Germano-Ukranian specialist lens maker Hartblei has announced that its range of Superrotator tilt-shift lenses have now been approved to carry the Carl Zeiss name. The 'Hartblei-Optics by Carl Zeiss' range of Tilt-Shift lenses includes a 40mm F4, 80mm F2.8 and 120mm F4 Macro. All three lenses are available in a variety of mounts, including Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony A and Pentax K.

The lenses are based around optics designed for the 6x6 format with lens groups provided by Carl Zeiss and built into bodies by Hartblei. Each makes use of Hartblei's Superrotator design that allows independant movement of the tilt and shift mechanisms with 360 degree rotation, a feature that the company has offered for ten years. The new versions also feature integrated tripod mount designed to allow parallax-free stitching of multiple images.

Hartblei CEO Stefan Steib says that its Hartblei - Optics by Carl Zeiss lenses exceed the standards required by Carl Zeiss for comparable lenses, in some areas. "We are between 5-10% symmetry now - the standard for some other lenses was 10-15% - although we use much more complex mechanics," he says.

"Our lenses are ideal for professional Studio Photography, precise outdoor and documentation as well as landscape photography" he adds. "They are for Photographers who are knowledgeable with view cameras and ideally also for customers who had (or have) Medium Format backs before, but want to scale down to 35mm DSLRs. We will certainly not be a mass producer (right now we produce a maximum of 50 lenses a month) but we deliver fine handcrafted quality for individuals who know about Zeiss and their special 3 dimensional image look."

Owners of the pre-approval 'Prototype' versions of these lenses can have them brought up to the latest standard for the cost of €300 per lens.

For further information, see the Hartblei website.