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Photokina's preview day was marked by news of the camera and lens, so Zeiss waited several days to make his big announcement for the show. At an event held in Cologne earlier today, he announced the release of his first camera, the ZX1, from the 35mm Ikon rangefinder and its first digital camera.
The ZX1 certainly breaks the mold of standard design, mainly thanks to its handle. Its front has a triangular shape, but with rounded edges, while the rear corners slightly back. I have not yet had the opportunity to grab and hold the ZX1, but it seems that it is perfectly suited to the shape of your hand.
The body has a matte black finish, with sharp lines and bright yellow text mark control settings. There are not a ton of dials or switches on the body itself. The AF / MF switch is integrated with the fixed lens, with a physical aperture ring and a rubberized manual focus ring, as we have seen in the Zeiss Otus and Milvus manual focusing lens series.
On the top, you will find a dial, a shutter speed and ISO control dials, as well as the shutter release button. At the back? A large 4.3-inch touch screen, a single button (probably to toggle the eye sensor) and an EVF with diopter adjustment. The EVF displays a magnification of 0.74.
The big screen is there to help photographers edit and share images in the field. The images are stored internally – the camera has 512 GB of internal memory. Zeiss has not yet released full specifications, so it's hard to know if there is also a memory card slot, but it's unlikely that you'll need extra space with so much internal memory. Just hold 6,800 Raw images and up to 50,000 JPG photos.
Wireless connectivity is included, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and there is a USB-C port for physical data transfer. Firmware updates will be via Wi-Fi and the camera includes a custom version of Adobe Lightroom CC built-in. You can edit photos directly on the phone screen, as you would with your Android device or iPhone with Lightroom Mobile. In addition, the camera will transfer images to the Internet without having to copy to your phone first, provided that it is connected to a Wi-Fi access point.
The image sensor is a new design, a 37.4 megapixel full-format chip designed to work with the 35mm f / 2 Fixed 35mm lens. Zeiss says he designed the sensor, but does not say who does it. I guess it's probably Sony, considering the history of the collaboration between the two companies and the vast sector of Sony's sensors.
The camera supports Raw capture in Adobe DNG format, with JPG, for images. Video is also included, with a 4K UHD resolution at 30 frames per second or 1080p at 60 frames per second. There is no mention of optical or digital stabilization, so we will have to wait and see what a stable mobile video looks like.
There are many question marks on the camera. How will the funky take really feel in the hand? What is the quality of the lens? And how much will it cost? We will know closer to its delivery date, which is scheduled for some time in 2019.
I am intrigued by some features. Internal memory is a boon – it's something I'd like to see added to more cameras, not as the only storage option, but to complete the memory card slot. Professionals reluctant to switch to single-slot models such as the Nikon Z 7 and the Canon EOS R – disabled by the lack of memory redundancy – problems would be solved through a fast card slot coupled with sufficient internal memory.
The large-screen touch interface and built-in editing tools remind me of another promising but ultimately imperfect camera, the Samsung Galaxy NX. Samsung's attempt at a high-end connected camera was confusing. He had all the tools that a social media wanted, including the ability to load Instagram and post directly from the camera itself. But, with other serious, I've been disabled by the design. Its huge touch screen was great, but where were the physical controls?
Zeiss seems to have been right with the ZX1. No, you will not have a button to change the measure pattern, drive mode or EV correction, but the three branches of the exposure triangle – aperture, shutter speed, and ISO – are all accessible via physical dials. I would have liked to see another software configurable dial on the body, but I'm ready to give the business the benefit of the doubt. I am intrigued to see how the touch interface works to complement the physical controls.
In addition to the ZX1, Zeiss also announced a new lens for the Sony FE system without a mirror. The 2/40 CF Batis is a 40 mm f / 2 full-size main lens with 24 cm (9.5 inches) for macro-amplification 1: 3.3. As part of the Batis family, it supports autofocus.
It will go on sale in November and costs $ 1,299 in the United States.
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