The macro lens ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M for compact system cameras also shows its strengths in portraiture

More and more photographers are taking advantage of the growing possibilities afforded by compact system cameras with APS-C sensors. Now, the new ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M expands the Touit family to include longer focal lengths as well as close-up coverage.

The Touit 2.8/50M offers a magnification power of 1:1. As a result, the photographed object appears on the camera sensor in its original size. Details that cannot be seen with the naked eye become impressively visible at short shooting distances.

Thanks to its moderate telephoto focal length, the Touit 2.8/50M is also perfect as a portrait lens. When allowing for a crop factor of 1.5, the angular field corresponds to a full-frame-equivalent focal length of 75 mm. Here, too, the lens’s enormous versatility pays off. The lens covers distances from infinity to a magnification power of 1:1. The Touit 2.8/50M is a versatile lens that harmonizes very well with the flexible application of compact APS-C system cameras. Its imaging power makes it an ideal choice for close-ups and portraits.

The Touit 2.8/50M also employs the time-proven floating elements design from ZEISS. This enables the lens to achieve a consistently high imaging performance, including up to the minimum object distance (MOD). The exceptional image quality remains consistent, independent of the focus setting. Two aspheres – lens elements number three and four – deliver an important contribution to the high image quality. Two additional lens elements with low dispersion – lens elements number two and nine – help ensure that the lateral and longitudinal chromatic aberrations are kept to a minimum.

A round iris with a total of nine blades gives areas of the motif outside the focus a soft and very natural-looking character. Focused objects before a blurry background are clearly accentuated, creating a harmonious and balanced bokeh. Excellent sharpness along all f-stops rounds off the performance spectrum of the Touit 2.8/50M.

Note: Zeiss has released a new firmware update for the Touit lenses with e-mount version.

The changes are for Touit 2.8/50M E-mount:
It corrects the following behavior that may have occurred with the previous lens firmware version with particular camera menu setting and in particular situations:

• clearly noticeable shutter release delays when pressing the release button with activated flash
• ‘hunting’ for the focus point with the camera in AF-C mode

All Touit 2.8/50 macro lenses for E-mount cameras ever delivered already support phase detection autofocus and the fast hybrid autofocus of newer Sony E-mount cameras with their proprietary firmware.

As of  Feb. 2015 all Touit e-mount lenses are already supplied with the new firmware.

Technical specifications

Focal length: 50 mm
Effective focal length if used on APS-C camera: 75 mm
Aperture range: f/2.8 – f/22
Lens elements / Groups: 14/11
Focusing range: 0.15 m – 8
Free working distance: 0.05 m – 8
Angular field** (diag. / horiz. / vert.): 31° / 26° / 18°
Diameter of image field:  28.2 mm 
Flange focal distance: E-mount: 18,0 mm, X-mount: 17,7 mm
Coverage at close range (MOD)**: 23.5 x 15.6 mm
Image ratio at MOD:  1:1
Filter thread: M52 x 0.75
Rotation angle of focusing ring (inf – MOD): 720°
Diameter max. (with lens shade) E, X: 75 mm
Diameter of focusing ring E, X: 65 mm
Length (without lens caps) E, X: 91 mm
Length (with lens caps) E: 104 mm
X: 108 mm
Weight (without lens caps) E, X: 290 g
Camera mounts: E-mount, X-mount