T-stops
fjldas
3 years ago |Again, these are cine lenses with a VERY different audience than stills photographers.
There’s more to cine lenses than IQ. They require much more focus ring rotation enabling for smoother focusing, and focus pulling. They also do it silently, and zoom silently (if applicable). Then there’s lack of focus breathing.
Whether that’s worth the extra bucks depends on the shooter.
Carl Zeiss will be making MicroFourThirds Lenses - Micro Four Thirds User Forum
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Appareil photo hybride - Des objectifs Carl Zeiss pour micro 4/3 | hybridcams.fr
3 years ago |[...] 43rumors, [...]
Tropical Yeti
3 years ago |What happended with “New Panasonic technology comming” FT5 post, published here for very short time?
Zeiss lenses – this is it?
admin
3 years ago |Hi Tropical! I removed it because of the Zeiss news. I will publish the other rumors in few hours (+ I received new info).
ANGRY Olympus Owner
3 years ago |cant wait, sounds big
TheVoiceoverman
3 years ago |You don’t make lenses like this for an E-PL1. So either they are aiming exclusively at the new Panasonic video camera (as a couple of people pointed out), OR, there are some pretty fabulous MFT stills cameras on the way as well which Carl knows about and we don’t.
Nice to dream huh?
marilyn
3 years ago |thats i like but expensive http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heZUMjVuWSY&feature=player_embedded
RW
3 years ago |I am actually left shaking my head about this one. $4K for a m43 lens!!
I suppose that I understand this for the videographers that are trying to put together a system comparable to a RED – but for m43 still photographers, this is ridiculous. If I wanted to spend $4K on MF lenses, I would buy a Leica M9. Maybe that is not such a bad idea – at least I would be able to see the subject through the viewfinder.
patrick
3 years ago |No, $4k for a 35mm cinema lens with interchangeable mount. The whole m43 thing is just an option for the mount.
M43Photo
3 years ago |I don’t really see the need for these lenses in M4/3 format. After all, why not just add the adapter and use them in the original mount? The cost of the adapter is very small compared with these lenses.
And there is probably no electronic communication between the camera and lens anyway.
RW
3 years ago |Point taken – but still seems like a huge investment to put on a m43 camera. I understand why Zeiss may want to offer this option – I just am having a hard time understanding why you might want to *buy* this option is you are a m43 still photographer.
fjldas
3 years ago |THESE ARE NOT FOR THE STILLS PHOTOGRAPHER, so just stop looking at them from that POV. These are for AG-AF100 and other MFT motion cameras coming out.
And if you compare prices to other cine lenses, these are dirt cheap. Very exciting lenses.
ANGRY Olympus Owner
3 years ago |I think it will make competitors and people realize that m43 is a viable option when they see carl backing it, and will make them take m43 more seriously and that is key to a healthy market
keep em there toes, when it comes to “slr” cameras & video canon is not alone
I hope oly brings out a mirrorless cam this month
iluvhatemail
3 years ago |nice! seems like a waste tho. Just buy a full frame camera and get one of these lenses for it. Maybe the new Panasonic cameras will be worthy of a zeiss lens?
fjldas
3 years ago |Most motion photographers wanting to shoot for cinema wouldn’t want a FF camera due to the (too) shallow DOF. MFT is perfect size to mimic 35mm (motion) film DOF.
stonebat
3 years ago |i think carl zeiss releases pl mount lenses with appropriate adapters as a package. arri pl mount has a whopping 52mm flange back distance. longer than nikon f’s.
stonebat
3 years ago |simply think like this. expensive cine lenses with free adapters.
spanky
3 years ago |Great news for the format for sure! These are designed to be used for the professional AF-100 MFT video camera, but can certainly be used on other MFT cameras as well for those who can afford the lenses. It validates the format, so it’s definitely a welcome announcement.
patrick
3 years ago |These lenses were designed for an average 35mm cinema camera. m43 is just a mount option.
spanky
3 years ago |I realize that. The fact that they’re spending time to come out with a native MFT mount means a lot, which goes to my point. They could have left them in Arri/PL mount and forced users to work with adapters, but they chose to embrace the MFT format instead. Along with Cosina introducing the 25/0.95 with the native MFT mount it seems like the tide is starting to turn toward general acceptance of the format across the larger photographic community as more than just a flash-in-the-pan Panasonic scheme. Tamron/Sigma can’t be far behind now in addressing this market with some native mount lenses.
ANGRY Olympus Owner
3 years ago |true
Mirrorless hurdles
3 years ago |Quote: Tamron/Sigma can’t be far behind now in addressing this market with some native mount lenses.
1. Isn’t Tamron partly owned by Sony? Lenses for the Sony A-mount (Minolta heritage) doesn’t make sense. Therefore a new series of lenses is needed, especially those with wideangle characteristics, due to the short flange focal distance of the Sony E-mount.
2. Lenses for the Sony A-mount missing AF and IS doesn’t make sense, since the already adapters doesn’t do AF.
However, with the mirrorless flange focal distances [18, 20, 25.2]mm much shorter, certainly a new series of image stabilized lenses capable of fast CDAF needs to be introduced.
I don’t see a need for Tamron/Sigma to replace the existing kit lenses from Samsung, Sony, Panasonic & Olympus. Adding to the complexity picture, are the facts that any zoom needs to have built in image stabilization, and capability to interactively work with the cameras own electronics. A Tamron/Sigma lens for each brand needs to talk to the camera much more, than for the current DSLR.
I therefore doubt we will see any third party lenses for mirrorless cameras at all, at least no zoom lenses with built in image stabilization. Remember these lenses most likely needs to be small as well.
At most, we can at least hope that the Zeiss and Cosina lenses will be fitted with a ROM chip, in order to provide EXIF data to the MFT cameras.
lander240
3 years ago |Just few reminders for your 2.
1)Pro-Cine. lens does not need an AF.
2)Sony has IN-BODY IS.
3)Sony the already adapter NOW support AF.
4)Till now there is no current-making adapter that can do the AF job by “itself”.
lander240
3 years ago |@patrick,
you do get the point.
@spanky,
It’s just business, CP.2 may get some customer from the M4/3′s GH line. This move does not necessarily show that Zeiss agrees with M4/3 over some other brands. All Zeiss did is just to make one more changable mount option, not anything big deal.
Though Cosina-Voigtlander’s 25/0.95 is native M4/3, this is just another business move only. Zeiss line with AF has been with Sony already (and Zeiss-NEX coming soon) thus adding Voigtlander to NEX which lacks the AF is not a wise thing to do. So they just give the Voigtlander line (products) to M4/3, which do own quite a part of mirrorless marketshare, for now.
Micro Four Thirds bandwagon
3 years ago |I realized these Compact Prime CP.2 lenses doesn’t natively support the Olympus Four Thirds, Sony NEX with the E-mount, Samsung NX.
My conclusion therefore, is that Zeiss are seing the Micror Four Thirds as a stronger/larger/more important player than those others for video applications.
Or is it only to counter the recent Cosina appearance?
Maybe there are more players joining the Micro Four Thirds bandwagon, with video as a key application? Where is Leica? (Leica has been part of Four Thirds plus has close bonds with Panasonic).
lander240
3 years ago |1) CP serie is no budget lens, Zeiss does not need to spread them everywhere. M4/3 because of the GH series, no 4/3 show that video is not the point of 4/3; Sony A-Mount because of the AXX series, no E-Mount because not much NEX user (qreat number of newbie) will spend 3900 for a lens; Samsung NX has the mount issue and they already have a friend “S”.
2)Why does Zeiss need to counter Cosina? Just check out the Cosina JP website and you will know the relationship between Z, V, and Cosina.
3)Leica has ALREADY said that they are not going to join M4/3 due to the sensor’s limitation, except from helping panasonic for some high-class lenses.