The macro lens ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M for compact system cameras also shows its strengths in portraiture

More and more photographers are taking advantage of the growing possibilities afforded by compact system cameras with APS-C sensors. Now, the new ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M expands the Touit family to include longer focal lengths as well as close-up coverage.

The Touit 2.8/50M offers a magnification power of 1:1. As a result, the photographed object appears on the camera sensor in its original size. Details that cannot be seen with the naked eye become impressively visible at short shooting distances.

Thanks to its moderate telephoto focal length, the Touit 2.8/50M is also perfect as a portrait lens. When allowing for a crop factor of 1.5, the angular field corresponds to a full-frame-equivalent focal length of 75 mm. Here, too, the lens’s enormous versatility pays off. The lens covers distances from infinity to a magnification power of 1:1. The Touit 2.8/50M is a versatile lens that harmonizes very well with the flexible application of compact APS-C system cameras. Its imaging power makes it an ideal choice for close-ups and portraits.

The Touit 2.8/50M also employs the time-proven floating elements design from ZEISS. This enables the lens to achieve a consistently high imaging performance, including up to the minimum object distance (MOD). The exceptional image quality remains consistent, independent of the focus setting. Two aspheres – lens elements number three and four – deliver an important contribution to the high image quality. Two additional lens elements with low dispersion – lens elements number two and nine – help ensure that the lateral and longitudinal chromatic aberrations are kept to a minimum.

A round iris with a total of nine blades gives areas of the motif outside the focus a soft and very natural-looking character. Focused objects before a blurry background are clearly accentuated, creating a harmonious and balanced bokeh. Excellent sharpness along all f-stops rounds off the performance spectrum of the Touit 2.8/50M.

Note: Zeiss has released a new firmware update for the Touit lenses with e-mount version.

The changes are for Touit 2.8/50M E-mount:
It corrects the following behavior that may have occurred with the previous lens firmware version with particular camera menu setting and in particular situations:

• clearly noticeable shutter release delays when pressing the release button with activated flash
• ‘hunting’ for the focus point with the camera in AF-C mode

All Touit 2.8/50 macro lenses for E-mount cameras ever delivered already support phase detection autofocus and the fast hybrid autofocus of newer Sony E-mount cameras with their proprietary firmware.

As of  Feb. 2015 all Touit e-mount lenses are already supplied with the new firmware.

Technical specifications

Focal length: 50 mm
Effective focal length if used on APS-C camera: 75 mm
Aperture range: f/2.8 – f/22
Lens elements / Groups: 14/11
Focusing range: 0.15 m – 8
Free working distance: 0.05 m – 8
Angular field** (diag. / horiz. / vert.): 31° / 26° / 18°
Diameter of image field:  28.2 mm 
Flange focal distance: E-mount: 18,0 mm, X-mount: 17,7 mm
Coverage at close range (MOD)**: 23.5 x 15.6 mm
Image ratio at MOD:  1:1
Filter thread: M52 x 0.75
Rotation angle of focusing ring (inf – MOD): 720°
Diameter max. (with lens shade) E, X: 75 mm
Diameter of focusing ring E, X: 65 mm
Length (without lens caps) E, X: 91 mm
Length (with lens caps) E: 104 mm
X: 108 mm
Weight (without lens caps) E, X: 290 g
Camera mounts: E-mount, X-mount

ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M Macro Lens with Sony E Mount

The delicate structure of a petal, the tiny hairs on a cat’s fur or the seductive lines at the corner of the eyes – whenever a shot is all about the minute details, the ZEISS Touit® 2.8/50M will delight and inspire. It not only allows you to portray objects in their original size, but also provides for beautiful contrast between the pin sharp focus of the image and the softly sketched background thanks to its aperture of 2.8.

Design
The famous symmetric lens design invented by Dr. Paul Rudolph at ZEISS in 1896. The Planar lens is the most successful camera lens design – and, by the way, the most plagiarized – ever created. It provides the lens designer with numerous means to correct aberrations extraordinarily well. And its performance is very constant over a wide range of imaging ratios, enabling such a versatile lens variety as the Makro-Planar lens.
• Makro Planar with 14 lens elements in 11 groups
• Lens with aspheric optical surface
• Lens made of special glass with anomalous partial dispersion
• "Floating Elements" design

Smooth and reliable autofocus
The design of the autofocus system demands an extremely precise movement of certain lens elements. As the mass of the elements or groups to be moved within the optical system differs, various motor types may be installed. The focusing system of the Touit lenses is designed to guarantee robust and smooth autofocusing without any need for compromises or limitations in their optical design.

1:1 Macro Capability
The Touit 2.8/50M lets you capture the smallest things and the tiniest details at their actual size. At its closest focusing distance, subjects sized 15x23 mm fill the frame with an impressive maximum reproduction ratio of 1:1. The imaging performance of the Touit 2.8/50M is just as exceptional at such short distances as it is at medium and long distances. Minimum distortion, outstanding correction of chromatic aberrations, minimal image field curvature and excellent correction of coma and astigmatism allow true-to-life reproduction of any subject, particularly in combination with the high resolving power of modern sensors.

Full compatibility
The ZEISS Touit lenses are designed and constructed specifically for use on Sony NEX and FUJIFILM X Series cameras with APS-C sensors. The lenses are therefore fully-compatible and support all camera functions, including autofocus.

Excellent resolution and high contrast
Rich, vibrant colors are vital to creating a lasting impression. Stray light in the lens, however, would lead to a brightening of the image, which is particularly visible in shadow areas. Image contrast is lowered; the image appears dull and bleached. We combine various, elaborate techniques to reduce unwanted stray light.

Floating Elements Design
Today’s camera technologies and high-resolution sensors demand continuous improvement of lens performance. Thanks to the use of the latest floating element design principles, optical aberration effects in ZEISS lenses are reduced to a minimum throughout their entire focusing range. This is achieved by variation of the axial distance between individual lens elements or groups. This adjustment of the lens-to-lens distance is coupled to the distance setting to ensure correct compensation at all times. The mechanical construction of these lenses is extremely complex and they must be assembled with utmost precision – both of which are key competencies of ZEISS.

Ideal aperture characteristics
Photographers want to lead the viewer through their images. Planes with minimum depth of focus are often employed as creative elements. For instance, the background is kept intentionally out of focus to lead the viewer’s eye to the actual subject of the image. The Touit lenses feature a nine-blade iris that closes to create an almost perfectly circular aperture. The effect of this is the creation of a particularly harmonious effect in the out of focus areas of the image (‘Bokeh’).