Asobinet reports that a new Cosina patent strikingly resembles the design of the new Zeiss Otus 85mm f/1.4 lens.

Let me first say that I own several Cosina-made manual-focus lenses and absolutely love them. Still, it feels a bit odd to think that a company as prestigious as Zeiss may not have designed this lens themselves, and that their main contribution could have been to place the Zeiss badge on it.

If that is indeed the case, I would have preferred Zeiss to both design and manufacture the lens in-house. Of course, I may be looking at this the wrong way, so please let me know if there’s something I’m missing in how these collaborations typically work.

Note: The lenses have a new $500 discount at BHphoto and other stores. And form what I heard they are not selling in strong numbers :(