Time to get excited? Zeiss is finally teasing a new camera lens, and I think it’s going to be a new Otus optic

Zeiss Otus 1.4/100.

Optics manufacturer Zeiss hasn’t launched a dedicated mirrorless lens in awhile – but a new teaser shared to Instagram suggests that hiatus is about to come to an end. Zeiss has shared a new teaser on social media with the line “Get ready for owlsome news!” along with a photo of an owl. Because the term Otus refers to a genus of short-eared owls, I’m predicting the brand is getting ready to launch an addition to the Otus line of photography lenses.

Zeiss makes optics from smartphone camera lenses to scopes, but the company's line of camera lenses has had a quiet few years. The company launched some cinema lenses in 2021, but Mirrorless Rumors points out that the company hasn’t launched any optics focused on stills for six years.

The company’s new teaser suggests that’s about to change. The post was shared to the Zeiss Camera Lenses page, so some sort of camera lens is coming soon. But, beyond that fact, anything else is just pure speculation over both what is coming and when it may be coming.

A post shared by ZEISS Camera Lenses (@zeisscameralenses)

A photo posted by on

However, the photo, caption, and the fact that the teaser photo was shot with the existing Zeiss Otus 1.4/85 lens makes me fairly confident in speculating that the upcoming lens may be part of the Otus line. Zeiss says its Otus line was originally designed for the most demanding stills photographers, but the line of prime lenses is also often used by filmmakers, as the lenses also have a high resolving power for 4K video.

The Otus line currently includes four prime lenses that are all f/1.2 optics, including a 28mm, 55mm, 85mm, and 100mm.

The teaser also doesn’t note any sort of timeline, though the upcoming CP+ show at the end of the month tends to be prime time for multiple photo-related new releases.

Of course, the teaser is vague enough that I could be disappointed and the owl doesn’t mean the Otus line at all. But the teaser being shared specifically to the camera lens page may get many photographers' hopes up for some new glass.

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