Admiring Light
Menu
  • Home
  • Review Index
  • Shop Talk
  • Technique and Vision
  • Opinion
  • Portfolio
  • Site Index
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
Menu

Review: Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar T* (Fuji X-Mount)

Posted on February 2, 2014February 3, 2014 by Jordan Steele

Contents

  • 1Build Quality and Handling
  • 2Focus Performance
  • 3Image Quality
  • 4Conclusion
  • 5Sample Images
Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar T*
Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar T*

Conclusion

Pros

  • Very solidly built metal lens barrel with tight construction and smooth operation
  • Very sharp wide open across the majority of the image frame
  • Rich color and contrast produces that nice Zeiss look
  • Excellent resistance to flare
  • Good control of image distortion and vignetting (though it appears to have some software correction)

Cons

  • Image edges and corners show minimal improvement stopped down, remaining slightly soft even at small apertures
  • Bokeh is unremarkable, showing nervousness and asymmetrical highlights at wide apertures
  • Autofocus is somewhat slow
  • Pronounced lateral chromatic aberration (though this can be corrected in post-processing)
  • Price

When Zeiss announced the Touit 32mm f/1.8, my first thought was, “this had better be one heck of an optic for that price.”  And indeed, to justify the $1,000 price tag on the Fuji X mount, it did need to be exceptional.  Unfortunately, the Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 is merely ‘very good.’  As a result, the high price tag is rather hard to justify, especially when Fuji’s own 35mm f/1.4 is 2/3 stop faster and has several advantages over this Zeiss lens.

However, if you’re looking for very high image sharpness at wide apertures and the classic high contrast rich color Zeiss look, the price tag may not be a deterrent.  Indeed, Zeiss have created a lens that is very sharp right from f/1.8 and produces images with saturated color and high contrast.  On the down side, the Touit 32mm surprisingly doesn’t ever reach outstanding territory on the image edges with regards to sharpness, and suffers from somewhat nervous bokeh at f/1.8.

While chromatic aberrations are present at all apertures, the Touit 32mm does have remarkable resistance to flare and good control of other lens aberrations, resulting in images that for the most part are quite impressive right out of camera.  The Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar T* is a very good lens, but it falls short of exceptional.   That makes it incredibly hard to recommend in lieu of the Fuji XF 35mm f/1.4.

Sample Images

(Click to Enlarge).

Trail of the Snow Roller - Fujifilm X-M1 with Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar T* @ f/1.8
Trail of the Snow Roller – Fujifilm X-M1 with Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar T* @ f/1.8
Painting - Fujifilm X-E2 with Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar T* @ f/1.8
Painting – Fujifilm X-E2 with Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar T* @ f/1.8
Hand it to Music - Fujifilm X-E2 with Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar T* @ f/1.8
Hand it to Music – Fujifilm X-E2 with Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar T* @ f/1.8
Church Courtyard - Fujifilm X-E2 with Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar T* @ f/1.8
Church Courtyard – Fujifilm X-E2 with Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar T* @ f/1.8
Sunset - Fujifilm X-M1 with Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar T* @ f/2.2
Sunset – Fujifilm X-M1 with Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar T* @ f/2.2
Sundial - Fujifilm X-E2 with Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar T* @ f/1.8
Sundial – Fujifilm X-E2 with Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar T* @ f/1.8
Iced Scioto - Fujifilm X-E2 with Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar T* @ f/11
Iced Scioto – Fujifilm X-E2 with Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar T* @ f/11
Pages: 1 2 3

10 thoughts on “Review: Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar T* (Fuji X-Mount)”

  1. david blanchard says:
    February 2, 2014 at 6:55 pm

    Thanks for the review! I got mine on order, the Zeiss look is exactly what I’m looking for. Bokeh could be better hopefully but I’m really looking to use this wide open so corners not a biggy for me. I loved the churyard photo very nice color. I’m really concerned on getting phase detect firmware that’s about it.

    Reply
  2. david blanchard says:
    February 2, 2014 at 6:57 pm

    I got the Zeiss for 720 new by the way.

    Reply
  3. Pingback: Review: Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar T* (Fuji X-Mount) | Jordan Steele › By TOMEN
  4. Pingback: Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar vs. Fujifilm Fujinon XF 35mm f/1.4 R - Admiring Light
  5. Fabrizio Arena says:
    December 12, 2014 at 4:23 pm

    The aperture ring is smooth or clicky?

    Reply
    1. Fabian Föster says:
      January 15, 2015 at 8:40 pm

      mine is clicky

      Reply
  6. hr says:
    February 12, 2015 at 3:14 pm

    … I own both – the x Mount and the e mont. And beleave me, they are NOT the same. The x is as good as you say, but the e Plays on another lanet!!! This is rellay colour and sharpness …

    Reply
  7. Manuel Bachmann says:
    March 17, 2018 at 3:15 am

    Good Review

    Ther is now a FW Update for the Fuji System, wich is improving AF Speed and adds ‘Phase Detection AF.

    You can find it here:
    https://www.zeiss.com/camera-lenses/us/service/download-center/firmware/firmware-upgrade-touit-x-mount.html

    Reply
  8. Pingback: ???? Touit 1.8/32??????????????????? | ?????????????
  9. Pingback: Carl Zeiss Touit 1.8/32 ?????????????????? | ?????????????

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Follow Me:

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on RSSFollow Us on InstagramFollow Us on Mastodon

Most Popular Posts

  • "Full Frame Equivalence" and Why It Doesn't Matter (288)
  • Fuji X-Pro 2 vs. Sony A7 II: Noise Comparison (70)
  • Fuji 56mm f/1.2 vs. Panasonic Leica 42.5mm f/1.2 Nocticron (63)
  • Review: Metabones Speed Booster (Canon FD to Fuji X) (56)
  • Review: Olympus OM-D E-M5 (48)

Recent Comments

  • Eric Wojtkun on My Favorite Photos of 2022
  • Jordan Steele on “Full Frame Equivalence” and Why It Doesn’t Matter
  • Leon on “Full Frame Equivalence” and Why It Doesn’t Matter
  • Clarke jones on Review: TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 ASPH (RF Mount)
  • Anonymous on Sony A7 III vs. A7 II – Noise Comparison

Archives

©2023 Admiring Light | Theme by SuperbThemes
We use cookies to personalize content and ads and to analyze our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you’ve provided to them or that they’ve collected from your use of their services. You may consent to the use of cookies or opt out. Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

SAVE & ACCEPT