<p>I have the Zeiss 85mm f/1.4 Milvus ZF.2 which is a little different to the Canon version. It is a little lighter and has a aperture ring (with the option of clickless aperture).<br /><br />The 85mm Milvus takes a lot of leaves from the Otus and feels some what similar. Optically, it isn't as good as the Otus but it isn't too far off in most areas. Compared to the Zeiss 85mm Classic, it really blows it away in most areas.<br /><br />The Milvus is up to the normal build of Zeiss and there is a lot of metal used. It feels big in the hand and rather heavy (more than the Canon 85mm f/1.2L II and Otus). The lens is quite long (particularly with the lens hood attached) but it is the diameter of the lens which is most noticeable. I would say that the Classic is a much nicer lens in hand and where as the Milvus feels unbalanced on anything other than a large DSLR (I am using a D800) the Classic can be used on any DSLR/SLR or mirrorless camera.<br /><br />The Unlike the Classic and Otus, the whole barrel moves when focusing and the lens extends around half an inch, which isn't an issue but is noticeable when the lens hood is mounted. Focusing is very smooth and there is enough resistance and throw to make exact focusing pretty easy. One slight issue I have is the placing of the rubber grip, which is at the bottom of the lens barrel. I find that most of the time when I focus my fingers are on the metal (particularly on a D4 or D800 with battery grip). Some are also worried that the rubber grip is going to wear over time, we won't know for a good few years whether this is a big design flaw with modern Zeiss lenses.<br /><br />A small but rather big improvement with the Otus and Milvus is that the horrible lens caps that Zeiss used to use have been replaced and the new lens cap is exceptional.<br /><br />Optically the Milvus is exceptional in most areas. It isn't as sharp as the Zeiss Otus wide open but it is at least as sharp as the Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 and Sigma 85mm f/1.4, (probably slightly sharper) I haven't compared the lens to the Canon 85mm f/1.2L II yet but I would imagine it would compare very well. The 85mm Classic isn't the sharpest of lenses and it shows its age rather badly compared to the Milvus. <br /><br />The Milvus is quite a contrasty lens. Easily more so than the Nikkors 85mm I have used. The Sigma is closer and the Otus and Classic are very similar.<br /><br />Bokah on the Milvus is lovely and easily compares to most other 85mm and is probably slightly better. I would say it is slightly better than the Classic but it is very close.<br /><br />The Milvus is good at handling chromatic aberration but not perfect and it is noticeable at f/1.4. It can't compete against the Otus but is much better than the Classic.<br /><br />Distortion isn't a big issue with the lens and isn't noticable.<br /><br />An area it doesn't do particularly well in is vignetting. It is noticeable worse than the Zeiss 85mm Classic wide open. <br /><br />As a lens the Milvus isn't perfect and for anyone investing in their first 85mm, I would say go with either a Nikkor/Canon or Sigma, just because of the issues with manual focus with modern DSLR's. Saying all that, the Milvus is a great portrait lens wide open, particularly mounted on a tripod (using the rear screen to focus). It is possible to manual focus through the view finder but only with very contrasty subjects (and that is not guaranteed) Unfortunately, the range finder system of the D800 isn't accurate enough to get sharp focus.<br /><br />I already had an Nikkor 85mm with autofocus and knew exactly what I wanted the Milvus for, so am very happy with the lens. If I was going to shoot using film, I would probably go for the Classic, it is much more practical and should be sharp enough for a 35mm film. With the current crop of modern DSLR sensors though the classic shows its age and the Milvus is a good compromise compared to the Otus if you want a Zeiss and don't want to spend £3K.<br /> <br /><br />If you want to see a really good technical review of the Milvus. I would highly recommend this review: http://www.verybiglobo.com/zeiss-milvus-851-4-vs-zeiss-otus-851-4-vs-zeiss-planar-851-4-comparative-lens-review-2/<br /><br /><br /></p>
