What is the Zeiss Milvus Distagon 35mm f2.0 lens? And why would anyone want one?

October 06, 2024

What is the Zeiss Milvus Distagon 35mm f2.0 lens? And why would anyone want one?

Back in the adolescent days of digital cameras lens company, Zeiss, wanted a piece of the rapidly growing DSLR lens aftermarket. Following on the success(?) of their Otus lenses they conceived of a larger line of lenses with near perfect optical properties. They named this family of lenses: Milvus. I have no idea why they settled on that name but it's the name of a midsize bird of prey; the European Kite. The same family as falcons. I can only guess that they were making some kind of allusion to the great eyesight found in birds of prey. Perhaps also their high speed flying. It's just a name.

I acquired a 50mm f1.4 Zeiss Milvus lens earlier this year and love the look of the files it makes. What I don't love so much is the weight. But it's one of those perennial trade-offs. Since I spent most of my life as a commercial photographer I come down on the side of performance and, if it's good enough, I am willing to put up with weight and bulk --- to a certain extent. The 50mm Milvus is as close to the edge as I really want to go. But in fairness it's no bigger or more ungainly than the original Sigma 50mm Art lens and I was willing to carry that around for a year or two...

Thankfully the 35mm f2.0 Distagon Milvus is a smidgen smaller and lighter and that's a good thing because any user of the lens on an L mount camera (Leica and Panasonic) will definitely be using it with an adapter to convert it from a Nikon F mount to an L mount termination. And that's going to add to the bulk. See image just below.

These lenses were made initially for Canon, Nikon and Pentax but Pentax sales were in the negative territory and that mount was quickly discontinued. That left the Nikon F mount and the Canon EF mounts versions as viable products. Zeiss's Nikon ZF mount has electronic contacts that will tell Nikon DSLR cameras what f-stop you are using and how manually focusing is coming along. Mounted on a "dumb" adapter and placed on an L mount camera the lens will tell the camera absolutely nothing. Pure silent treatment.

While most photographers want a 35mm lens that's compact, light, auto-focusing and easy to handle the Zeiss 35 Distagon under discussion here offers none of these things. Absolutely nothing. In fact, when dealt with only on the spec sheet info the lens is almost begging a modern user NOT to buy it. And, for a large part, my objective brain tells me to steer clear and make more use of my very, very good Sigma 35mm f2.0 i-Series lens. That lens checks every box and checks them well. Yes, it's an AF model. Indelible ink.

But here's the deal. Once you've tasted the look that these CZ lenses deliver --- once you've struggled to carry them around and have taken (too much ) time to accurately manually focus them ---- you might find yourself smitten with the optical properties. The "on sensor" performance. Or you may just consider this all to be drivel because you have never used one and you HAVE laboriously read the specification sheets for both lenses. And you may be right. I may be suffering from the lens placebo effect. Where you see what you emotionally want to see. Where your subjective analysis diverges from objective measures of lens performance in favor of ..... propaganda. Whatever. I keep drinking the Kool-Aide and seeing what I think I like. Which, basically, is high contrast+high resolution rendering and very few weird artifacts which are normally fixed in post these days but are actually more highly corrected in these lenses at the time of manufacture.

So. Stay with me. If you have a lens that delivers what you think is great optical performance and you are willing to drag it around on your favorite camera, and the camera maker's whose product you use has a similar lens (the Leica APO Summicron 35mm f2.8 L) that is something like $5500, should you consider this particular lens?

If you measure them by weight then the Zeiss is a bargain, giving you 649 grams (1.43 lbs.) for a new price of $1200. Used in great shape? Around $775.

I like manual focus lenses. I mentioned that I have the well reviewed Sigma AF lens and it's everything everyone else seems to want. But me? I want a lens I can guess focus or zone focus. I want a lens with a focus ring that stops turning when you hit the infinity setting. Or the close focus setting. I want a lens where I determine exactly what point I'm going to focus on. And those wants lead me back to the Zeiss. Of course you have other options. You can get the same features with a Voigtlander 35mm f2.0 APO for the M mount. Easy to adapt to an L mount camera. Same with a Zeiss 35mm f2.0 ZM lens. Also for the M mount. Also easily adaptable to the L mount. Both are great lenses. Both check all the manual focus lens Kirk Preferences.

But the proof is in the use. I stuck the new arrival on a Fotodiox Pro Nikon F to L mount adapter and drove down through the confused and erratic ACL Music Festival traffic to our glorious downtown. I walked around and pretended my camera could only shoot black and white photographs. I was able to suspend my disbelief through outrageous powers of mental concentration and focus. I shot the lens on a Leica SL2-s camera.

Yes. The package was heavy. But it was satisfying in a way I've mentioned many times before. What detracts from a winning score for many people is what I refer to as Operational Friction. Many perceive this to be a detraction but I consider it an advantage because the friction in the process helps to maintain focus on the content and outcome in a more connected way. A camera and lens that's too easy to use becomes boring. Photography done with nanny tools is boring and soon becomes un-fun. People buy cameras and lenses that do everything for them and then can't understand why they've lost their motivation to engage with their craft. In a lesser sense it's analogous to letting Generative A.I.write your book for you after you've dictated a couple pages of vague prompts. The absence of operational friction is also the absence of soul in your camera operation. You can disagree but I'm betting you believe it deep down.

I like the results from today's "candidate". I like the way it worked out in the streets. Do I wish it was smaller and lighter? Yes, but I also wish my car would go zero to sixty mph in 2 seconds while still getting 100 mpg. And I'd like it if gas was free. But do I like it all in the real world? Yeah. Of the four 35mm lenses I have on hand the Sigma is the first one I would grab for client work. For a job. The 35mm ZM (rangefinder lens) is the one I'd grab for most street shooting. The Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 Nokton is the one I'd slip in my pocket if I was going out shooting in the dark or low light. But the Milvus lens is the one for everything else. Making beautiful and considered landscapes or urban-scapes. Heading the the Marché Jean Talon to photograph displays of produce and artisanal foods. And if I was to ever consider making considered portraits with this focal length this is the lens I'd reach for.

As with nearly everything else, there is no perfect 35mm lens. There's always a compromise. But nothing says you can't hold a full house, APOs high. That's my take on the 35mm Milvus lens at first blush. See below for images taken with the lens earlier today.