Zeiss Milvus 50mm f/1.4 ZF.2

£1159/$1199 A modern-day manual-focus classic

Unlike the 7Artisans MF lens on test, the Zeiss has built-in electronics to enable aperture control from the camera body, making it equally at home in all of the PASM shooting modes. Even so, it also features an aperture control ring that comes complete with a de-click facility, ideal for shooting video. Typical of the Milvus range, the 50mm f/1.4 has a beautifully engineered metal barrel and a full set of weather-seals.

The long rotational travel of the focus ring enables excellent focusing precision, and the super-smooth fluidity of its movement makes manual focusing a genuine joy.

For reassurance, the built-in electronics drive a DSLR viewfinder’s focus assist and confirmation lamps.

Performance

Living up to its reputation and price tag, the Milvus delivers gorgeous image quality. When shooting wideopen, it combines satisfying sharpness and contrast with beautiful bokeh, and maintains a lovely smoothness in defocused areas when stopping down a little.

N-photo verdict

It’s a typically top-performance, beautifully built Zeiss lens that delivers sublime image quality.

Sharpness

High levels of sharpness are maintained across almost the entire frame, even when stopping down to f/1.4.

Fringing

Colour fringing is of a very low order in this lens, rising only slightly at the widest aperture.

Distortion

Lab-tests reveal a little barrel distortion, but it generally goes unnoticed in real-world shooting situations.