i just picked up a 85mm 1.4 ZF.1 planar. thats the nikon mount and the .1 is the older model that has no communication with the camera. i can use it in A and M mode on my d7000, and it will meter correctly, and knows what aperture your at when you setup the non CPU lens on the camera. the canon version doesnt have an aperture ring, but the ZE should have CPU connections for the canon, i dont think a .1 version was made for canon mount, as canon users had to use the .1 and an adapter.
i must say its a well built lens, probably the most solid built lens i have ever used, its all metal even the hood, and i have the nikon 24-70 and 70-200 vr II. its image quality is very good, even wide open as long as you get the focus correct, which can be very difficult. if anyone says the lens is not sharp at 1.4 they just didnt get it in focus. i have pictures with the lens wide open at 1.4 and it is very sharp when pixel peeping at 100%. now i also have pictures where i though i had it in focus and they came out terrible.
so its a great lens if you have the time to get it right. i would even recommend focus bracketing if using your view finder. at least with the nikon you can use the focus indicator to get you close, but you can actually move the focus ring of the lens around a decent amount and still be in the focus indicator. its enough at 1.4 to be completely out of focus yet still be indicating focus, and look just fine in the view finder. the other option is a focus screen. also another very good option is Live view mode, thats probably one of the most acurate way to go, but time consuming. put it in live view and zoom in on your focus point and focus via that. its time consuming, but that way i found to be the most acurate and consitant in focus results.
as you can see this len isnt a point and shoot type of lens. it deffently takes time and you might have a bunch of throw away pictures using it close to wide open. of coarse at f4 it much easier to focus, but you do get the cream machine look. at 1.4 and 2 it makes for extremely 3d looking picture. the colors the zeiss lens produces is very true to life and seems to be warmer then most nikon lenses i have used.
any think else i could try to help. even though im a nikon guy. i guess the main way i look at it is. its a great lens to have fun with and if you have time you can get excellent one of a kinda results. i dont know that i would risk loosing important images that i only have a limited amount of time to get the picture, for those i would use use my nikon 2.8 zooms, because i know its going to be in focus every time very quickly.
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