[Full Frame] I had these three + 100mm
remarkable results from all four

[2x] Perfect zoom range starting at 70mm. Will be perfect for 4k applications as well. Excellent image quality and color balance. But you expect that from a Zeiss lens

[Full Frame] These lenses were a dream of ours to own, quite expensive but after having them for a few weeks......wow. We really want to go back and re shoot everything cool we have ever done! The look they have is absolutely awesome......so happy with them. Super easy to work with...and the quality is second to none.

[ARRI PL] Literally cannot speak more highly of these lenses. They are heavy, but beautiful glass and the quintessential Zeiss pop renders a beautiful image of the subject. Apparently, these are the same optical design and coating as the Zeiss CP.3 cinema lenses, just in a non-cine style body. This comes with hiccups in regards to set workflow such as needing to relocate your focus motors and matte box for every lens swap, but for literally half the price of a four-lens CP.3 kit, you're getting the same performance. The adjustable Zeiss cine rings are an awesome inclusion and pair up well with a Nucleus-M motor, so no need to worry about high-torque motors. That said, I had a Nucleus Nano that just didn't handle the longer focal lengths well - perhaps the torque wasn't enough for these larger lenses - so I upgraded to a more professional option with the Nucleus-M and have had no issues with good results.

[T2.9] I absolutely love the CP.3 lenses. The 85mm is an absolute Beauty. Having a compact, lightweight, well designed, and optically beautiful lens is a huge selling factor for me. I don't buy lenses that aren't build well and these are tanks. Zeiss did an incredible jobs redesigning these. I highly recommend. I use them on the Red Komodo and will soon try them out on the Red Raptor, although I know they will work great with it. Definitely a must buy or rent depending on your job or project. Worth every penny

[2x] Extremely lightweight and completely another type of beast if comparing with either Nikon or Canon plastic lenses. Interchangeable mount makes it a really cool lens for many situations. In PL version, you can also add a 2x Extender and get a 140-400mm with still a extremely good quality and very useful for wildlife as well as other appplications. Mount is very solid and weight helps to move quickly as well. Wether you want to shoot a film, a comercial, a concert or music video, having this lens will open you to a whole new world of possibilities due to its characteristics. The quality of this lens surpassed my expectations honestly but since it is not a rehoused still lens, but a whole new cinema lens design it makes sense. Many grumpy cinematographers would still say this is neither a DSLR lens nor a High End cinema lens, but I can tell you this lens is up to compete with bigger and more expensive lenses anytime for a much lower price, which still is not low but worth each penny.

[T2.9] This is not a lens for people who are not practicing professionally. This is for your in the field professional who does photography and cinematography. I am personally using it with the Mavo LF and it is a match made in heaven. I was using the Sigma art and Canon L before upgrading to this lens. You can see the difference with it wide open at 1.4. If it is important to have the perfect image; this is the lens for you. Worth every penny as long as you know you will make your money back after the purchase.

[9.55 lb] This lens is my bread and butter. For all of my client work I need something with a consistent look across the entire aperture range. Up until purchasing this lens my primary client glass was a sigma 24-70 2.8, which although beautiful, got soft when zoomed in to 50mm and under performed in other areas.


Aside from the performance of this lens, there are two things I adore: It's construction and color consistency. Despite being incredibly light, this lens is built like a tank. I travel frequently and it holds up very well. Because Zeiss improved the color rendition in the CP.3 line, I often rent the 85 or 100mm for my b-cam and have a easy time matching up cameras.



Much of my client work requires cropping in substantially (thanks Instagram) and I can comfortably shoot this at it's minimum aperture of T2.1 for a tack sharp image that can be scaled up in post.


I think this lens' greatest competition is the Canon CN-E line, which shoots warm and renders terrible onion skinning on the bokeh. For me this is unforgivable, and I'm happy to see a neutral, clean image coming from the CP.3 line. Assuming this is the look you need, I'm not sure you can get a better lens in this price bracket.

[ARRI PL] This lens is the equivalent of having a set of CP.2 primes in the form factor of a zoom. There's zero focus breathing, beautiful bokeh, beautiful micro contrast. We just used this lens on an Fs7ii for a feature narrative film, and people have been commenting on how great it looks. I thought I would explain why: it's this lens. The focus is smooth, and we kept it mostly at an T4.5 except for a few scenes. You'll definitely want a focus puller if you're wide at 2.9. It's advertised at being a T2.9-3.9, but none of us could tell the difference really. It looked great at all ends of the zoom range. There was no discernible difference in sharpness wide or telephoto (like most zoom lenses out there). Just know that it's very large, and will weigh down your camera. In theory it would work for doc work, but would be a lot to carry, and would probably be intimidating toward subjects. For narrative work on a budget, I can't recommend it enough. it's better contrast, sharpness and focus breathing than the Fujinon MK series, and leaps and bounds better than any photo zoom lens. I can't recommend this enough.

[T22] When you think L glass primes are sharp, try these on for size. Clarity is immediately noticed when shooting on a RED Raven at 1:1 on a 7-inch display. Even at 8:1, the sharpness is uncanny.