Autofocus Zeiss lenses like the Batis series are one reason to choose a Sony mirrorless camera system over competing brands. The Batis 2/25 ($1,299) is a fine example of what modern lens design can deliver. It covers a full-frame image sensor, so it can be used with the Alpha 7 II ($898.00 at Amazon) series as well as APS-C Alpha models. The lens is quite sharp, and offers better close focus capability than the budget-friendly Sony FE 28mm F2 ($448.00 at Dell) . It's expensive, though, especially when compared with the FE 28mm, but what you get for the extra cost is tangible. We're naming it our Editors' Choice, as it's the best prime lens wider than 30mm that's available for the Sony mirrorless system.

Design
The Batis isn't the smallest lens in the world, but it balances quite well on full-frame bodies like the Alpha 7R II and larger APS-C models like the Alpha 6000. At 3.1 by 3.2 inches (HD) and 11.8 ounces, it's probably a little much for cameras sized like the Alpha 5100 ($358.99 at Amazon) —if you don't own a full-frame Alpha model, and don't plan on upgrading to one, consider instead the Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 ($1,098.00 at Amazon) , which is designed to cover an APS-C sensor and is notably smaller and lighter (2.4 by 2.5 inches, 7.9 ounces).

The lens is all black, with a metal barrel and a manual focus ring that's covered in smooth rubber. The are no switches or buttons on the barrel, just a monochrome OLED at the top that displays the current focus distance and the depth of field at the set aperture. It's only enabled for manual focus mode by default, but you can set it so that's it's always visible—or never visible if that's your preference. The focus scale is a boon for a wide-angle lens, as you can stop the lens down a bit and make it so that everything between a set distance and infinity will be in focus.

The Batis has a large front element that supports 67mm front filters. The standard front and back caps are included, as well as a reversible lens hood. The Batis can focus to 7.8 inches, closer than the 11-inch distance of the FE 28mm. It doesn't sound like a huge difference on paper, but in practice it makes the lens a bit more versatile. There is no optical stabilization built into the lens, but if you pair it with a model in the Alpha 7 II family it benefits from in-body stabilization—so the lack of OIS is only a concern for owners of older cameras and APS-C models. That said, when dealing with a wide-angle lens, stabilization is more useful to steady handheld video footage than it is for stills.

Manual focus is done by wire, which means that turning the focus ring activates a motor that moves lens elements. The camera does have an on-screen distance scale when you focus manually, and of course the OLED display on the lens itself also shows the focus distance. But if you're a serious manual focus aficionado, you'll be better served by a lens with a mechanical focus system. Any number of good lenses can be mounted to an Alpha 7 via a mechanical adapter, and Zeiss markets true manual focus lenses for Sony mirrorless cameras under the Loxia banner. At press time the widest is a 35mm f/2 ($1,299.00 at Amazon) , which can't match the field of view offered by the Batis.

Image Quality
I tested the Bastis 2/25 with the full-frame, 42-megapixel Alpha 7R II ($1,798.00 at Amazon) . The Imatest resolution test shows that the lens scores 2,715 lines per picture height on a center-weighted test at f/2. That's much better than the 1,800 lines we look for in a photo, and while the edges of the frame can't keep up with the center, they're still crisp at 2,147 lines.

Stopping down to f/2.8 bumps the overall score to 2,844 lines, with edges that approach 2,500 lines. At f/4 the lens improves to 3,197 lines, with even performance across the frame, and it just gets crisper at f/5.6 (3,421 lines) and f/8 (3,664 lines). Diffraction sets in at f/11, but the lens still shows 3,468 lines there. There's a steeper drop at f/16 (3,002 lines), but it's not until the minimum f/22 aperture (2,120 lines) that diffraction really takes away from resolution.

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The lens shows about 1.2 percent mustache distortion, which is a more complex pattern than typical barrel distortion (which makes lines appear to curve outward) or pincushion distortion (where straight lines curve inward). The lens shows a bit of barrel distortion at the center of the frame, but that gives way to a pincushion type pattern toward the edges. Thankfully it's pretty minor. And if you do find it distracting, Lightroom CC includes a profile for the lens that will correct distortion with a single click.

Fall-off, which causes the corners of the lens to show less illumination than the center, is more of a concern. I used an ExpoDisc 2.0 and the Imatest Uniformity tool to see how the Batis performs when shooting a scene with perfectly even illumination. When shooting at f/2 the corners are noticeably dimmer than the center, showing -2EV illumination in comparison. From f/2.8 the fall-off is limited to -1EV at the corners, and from f/4 through f/22 the lens shows about -0.7EV at the corners. The Lightroom lens profile for the Batis corrects for this as well, and if you use a different Raw converter, it's easy enough to even out the illumination using a vignette adjustment tool.

Conclusion
There are only a pair of fast prime lenses wider than 30mm available for the Sony full-frame mirrorless camera system. The Zeiss Batis 2/25 is easily the better one—it's a little wider than the Sony FE 28mm F2, focuses closer, is sharper from edge to edge, and shows significantly less distortion. But it's also priced at nearly three times the cost of the budget-friendly 28mm. We're naming the Batis our Editors' Choice based on its superior build and image quality. But the less expensive Sony is a fine alternative for shooters who don't want to budget as much for a lens in this focal range—just be aware of its limitations.

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