What first strikes when unpacking, is still very low for such alleged premium lens weight. Nevertheless, the lens has a very good and extremely high quality feel: It is manufactured outside apparently made of anodized aluminum, the rings for zooming and manual focusing run very precise and smooth as silk - top!
The first disappointment there when zooming: The inner tube is made of thin-walled plastic pretty - for a lens in this price range is an absolute no-go! After all, the game is minimal. Another gripe is the rickety and cheap lens hood, which is not even frosted inside (with all my lenses for the Nikon DX format, this is standard!). Thus, it may lead to reflections under unfavorable lighting conditions but once. Also little premium: the serial number is stuck on a cheap paper scraps. If the good piece is stolen, this proof of ownership is rapidly removed.
But now the most important, the picture quality:
Especially I welcome the rather bold colors and good contrast. It's also nice that the beginning of Aperture F4 is available throughout the entire zoom range. The blurring towards the edge are for such a zoom lens at a manageable level and improve not great if you dims.
Disappointing I found the over all focal lengths and aperture settings unconvincing sharpness. In a 1000 Euro-lens with a thick Zeiss logo images should be simple noticeably sharper.
Conclusion:
At a Strapenpreis of around 500 euros, this lens would 5 star worthy and would be a 100% recommendation for a balanced "Always top". For 1000 euros a lens with Zeiss claim but image quality and portions of the material selection are insufficient.
