I don’t like buying new lenses. Not only are they less tactile in use, weaker in build quality, and–in the case of E-mount–often relatively worse-off in image quality compared to my AI-s’, but new lenses are also expensive! Okay, sure, a lot of the money for a lens can go to fancy features like optical stabilization and autofocus, but for my style of shooting, these features always play second-fiddle to what really counts: image quality.
What’s nice, then, about the Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8, is that it tries to go against some of the conventions of new lenses–sans the expensive aspect:
- The all-rubber focus ring is an absolute treat to turn. It’s a real shame that, like all autofocus mirrorless lenses, the focus is fly-by-wire, because I’ve never turned a smoother focus ring, including every Nikkor I’ve ever used.
- The build quality and overall aesthetic of the lens is beautiful. Though there are some polymer parts on the inside to help reduce weight, the entire body of the lens is of a very nice semi-matte metal. Though the lens hood is plastic (again, to cut down weight), once it locks in, there’s no play.
- Unsurprisingly, this is the first native e-mount lens I’ve used that performs notably well on the NEX-7. The sheer resolving power of this lens, thanks no doubt to the Planar design, is impressive.
Though I did give high marks to the Sony 35mm f/1.8 OSS, and I still stand by what I said, the Zeiss is in another league in areas of performance like sharpness and aberrations. I currently have both lenses, and plan to do a direct side-by-side comparison at the end of the Zeiss’ review (to come hopefully in a week). It’s still a toss-up whether the Zeiss 32mm ($900) is worth twice the price as the Sony 35mm ($450).
Until then, I’ve taken some time the past few days to make some photographs with the new Touit. All ten below captured with the NEX-7:
Abandoned
32mm, ISO 100, f/8, 1/125
Vibrant
32mm, ISO 100, f/2.8, 1/30
Peaceful
32mm, ISO 400, f/11, 1/4
Ground-Level
32mm, ISO 100, f/2.8, 1/50
Time to Leave
32mm, ISO 100, f/11, 1/25, Tone-Mapped
Abstract
32mm, ISO 100, f/4, 1/320
Out-of-Place
32mm, ISO 100, f/3.5, 1/50
Grid
32mm, ISO 100, f/1.8, 1/640
Drinking it Dry
32mm, ISO 100, f/2.8, 1/3200, cropped
Young Field
32mm, ISO 100, f/11, 1/13, Tone-Mapped
That’s all for this quick look at the new Touit, guys and gals. Thanks for dropping by! If all goes well, I’ll have a full review up by this time next week. In the meantime, I may have a guest post from a reader this week who has been shooting with the other Touit currently available, the 12mm f/2.8. Check back soon, or subscribe via the “Follow” button on the right of your screen!
Matthew Durr Photography 
You are getting some very nice bokeh in those flower shots.
Thank you Andrew, the 32mm produces very smooth bokeh up-close. A shame it doesn’t do the same at further distances. Look forward to your 12mm shots. 🙂
Hi Matt, thanks for your first impressions of that great lens and I am really looking forward to your comparison with the SEL35. Best, Dirk
Glad you liked them, Dirk. Hoping to go out shooting right now, matter of fact. 🙂
Please shoot for really bokeh examine the picture with holes in tree leafs on nearest distance !
Or bright details on hand watch at the table. Or similar.
Disgusting bokeh with excellent performance, this is characteristic of many lenses today.
I would first of all check the work in the area of blur reduction in sharpness and smoothness to infinity. A superior sharpness surprise snap.
Early on, I can say that bokeh shows very smooth characteristics from close-focus to about 5 feet. Beyond that, backgrounds start to get pretty busy. But don’t worry, I’ll talk about all this in detail in the review!
I would like to note that the test should be prohibitively hard to create a situation for the lens. So how do some countries in military exercises. Where to apply not blank shots but real bullets.
Stand by that time Chief Inquisitor!
Some night shots where a lot of light sources also give an excellent rating of the test lens.
Good luck in your work!
Just sent you three images from the Touit 12/2.8 on the NEX7. The two city shots are at f5.6 while the oil Derek was shot wide open, all at ISO100 with no post-processing other than conversion from RAW in Apple Aperture 3.
Cool Andrew! They’re starting to get to my inbox. If you can also send a brief email (1-2 paragraphs) with your impressions of the lens as well, and I’ll try to have them up later tonight. 🙂