ZEISS has announced its new Nano Prime Cinema Lenses, which are initially only going to be available in E-mount. The ZEISS Nano Primes were specifically designed for full-frame mirrorless cameras, but initially they will only be available for Sony E-mount. According to ZEISS, the Nano Primes offer the highest performance and cinematic look in a compact and lightweight package.
The ZEISS Nano series will be available in the following focal lengths:
- 18mm T1.5
- 24mm T1.5
- 35mm T1.5
- 50mm T1.5
- 75mm T1.5
- 100mm T1.5
The Nano series cover full frame sensors and they are manual focus only cinema lenses. All of the focal lengths are T1.5
The lenses will be available with feet or meter markings, and you can purchase them in individually or in a 6-lens set.
It is interesting to hear ZEISS is referring to the Nano series as “entry-level’ E-mount lenses, but given their price, they are arguably going to be more popular with shooters using mid to higher end cameras. A good proportion of Sony shooters using native E-mount lenses do so because they want auto focus.
Key features
- Covers Full-Frame Sensors
- T1.5 to T16 Aperture Range
- 12-Blade Rounded Iris
- Native Lens Data Communication
- ZIESS eXtended Data
- 95mm Front Diameter
Size & Weight
The ZEISS Nano Primes range in weight from 870g / 1.92 lbs for the 35mm T1.5 up to 1.19 kg / 2.62 lbs for the 18mm T1.5. This does make them quite lightweight for full frame lenses with a T1.5 aperture.
The Nano Primes are around half the weight and size of the much more expensive Supreme Primes. Now, ZEISS claims that the Nano primes maintain the image quality and speed of the Supreme Primes. ZEISS managed to keep the size and weight of the Nano primes to a minimum by reducing the flange focal distance and designing them for mirrorless camera systems such as E-mount.
As a weight comparison, the NiSi ATHENA Primes, which are all T1.9 except for the 14mm, all have the same weight of 800g / 1.76 lbs, and the Cooke SP3 Primes weigh between 500g / 1.10 lbs and 690g / 1.52 lbs.
Main Features
ZEISS states that the Nano Primes provide a versatile and subtle sharpness reminiscent of Supreme Primes, and that they make an excellent choice for B-Cam and C-Cam, or as a cost-effective alternative. The lenses feature a cine lens housing, 0.8 pitch gears, and an interchangeable mount. The ZEISS IMS (Interchangeable Mount System) features user-adjustable back focus through shims, this guarantees precise scales, even with entry-level cameras that typically exhibit higher mount mechanics tolerances.
The Nano series primes have a 12-blade iris, a 95mm front diameter, 86mm screw-in filter thread. The uniform positioning of focus and iris rings simplifies lens changes. The focus rotation is 280° and the iris rotation is 90°.
All the lenses utilize the ZEISS eXtended Data system. If you are not familiar with the ZEISS eXtended Data system it was introduced way back in 2017 with the announcement of the CP.3 XD prime series.
Zeiss eXtended Data is a way of recording frame accurate metadata about the lens. It’s based on the open standard Cooke /i technology that’s supported by a range of cameras and accessories. The eXtended Data system logs:
- Lens name, type and focal length
- Calibrated focusing distance
- Calibrated T-stop value
- Real time depth-of-field data and hyperfocal distance
- Horizontal field of view
- Entrance pupil position
In addition the specific metadata implementation by Zeiss provides information about:
- Lens distortion characteristics based on the focal point
- Lens shading characteristics based on focal point and effective T-stop
This means that if your NLE or color correction software has the correct profile available, you can correct for these qualities in post with one click. This data is provided by ZEISS plugin software.
It works within the ZEISS CinCraft ecosystem making the information provaluable for post-production (CinCraft Mapper) and it is compatible with the newly introduced CinCraft Scenario camera tracking system.
The Zeiss eXtended Data can be passed electronically through the mount to compatible cameras. If your camera isn’t compatible with /i technology you can connect via an external LEMO port to send the data to an external box like the Ambient timecode transceiver.
Focal Length Specifications
18mm T1.5
| Aperture | T1.5 to T16 |
| Close Focus | 25cm / 9.8″ |
| Length | 112 mm / 4.4″ |
| Front Diameter | 95 mm / 3.7″ |
| Weight | 1.19 kg / 2.62 lbs |
| Rotation Angle of Focus Scale | 280° |
| Horizontal Angle of View | 90.3° |
24mm T1.5
| Aperture | T1.5 to T16 |
| Close Focus | 35cm / 13.8‘” |
| Length | 89 mm / 3.5″ |
| Front Diameter | 95 mm / 3.7″ |
| Weight | 0.88 kg / 1.93 lbs |
| Rotation Angle of Focus Scale | 280° |
| Horizontal Angle of View | 74.2° |
35mm T1.5
| Aperture | T1.5 to T16 |
| Close Focus | 45cm / 17.7″ |
| Length | 89 mm / 3.5″ |
| Front Diameter | 95 mm / 3.7″ |
| Weight | 0.87 kg / 1.92 lbs |
| Rotation Angle of Focus Scale | 280° |
| Horizontal Angle of View | 53.8° |
50mm T1.5
| Aperture | T1.5 to T16 |
| Close Focus | 50cm / 19.7″ |
| Length | 89 mm / 3.5″ |
| Front Diameter | 95 mm / 3.7″ |
| Weight | 0.92 kg / 2.04 lbs |
| Rotation Angle of Focus Scale | 280° |
| Horizontal Angle of View | 40.4° |
75mm T1.5
| Aperture | T1.5 to T16 |
| Close Focus | 75cm / 29.5″ |
| Length | 112 mm / 4.4″ |
| Front Diameter | 95 mm / 3.7″ |
| Weight | 1.13 kg / 2.48 lbs |
| Rotation Angle of Focus Scale | 280° |
| Horizontal Angle of View | 27.7° |
100mm T1.5
| Aperture | T1.5 to T16 |
| Close Focus | 1.0 m / 39.4″ |
| Length | 112 mm / 4.4″ |
| Front Diameter | 95 mm / 3.7″ |
| Weight | 1.13 kg / 2.48 lbs |
| Rotation Angle of Focus Scale | 280° |
| Horizontal Angle of View | 20.7° |
I’m back baby!
As George Costanza once said, “I’m back baby!” It is good to see ZEISS announcing new lenses. ZEISS have had a long hiatus and if my memory is correct, the last E-mount lens they announced was the ZEISS Ventum 2.8/21 E-Mount which was way back in 2019.
Yes, you can get the CP.3 series in E-mount, but those lenses have a slower T-stop and they don’t feature eXtended Data.
Are they an Otus replacement?
That’s a good question. I would arguably say yes. I say that because the Otus and Nano lenses share common T/F-stops, and the focal lengths are pretty similar, apart from the Nano series having a wider focal length.
The Otus series were only ever available in Canon EF or Nikon F mount and it was a little surprising that ZEISS never attempted to make them in mirrorless mounts or introduce more focal lengths.
The Otus lenses were exceptionally good and you can now pick them up at significant discounts.
Price & Availability
The ZEISS Nano Prime Cinema Lenses for E-mount are now available to pre-order for $4,490 USD each, except the 18mm T1.5 and 100mm T1.5 are $4,990 USD each. The lenses are scheduled to start shipping in late May.
The lenses are manufactured by ZEISS’ long-standing partner company in Japan.
You can also buy a 6-lens set for $25,950 USD.
As a comparison, the Cooke SP3 retail for $4,500 USD each and the 5-lens set costs $21,375 USD.
At $4,490 USD each (at least for the 24, 25, 50, and 75mm versions), the ZEISS Nano series are going to face tough competition from NiSi, Sigma, and Tokina Cinema, etc.
The NiSi Athena Primes range from $1,198 USD up to $1,348 USD. They have focal lengths of 14, 25, 35, 50 and 85mm and they are all T1.9 except for the 14mm.
The Sigma FF High-Speed Primes range in price from $3,499 USD up to $5,499 USD.
Below you can see what some other more affordable full frame E-mount cinema lenses cost that have similar focal ranges as the Nano series.
| PRICE | |
| Rokinon XEEN CF 16mm T2.6 Pro | $1,799 USD |
| Rokinon XEEN CF 24mm T1.5 | $1,395 USD |
| Rokinon XEEN CF 35mm T1.5 | $1,795 USD |
| Rokinon XEEN CF 50mm T1.5 Pro | $1,795 USD |
| Rokinon XEEN CF 85mm T1.5 Pro | $1,795 USD |
| Rokinon 100mm T3.1 Macro Cine DS | $599 USD |
| Rokinon 24mm T1.5 Cine DS | $449 USD |
| Rokinon 35mm T1.5 Cine DS | $399.95 USD |
| Meike FF Prime Cine 16mm T2.5 | $1,199 USD |
| Meike FF Prime Cine 24mm T2.1 | $1,199 USD |
| Meike 35mm T2.1 FF-Prime Cine Lens | $998 USD |
| Meike 50mm T2.1 FF-Prime Cine Lens | $998 USD |
| Meike 85mm T2.1 FF Prime Cine Lens | $998 USD |
| SLR Magic CINE 18mm f/2.8 | $179 USD |
| SLR Magic Cine 21mm f/1.5 | $249 USD |
| SLR Magic Cine 35mm f/1.2 | $249 USD |
| SLR Magic Cine II 50mm f/1.1 | $249 USD |
| SLR Magic MicroPrime Cine 18mm T2.8 | $329 USD |
| Samyang Cine V-AF 24mm T1.9 | $699 USD |
| Samyang Cine V-AF 35mm T1.9 | $499 USD |
| Samyang Cine V-AF 45mm T1.9 | $499 USD |
| Samyang Cine V-AF 75mm T1.9 | $499.95 USD |
| Samyang Cine V-AF 75mm T2.3 | $699 USD |
| 7artisans Photoelectric Spectrum 14mm T2.9 | $459 USD |
| 7artisans Photoelectric 35mm T2.0 Spectrum | $419 USD |
| 7artisans Photoelectric 50mm T2.0 Spectrum | $379 USD |
| 7artisans Photoelectric 85mm T2.0 Spectrum | $459 USD |
Cooke SP3 competitor?
The ZEISS Nano look to be in direct competition with the Cooke SP3 lenses. The Cooke SP3 Prime Lenses were designed for use with mirrorless hybrids and are somewhat based on the legendary Speed Panchros.
The Cooke SP3 Prime Lenses come in the following focal lengths:
- 25mm T2.4
- 32mm T2.4
- 50mm T2.4
- 75mm T2.4
- 100mm T2.4
They feature user-interchangeable mounts. The lenses come with E-Mount as standard, and RF-Mounts will be available soon. Early purchasers will be able to get a set of RF mounts at no cost. L-Mount is also available as an optional accessory and an M-Mount will be introduced this year.
The Cooke SP3 Prime Lenses have slower T-stops than the ZEISS Nano and there currently isn’t a focal length wider than 25mm available.
The benefit of the SP3s are that they are very lightweight lenses, weighing in at between 500g / 1.10 lbs and 690g / 1.52 lbs including lens mount. This makes them ideal to use with smaller-sized mirrorless hybrids, and for use on gimbals as well as drones. The trade off to making them lightweight is that you can’t have a faster T-stop.
Thoughts
This is an interesting move from ZEISS and it certainly shows that there must be a big enough market for mid-tier cinema lenses that are available in mirrorless mounts.
With the popularity of cameras such as the Sony FX3, FX6, FX9, BURANO, and VENICE 2 it comes as no surprise that more companies are starting to make cinema lenses in E-mount.
It is always good to have more options available, and while the lens market is pretty saturated, nobody should be complaining about having additional options to choose from.
It is a little surprising that ZEISS is only initially making the Nano series available in Sony E-mount and not offering any other mirrorless mounts at launch. ZEISS were one of the pioneers of interchangeable lens mounts, and it makes sense to have that feature with the Nano primes. I would expect to see Nikon Z, Canon RF, Leica L and Fujifilm X mounts made available at some stage. Duclos Lenses will be offering a Duclos Nano RF mount conversion so you can use them on RF mount cameras such as the RED RAPTOR and KOMODO.
I am not overly shocked that ZEISS hasn’t made these lenses in PL mount, as they would step on the toes of the CP.3, Radiance, and Supreme primes.
At least in my personal opinion, it makes more sense to purchase manual cine lenses in PL mount than in a native mirrorless mount because it is far easier to use them on a wider array of cameras. Yes, having an interchangeable lens mount is great, but you then need to worry about shims and changing it over when needed.
Could ZEISS have made these in LPL mount? Possibly, but given their price point and who they are being targeted at, that probably wouldn’t have made sense. Hardly any cameras come natively with an LPL mount. The LPL mount has a wider diameter and shorter flange focal depth than PL mount. In the same way as mirrorless mounts with short flange distances allows lens designers to make smaller and lighter lenses, you can also do the same thing when using LPL mount to a certain degree. The LPL mount has a wider diameter (62 mm vs. 54 mm) and a shorter flange focal distance (44 mm vs. 52 mm) than PL mount. Still 44mm is a far cry from the 18mm flange focal distance of Sony’s E-mount.
ZEISS makes great lenses and if the Nano series can even offer 80% of the performance of the Supreme primes then they are bound to be popular options for some shooters.
