Sharpness at 100mm

Our sharpness tests are carried out by photographing a real-world subject rather than a test chart. The Zeiss Otus 100mm f/1.4 was attached to a Nikon D850, which in turn was mounted on a sturdy tripod. Self-timer mode was activated to steady the camera completely. Any slight tonal changes you may see across the crops are a result of slight changes in natural light during the shooting session.

The full frame at 100mm

At the widest aperture of f/1.4, centre sharpness is excellent, rising to outstanding at f/2. It maintains this level between f/2.8 and f/5.6 before dropping back down to excellent at f/8 again. At f/11 it is ever so slightly softer, before displaying the softest results at f/16. At the edges of the frame, the best results can be seen between f/4 and f/11, but the overall impression of sharpness is excellent throughout the aperture range.

Aperture	Centre Crop	Edge Crop
f/1.4
f/2
f/2.8
f/4
f/5.6
f/8
f/11
f/16