Zeiss Milvus 50mm f2,0 Nikon

This is the sharpest lens I have ever used. No distortion at any F stop. Tremendous contrast. Its close focusing range in less than 8 inches. It is expensive but worth every penny.

I use a manual adapter to mate this to my Sony A7. Excellent build quality, handling, and overall performance. Exactly what I expected from this unit. An existing Zeiss lens owner will appreciate the similarities in optical performance of this model to other Zeiss models. Of note, f/2 produces a great, bright image but leaves a bit to be desired for corner sharpness and overall image chromatic (in favor of chasing exceptional depth of field/bokeh). Stopping down to 2.8 makes a huge performance difference. The only real complaint I have for the Milvus model design is the focus grip. Prior generations used a typical knurled focusing ring while the Milvus line uses a narrow, smooth ring. Not as much surface area so have to pay closer attention to focus operation. Bottom line is I do agree with all other commentary, reviews, examples, etc. for this lens. I consider it an exceptional performer and am very pleased with the purchase.

I was blown away by this lens, how it feels.. how it focuses and the sharpness of photo it produces. I see here in comments a warning about the lens cap and need to leave the hood on all the time... spot on. I find the same thing is needed.

Zeiss 2/50m milvus attached to my Nikon-F6 retired my Leica Summicron 2/50 + R8, even I do not use auto-focus Lenses. The reason is that Nikon-F6 is much better camera than R8 (it works on 3 different batteries (Nikon Li, AA, cr123) and use the same battery on my Flash-Lights and my Nikon Flash, it has range-meter, built-in motor-drive, more accurate shutter, better vibration damping, , and Zeiss milvus, looks like, at this moment, is better mechanically than the Leica Lens which got lose at the front part. The Lens acutance (sharpness) is better than Summicron 50 mm, and bokeh is the same. Even it is all my decisions, time will be the best judge. The perfect Lens for documentary Photography, candid, Portraiture (candid and Life-style, but not for formal portraiture), street Photography and close-up. Very good for near perfect composition because not so many details are in back-ground (unlike with any wide-angle Lens where always something is in wrong place) FIVE STARS

Build quality is just superb, with well dampened focus ring, weather seals, it reminds me what the premium would be. This lens easily creates truly crisp images even aperture at wide open. Incredibly better at f4-8. Vignette is very severe at f2 but it still has many details in it, so images can be lost-processed if necessary. Reproduction ratio 1:2 is quite useful with this focal length. Manual focusing is not that difficult thanks to the focus ring and focus aid at camera body. It is always hard to justify the extra cost comparing to other 50mm f1.8 AF primes, but this lens holds its position as a masterpiece.