Zeiss ZF 100mm f/2 Macro Planar

The Zeiss 100 Macro Planar has for many years been considered the sharpest prime lens made, and is now available in Nikon mount. Ridiculously expensive, and worth it, the 100 is frequently used as a long landscape and portrait lens, as well as a Macro lens. In case you aren’t aware, this a a manual focus only lens, but D200 and higher bodies will adjust exposure and white balance automatically if you wish.

Roger’s Take: This one is worth the money. Absolutely. It doesn’t have VR. It is more difficult to manual focus the Zeiss than autofocus the 105 VR. And the 105 VR is a very, very good lens. So why bother? Because the ZF 100 is two steps beyond spectacular. I’ll be honest, I’m not the best person to manually focus in the world, and I blow it with this lens sometimes. But when I hit it right the results are just spectacular, not only as a Macro but as a long portrait / short telephoto lens.

If you’re interested in finding good reviews of the various ZF lenses, with in-depth analysis of their strengths and weaknesses, we recommend spending a few dollars and getting Lloyd Chambers online review of the ZF lineup

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