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ZEISS Batis 40mm f/2 CF Lens for Sony E

BH #ZE4020CF • MFR #2239-137
 62 reviews
ZEISS Batis 40mm f/2 CF Lens for Sony E
Key Features
  • E-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
  • Aperture Range: f/2 to f/22
  • Distagon Optical Design
  • Three Aspherical Elements
Offering a unique short-normal focal length with a close-focusing design, the Batis 40mm f/2 CF from ZEISS is a Sony E-mount prime further characterized by its advanced optical layout. Based on the Distagon design, this lens uses a series of aspherical and anomalous partial dispersion elements to greatly reduce color fringing, distortion, and other aberrations to realize sharp, clear, and color-accurate imagery. A floating elements system, coupled with the Close Focusing designation, is also employed for consistent performance when working with both near and far subjects. Additionally, an enhanced ZEISS T* anti-reflective coating has been applied to reduce flare and ghosting for working in difficult lighting conditions.
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ZEISS Batis 40mm f/2 CF Overview

Offering a unique short-normal focal length with a close-focusing design, the Batis 40mm f/2 CF from ZEISS is a Sony E-mount prime further characterized by its advanced optical layout. Based on the Distagon design, this lens uses a series of aspherical and anomalous partial dispersion elements to greatly reduce color fringing, distortion, and other aberrations to realize sharp, clear, and color-accurate imagery. A floating elements system, coupled with the Close Focusing designation, is also employed for consistent performance when working with both near and far subjects. Additionally, an enhanced ZEISS T* anti-reflective coating has been applied to reduce flare and ghosting for working in difficult lighting conditions.

Batis-series lenses are distinguished by their innovative use of an OLED display on the lens barrel, which highlights the focus distance and depth of field range for quickly recognizing your focusing parameters. As an autofocus lens, linear motors are used to deliver quick, quiet, and smooth focusing performance to suit both stills and video applications. Additionally, the lens body also sports a dust- and moisture-sealed design to permit its use in trying environments.

Short normal-length prime is designed for full-frame Sony E-mount mirrorless cameras, however can also be used with APS-C models where it will provide a 60mm equivalent focal length
Bright f/2 maximum aperture suits working in low-light conditions and also offers increased control over depth of field for working with selective focus techniques.
Suitable for close-up shooting, this CF (Close Focusing) lens has a minimum focusing distance of 9.4", minimum working distance of 5.5", and a maximum magnification of 1:3.3.
Distagon optical concept affords high sharpness, well-corrected image quality from edge-to-edge, and very low field curvature.
Two aspherical elements, three elements made from anomalous partial dispersion glass, and one aspherical element also made from low dispersion glass are featured, and all contribute to significantly reducing chromatic and spherical aberrations, color fringing, and distortion for improved clarity, sharpness, and resolution.
ZEISS T* anti-reflective coating has been applied to each lens surface to help minimize reflections and provide greater contrast and color fidelity.
Floating elements system helps to maintain consistent image quality throughout the entire focusing range.
Integrated OLED display on the top of the lens shows the working focus distance as well as the depth of field range for quickly recognizing the parameters of focus in use, even when working in low-light conditions.
Linear motors benefit the autofocus performance of the lens and provide smooth, fast, and quiet operation. For manual focusing, a rubberized ring offers greater tactile control for precise placement of focus.
Dust and weather-sealed construction benefits using the lens in inclement shooting conditions.

ZEISS Batis 40mm f/2 CF Specs

Focal Length
40mm
Maximum Aperture
f/2
Minimum Aperture
f/22
Lens Mount
Sony E
Lens Format Coverage
Full-Frame
Angle of View
56°
Minimum Focus Distance
9.45" / 24 cm
Maximum Magnification
0.3x
Optical Design
9 Elements in 8 Groups
Focus Type
Autofocus
Image Stabilization
No
Filter Size
67 mm (Front)
Dimensions (ø x L)
3.58 x 3.66" / 91 x 93 mm
Weight
12.73 oz / 361 g
Packaging Info
Package Weight
1.915 lb
Box Dimensions (LxWxH)
9.95 x 5.35 x 4.8"

ZEISS Batis 40mm f/2 CF Reviews

Excellent lens.

By Arnold
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-05-20

Another Zeiss master piece. This lens has the typical Zeiss feel, solid and no tolerances or play, and despite it's size, the lens is surprisingly light. This lens is sharp across the frame and personally, I cannot see much of a difference at smaller apertures. Almost needless to say this lens also has the typical Zeiss image rendering character, but for clarification: The uploaded image I made with this lens, is HDR post processed. However, I assure you the out of camera jpg images are evident to the quality of this lens as well. I highly recommend this beauty.

Nice Color, and quite sharp

By ZUYAN
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2021-11-18

Size of the lens is great, standard 67mm filter lens works well with my lens collection. The AF is much reliable after firmware update. Love the color on this lens.

mixed bag

By Hao
Rated 4 out of 5
Date: 2021-01-05

I have been looking for a prime lens in the range of 40 to 50mm for baby photography. There are several features of this lens that really attract me. I like the focus length since 35mm is a bit wide for me and 50mm is a bit tight to include parents in the photo shooting indoor. 40mm seems to be more versatile for me. The close focus feature is also a good plus so I can take some fun close shots. The lens is also well build. I hope there is more buttons for convenience, but on the other side, with no buttons and minimum ring, it seals very well and feels easier to clean up in case food or drink splashed onto it. This is my first true Zeiss lens and I was really excited when I opened the box and saw the sentence This is the moment we work for on the box. However, after some indoor and outdoor test, the results are really mixed.  Pros: The sharpness from f2.8 is really good, corner to corner. No decenter problem for me. The close focus results are good and as expected. There is no cat-eye of the bokeh ball. Cons: It is very soft at f2. The image look hazy and lack of contrast wide open. I have to use some large radius sharpening in Lightroom to increase the sharpness/contrast of the image. The sharpness improves a lot at f2.2, usable at f2.4 or f2.5.  The eye focus is not very reliable (6/10 got sharp focus at f2, indoor, ISO ~1000, and 8/10 when outdoor f2). When stopping down to f2.8, the eye-af works better, roughly 9/10 outdoor and 8/10 indoor for me. Following some advices from fm camera, I tried AF-S and AF-A and it also helps the focus to be more accurate. Last complain is there are bright circles around the bokeh balls, which can be nice if the bokeh ball are generated by sparse point light source, but can leads to very busy background for some scene (e.g., foliage). I think the sharpness problem may be a copy variation since I saw many sharp wide open examples on the net, so I decided to ask a new copy to try. Right before I sent back for replacement, I notice there is a used copy selling on another site, and I decided to order that used copy to have a try since it can be cheaper and I feel more comfortable to open box and test used item than testing new item again and again. I first tested that used lens and it is sharp wide open. Then I realized that used lens was in firmware version 1 so I upgrade it to the latest version 2. Then shooting exactly the same scene, the softness problem now shows up at wide open, just like my new copy from BH. Seems like the softness problem wide open may relate to the firmware. Is this the reason why some review sites show sharp images wide open while some other sites show soft results at f2? The eye-af and bokeh problems are similar. I have been debating whether to keep it or not after my tests. I have to say the lens is a good one starting from f2.8 or even f2.5, and there is probably not better option on the market now for my purpose. However, if I can only use this lens from f2.5 or f2.8, does it justify the price? Should I just got a f2.8 zoom?  I searched for alternative again and decided to give Samyang 45mm f1.8 a try. In term of sharpness, my Samyang copy actually performs better wide open, on par at f2.5 and is slightly worse from f2.8. The AF of Samyang is better wide open. There is noticeable cat-eye of the bokeh ball on Samyang, but it doesn't have the highlight bokeh boundary and renders less busy background. The CA and flare resistance are slight worse than Batis, but not much. My Samyang 45mm f1.8 copy is a totally usable lens wide open, which gives about 1 stop benefit compared to the usage range of Batis. This is important to me since the high iso performance on my a7r4 is not that great... So in the end, I decide to save some money for the future potential 35GM by keeping the Samyang and just return the Batis.

Another Great Batis

By Gary
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2020-11-27

This is my 4th Batis and I think it may be the one that will stay on my camera most of the time. So sharp .. colors spectacular .. lightweight for a lens of this quality. B&H sent me one with the firmware up to date. I’m a happy camper!

Great lens with a few issues

By joel
Rated 4 out of 5
Date: 2020-11-20

This lens is overall very good optically. It's soft wide open at f/2, but quickly sharpens up by f/2.8. There are 2 issues which can be seen as problems, however: (1) The outer element of the lens is hardly recessed at all, which means the lens is more subject to flare than some other designs in which the glass is shielded by the lens casing. Presumably, this was done to keep the size of the lens as small as possible, but it requires a lens shade to be used when shooting in direct sun if flare is to be avoided. (2) The knurled ring used for manual focusing is hard to locate and grab when looking through the camera. It would have been better to put more texture on it, so it was easier to locate and turn. Presumably, this was not seen as an important issue because most users would use the autofocus feature of the camera.

Ehhh

By Sean
Rated 3 out of 5
Date: 2020-10-10

I've returned 3 of them, maybe a 4th soon. I trying really hard to like this lens. Ive never owned a Zeiss before and Ive wanted one for so long. This lens is so versatile and so light. I love the focal length and the close focus ability. The focus distance LCD is gimmicky and inaccurate but I was willing to overlook it if it ended up being a good lens. It's just ok from my experience. The first one I returned was one of the originals without the update. I never even got around to testing image quality once I stumbled across it stopping itself down. 2nd had the update but it was decentered, top left corner was bad. 3rd was worse than the 2nd. Autofocus wouldnt lock on and once I manually focused the lens, it turned out to be more decentered than the 2nd. Im on my 4th copy which has been better than the 3rd but the bottom of the frame isnt good until f4, totally useable though. I thought I could work with the 4th but thats when I started testing the eye af. It got close 2 out of 15 times between f2 and f2.5. I then got online to find out that apparently eye af just doesnt work until 2.8. I planned on using eye af because Im having a baby soon. The lens looks to almost fully resolve a 42mp sensor. Its got corner to corner sharpness but IMO its a $900ish lens that Zeiss is charging $1300 for. I got mine on sale for $1100 and I dont feel great about it. The focal length is great for a lot, the CF ability is awesome but Im thinking about just giving up on it since Im still in my 4th return window(Haha). If you dont need AF dont bother and just go with the 40mm Voigtlander, Ive rented one and its a good lens.

Great Glass for Sony Shooters

By Austin
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-01-05

I was initially hesitant to purchase the 40mm Zeiss Batis line of glass for my Sony A1, but I'm glad I did. The focal length is a great middle ground for taking portraiture that has some breadth to it. I like the feeling of it in my hands, too. It's not bulky but has a great weight to it. I've yet to test the lens on video, but the photos I've shot are great.

Fantastic lens

By Alexander
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2021-11-30

This lens is great. It is fast, light, and the close focus ability is really impressive. I have a Sony A9 and was very very impressed with this lens on a recent trip to Hawaii. Nice Bokeh, beautiful color and contrast. Excellent purchase for the $$!

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At what distance does the Batis 40 stop down 1 ...

At what distance does the Batis 40 stop down 1 stop?
Asked by: Shaun
This type of question is better asked of the manufacture, in this case, Zeiss when it is not available in the overview or specs provided by the manufacture. Since Criag pointed out that his lens stopped down one stop when close focusing, and since I preordered this lens, I asked Zeiss the question. The answer: yes it stops down when close focusing so that it will keep high resolution and contrast (when close focusing). The Zeiss representative wrote: "We are currently developing a software update that will allow us to work within a larger focus range with a wide-open aperture. The update will be available to download for free from the ZEISS website in early 2019. We will notify all registered customers via email". I'm OK with this, I appreciate Zeiss being forthright concerning this matter. Again, address this type of question to the manufacture and please don't flame the product based on internet chatter(DPreview, FB, etc)! I eagerly await my back-ordered copy of this lens, and intend to post a review, based on my actual use of this product, not what someone else writes. The high ISO performance of my A7III is so good, I'm not going to quibble over one stop while close focusing when the overall IQ of the lens is as good as I expect it to be, based on legitimate test reviews and my satisfaction with the excellent Batis 25mm f2 and Batis 135mm f2.8 -- purchased here at B&H, BTW.
Answered by: Kelly
Date published: 2020-07-12

Autofocus noise it's normal for this lens ? My 25 ...

Autofocus noise it's normal for this lens ? My 25 and 85 Batis no sound when autofocus
Asked by: Alex
The Batis lenses use a silent AF motor and there should be noise coming from the lens. If this is the case with your lens, please initiate a service case by going to: https://zeiss.secure.force.com/CZPRepair/?page=1&region=Americas&area=consumer&lang=EN
Answered by: ZEISS Camera Lenses
Date published: 2020-11-17

This or the Sigma 40mm 1.4 ?

This or the Sigma 40mm 1.4 ?
Asked by: Mohammed
I had both. The Sigma is large, but the sharpest lens I have ever used. The Batis feels great to shoot with and colors are better in my option.
Answered by: scott
Date published: 2021-03-25

Zeiss color, microcontrast are there?:). There ...

Zeiss color, microcontrast are there?:). There are a smallest lens hood for this lens?
Asked by: Alex
Yes, the same as my Batis 1.8/85... color matched it seems. The 40mm is a nice middle focal length... I always feel a 50mm is too tight. This 40mm has a close focus, and I always find that very useful in any lens. I love mine.
Answered by: Anonymous
Date published: 2020-11-17

Is the lens hood included and will the lens hood ...

Is the lens hood included and will the lens hood reverse mount on the lens for storage?
Asked by: James M
The lens shades are included with all ZEISS Batis lenses and they are reversible for storage.
Answered by: ZEISS Camera Lenses
Date published: 2021-12-17

Hi ! AF noise it's normal for this lens ? My 25 ...

Hi ! AF noise it's normal for this lens ? My 25 Batis and 85 Batis no sound when autofocus
Asked by: Anonymous
The AF on this lens is quiet.
Answered by: Rob
Date published: 2021-01-18

Can the distance scale be changed from Meters to ...

Can the distance scale be changed from Meters to Feet?
Asked by: Christian
Yes, one can change the distance scale from meters to feet on the ZEISS Batis 40mm f/2 CF Lens for Sony E. The camera needs to be in manual focus mode. You would then turn the focusing ring 360 degrees past the minimum focusing distance.
Answered by: Yaakov
Date published: 2023-02-02

Zeiss admitted an issue with the close focus ...

Zeiss admitted an issue with the close focus aperture problem as well as with eye-AF, but as of February 2019 I haven’t heard their follow up response yet. Any word?
Asked by: Ty
The firmware update is due April 2019. There are some explanations online about the expected improvements, so it's worth searching them out.
Answered by: James
Date published: 2020-07-12
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