Mbanker

I have a Canon T7i and both Canon and Tamron glass. I am an amateur. Does it make any sense to upgrade to Ziess glass? Will I see any noticable difference?

Najataagihe

No.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

Spelled "Zeiss", not "Ziess".

photogeneralist Loc: Lopez Island Washington State

That depends, Canon, Tamron and even Zeiss. all make some very excellent lenses and some real stinkers in their lineups . A low quality Zeiss stinker will not be near as good. compared to an excellent example of a competitor's lens (and visa versa). Not all Canon lenses nor all Zeiss (or Tamron) lenses are created equal

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Which Zeiss lens do you have in mind?

Mbanker

Yes thanks - trying to talk to wife and typing does not work.

Mbanker

I currently have - Canon 28-135 Ultrasonic 3.5-5.6, Canon EF 50mm 1.8, Tamron 150 - 600mm. So far I believe my inconsistent photos are my lack of ability vs. my equipment. Just wondering about Zeiss.

Mbanker

Maybe a 100mm prime. Really don’t know yet. House bound due to virus and just thinking. I will mostly do birds and landscape stuff. Still learning.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Honestly, the best course is to learn with what you have.

Mbanker

Thanks, my wife will love you. And as I think about it you are right. Good advice.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

I do not believe Zeiss makes auto focus lenses for Canon. They do make auto focus lenses for Sony.
Manual focusing can get old in a hurry. I would not purchase Zeiss for Canon for that reason alone.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

See BillNikon's comment, above, he beat me to the same thought regarding manual-focus only. I like 50mm lenses, where I own three at the moment for different cameras, as well as having rented the ZEISS Planar T* 50mm f/1.4 ZE a few years ago. The Zeiss is all metal lens, built and weighing like a tank. It is a manual focus lens, but includes electronics that provide a 'focus confirmation' when in perfect focus, a beep on the camera is you have that active and the AF point lights up in the view finder.

That lens was / is visually sharper than any of my other Canon lenses with a 'look' in the colors that also is visually different from my Canon lenses.

The Zeiss lenses will deliver a unique shooting experience and results for a differentiated artistic / professional look. To achieve the differentiated look, you may find the cost is justified. Using an always manual focus lens is a challenge. LensRentals.com has these lenses where a weekend / week-long rental that is a great way to handle one of these lenses and develop your own opinion of the experience.

Looking at some of your recent images and the lenses you listed, you might consider an effort to work on achieving a sharper focus with the AF capabilities of your EOS body before moving onto manual focus lenses. Investigate and practice using a single AF point specifically on your subject using the AI Servo continuous focus setting. In AI Servo, when the shutter is half-pressed to engage the autofocus, the camera / lens will make small ongoing adjustments to the focus, whether tracking static or moving subjects.

Your 50mm is your sharpest lens, start with this lens on working to achieve extremely sharply focused images. This is a change / area for improvement in your shooting technique that involves no new equipment.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

At one time, the Zeiss Planar 50mm f/1.4 and the Takumar 50mm f/1.4 ruled the M42-Mount roost - but that was a generation ago. I do have one of the Takumars but I must admit that I seldom use it. In 1995 I moved from Pentax to Canon because I liked the EF-Mount so much. In recent years I have gone back to Pentax because I like their bodies, but I am seldom willing to go back to manual focus. The Takumar does have olde-Tyme rendering, but it is manual focus.

Bill 45

The person is asking a question, not having you check his or her spelling.

dornie

It depends on several variables including where the photo will be used. I had a similar pair of Olympus Lenses and I returned the Pro and kept the Regular because I could not see any differece and saved $1,200. I felt good because I read than another user did the same. Also, remember, as you grow older your vision may change and so the way photos look and I speak from experience, so it may not always be the equipment. So if your happy with the regular photo, not going to make any special elaborate print and just view, save yourself some money and stay with the regular lens. Several years ago I had the usual cataract operations and new eye lenses, going from glasses to reading the finest print on an Rx bottle without them. Of course, as I continued to get older, even the new eye lenses started to slowly change increasing the blur. So, again, its not always the camera equipment, but the peron viewing it....