Khalai said:
As much as I like Zeiss lenses (Loxia line-up is constantly luring me over to Sony A7 camp) and still prefer Classic lens aesthethics over Milvus line-up, that pricetag looks quite prohibitive to me, especially compared to excellent, lighter and cheaper Canon 35/1.4L II. Maybe some rich videographers will find a liking in this lens.
But knowing Zeiss and their loyal customers, this lens should be succesful successor to the original Distagon 1.4/35 T* lens
I think the comparison with the 35L II is interesting. We have to be careful drawing too many conclusion from a few samples but it appears to me that Zeiss has taken a very similar approach to Canon -
going for sharpness and being happy to have a slightly compromised bokeh (compared to the ZE) but still aiming for an improved bokeh rendering but lacking the dramatic fall off(compared to the Contax) - a more refined and sharper version of the ZE if you like. When the 35L II was reviewed by Dustin on this site he remarked that it was what one would expect an Otus 35mm to be like.
So I am a bit surprised Zeiss has taken that approach so similar to Canon as it is heavier, more expensive and lacking AF compared to the 35L II. As you say, they will sell but I think they might have done more to differentiate it.
With some of their iconic designs Zeiss appears to be willing to keep appealing to the "artistic" side. The 21/2.8 is technically great and has now gone from Contax to ZE to Milvus. The 28/2 went from Contax to ZE and the 50/1.4 made the same path. I would say in terms of being "iconic" of those old Zeiss lenses, the Contax 35/1.4 is second only to the 21/2.8 yet Zeiss has refused now to give a modern version of it yet again. I admit I find it mystifying and a bit frustrating. The Contax 35/1.4 is sharp, well corrected and has that unique dramatic look and wasn't even that big or heavy - the only real downside being the bokeh being not the smoothest. I think Zeiss would sell so many if they made a modern version (the prices the Contax ones go for on eBay are very high) but they seem determined to stay away from the classic design.