Zeiss Milvus 50mm f/1.4 ZF.2 £999/$1,199

Who needs autofocus anyway?

Lens mount s Canon EF, Nikon F ( FX)

Autofocus cameras have been around since 1977, so it might seem strange that Zeiss is still doggedly making manual-focus lenses. However, the range of Milvus prime lenses certainly gives a hands-on, feel-good factor. The 50mm f/1.4 is typical in having a beautifully engineered metal barrel and a full set of weather-seals. The optical design is based on Zeiss’s legendary Distagon principles.

The long rotational travel of the focus ring helps focusing precision, and its super-smooth fluidity makes focusing a joy. The Nikon edition has a physical aperture ring with a de-click facility, to enable smooth aperture transitions during movie capture. This ring is absent on the Canon edition.

Performance

Living up to its reputation and price tag, the Milvus delivers gorgeous image quality.

Sharpness

Superb sharpness is apparent across almost the entire frame, even wide-open.

Fringing 0.94

Colour fringing is almost a complete non-issue with this lens, even in the corners.

Distortion -1.21

There’s a little more distortion than in the Tamron, but less than in the Canon and Nikkor.