The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Venus 100mm F2.8 2X Ultra Macro and the Zeiss Otus 85mm F1.4 for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
Size of a lens is an important deciding factor when comparing two lenses.Zeiss Otus 85mm F1.4 is the longer of the two lenses at 138mm. The Venus 100mm F2.8 2X Ultra Macro with a length of 125mm is 13mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Zeiss Otus 85mm F1.4 also has a larger diameter of 101mm compared to Venus 100mm F2.8 2X Ultra Macro's 72mm diameter.
Weight of a lens is as important as its external dimensions, especially if you are planning to hand hold your camera and lens combination for longer periods. Venus 100mm F2.8 2X Ultra Macro weighs 638g, which means it is 562g (46%) lighter than the Zeiss Otus 85mm F1.4 which has a weight of 1200g.
Lens Mounts
Both Venus 100mm F2.8 2X Ultra Macro and Zeiss Otus 85mm F1.4 has the same Canon EF lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Canon EF lenses are Canon 1D X III, Canon 6D MII and Canon 5D MIV.
Venus 100mm F2.8 2X Ultra Macro is also available in Nikon F (FX) , Pentax KAF2 and Sony E mounts.
Zeiss Otus 85mm F1.4 is also available in Nikon F (FX) mount.
Focal Range
Venus 100mm F2.8 2X Ultra Macro is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 100mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.6x crop, it provides an 35mm (FF) equivalent of 160mm.
Zeiss Otus 85mm F1.4 is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 85mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.6x crop, it provides an 35mm (FF) equivalent of 136mm.