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Why won't Zeiss make native mft lenses?

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AndrewGregory

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I know they make a micro four thirds mount option available on their cine lenses. Why not anything native for this system?

Something like the Loxia series I feel would be a wonderful addition. There are no small, weather-sealed, chipped, manual-focus primes. They would appeal to the video and portability focused crowds. Which are two of the biggest strengths and reasons why many choose this system.

Anyway that's just me wishing, but I would love an answer to my initial question?
 
and the return is inadequate to justify the investment.
 
mring1 said:
and the return is inadequate to justify the investment.
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+1

The majority of m43 users are drawn into the system because it's small, light and cheap and good enough.

Zeiss in general doesn't do good enough, there's simply not enough potential return in m43 land imo.

fyi this is coming from someone who owns 2 Loxia's, 3 ZMs and a few Zony.
 
Suspect it's in part due to their close ties to Sony. Competition, you know.

I was saddened when Schneider cancelled their m4/3 lens program before it got started. They can mimic that Zeiss magic quite well.

Cheers,

Rick
 
Never owned a Zeiss lens, but I was impressed with Voigtlander contemporary manual focus lenses. I don't know if it is an adequate replacement for Zeiss, but you should give it a try. They have four lenses designed for MFT from 10,5 to 42,5 mm with 0.95 aperture.
 
Zxx said:
Never owned a Zeiss lens, but I was impressed with Voigtlander contemporary manual focus lenses. I don't know if it is an adequate replacement for Zeiss, but you should give it a try. They have four lenses designed for MFT from 10,5 to 42,5 mm with 0.95 aperture.
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Actually, Voigtländer and some Zeiss lenses (not sure which ones) are made by the same company, Cosina.

So, maybe there's a little Zeiss DNA mixed in with our Voigtländer lenses? :-)
 
jeffharris said:
Zxx said:
Never owned a Zeiss lens, but I was impressed with Voigtlander contemporary manual focus lenses. I don't know if it is an adequate replacement for Zeiss, but you should give it a try. They have four lenses designed for MFT from 10,5 to 42,5 mm with 0.95 aperture.
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Actually, Voigtländer and some Zeiss lenses (not sure which ones) are made by the same company, Cosina.
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Most of the traditional MF FF lenses 'Classic' and 'Milvius' are made by Cosina. 'Otus' are made by Zeiss in Germany. The 'Batis' and 'Touit' lenses are made in Japa, at least some and probably all by Tamron.
jeffharris said:
So, maybe there's a little Zeiss DNA mixed in with our Voigtländer lenses? :-)
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Lens design isn't so hard these days, so generally there is nothing special, brand to brand. Quality tends to depend more on how well a company can manufacture and thus how tight tolerances they can take advantage of in the design. Since Cosina has the advantage of being able to operate Zeiss metrology and QC, it's quite likely that the VL lenses benefit also
 
AndrewGregory said:
mring1 said:
and the return is inadequate to justify the investment.
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That doesn’t make sense to me. Voigtlander is a much smaller company and saw at least enough success to release four high quality primes.
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'Voigtlander' is not a company. It is a brand name that Cosina licenses for its lenses. They are all MF, and Cosina manufactures the Zeiss MF lenses. AF lenses are a different matter. The Zeiss AF lenses are manufactured (and designed) by Tamron. If Cosina had the AF tech then Zeiss might have subcontracted to them.
 
bobn2 said:
Lens design isn't so hard these days, so generally there is nothing special, brand to brand. Quality tends to depend more on how well a company can manufacture and thus how tight tolerances they can take advantage of in the design.
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It is easy to design a theoretical lens, but also today, difficult to design a manufacturable lens within a certain cost target. Manufacturing precision is part of the cost, which is a design constraint.
 
Conrad69 said:
bobn2 said:
Lens design isn't so hard these days, so generally there is nothing special, brand to brand. Quality tends to depend more on how well a company can manufacture and thus how tight tolerances they can take advantage of in the design.
Click to expand...
It is easy to design a theoretical lens, but also today, difficult to design a manufacturable lens within a certain cost target. Manufacturing precision is part of the cost, which is a design constraint.
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That's more or less what I was saying.
 
I knew about the MF relationship. Didn't know about the AF one.
 
Thanks!
 
Don't you have to ask, what, apart from their name, would they bring to the party?

In other words, they would have to fill a marketable gap in the current offerings.

Dave
 
I just remembered the original Nikon 55-200 DX lens that was essentially a Tamron and also marketed as a Quantaray back in the day by Ritz Camera.
 
bobn2 said:
Conrad69 said:
bobn2 said:
Lens design isn't so hard these days, so generally there is nothing special, brand to brand. Quality tends to depend more on how well a company can manufacture and thus how tight tolerances they can take advantage of in the design.
Click to expand...
It is easy to design a theoretical lens, but also today, difficult to design a manufacturable lens within a certain cost target. Manufacturing precision is part of the cost, which is a design constraint.
Click to expand...
That's more or less what I was saying.
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Skeeterbytes said:
Suspect it's in part due to their close ties to Sony. Competition, you know.
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I don’t really know either but the Zeiss name gets flashed up as much on Sony bodies as “Leica” does on Panasonic ones.

A lot might hinge on just what the (confidential) paperwork between Zeiss and Sony says (not necessarily what the Leica-Panasonic agreement says) I guess we will never know.
Skeeterbytes said:
I was saddened when Schneider cancelled their m4/3 lens program before it got started.
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Well “their” name-deal with Samsung fell in a bit of a heap :)
Skeeterbytes said:
They can mimic that Zeiss magic quite well.

Cheers,

Rick
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