German lense specialist Zeiss today introduced the Milvus family of high-resolution SLR camera lenses.

The six-piece set will initially consist of various manual focal lengths: 21mm f/2.8, 35mm f/2, 50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.4, 100mm f/2 Macro, and 50mm f/2 Macro.

Additional lengths will be added to the Milvus family over the coming years.

"We want to provide users with the freedom to use the focus position as an artistic tool because it is one of the most important creative possibilities available to photographers," Christophe Casenave, product manager for Zeiss Camera Lenses, said in a statement.

Built specifically for Canon or Nikon DSLR camera bodies with ZE or ZF.2 mounts, the lenses are also compatible via an adapter with mirrorless system cameras, like the Sony α7 series.

With six options, Zeiss's Milvus lenses cover just about any photographer's needs, from portraits and landscapes to architecture and street imagery. With full focus control and a cutting-edge design, the new devices promise "unique results every time," Zeiss said.

"With this diversity of extremely high-quality SLR lenses, we are underscoring that, with our Milvus lenses, we can supply the right focal length for almost any application or personal preference," Casenave added.

An all-metal barrel guarantees protection against dust and water spray, though you probably shouldn't use them to capture a deep-sea-diving adventure. Each lens, however, does support all DSLR operating modes—aperture priority, shutter priority, program modes, manual time, exposure settings.

They also enable high-quality film recording in up to 6K, and the "de-click" function in the ZF.2 mount lenses allows filmmakers to freely adjust the aperture as conditions change.

Pre-orders are now open for the Zeiss Milvus lenses, ranging from $1,177 to $1,843. Global delivery will begin in October.

For more, see PCMag's reviews of the Zeiss Otus 1.4/55 and Otus 1.4/85 lenses, which carry many of the same aesthetic characteristics as the new manual-focus-only gadgets.