[RoHS, REACH] I have to be honest, the price of the lens was for a long time an obstacle for me. I already own a 50mm 1.8 Nikkor, so spending over $1200 for another 50mm was really a struggle for me. I have spent days and days reading different reviews and experiences from different photographers... but in my heart I knew I wanted a Zeiss on my D750. As soon as I spotted the discount - I ordered!

To cut the story - it works perfect!! Brings out the full potential of that sensor. Mind blown with how colors are true and vivid. Sharpness - well, it is a known fact for a Zeiss, so it is not a surprise.

My wife noticed immediately that photos look 3D-ish compared to the ones I have taken with other lenses. And that was exactly what I was looking for.


Manual focus is very precise and EASY to use. I have used it only handheld so far and had a very small number of missed focus. Even my sister ( who doesn't use DLSR in real life ) took some great photos of me... spot on focus.


I was never into a macro, but this close focusing possibility really gives me more room to be creative. 1:2 ratio is just enough for me.


The lens is superb! I enjoy every single photo that came through this lens.

[<0.07%] 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

[C] 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.

[Up to 2/3"] All zeiss lenses are built solid as a rock and can withstand the most extreme abuse and conditions, thus one of the reasons I have switched to the milvus line. I work in the Peruvian Amazon jungle and am constantly exposing my equipment to humidity and moisture, soil, dust and even once, a giant pool of water (see my zeiss milvus 18mm review) and the durability of these lenses never ceases to amaze me. They truly can stand up to just about anything you throw at them.

Image quality and character from this lens are truly superior in my opinion. The images are sharp from corner to corner and produce amazing micro contrast. The color rendition is superb and far more attractive to my eye than any other lenses out there.

The quality of this 50mm macro has me itching badly for the 100mm macro. All good things come in due time.

[<0.07%] I own the excellent Nikkor 50mm f1.4 however the IQ is not what I want for my best images. I already owned the Zeiss 135 and 100mm and both are insanely sharp even compared to my other sharpest lenses, have superior color rendering and have an strong aesthetic pop compared to top lenses of other manufacturers. I sprang for the Milivus 50mm f2 as I also do macro and close focus and currently do not have the budget for an Otus 55mm.

Like my 100 and 135, when put on a high resolution body. top Zeiss glass significantly closes the gap between full frame and medium format IQ and look. Professional quality Medium format glass has long been more "no compromise" optics than most SLR lenses. Zeiss has a long history of making top medium format lenses for Hasselblad. Zeiss lenses have that same performance and look with that famous 3-D quality. I'm still keeping my Nikon nifty 50 for situations that require autofocus. However when shooting people or still life when I need the sharpness of Zeiss, I am going to use manual anyways to hit that perfect critical focus. I do miss the knurled metal autofocus rings of classic Zeiss that were probably sacrifice for the elegant modern design of the Milivus series, however I am using this lens out in the field including on nature and city walks in inclement weather so the newer weather sealing out weighs the smooth runner focus ring. I wish they also kept a lens hood that screws into the filleted ring as well so I can use both the lens hood and circular polarizer at the same time.

That this is a manual focus end which also happens to be far more expensive than other top quality 50mm, will disqualify the Milivus 50mm Macro from being a worthwhile investment for most photographers. For those that need that extra IQ and whose work demands manual focus, the benefits of this lens will far outweigh the price and manual only disadvantages.

[8.5 x 4 x 4"] Great lens. It was the first Zeiss Milvus I bought (have since also bought the excellent 25mmf1.4 and 85mmf1.4). It's been one of my main workhorses in rough places and it still feels like new, so great build quality. The optical quality is remarkable and the macro capability is definitely a big plus.

[RoHS, REACH] I got these as an upgrade to the Rokinon lens set I had, and they are crisp and look fantastic! I also plan to use them on a Movi type rig, and the light weight is what sold me on these over the competing Sigma and other brands.
I am keeping the Rokinons for when a client prefers the super soft mushy background look, the overall softness of those lenses will work for those folks.
But when I want a crisp clean image with a reasonable fast lens, I'll be using these. I

[<0.07%] Zeiss promises an excellent lens. A good choice
for traveling and microscopic.

[Up to 2/3"] Using this extremely sharp lens exclusively for macro, focus stacking and water drop photography. 100% satisfaction. Worth the high price tag? ABSOLUTELY!!!!!

[0.65 lb] I've been using this lens for 3 years and have taken it with me through the hot and humid jungles of Peru. This lens is built like a tank and has withstood some pretty harsh falls, muddy conditions as well as rain. The lens still works perfectly. It renders images incredibly well on my Canon 6D. The color reproduction, micro contrast etc is very special. I could definitely recommend this lens to any person wanting an indestructible macro lens as long as they don't mind it not being a 1.1 macro.