Also the low-con coating does give you more latitude. I was not impressed, so I decided to make my own. Its a gradual process, guys. makes SPECTACULAR permanent mounts for $75 (Duclos uses these, nuff said). The 18mm is almost one fourth of the price and half the weight of the 15mm, plus it fits along with the other MMJs in the set. So far I had been using adapters on them, and they sucked. These lenses thread the fine line between organic and sharp, a line as thin as depth of field on an 85/1.2 wide open, only second to Leica. If you wanna follow this path, theres no way to dodge reading the Survival Guide. I already talked about the mount replacements and focus gears, so Im left with standard fronts and de-clicking. Another trick is to heat them up with a blow dryer or even your house heater. What IS the Ninja-Star? The Contax Zeiss version fetches $800 on eBay but there's a $60 wolf in sheep's clothing called the Pentax PK 28mm F2.0 which has a fascinating story behind . I havent tested these much yet, and I ended up not doing standard outside diameters. Heres the answer to all of this, broken down. Also, Super Speeds are a 1.2/1.4 at 18mm and 25mm. I prefer the C/Ys but since I already own 3 FDs (cheap ones: 28 2.8, 50 1.8 and 135 2.8), I'm leaning towards the latter, although still undecided. Its been there for quite a while and I have checked up on it countless times to help me make decisions. This turns the original C/Y mount into a solid EF mount that wont budge for nothing. Its been there for quite a while and I have checked up on it countless times to help me make decisions. check out the. Really haven't tested it enough, but the color rendering of the 85mm f2.8 really seems to have some special magic. Here are some things I got from it: Contax Zeiss lenses were designed for 35mm full frame, which means theyll cover all the way up to Vistavision sensors on modern cameras and anything smaller. Luckily for me, out of the five lenses I only messed up really bad on one (the 85mm, which was also the first one I tried). So all you do is get a Cine Ring with the rear thread of your lens and thats gonna make it standard! The 135mm f/2.8 was a great lens. If I have a motor on the iris, itll have to be adjusted every time the lens is swapped. Many have much more. AgThunderbird A7Riii | A7ii infrared mod | Minolta 7 . Yes, its one step slower than the its siblings, but it definitely crushes them with razor sharp focus and a beautiful transition into bokeh. Reduserforum "Contax Survival Guide" says is a good one. Lastly, now that we have a great Contax guide on VLFV, my plan is to concentrate on individual Contax Zeiss reviews, so look out for those in near future. To fit the barrel of the lens, use a caliper and be precise about it. If you want to get in the same room and do a test to compare the 50/1.4 to a ZE/ZF, I'd be more than willing; just shoot me a line. The 15mm is a gorgeous rectilinear super wide angle, it shares the same optical formula as the Leica Super-Elmar 15mm f/3.5, with different coatings. Heres the full line of glass. If you dont want to deal with that, hunt for MMs. See the photo below! You know, like a cine lens! Contax I. I have used the Nikon 85 1.4, Sony Carl Zeiss 85 and 135, Mino 85, Sigma 85, Canon 85 1.2 for reference. Zeiss AE lens information I found a link to this awesome Zeiss Contax lens brochure, dated October 1975 (12 MB). The f/2.8 never really impressed me, even though its regarded as one of the best budget 28mm out there. Im a fan of DIY, so I decided to install the mounts by myself. So I sand the inside down a bit and try again. This wraps the first step in building a set of lenses: getting the glass. The 15/3.5 took the cake though. Original Contax Zeiss set on the left, Soviet set on the right. We're Noct messing around with this review. These capable cameras should be solid and well-built, have both speed and focus for capturing fast action and offer professional-level image quality. Its also a big change in size and weight, almost doubling its predecessor. Wide open it's one of the sharpest F2.0 wide angle lenses available and it has very little distortion. Eventually will spring for 135/2.8. Damn Nick! RED V-RAPTOR 8K VV Lab Test: Rolling Shutter, Dynamic Range and Latitude plus Video! My C/Y Zeiss lenses have been a WAY better investment than money in the bank (or the stock market). The one main difference I can see isas stated aboveI think the Contaxes cinemod slightly BETTER than ZF/ZEs (because they ALL focus the right way, and ALL have an aperture ring), and also ALL they have that wonderful older T* coating that I believe looks better on digital than the newer T* coating (renders more organically). Page of 321. Great help. Heres a very interesting article by Edward T. that summarizes tech papers published on these designs and their differences, pros and cons. The 15mm is a gorgeous rectilinear super wide angle, it shares the same optical formula as the Leica Super-Elmar 15mm f/3.5, with different coatings. Thank you to Tito for a captivating read. Canon EOS Rebel T6i (EOS 750D / Kiss X8i), Shedding some light on the sources of noise, Contax Yashica lenses - German vs Japanese, Re: Contax Yashica lenses - German vs Japanese, Sigma 23mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary sample gallery, Sigma 50mm F2 DG DN Contemporary sample gallery, Sigma 17mm F4 DG Dn Contemporary Sample Gallery. The only differences are minor ones in the coating and aperture shape which I'll go into below. Its history criss-crosses wars, politics, and conjures up the never-ending battles between Leica and Zeiss. Im still weighing if I need it or not. Yes, it's one step slower than the its siblings, but it definitely crushes them with razor sharp focus and a beautiful transition into bokeh. Its really not a huge deal. Posts; Latest Activity; Photos . Contax Zeiss should be on your radar for a couple of reasons. Contax Zeiss Survival Guide. So I respond to that more. It was not a problem as a starter set. Every time I had to pick a lens I went for the 35mm f/2.8 instead. ----------------------------------------------------------, Oh, just to add I was watching the BBC drama 'Ripper Street' last night when I noticed a couple of shots with fairly extreme ninja star bokeh No technical information on IMDB as to what it was shot on/with sadly but you never knwo. Because the Contax lenses are noticeably more low-con than even Leica Rs their contemporaries, you will notice more latitude in your image. People (me included) didn't like the poor performance of the Canon EF wide lenses and the 21mm and 28mm 2.8 Contax lenses filled the gap. The fastest "wide" is the 28 f2. Another trick is to heat them up with a blow dryer or even your house heater. Fuck!). Theyre fully manual focus and aperture -, have solid metal construction, long focus throw, and a great feel overall. Would I be crazy to say I kinda prefer my 85mm f2.8 to my 85mm f1.4. So where Contax wins in coverage (they are FULL FRAME, and will cover Dragon and beyond), they lose out in speed (they are F4 at 18mm! May be one of the sharpest Contax primes ever made. They are made in Spain, cost about 60 euros each and you install them on the back of the lenses using the provided screws. Only thing I can add to those going the Contax Zeiss route, is that it is important to understand that because of the age of this lenses, despite their . I like to add 0.3mm to the measurement to give me a little wiggle room after printing. The 35-70 doesn't move when the camera tilts. Landmine Media, LLC. Those were the days. Out of curiousity, what is the purpose of having both the 35 f2.8 and the 35-70? . If you are referring to breathing, there is some, but less than in many other still lenses. Give the AC a good follow focus and a . The two specialty lenses the 15/3.5 super wide and 60/2.8 macro go on the smaller 904 case. We've been taking a look at what it offers and what it's like to shoot with. I'm not too sure where they got their findings, but apparently this was a series of tests possibly published on Zeiss's website. https://www.reduser.net/forum/shooting-red/lens-tests/94346-contax-zeiss-survival-guide. I needed a proper case! After I read stellar reviews about the 28mm f/2.0 Hollywood, I went looking for one. LensFinder | NEW way to buy & sell OLD lenses. There are MMG lenses out there I was weary of that for quite a while, since its not mentioned clearly anywhere. Regards. As a reference, my main set of lenses at this time was a Soviet kit that I put together because of their imperfections and organic look. For me the 35mm F/1.4 has become a go to lens while working as a DP. Th 85 1.4 at an F2 for portraitsis KILLER. It all started when I stumbled upon a post on Craigslist from a guy selling his Contax Zeiss set. Standard lens, cant really make a set without a 35mm in it, right? Contax have a bit less contrast, and flare more. I shipped all of them to SIMMOD for declicking and a quick checkup. The questions get dizzying. The Super Nettel was based on the Contax I, with the same kind of shutter but a folding body, a fixed lens, and a short-based rangefinder. It was the most expensive lens in the set and it shares a lot of the beautiful look of the 28/2 Hollywood. Heavy, but sharp. There is a lot of good information about which lenses were improved optically between the earlier AE and later MM versions, as well as lots of user comments. I know I stopped mentioning how sharp these lenses are, but the 60mm is worth highlighting. Page of 320. Contax Zeiss. Zeiss made the jump to MM's in order to enable camera control of the aperture. is a huge fan. Then Nick Morrison went on and on and on about the 35-70. The process turned out alright and the gears worked great, but later on I learned some useful tricks. The last decision I had to make was between the 18mm f/4 and the 15mm f/3.5. I get asked lots of questions. I met amazing businesses with folks that really know how to deal with their customers, I did try out mindblowing glass and I was humbled by all the feedback I got when asking questions about what would be my best options in the middle of the process and posting updates of what I was working on. X. X. The main difference being that a normal human can afford Contax Zeiss but not Leicas. There is a bit of breathing when rack-focusing. To fit the barrel of the lens, use a caliper and be precise about it. As they were designed for photography, they have clicked stops, which has to be dealt with, but they all feature non-rotating front elements, which is a very valuable feature these days with vari NDs. That's where my obsession started. So far, I had no previous love for Contax and a little bit of prejudice against Zeiss for making lenses too clean. All I ever had so far was a Canon backpack and that is not a safe way to transport this grade of gear everywhere. or Sign Up Log in with Search in titles onlySearch in Lens Tests only Search Advanced Search Forums Groups New Posts Today's Posts Member List Forum Shooting RED No comparison. Or do what I did and find an affordable Standard Prime 16mm T2. This gave me a great set of lenses ready for action, all I missed was a way of getting them to said action. And needed a new line of lenses for 35mm still photography. What's the word on that lens? The two rivals would go to war over the name Zeiss until the end of the Cold War (it was the longest court case in the history of East Germany). I know organic is a hackneyed term, but it fits. Just the slight gain in speed/compactness? The Contax I was Zeiss' answer to Leica's offerings in the 35mm market, one . There are a lot of photo/video cameras that have found a role as B-cameras on professional film productions or even A-cameras for amateur and independent productions. Copyright 2023 Vintage Lenses For Video. You can use the code CINE at check out for a nifty discount! Momentum picked up and I saw myself getting ready to DP a webseries pilot. (Nick hope you don't mind my piggy-back!). Im gonna stop saying these lenses are sharp, because at this point its just standard! Under enormous pressure from the West, Eastern Zeiss eventually relinquished the naming rights to CONTAX to Western Zeiss. Search. Proof of this is that arguably their most famous lensthe 21was ONLY made in Japan. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisels Cinematography Tips on Filming a Blizzard in June, Useful Tips on Working with LED Walls in Mixed Reality, Creating Full Soundscapes The Huge Impact of Foley and Sound Effects, DJI Inspire 3 Drone Everything You Need to Know, In the Spotlight With FUJIFILM Featuring Anna Andersen and Nilu Amin, In the Spotlight With FUJIFILM Featuring Rachael Porter, In the Spotlight With FUJIFILM Featuring Gina Hackett, In the Spotlight With FUJIFILM Featuring Adriana Bernal Martnez, Im selling all the gears I made for my set on eBay, I made a tutorial on how to make focus gears, but I was warned by my followers on Instagram about the edge the AE had over the MM, he can provide caps with stickers already on them, see here, by Moritz Schierenbeck on VLFVs facebook group. These capable cameras should be solid and well-built, have both the speed and focus to capture fast action and offer professional-level image quality. I have no idea why this is so and why they continue to sell this dog which takes until at least 2.8 to get reasonably sharp. The 180 is cleaner, sharper and technically better. Distagon, Planar, Sonnar, Tessar, Biogon and Hologon. Its agreed that MM lenses perform better and have cleaner results than AE lenses, theyre also less prone to flaring. It's taken me a few years to build this set, and I absolutely love the look I get from them The 21mm is still regarded as one of the best wide angle lenses you can buy, hence why it is one of . Distagon, Planar, Sonnar, Tessar, Biogon and Hologon. I started using these lenses casually. :) Thanks buddy. Otherwise, you should notice no optical or mechanical difference between the two lines. Leica Rs are much prettier. Its also quite similar to the modern 15/2.8 ZF/ZE offered by Zeiss, just a 2/3 stops slower. If I have a motor on the iris, itll have to be adjusted every time the lens is swapped. Building this set was a great experience throughout. I had a feeling Nick was up to making a guide like this. And. But Zeiss was so precious about these lenses that some of them were only made in Japan and others in Germany. The 18mm is almost one fourth of the price and half the weight of the 15mm, plus it fits along with the other MMJs in the set. check out the. The planar 35mm F/1.4, 50mm T1.4 and 85mm F/1.4, are among some of them. WOW! By the 1960s, competition from the Japanese led to the eventual shuttering of both subsidiaries - even as the larger Zeisss stayed in business. Super Speeds and Standards for cinema. The focusing ring on my 85mm AE is much smoother than my 85mm f1.4. The AE's are no longer serviced by Zeiss, keep that in mind. You can tell them apart because MM have their last aperture number painted green, and they have a small tab on the mount that doesnt exist on AEs. Also almost twice as big and heavy as the previous one. Also ZF/ZE's tend to. I repeated the technique for the rear caps, this time with only the focal length written on them. Lastly, just for curiositys sake, Carl Zeiss has a specific nomenclature for his lens designs and you can see some of them written on the ID ring of these Contax Zeiss lenses. Nothing is free. AE lenses were made between 1975 and 1984. check out the. The data provided and the newsletter opening statistics will be stored on a personal data basis until you unsubscribe. You can spot an MM if the last number on your aperture ring is. You can also tell their place of manufacture based on whats written on the lens! Now Im gonna move into streamlining it for shooting and making it the best possible lenses to handle on set. The more opinions you have, the less you see. If anyone wants seven of the best Zeiss lenses ever made, PM me. Be patient, use heat and sandpaper, and youll get there. Im selling all the gears I made for my set on eBay, I made a tutorial on how to make focus gears, the same formula for the 21mm f/2.8 ZF/ZE primes, I was warned by my followers on Instagram about the edge the AE had over the MM, he can provide caps with stickers already on them, see here, by Moritz Schierenbeck on VLFVs facebook group. Im a big fan of these lenses and have been building my own set for the last few years, but Im nowhere close to creating a buyers guide, so Im very happy that a good friend of VLFV, Tito Ferradans has written the amazing guide below, which doesnt just introduce and explain various aspects of ContaxZeisslenses but will also show you how to tune them up for video use! $2 each. Lastly, just for curiositys sake, Carl Zeiss has a specific nomenclature for his lens designs and you can see some of them written on the ID ring of these Contax Zeiss lenses. They get quite slow in the wides (the 18 is an F4, the 15 a 3.5). 18mm is way too close to 21mm, plus lots of reviews mention its not-impressive performance. Standard lens, cant really make a set without a 35mm in it, right? That said, many still photographers (and DPs) have gotten magic out of these lenses at an F2 or faster. C) They have the older Zeiss T* coating that we also find on Hasselblads, Super Speeds and Standardsand as such have a more organic rendering on digital than ZF/ZE/CP2s. That would be asking a lot of these budget lenses. If you want something ready to use from the get-go, Id say this is not for you. Sonnar originally meant "Sunny", because historically these used to be the bright, fast designs when they first came out. We noticed this specifically on a shoot where we mixed Leica Rs and Contaxs, and the Contaxs def gave us about a stop extra in latitude. Not too sure but it seems likely. It's a weird, over-the-top kind of effect, but when you need it (as I did a few weeks ago) it's actually pretty helpful. Just to be clear (think you left that part out, haha). Happy with 35-70(macro too) 3.4 & 85 1.4 on a6300(with speed booster). Used it today on my 5D to keep things lightweight. However, I wont argue that having a lens that says Made In West Germany is wicked cool. Your choice if you want them Cine-modded or not. But if you guys love circular bokeh and find this bit of personality too intrusive, then do yourself a favor and skip it and get the MMs. In my experience, Japanese and German lenses are equally good. Copyright 2007-2022. Happy Memorial day all. So all you do is get a Cine Ring with the rear thread of your lens and thats gonna make it standard! I needed the one extra stop of light though, for consistent f/2 or faster through the main set. This is an endeavor Ive been working on and off for the last two years and now I can see the finish line. Unfortunately, it predates the Distagon 28/2.8. http://web.archive.org/web/200710120rode/TestZ.htm, https://dl.dropbox.com/u/51913995/marley28.jpg, If this is your first visit, be sure to We've been putting it through its paces. I find it charming, its a lot like the Cooke 8-blade star you see in the back of every True Blood Merlots shot, so I dig it. Wide open the 1.4 is great, but the focusing ring just feels very clunky on my copy. These I ordered from MOO, because they offered me more variety at a much lower price. Lucky for me my 50 and 85/1.4 were already MMJ. Take or leave it. Wide open these are more likely to deliver a strong image that is consistent up and down the aperture. They have a pleasing organic rendering that is not dissimilar to Contax. DPReview TV: Nikon 58mm F0.95 Noct Review! check out the. Things can still look beautiful, but Zeisss philosophy is not to make things pretty, but to be true. Does not come with any adapter. I am thinking of selling the lenses we tested together. For further details, see our Privacy Policy. Theyre killer tools for video, but in order to achieve maximum performance, theres a number of steps and procedures to tackle. This wraps the first step in building a set of lenses: getting the glass. We case our eye over the options costing more than $2500 but less than $4000, to find the best all-rounder. For those not wanting to go the 'pro' Cine-Mod route, you can do it yourself with decent results. All Time Today Last Week Last Month. Slowly I fell in love with them. But dont expect them to have the even performance of a set of Ultraprimes or Masterprimes (where many of the primes are not only similar in size and weight, but also perform similarly at matching T stops!). What's the best camera for shooting sports and action? Speaking of good prices, many links in this post will take you directly to eBay searches of each specific lens! To fix that I took the stickers off, added a thin layer of glue, put the stickers back in place and let it all dry overnight. I personally own the 35mm and the 50mm. Nitze's Affordable Cage for Atomos Shogun CONNECT Introduced, Three Lenses on One Camera at Once VERTIGO by MultiTurret Coming To Kickstarter Soon, MASV Completes AWS Integration with "Send from Amazon S3" Feature, FALCAM Maglink Camera Straps First Look, Aputure INFINIBAR Review - RGBWW Full-Color LED Pixel Bars, Sony ZV-E1 Review - Sony a7S III Lowlight Capabilities, Enhanced Autofocus and Powerful AI, OSEE Megamon 15 Review - Great 1000nits Portable Monitor with few Shortcomings, Filmstro Web App Demonstration with New Features - Make Your Own Soundtracks, Canon EOS R3 Lab Test - Rolling Shutter, Dynamic Range and Latitude Test, Panasonic LUMIX S5 II Lab Test - Rolling Shutter, Dynamic Range and Latitude, Nikon Z 9 N-RAW Lab Test (FW 3.00) - Rolling Shutter, Dynamic Range and Latitude. Like ZF/ZEs, they have fantastic barrel rotations (often 180 degrees or more). Eastern Zeiss instead consolidated all their smaller name brands into PENTACON. The Carl Zeiss Distagon 2.8/28 T* enjoys a very good reputation and it is a bit more expensive at around 250. I repeated the technique for the rear caps, this time with only the focal length written on them. The 21/2.8 was a must. The rubber grip on the focus ring of the lenses is awesome because it prevents the gears from sliding, but its also a pain because it makes the fitting a lot harder. Next came the 60mm f/2.8 Macro. The screws on the back of the lenses are tiny, and if you strip them, you cant get the new mount into place. Back to the story. The 'Contax craze' is 15 years old and dates back to the introduction of the Canon 5D which was the first affordable full frame sensor. You have a wide range of lenses to pick from and equally different price tags. Finally found the old MTF charts for each of the Zeiss Contax lenses. After I read stellar reviews about the 28mm f/2.0 Hollywood, I went looking for one. Even the 21 is only a 2.8. Domenic, you are selling your 100 Macro 2.8 right? When the AE's flare, they generally flare white, evenly, and when overwhelmed by a direct source, can reveal a touch of green ghosting. Then I sent that to be printed at StickerYou in vinyl stickers.
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