^{Milvus family, image courtesy of Zeiss}

September 2015 - ZEISS announced new "Milvus" family of full frame DSLR lenses for EF- and F-mount (ZE, ZF.2) - but of course adaptable to mirrorless as well.

The Milvus family starts with 6 members incorporating the new curved barrel design you already know from the Otus and the Batis family. Key parameters are 2.8/21, 2/35, 2/50 (macro), 1.4/50, 1.4/85 and 2/100 (macro), all lenses have weather sealing and the manual aperture ring on the ZF.2 version can be declicked for video applications. The 1.4/50 is a new Distagon design with floating elements and one asperical element, the 1.4/85 is a new Planar, floating elements design with solely non-aspherical lens elements in order to prioritize a creamy bokeh.

Milvus 1.4/50 and 1.4/85 (ZF.2 version)

Further details and specs can be found at http://www.zeiss.de/milvus

As I had little time for a first look, you will only find a few sample pictures here.

Zeiss Milvus 1.4/85 @ f/1.4 on Sony A7RII (slightly cropped other sizes available when you click on the image)

Ming Thein in expert talk - Zeiss Milvus 1.4/50 @ f/1.4 on Sony A7RII (slightly cropped other sizes available when you click on the image)

Zeiss Milvus 1.4/50 @ f/4 on Sony A7RII (slightly cropped, full resolution available when you click on the image)

It's too early for a final conclusion, but my impression so far:

• Build quality seems very solid, focus is smooth
• Nice bokeh, high micro contrast
• Not as sharp and high in contrast at open aperture compared to an Otus and it does not have the apochromatic correction (especially for longitudinal CAs) you get with an Otus - but hey: these lenses are about 1/3 of the price of an Otus!

Prices will be between 1100 and 1900 EUR depending on the particular model.

There will be more stuff and comparisons in an enhanced review later on this site, so stay tuned!