The Zeiss Touit 2.8/50M ($999) is the third in the company's line of autofocus lenses for Sony and Fujifilm mirrorless cameras. It's the longest of the three, both physically and in focal length, and can focus close enough to deliver 1:1 magnification of subjects—that means that the size of the image projected onto the camera's sensor matches your subject's size in reality. The Touit is expensive, but its image quality is excellent. If you can't stomach its price and want to shoot macros with a native lens, consider the Sony 30mm f/3.5 Macro($273.00 at Amazon) or the Fujifilm Fujinon XF 60mm F2.4 R Macro ($649).

The Touit($700.00 at Amazon) features an all matte black design with a metal lens barrel and a smooth, rubberized manual focus ring. If you're an X-mount shooter you'll also have a manual aperture ring, but that function is missing from the Sony version of the lens; aperture is controlled via the body with the Sony E-mount system. It's on the long side, especially for a mirrorless prime, measuring 4.3 by 2.6 inches (HD) and weighing in at 10.2 ounces. The front element is rather large for a mirrorless lens, but pretty small compared to SLR optics; it supports 52mm filters. The included lens hood adds about 1.6 inches in height when in use; it's reversible for storage, and you'll also want to reverse it when working very close to your subject—when attached it will bump up against your subject at the minimum focus distance. But if you're shooting at more reasonable distances it's a good idea to use it, as it will reduce the possibility of lens flare and enhance contrast. There's no optical stabilization built into the lens, though neither the Sony nor Fujifilm alternatives have it either.

The minimum focus distance is 6 inches (measured from the sensor plane, not the front of the lens), which allows for the aforementioned 1:1 magnification. There's no focus limiter switch, so the lens will hunt over its full range if the autofocus system has trouble locking onto a subject. I tested the lens with the fast-focusing Alpha 6000 and found that even its top-end focus system missed occasionally when shooting at very close distances. Manual focus is always an option, and is often preferred by macro shooters. The Touit's manual focus ring isn't a mechanical one; instead it simply activates the focus motor, moving the lens's element manually. This isn't as pleasant an experience as working with a traditional mechanical focus ring, as it can be quite slow when you're moving from infinity all the way down to the minimum focus distance. I had to perform six hearty turns of the barrel in order to cover that ground. There are some advantages; at close distances very minute adjustments in focus are possible, although a good macro lens with a mechanical focus ring and a long focus throw like the Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 2/50($1,283.00 at Amazon) will also provide you with that level of adjustment.

I used Imatest to check and see just how sharp the lens is when paired with the 24-megapixel Alpha 6000. At f/2.8 the lens scores 2,355 lines per picture height on our center-weighted sharpness test, better than the 1,800 lines we use to mark an image as sharp. Image quality holds up, even at the edge of the frame, although there is a drop off in sharpness there; the outer third of the frame averages 1,877 lines.

Stopping down to f/4 boosts the overall sharpness to 2,445 lines and edges top 1,950 lines. Things get better the more you stop down, with the average score hitting 2,578 lines at f/5.6 and 2,660 lines at f/8, with edges improving in kind. Diffraction sets in at f/11, but the Touit still manages 2,457 lines there—you'll find yourself working at narrower apertures to get acceptable depth of field when working close to subjects, so it's good to know that the lens resists diffraction through f/8. The minimum aperture is f/22.

There's no distortion of which to speak, as you would expect from any good macro lens. Also absent is noticeable chromatic aberration, which exhibits as purple and green color fringing. It's often an issue at the edges of the frame, or in the out of focus areas behind your subject. The Touit doesn't boast a true apochromatic design like the Zeiss Otus 1.4/55($3,990.00 at Amazon), so there is a very slight amount there in certain scenes—but you have to look close for it. If you do think that it will detract from a print, Lightroom can make short work of it.

The Zeiss Touit is a great performer that produces sharp images and features excellent build quality. I would have liked to see a focus limiter switch, as the lens can take some time to hunt over its entire range, and the manual focus experience can be frustrating. There aren't a lot of macro lenses available for Fuji and Sony mirrorless photographers. Sony sells a 30mm f/3.5 Macro, and Fuji has its 60mm f/2.4 lens. The Sony lens does feature 1:1 magnification, but the shorter focal length delivers a slightly different perspective on your subjects, and the Fuji lens is limited to 1:2 magnification despite its 60mm design. If you prefer to focus manually when shooting macros, consider getting a good third-party lens with a physical aperture ring like the Nikon mount version of the Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 2/50 and an inexpensive adapter. But if you want an autofocus lens, the Touit is a great choice. Its optics are impeccable; it's only its handling that may leave you wanting.

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