[Makes walking around the forest trip three times more fun! 】Why the ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M is highly efficient for both macro and portrait photography, making it a great way to explore

The author uses a life's work to photograph camera lens charts and analyzes performance, photographing natural landscapes and wildlife in Hokkaido. After testing the "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M", I was convinced that it would make walking around the forest with my son three times more fun. I will explain to you all the reasons.

What is Zeiss' ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M?

ZEISS's 50mm single-focal lens for APS-C that allows for equal-magnification macro photography

Touit is ZEISS's APS-C camera lens series sold by Kenko Tokinar in Japan. We have introduced it on OUTDOOR GEARZINE three times up to the current "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M" (actual price: around 133,000 yen), but the ZEISS lenses sold by Kenko Tokinar are only available for Sony E mounts, including Batis and Loxia, which are available for the 35mm full size, while Touit for APS-C is also available for the FUJIFILM X mounts in addition to the Sony E mount. Another major point is that it is smaller and lighter than lenses for full-size 35mm size.

The longest focal length lens in the Touit series is the "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M" we'll be introducing today. The ultra-wide-angle "ZEISS Touit 2.8/12" and the standard range "ZEISS Touit 1.8/32" "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M" is a lens with a focal length called long focus or medium telephoto. When attached to an APS-C camera, the angle of view is equivalent to 75mm, so it is generally the focal length for portrait photography. However, the only thing that bothers me is that the camera name has an "M" at the end. This is the "M" meaning a macro lens, and the "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M" is a full-fledged macro lens with a maximum shooting magnification of equal magnification (1.0 times).

What is an equal-magnification macro lens? This problem arises, but this is a bit difficult, and on a full-size 35mm image capture surface (film and sensor), the size can be 36mm x 24mm to 36mm x 24mm in the same size (=1.0x, equal size). Camera lenses have the specifications of the minimum shooting distance and maximum shooting magnification, and in most cases the maximum shooting magnification is the range of the subject that is often taken at the minimum shooting distance (the shortest distance that allows focusing). For example, a lens with a maximum shooting magnification of 0.1x (1:10) can take photos in the 360mm x 240mm range at the minimum shooting distance. The range of the magnification macro lens is 36mm x 24mm.

How large a size can you get with this equal-magnification macro lens? The diameter of a 10 yen coin is 23.5mm, so you can take approximately 10 yen coins to the fullest of the short side of the screen. Furthermore, this maximum shooting magnification is equivalent to 35mm full-size, so with a 35mm uniform magnification macro lens for APS-C, you can take the theoretical range of 24mm x 16mm to the full screen. However, the "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M" is said to be able to take photos in the range of 23mm x 15mm, which is a manufacturer's published value, so it can be said to be a high-performance macro lens that exceeds the same magnitude in 35mm format. It supports macro photography so much that a 10 yen coin sticks out on the long side.

The "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M" used by the author this time is 75mm in diameter, 108mm in total length including the cap, and weighs 290g. The maximum diameter and weight for the Sony E-mount are the same except that the overall length is 4mm shorter. The aperture F value is 2.8, so when you attach the camera, it can be considered a light and compact portrait lens that is as close as possible to the point of view as 75mm.

The lens design is Makro Planar, which has produced many famous ZEISS lenses. The author, who created the e-book "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M Lens Database" (https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0D4HYHNB5/), which captures various charts such as resolution, blurred discs, on-axis chromatic aberration, and ambient light loss, was actually taken to an outdoor field for photography, and it was surprisingly fitting for a forest walk with his 3-year-old son, so I would like to introduce the results of the lens chart as well as the results.

Recommended points

• ZEISS Planar magic that brings out the surprising lead (main subject)
• High resolution that clearly depicts the image from the open F2.8 to the screen area
• Macro performance that allows you to increase the maximum 23mm x 15mm, exceeding the same size
• Large blur that occurs strongly due to the shortest shooting distance
• It's compact and lightweight, but has a ZEISS lens that gives you a sense of satisfaction

Points that interest me

• In a sense, it can't be helped, but the actual price is higher than 130,000 yen
• The shortest possible shooting distance is short enough to contact the lens hood

Main Specifications and ratings

item	ZEISS Touit 1.8/32
Focal distance	50mm
Aperture range	F2.8-F22
Lens composition	11 groups 14 pieces
Minimum shooting distance	0.15m
Angle of view (diagonal/horizontal/vertical)	31° / 26° / 18°
Shooting magnification	1:1
Face wings	10 sheets
Filter diameter	52mm
Maximum diameter	Sony E: 75mm/FUJIFILM X: 75mm
full length	Sony E: 104mm/FUJIFILM X: 108mm (both include caps)
weight	Sony E: 290g/FUJIFILM X: 290g
design	★★★★☆
Resolution	★★★★☆
Portability	★★★★☆
The beauty of the blur	★★★☆☆
Highly expressive	★★★★☆
Cost Performance	★★★☆☆

Why walking around the forest with my son trips trip three times more fun when you use "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M"

I am amazed at the expressive power of the depiction that makes the overwhelming lead character who surpasses logic.

I'm not saying this because I, who makes my life's work to capture and put together various charts with a camera lens, say this, but when I shoot with the "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M", the main subject (main subject) in much more focus than logically considers, stands out as if it's just as visible from a blurred background. It's a bit off in a good way.

In theory, if you shoot with the same APS-C lens equivalent to 75mm and an open F2.8, the depth of field will be the same, and the amount of blur generated should be the same. If that's the case, if the specs are the same, the main character in focus will be almost noticeable due to the blurred background effect.

Recently, I have been testing Touit's Planar lenses, the last time I tested the ZEISS Touit 1.8/32, which I tested last time, and the current ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M, which I have been testing the Planar lenses in succession with the Makro Planar, and the subjects that are in focus are revealed and expressed in a much more focused position than the numerical specs of the aperture and focal length.

When I talk to Koyama Yoshiji, the author's lens evaluation teacher and supervisor of the e-book "Lens Database" and the Lens Lab series, this trend gives an indescribable portrayal that can only be described as ZEISS Planar magic, saying, "I guess ZEISS is doing something, but I don't know what it's doing. But it certainly looks terribly prominent."

That's why it's so fun to take portraits openly. This can also be tested on previews at camera stores, so if you have the chance, please try it out. Once you realize this, you will find that the ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M and ZEISS Touit 1.8/32 will be a lens you can't let go.

A magnification macro that allows you to take close-up photos of small flowers and animals from forest paths

There are probably many people who find it a hobby or a change of mood by strolling around the forests of nearby parks. I'm sure there are many people who walk alone. I often walk alone, and although it depends on the season, it is a forest where terrain moths, lily squirrels, lily deer, and white-tailed eagles appear, so I often walk with a super telephoto lens.

However, when I walk with my 3-year-old son and my family, I carry a macro lens like the "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M." The reason is that I walk with my son looking for small flowers blooming on forest paths and small beetles that I normally overlook.

My son finds small flowers and walks around, saying, "It's beautiful" and "It's so cute," and when he finds a cricket for the first time, he pecks it with a twig or touches it in person and makes a fuss. The author photographs his son and close-ups of the flowers and crucian beetles that he has only ever seen.

The son's photo is to record how he grew, and other things like that, but the flowers and crucians are to check their names and ecology on Google's image search after a walk. I don't know anything about the types of flowers or pests, so I search with my son on the internet. This is also fun.

When I searched images for the butterflies and white flowers that I actually posted, the results of the Google image search were "Great White Butterfly", "Great White Butterfly", and "Great White Butterfly". With my knowledge, it's really useful because I can't tell my son even if he asks me about it.

With the "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M", you can take a full screen shot of a 23mm x 15mm range, so if you get close to the minimum shooting distance of 15cm, you can take a full screen shot of approximately 2cm of crickets and flowers. For this reason, most of the pests and flowers that you would normally notice when walking through the forest can be photographed in close-ups. This can be said to be performance that would not be possible without a macro lens of the same magnitude class.

When I was actually photographing pests and flowers, I was curious about the luxury of the shortest shooting distance. The "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M" attached to the FUJIFILM X-T2 and wearing a lens hood is approximately 14cm measured from the imaging surface to the tip of the lens hood, so if you are thinking of taking a 35mm equivalent image, you will need to bring the subject to a distance of approximately 1cm from the lens hood. Since the lens and the subject are almost always in contact with each other, it is often difficult to decide how close it is to the subject.

Even if you check the chart, you can see the aperture from the open position to the full screen.

As I have the chance to test a new lens, I have taken various charts I have created with my master Koyama Yoshiji, including resolution, dazzling discs, on-axis chromatic aberration, sagittal coma flares, ambient light drops, and macros, as listed above.

Among these, the resolution chart above calculates the thickness of the line that matches the width per pixel when shooting the full screen from the number of effective pixels of the camera. Since the image sensor of a typical digital camera is Bayer Array (RGGB), we consider that lines with the same width as one pixel cannot be resolved, and we check the resolution using a chart of lines with a thickness of 1.4 times that. In addition, this original resolution chart is a mechanism that allows you to check chromatic aberration and distortion.

In this test for the "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M", the camera body was a FUJIFILM X-T2 and an effective pixel count of approximately 24.3 million pixels, so the standard value for the resolution chart is 1 to 1.1. The images taken on the resolution chart above are taken in close-ups of the center and surrounding parts of the results of the A1-size resolution chart. With the "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M" + FUJIFILM X-T2, you can see that the chart 1 is almost perfect from the aperture opening of F2.8 in the center, and the resolution of 1.1 is also solid in the peripheral area.

We will also post the shooting results for charts with F5.6 and F8.0, which have been increased in aperture values. Compared to the results of the resolution chart at the aperture of F2.8, the resolution of the surrounding area increases, giving it a higher contrast and a sharp look. The author believes that the peak resolution of the entire screen for "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M" is around F4.0 to F8.0.

However, if you shoot with the same conditions with an open aperture of F2.8 and F8.0, the shutter speed will be slower by three steps. Specifically, if the brightness can be captured at F2.8 at 1/100 second shutter speed, then F8.0 at 1/25 second. If a normal person is on the stance, there is a good chance that the camera will be shaken for 1/25 seconds. Also, taking photos of small flowers swaying in the wind in a dim forest will cause subjects to blur.

For this reason, I use the F2.8 of the ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M, which is known to have high resolution from the aperture to the surrounding area. Of course, when the aperture is opened, a large blur occurs, and you can enjoy the depiction of the main subject appearing from the background, which is the big attraction of the ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M, so not only small beetles and flowers, but also my son, who is walking with us, is taking pictures with an open aperture of F2.8.

The reason why you can shoot anything with an open aperture of F2.8 is the high performance of the ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M, which is important because you can safely choose open aperture.

It's surprising that the large amount of blur is more stiff than I thought.

Many people have probably heard that the lens has a smaller, brighter aperture, and the lens with a larger focal length of ○○mm is blurred. In addition to this, there is a rule that the shorter the distance to the subject to focus, the more blurry it becomes.

Therefore, shooting with a macro lens that can focus close to the focus is in a suite of conditions that are likely to cause large blur. For the "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M", the minimum shooting distance is 15cm. For this reason, many lenses emphasize the beauty of the blur that occurs, but from the results of the chart showing the above-described basking chart, it appears that the "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M" is a lens that emphasizes overall resolution from the open aperture.

The shape of the blur is impeccable, which is influenced by the size of the blur and the number of aperture blades, but in many cases there is a strong tendency for onion blur, where concentric wrinkles occur in the blur, which is said to be the influence of aspheric lenses. In fact, the ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M uses two aspherical lenses, but this also shows that it emphasizes the overall resolution of the screen from the open aperture rather than the quality of the blur.

Based on the results of photos posted on actual photos, the tendency to blur onion is not particularly noticeable, but the slightly blurred one gives the impression of a stiffer look. This is a prime focus macro lens that is primarily intended to cause large blurring, so the blur is probably a bit sharp and stiff.

However, I feel that this has had a major impact on the position of the "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M" when viewed throughout the ZEISS Touit series. In fact, the ZEISS Touit 1.8/32 is a seasoned lens that emphasizes the quality of blurry quality rather than the overall resolution of the screen when the aperture is opened. In that case, both the "ZEISS Touit 1.8/32" which has an actual angle of view equivalent to 48mm when attached to an APS-C camera, and the "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M", which has an equivalent to 75mm, have a focal length that makes you want to take portraits. In this case, they have prepared two different depictions, the "ZEISS Touit 1.8/32", which emphasizes blurring over the overall resolution, while the "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M", which emphasizes overall resolution from the aperture opening rather than the quality of blurring. As an aside, these two lenses have a common lens hood so they can be used with either lens. The designer must be considerate of making it easy to carry around and use.

Based on the results of actual photographs, it seems that if you understand the intentions of the lens designer and use it, you can use the ZEISS Touit series more enjoyable.

Summary: A high-level macro and portrait, perfect for walking around the forest

Not only is it light and small, but you can enjoy the familiar nature even more, and you can take photos of your family and friends even more beautifully.

When it comes to the cameras and lenses that you carry around when walking around parks or nearby forests, many people seem to imagine ultra-telephoto zoom lenses that take pictures of wild birds and other things. In fact, I often carry an ultra-telephoto zoom lens with me when I'm alone or in some seasons.

However, if you are new to cameras or forest walking, or you are a family member or child walking in the forest, I recommend a macro lens like the "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M." This is because it is lighter, more compact than a super telephoto zoom lens, and is also reasonably priced. The "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M" is a high-end ZEISS lens, but the actual price is around 133,000 yen. If you buy a small telephoto zoom lens, it will easily cost over 100,000 yen, so it's a much more affordable price than those.

Weight is also a big issue. The "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M" costs only 290g, but in many cases, the ultra-telephoto lens is light enough to weigh around 2kg, and it is not uncommon for the lens to exceed 3kg, even if it is light on the lens alone. For some people, walking around for a few hours with these super telephoto zooms and cameras can be pretty tough.

The special lens I first got was a macro lens that can take magnification magnification, but when I regained my vibe's natural beauty through the macro lens, the scenery I could see completely changed. Small cricks and flowers that had never been considered as subjects before will turn into attractive subjects that can be used as main characters. If you happen to encounter a snake, you can also shoot with the impressiveness of a large monster. In fact, walking around the forest is twice as fun just by walking with a macro lens.

What's more, for me, what's more, the ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M is that when attached to the camera, it has an angle of view that is 75mm, which is the perfect angle of view for portrait photography. I love 100mm macro lenses and have tested and photographed many lenses, but the angle of view of the 100mm is actually a little too long for photographing a companion. In contrast, the "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M" is equivalent to 75mm. The focal length is perfect for photographing my son who went out together on holidays or other occasions. Not only is it a macro lens that makes the forests close to you twice as fun from a micro perspective, but it also makes it attractive to take photos of children, family, and friends, so just going with the "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M" makes walking around the forest trip three times more fun.

Furthermore, if you take a large photo of the pests and flowers that my son is interested in, you can also search for names and ecology using Google image searches, which will expand the fun even further. What's more, the biggest appeal of the "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M" is the high level of expressiveness that can be said to be ZEISS's Planar magic, as if the subject in focus appears from a blurry background. Many lens lovers acknowledge the portrayal that also attracts the author and his lens review teacher, Koyama Yoshiji.

Therefore, just using the "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M" will make many lens lovers think "I know," which will greatly increase your satisfaction with ownership. In a sense, the ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M, which can be considered the strongest macro lens for walking around the forest, is a sharp piece that even outdoor enthusiasts should definitely try.

Details and purchase of "ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M"

For more information about the product, please visit the official Kenko Tokinar website

Data Source

"ZEISS Touit 2.8/50M Lens Data Base"

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Saito Titoce

Former monthly camera magazine editor. While pursuing the spectacular views of Hokkaido and the wildlife, I was completely hooked on the outdoor life of camper vans and sleeping in my car. While traveling the entire country with his 2-year-old son and wife, he is a photographer writer who photographs and writes everything he has experienced, not only cameras and lenses, but also outdoor camping, child-rearing, PC gadgets, cooking, and dieting. OUTDOOR GEARZINE plans to write a variety of articles, focusing on the QOCL (Quality of Camping Life) Improvement Committee, which will improve the quality of life in camping and camper vans.

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