I've had some questions with concerns about correctly focusing the Otus on an SLR as there is no live view in the viewfinder so I've writing to address those concerns. I can tell you if you use the focus confirmation feature in-camera, your chances of nailing focus is greatly increased. The key is to ensure you start away from the focus point and turn the focus ring in the direction of the arrow in the viewfinder. As SOON as the circle appears you MUST stop focus immediately. If you turn any further, even while the circle is still showing you have probably focused past or in front of the point of accurate focus. This means you need to place the focus point directly in the spot of desired focus and hold it there. Your eye therefor needs to focus more on the arrows than on the subject. If you can do this properly you'll be very pleased with the results.
Zeiss Otus at f/1.4 on Nikon Df
People have been asking for more pictures so here are a few samples of the Otus on the Nikon Df. The lens is amazing for Monochrom due to its smooth transition of shade to sun and its ability to control highlights. There is nothing like having a fast lens with this much correction, especially its flat field design. I've been a fast lens user and abuser for over 20 years now and owned the best of them. I even did a couple of articles on some of these for Steve Huff here and here. What the Otus has that the others don't is a high keeper rate - with the correct technique. I'd say I'm much better at focusing a rangefinder compared to an SLR, but due to the Otus's flat field I am achieving a very high hit rate. As you can imagine that leads to a much greater sense of satisfaction and excitement when opening the images in Lightroom. Understanding how to use focus confirmation on the SLR greatly helps as well as using live view with focus assist as I did on the the Leica M240.
Hope this helps, Kristian.
Gallery Samples at f/1.4 (except one shot of girl holding dress)
