Why does Zeiss manufacture only manual focus lenses?

Question

I've heard that Zeiss's quality is very good/great but I'm also curious if it has anything to do with the "manual focus only".

I have read this question but it only partly addresses my question. Is it a company policy or what?

Answer

It is one of the lens design compromises they have chosen to make. While I don't think anyone can know for sure the reasons behind that decision, I can think of several likely ones:

• Zeiss's own most successful cameras are rangefinders, which do not auto focus. These are the only cameras they still make today.
• MF lenses avoid any complication from integration with an AF system, keeping the lenses smaller.
• Major SLR companies do not license their lens mounts. Companies like Sigma and Tamron reverse engineer the electronic communication protocols. Making an all-manual lens avoids this need — although recent Zeiss lenses do feature electronic coupling for aperture.
• It makes a niche, since lenses designed for MF are usually better for that purpose than those designed for AF. Good MF lenses have a long "focus throw" — you turn the focus ring a large amount to make a difference, allowing fine adjustments. AF lenses, on the other hand, are designed for smaller movements to optimize AF speed.

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