Zeiss Touit 2.8/50M for Sony E-Mount

I can confirm I also have the same problem with the Zeiss Touit 50 macro on my Sony a6000 - I am not happy.

Given the length of time it has taken Zeiss to produce this lens it is unacceptable that such a simple flaw was not detected.

Believe it or not, my Nex5r was no longer functioning after using Touit 12. I have to send the body back. Having Sony made Zeiss lenses like 24-70 f4, 55f1.8, 35f2.8, I can say Sony makes much better Zeiss lens in terms of build quality and mechanical performance. I also happened to have 10-18f4 which is great in many ways.

It looks like the firmware update is now available: http://www.zeiss.co.uk/camera-lenses/en_gb/service/download_center/touit_e-mount.html

Let's hope it works - if you have the lens, do post feedback!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

First dive with the Zeiss Touit F2.8/50M and Sony NEX-5N. Unfortunately, we had very bad conditions, bad visibilaty and too many divers.
Dive site: Lake Constance, Switzerland, Goldach

Schnecke by tdphoto.ch, on Flickr

Schnecke by tdphoto.ch, on Flickr

Hecht (Esox lucius) by tdphoto.ch, on Flickr

Tino

I used my 50mm Zeiss Touit for one day in Anilao. It was fantastic but then it stopped focussing with my NEX-7 . Now on its way back to the US for an exchange.

Hi,

First dive with my new Sony A6000 in Nauticam-housing and Zeiss TOUIT 2.8/50M. All works perfect and make fun!

Groppe (Cottus gobio) by tdphoto.ch, on Flickr

Schnecke by tdphoto.ch, on Flickr

Aal (Anguilla anguilla) by tdphoto.ch, on Flickr

Dreistachliger Stichling (Gasterosteus aculeatus) by tdphoto.ch, on Flickr

Europäischer Wels (Silurus glanis)g by tdphoto.ch, on Flickr

Greetings from Switzerland,

Tino

I received my lens back this am from Zeiss.
It has been upgraded and appears to be working properly - at last and not even an apology!
I'm still awaiting the refund of my not inconsiderable costs in returning the lens to Zeiss in Germany from the UK.

My buddy came back with A6000 and Touit 50M and he told me the combo was incredibly fast under water

I received my lens back this am from Zeiss.

It has been upgraded and appears to be working properly - at last and not even an apology!

I'm still awaiting the refund of my not inconsiderable costs in returning the lens to Zeiss in Germany from the UK.

jander, how long did they take to turn it around?

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Posted here on 18 August, delivered to Zeiss 21 August, received back to me 1 September so reasonable turnround. Apparently Zeiss are unable to refund my postage costs!
They have offered a lens cleaning kit and UV lens filter in lieu - but only after a lot of complaining.

Thanks jander. Not bad turnaround, but cr@p customer service!

Jim, see under "returning the goods": http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/wales/consumer_w/consumer_common_problems_with_products_e/consumer_what_you_can_do_about_faulty_goods_e/faulty_goods_-_if_you_want_a_repair_or_a_replacement.htm

If you bought the lens in the UK, it's subject to UK law, regardless of Zeiss being in Germany.

I've returned from my first trip with the Touit Macro, on the Daedalus/ Rocky/ Zabargad/ St John's route, aboard Hurricane. Photos here: https://flic.kr/s/aHsk5kp8ro.

I'm very pleased with the pictures (would welcome feedback!), but I have to say that I'm really disappointed with how the lens works for underwater use. It has a constant focus function that operates independently of the shutter button, and I can't find a way of disabling it. The result is that as you're framing a picture, the lens will start hunting for focus, throwing the frame in and out of blur, and making the task of capturing the moment next-to-impossible. Added to that, the NEX6 doesn't have a thumb focus option, so the only solution is to use the AEL button to switch to manual focus (three button-clicks) to freeze the focus, then move the camera backwards and forwards to get the right focus point, take the pictures, and then switch back to automatic (another three button-clicks) to re-engage focus for the next scene. I was using a SubSee +5, but the focus hunting issue was the same, whether or not the diopter was flipped up.

As a result, I simply can't recommend this lens for underwater use ... and I'm getting closer and closer to switching from Sony to Olympus or upgrading to dSLR. But if I am missing something, or if anyone has a solution to the problem I describe, please let me know to save spending yet more money on shiney new gear!

Thanks for any help.

nice hammerhead encounters. Very nice images overall. what are you using for wide angle?

Very odd behaviour for the lens. are you saying you can't do back button auto focus? I don't have the 50mm nor the nex 6 so if this is redundant to you, i apologize.

for macro, I typically have my nex 7 set to manual focus and the AEL/AF/MF button set to af/ml control under the custom keys settings. So => Menu/Setup/Custom Key Settings. I notice the NEX 6 only has an AEF button where I have a toggle. That said, I would have thought it would be customizable. I would think the trick would be to move af to a back button process and take the lens and shutter out of it.

Hopefully this helps and its not something so obvious that you've already tried

Thanks for your help, buddy. Sadly back focus is not a feature at all on the NEX6, which is why I have to do the 3-click faff to switch to manual and back. I wish Sony had thought that one through better! You're right that the lens' behaviour is odd ... maybe I ought to check with the retailer whether it's actually a fault.

Thanks for the compliments on the pics. The hammerheads were an amazing dive - they were down at 45m+ so I had to stay above them given I was on EANx, but they just hung around for ages with no shyness at all, maybe around 20 of them big and small. W/A is the 10-18 which is a fab lens, even though it's rectilinear. Full list of kit is on my Flickr profile.

I found this thread

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/53070031

Still looking for answers for you

Alex

Thanks Alex. Good to know it's not just my lens, then.

Here is the explanation from Zeiss:

Out of factory, the Sony NEX cameras come with its AF enabled all the time, as long as the camera is switched on and before it switches down to power save mode. So the AF of NEX cameras is always active, independent of the lens that is mounted (AF E-mount lenses only). Because the AF motors in some other E-mount lenses (e.g. Sonnar T* E 1,8/24 ZA) are more quiet, this is a little bit less noticeable, whereas the more robust and therefore louder AF motor of Touit lenses underlines this standard behaviour of NEX cameras.
Touit lenses exactly behave identically with all other typical AF lenses with E-mount in this point.
In practical use and to save battery power, we recommend to disable the AF in the menu of the NEX-7 and to press the separate AF/MF button on the camera´s rear side to focus directly before shooting.
Unfortunately, other Sony NEX models are not equipped with a separate AF/MF button to active AF while the camera is set to MF. With those cameras, we recommend to set the “power saving start time” to a small value.

The NEX6 can't be set to back focus. However, it seems that the a6000 can: http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/53675229

The A6000 can indeed back button focus, but on the Nauticam housing at least the AEL button is directly to the left of the movie record button making it impractical to use, especially in a drysuit.

Bill

Thanks Bill.

That's interesting about the close proximity of the buttons making them difficult to use. Given the compact size of the Sony ILCEs, it's always going to be a challenge for the housing designers to keep the buttons apart - best example is the cruciform group to operate the main control wheel - they must be pretty awkward in drysuit gloves too. On the NEX6 housing, the AEL button is also next to the video control, and using the 3-click trick to switch from AF to MF and back on the NEX6, I've never hit the video by mistake: from the pictures of the a6000 housing, the position looks very similar, so I wouldn't anticipate an issue.

But then, I'm a confirmed warm-water diver ... and you're an Olympus user.

I guess I am both Olympus and Sony at the moment. My issue with the A6000 is not that it doesn't have great IQ but that it has no manual flash mode and its max sync speed is only 1/160. That being said, we just did a 2 week trip to PNG and the only thing I brought was the Sony with the Zeiss 60. Also, at least my copy of the Zeiss is not a terribly fast focuser even with good focus lighting.

Bill