Conclusion

If you can afford it, the Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm F1.4 ZA SSM is a fantastic standard prime lens for Sony full-frame users, delivering imperious image quality with the minimum of fuss. The name Carl Zeiss has long been a by-word for high-quality, and the new Planar T* 50mm certainly continues in that tradition. It delivers stellar results almost throughout its extensive aperture range, even performing well wide-open at f/1.4 and at both the centre and edges of the frame. Offering fast auto-focusing, intuitive manual focusing and outstanding build quality that's weather-tight too, this lens is a perfect partner to the flagship A99 camera. Only the eye-watering price prevents us from awarding the Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm F1.4 ZA SSM lens our highest award, but if you can afford it, you won't want to buy anything else...

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4.5
Features	4.5
Ease-of-use	5
Image quality	5
Value for money	4