F/2.8 is possibly not the fastest, though a common speed. My OM 90mmM F/2.0 is a bit faster, but only goes to 1/2 life size and has more distortion. Focus is very clean and an overall joy to work with. The images are sharp corner to corner. This lens is my work-horse. Using extension tubes I get to almost 2:1, and using the 50 mm f/1.4 stacked goes from 2.3 - 3:1, though the prime has to at greater than 1:3 magnification to avoid vignetting.

Nothing to be desired.

A solid Zeiss lens, with straight 1:1 magnification. Yes, it is heavy, but the performance is stunning.

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

OM 90 mmM, OM 80 mmM, Pentax 100 mm Macro, MicroNikkor 105mm

Incredibly sharp Well-balanced color saturation...contrasty but not too contrasty. Good skin tone Dual-focusing particularly useful for Macro lenses, as I mostly shoot MF with it.

Darn heavy and big...the bulk is substantial. Quite noisy during AF, but almost silent while MF Expensive, but worth the money.

The optical quality is unquestionable. All probably know the renown rightfully enjoyed by CZ lenses. This lens is incredibly sharp with great color saturation. But not overly contrasty as some other CZ lenses and has good skin tone. Dual focusing feature is very handy, as I mostly shoot it MF yet I always have AF as needed at the tip of my finger. Be warned though, that this is a very heavy lens and makes a loud noise while focusing. The focusing helical goes a long way from end to end, and this is no USM lens. It also eats up batteries real bad in full-time AF, which aggrevates the already dismal battery life of N bodies.

Customer Service

Tech support seems good, but the part department at Kyocera seems wholly incompetent.

Similar Products Used:

Minolta Macro lenses

Internal focusing Optical quality Zeiss characteristics of colour and contrast Clarity of detail, especially at the macro end Solid build quality Excellent focus ring tension

Price, but it is worth every penny

This lens is stunning! It really does rate up there with some of the best prime lenses of all time. The detail that can be achieved at the macro setting, all the way down to 1:1, is simply unbelievable, and the colour reproduction and clarity of images is superb. As a portrait lens this one is almost too sharp. At a size of 10X8, images appear to be almost medium format in detail and quality. For macro photography, the biggest benefit of this lens is that it is internal focusing, so from infinity to 1:1 macro the lens barrel length is constant. I thoroughly recommend this lens to any N1 user. For portrait work or for macro, it excels.

Customer Service

N/A