Zeiss Milvus 15mm f/2.8 Distagon T* Review

Handling and Features
Performance
Verdict
Specification

The Zeiss Milvus range claims to offer the very highest quality. Manual focus only, the Milvus lenses are available in ZF.2 fit for Nikon and ZE fit for Canon. The previously tested Otus lenses were superb but very highly priced, so it will be interesting to see how this lower priced Milvus range fares and whether or not it too delivers the goods, but at a more reachable price level.

Zeiss Milvus 15mm f/2.8 Handling and Features

Made in Japan, the manufacturing quality is not in doubt. The metal finish is beautifully engineered and all controls are as smooth as silk. The Milvus 15mm f/2.8 is a solid, beautiful object in its own right, weighing in at 880g (Nikon fit) and 947g (Canon fit). There is a 95mm filter thread, although with an ultra-wide lens it would seem prudent to only use filters if absolutely necessary and then to choose thin designs to avoid any vignetting.

The metal lens hood has a flocked interior and bayonets onto the lens very precisely. This should protect the domed front element as well as helping to avoid flare. When we peer into that front element we see the tiny aperture of 9 blades, virtually circular to enhance the bokeh of the lens. The Zeiss T* coatings render the glass almost invisible to the eye.

There is little to adorn the lens, but what there is offers good ergonomics. The focusing ring is very smooth and a pleasure to use. A depth of field scale is also offered and this is very useful when estimating depth of field. Markings are clear and distances given in feet and metres. Focusing is down to 0.25m, or 9.84 inches.

The aperture ring has soft but positive clock stops and in the Nikon version can actually be de-clicked using a small screw on the metal lens mount. On the Nikon D810 used for this review, the aperture is controlled by the camera, so the aperture ring on the lens is set to its click stop position of f/22.

Optical construction is a complex 15 elements in 12 groups, using a floating element design to maintain performance at all distances. There are 5 Anomalous Partial Dispersion and 2 Aspherical elements.

Finally, the lens is resistant to moisture and dust, which is a definite benefit and one increasingly found at all levels of lens manufacture.

Handling on the D810 is very nice indeed, manual focusing being better than average for such an ultra-wide lens. The focusing aid on the D810 is also very useful. 15mm lenses are superb for sweeping vistas and getting that really wide feel into a shot, but it is as always essential to look for strong foregrounds or close points of view to make the most of this. It is a way of thinking to get in close, and then closer. Architecture and interiors are also well within the scope of the ultra-wide, portraits less so but sometimes even these can be effective. Very close portraits result in very distorted faces, hardly the best way to flatter the sitter.

Of course, not everyone will appreciate the manual focusing as the only option, but it is not that onerous with wider lenses as long as the ease of focusing is good.

Zeiss Milvus 15mm f/2.8 Performance

Central sharpness is very impressive, already being excellent at the open aperture of f/2.8 and then approaching an outstanding performance by f/4. f/5.6 to f/11 give outstanding results and sharpness is still excellent at f/16 and f/22.

The edges are not far behind, being very good at f/2.8 and f/4. Sharpness is then excellent from f/5.6 through to f/16 and even at f/22 is very good.

MTF
 

How to read our charts

The blue column represents readings from the centre of the picture frame at the various apertures and the green is from the edges.

The scale on the left side is an indication of actual image resolution as LW/PH and is described in detail above. The taller the column, the better the lens performance.

For this review, the lens was tested on a Nikon D810 using Imatest.

CA (Chromatic Aberration) is very low, both at centre and edge of the image field. It is hard to imagine that most shots would need any further work on this, but if desired the whisker of fringing left could easily be tackled in software.

CA
 

How to read our charts

Chromatic aberration is the lens' inability to focus on the sensor or film all colours of visible light at the same point. Severe chromatic aberration gives a noticeable fringing or a halo effect around sharp edges within the picture. It can be cured in software.

Apochromatic lenses have special lens elements (aspheric, extra-low dispersion etc) to minimise the problem, hence they usually cost more.

For this review, the lens was tested on a Nikon D810 using Imatest.

The lens exhibits -2.14% of barrel distortion, which is not unexpected. This can be corrected in software, but it can also look perfectly fine in many ultra-wide images.

Flare resistance is excellent, with not a trace of contrast loss or artefacts even when the low sun is right on the edge of the frame.

Bokeh is usually far more obvious in telephoto lenses, so there is no really dramatic effect here. However, with very close subjects it is possible to have some differential focus and the bokeh, the effect on the out of focus background, in these circumstances, seems smooth and pleasant enough. 

This is an excellent standard and the Milvus shows itself to be a lens of very high performance.

Zeiss Milvus 15mm f/2.8 Sample Photos

Value For Money

The Zeiss Milvus 15mm f/2.8 is priced at £1999 and the obvious comparison is with the recently reviewed Irix 15mm f/2.4 Blackstone, which is also a manual focus lens and priced at £568. There is also the plastic bodied Firefly version of the Irix lens at £428.

This compares with the Samyang 14mm f/2.8 ED AS IF UMC at £299.

Canon users have the EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM (£1849) and Nikon users have the Nikon 14mm f/2.8D AF ED (£1389).

These are tough figures to equate with need, and although the Zeiss lens is the most expensive, it does offer a very high level of performance. The marque lenses also offer AF, but buyers of the Zeiss may well have their own thoughts about that Zeiss quality.

Weighing up the overall balance between price and the other factors involved in choice, the Zeiss Milvus 15mm f/2.8 lens is good value for money for what it delivers, but good results can still be found at much lower price levels. This will not deter those who want the Zeiss lens from paying the higher price.

For more options have a look at the Top 15 Wide-angle Landscape Lenses.

Zeiss Milvus 15mm f/2.8 Verdict

15mm lenses are beautiful to use and offer unique results. There are several excellent choices on the market, and Zeiss enthusiasts will welcome this new moisture and dust resistant lens. For some, the choice will be clear and the price will be paid. For many that price may be out of reach, but there are other choices that will still acquit themselves well.

Zeiss Milvus 15mm f/2.8 Specifications

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