send me payment method & how many days it will take? That said, many still photographers (and DPs) have gotten magic out of these lenses at an F2 or faster. The two specialty lenses the 15/3.5 super wide and 60/2.8 macro go on the smaller 904 case. In fact, they MOD better than ZF/ZEs believe it or not. Or get a Duclos/Tokina 11-16. Slowly I fell in love with them. It is smoother one direction than it is the other too which is peculiuar. Wide open, Contax glass seems as mushy as Supers. Im still weighing if I need it or not. My custom made front caps with focal length, f-stop and minimum focus distance. Speaking of good prices, many links in this post will take you directly to eBay searches of each specific lens! 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. Otherwise, the transition from AE was meant to be seamless. Last point on the focus gears: the same way you always want to have a constant outside diameter, you want to place them on the lenses at the same distance from the mount. This is my personal opinion. Thanks for the advice nick. I like to add 0.3mm to the measurement to give me a little wiggle room after printing. Landmine Media, LLC. To fit the barrel of the lens, use a caliper and be precise about it. They are much more closer to a Super/Standard speed look then the modern zeiss glass including the Cp2s. Note: My hunch on the latitude/low con deal is as follows. Check it out: Copyright 2007-2022. This page was generated at 05:50 PM. Contax Zeiss 60mm f/2.8 Macro AEG: Infinity focus on the left, minimum focus on the right. You can skip ahead and read that HERE. Unfortunately, it predates the Distagon 28/2.8. This page was generated at 05:50 PM. The 50 1.7 and 180 2.8 are also rumored to be better in MM. . These are creative tools, use them as such. Having them separate also gives me versatility on pricing, since the main set can still go out without them for a more accessible price. I'm liking my 28:2.8 AE. Its really not a huge deal. Are not only the slowest, but frequently the most classic. Impressive performance and also the fastest 35mm I ever owned. Zeiss Ikon was also split apart into Eastern and Western divisions, but these two subsidiaries kept working togetherand Contax rangefinder cameras and lenses continued to be made on both sides of the wall. One thing I want to mention here is that I have found the new 50/1.4 ZE and ZF's to be MUCH softer wide open than my Contax 50/1.4. The Contax Zeiss Survival Guide: 1) WHY SHOULD YOU CARE ABOUT CONTAX GLASS? This wraps the first step in building a set of lenses: getting the glass. In mint condition, comes with lens hood. This is an endeavor Ive been working on and off for the last two years and now I can see the finish line. So not everything has gotten better over time. If you want something ready to use from the get-go, Id say this is not for you. Building this set was a great experience throughout. Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom impress in a lot of ways, but their noise reduction lags the competition and their lens corrections lack a real-world basis. What's the best camera for shooting landscapes? 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. May be one of the sharpest Contax primes ever made. Are usually 2.8. So I respond to that more. Lucky for me my 50 and 85/1.4 were already MMJ. Whats the best camera for around $2000? No comparison. This is an endeavor Ive been working on and off for the last two years and now I can see the finish line. Filter. You have a wide range of lenses to pick from and equally different price tags. Its a very charming (or annoying, depending on your POV) design to the aperture blades that looks like a crooked ninja throwing star. I get asked lots of questions. It doesnt really ever pop up on my 25 2.8, 28 f2, 50 1.4, or 135 2.8. So I kept using an adapter on that one (the best adapter I had). If you're reeeaaaally on a budget and don't mind a very low contrast look, Zeiss Jena's are a guilty pleasure of mine. check out the. 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. What an amazing amount of learningand research condensed and shared. Nick, awesome thread. Theyre fully manual focus and aperture -, have solid metal construction, long focus throw, and a great feel overall. I got all my standard 80mm fronts from him, as well as slip-on lens caps. 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. makes SPECTACULAR permanent mounts for $75 (Duclos uses these, nuff said). Would I be crazy to say I kinda prefer my 85mm f2.8 to my 85mm f1.4. I know I stopped mentioning how sharp these lenses are, but the 60mm is worth highlighting. Brilliant job Nick. The Contax dont look vintage to me, but they also dont look modern. :) Thanks buddy. If you like vintage flaring, the AEs are great. The more opinions you have, the less you see. Heavy, but sharp. And they all have a very wide focus throw compared to other still lenses. X. X. 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. AE lenses also show ninja-star bokeh when stopped down, which is a major turnoff for some folks. If you are like me and are interested in building up a large, varied kit of lenses that can fit every jobthen Contax are a great choice. That would be asking a lot of these budget lenses. This was a game changer. Many have much more. Great post about contax! Last point on the focus gears: the same way you always want to have a constant outside diameter, you want to place them on the lenses at the same distance from the mount. Slowly I fell in love with them. We're Noct messing around with this review. Then I sent that to be printed at StickerYou in vinyl stickers. A) They are FULL FRAME and will cover Dragon, and it would seam, even VISTA VISION WEAPON. Original Contax Zeiss set on the left, Soviet set on the right. That information was usually written in the lens case, and the focal length was on a sticker attached to the lens cap. Does not come with any adapter. Posts; Latest Activity; Photos . Contax Zeiss Survival Guide. Super Speeds and Standards for cinema. We case our eye over the options costing more than $2500 but less than $4000, to find the best all-rounder. That meant getting a few more lenses and upgrading various aspects I had neglected so far. I needed a proper case! Wide open, the 35 1.4 and 85 1.4 are fine (circular bokeh). Thank you, that was very informative! But Zeiss was so precious about these lenses that some of them were only made in Japan and others in Germany. There are DOZENS of lenses to choose from, that cover all focal lengths from 15mm to 500mm. Copyright 2007-2022. That's what I'm thinking, though no official sources have been cited on the tests, it may have been pulled from articles or done independently, not sure. The issue that came up from was the stickers were having a hard time sticking to the material of the lens caps and were peeling off on their own. Leica has announced a mono-only version of its M11 60MP manual focus rangefinder. If thats your deal, then you will love Leica Rs. Anyone who says a lens made in Germany is better than the same lens made in Japan is full of shit. 1. VLFV family also gets 10% off any order you make with this companies, just add a promo code VLFV (SimmodLens) or VINTAGE (FollowFocusGears.com) on checkout. You have to keep wiggling them slowly, side by side, until they are in place. We've been taking a look at what it offers and what it's like to shoot with. 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). 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. But I now have the 200 and I have to admit, the bokeh is very pleasing and captivating, and I prefer it. Its been there for quite a while and I have checked up on it countless times to help me make decisions. The only differences are minor ones in the coating and aperture shape which I'll go into below. Originally launched in 1932 as a rangefinder system to compete with - you guessed it. You have to admit they look sexy. These babies were bleeding me dry. Certainly sharper than both its larger brothers, the 100 planar and 100 Macro. Its also a big change in size and weight, almost doubling its predecessor. The tab and the last stop in green that mark MM lenses. You know, like a cine lens! That was probably one of the most stressful experiences of my life with lenses. Lets go back to the 70s. From the Contax Survival Guide: 100 3.5 - Like the 85 Sonnar, but slower and possibly even sharper. All content, design, and layout are Copyright 19982023 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved. Standard lens, cant really make a set without a 35mm in it, right? This makes life easier when grabbing gear to go out and renting it as well. Really. It had five lenses: 28/2.8, 35/2.8, 50/1.4, 85/1.4 and 135/2.8. Happy with 35-70(macro too) 3.4 & 85 1.4 on a6300(with speed booster). The planar 35mm F/1.4, 50mm T1.4 and 85mm F/1.4, are among some of them. @Yean: I'm 99 % sure it's the adapter then. 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. Because the Contax lenses are noticeably more low-con than even Leica Rs their contemporaries, you will notice more latitude in your image. I managed to get a bunch of black C/Y adapters, step up rings, and some lens gears from eBay and decently cobbled together a set. 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. Its awesome Western Zeiss glass. AE vs MM? For further details, see our Privacy Policy. For that reason I had to make a super tall focus gear that would not slip off when travelling from infinity to minimum focus. check out the. But then work started picking up and I saw that as the perfect opportunity to upgrade. Sonnar originally meant "Sunny", because historically these used to be the bright, fast designs when they first came out. I almost went for the wrong one with my MM obsession, but I was warned by my followers on Instagram about the edge the AE had over the MM. My favorite lens switched to the 85/1.4 after that, though. I also feel that the ninja-star may funkify the bokeh a bitgive it a touch of painterly magicbut that may just be meand this wild opinion is something I may need to test out a bit more! This page was generated at 05:50 PM. These I ordered from MOO, because they offered me more variety at a much lower price. I was just ahead of the game, so it wasnt necessary on my case. They cover full frame, are super easy to adapt to many other mounts and never lose their value. Wake the fuck up. To me, Contax are a GREAT way to affordably get a very real cinematic look from a golden age in Zeiss optics. If you do have a printer, I made a tutorial on how to make focus gears! Wide open it's one of the sharpest F2.0 wide angle lenses available and it has very little distortion. As many of you knowI have been a strong proponent of Contax Glass on REDUSER for a while now. Micro contrast and color reproduction is fantastic as well. In Contax, that corresponds to all lenses 35mm and wider (down to 15mm). This turns the original C/Y mount into a solid EF mount that wont budge for nothing. The fastest "wide" is the 28 f2. (Heres where I beleive the Leica Rs have a clear advantage, their 19mm is a 2.8which is pretty amazing). The wides are slow. It was the most expensive lens in the set and it shares a lot of the beautiful look of the 28/2 Hollywood. But on CERTAIN LENSES (with wide barrels) you def see it prominently at your SECOND and THIRD F-stop position (counting wide open as your FIRST position), For example, I notice it by far the most on my 35 1.4 and 85 1.4. Have a look at Kipon for something decent or Novoflex for first class a Zeiss deserves it. Eastern Zeiss instead consolidated all their smaller name brands into PENTACON. If I know Im not gonna need either the 15 and the 60, I just dont take their case with me. Also the low-con coating does give you more latitude. The last decision I had to make was between the 18mm f/4 and the 15mm f/3.5. I know organic is a hackneyed term, but it fits. Is the Distagon 21mm the same glass as they use in the Compact Primes? After I read stellar reviews about the 28mm f/2.0 Hollywood, I went looking for one. I reached out to David at Hardcases.ca and got both a Nanuk 918 with padded dividers and a Nanuk 904 with foam to fit these babies. Its regarded as one of the best 21mm ever made, and to this day they still use the same formula for the 21mm f/2.8 ZF/ZE primes. 80mm is the outside diameter of the rings, and that number is so specific because its a standard size for clip-on matteboxes. I have used the Nikon 85 1.4, Sony Carl Zeiss 85 and 135, Mino 85, Sigma 85, Canon 85 1.2 for reference. 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 mount is exactly the same, and barring a couple of exceptionsALL the lens designs are the same. It was the most expensive lens in the set and it shares a lot of the beautiful look of the 28/2 Hollywood. The 180 is cleaner, sharper and technically better. In my experience, the gears never fit on the first try. Theres a lot of discussion whether the 135mm f/2.0 has a clear advantage over the f/2.8, especially when you take into account the price difference. Distagon, Planar, Sonnar, Tessar, Biogon and Hologon. They are also a little sloppy on the mount, which can be alarming. I'm sure its just due to copy variation and the years its weathered but pretty disappointing. Search. I havent tested these much yet, and I ended up not doing standard outside diameters. The Contax 25mm 2.8 is good, but you may want to consider the 28mm 2.8 which is cheaper, and "technically" better. (I read the Contax Survival Guide, thank you Nick . Optically, Ive read numerous reports that show BOTH lines are very sharp, but frequently the Contax equivalent is deemed a tad sharper (stopped down). MM's from 1984 to 2005. 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 . All times are GMT-8. I'm only saying that because the guys on the photography forums use these charts to compare numbers with other lenses they all refer to that page as the 'source'. I'll definitely look into my adapter. I needed the one extra stop of light though, for consistent f/2 or faster through the main set. As photography slowly shifted from rangefinder to SLR, Contax was. Time. Not saying the 135/2 isnt worth it the investment, its just much heavier and harder to carry as a walk-around lens. After I read stellar reviews about the 28mm f/2.0 Hollywood, I went looking for one. Show. I started using these lenses casually. 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. So all you do is get a Cine Ring with the rear thread of your lens and thats gonna make it standard! Just to be clear (think you left that part out, haha). On my set some were MMJ, others AEG. Almost six months after I wrote this guide, I decided to update it with a quick survey of what lenses to consider - a general overview of the Contax lineup, if you will. With less glass comes more consistency. I say that because Ive encountered many people who get confused and think Contax is weird Japanese junk. Could it be that yours was bumped once in it's lifetime, if it's not the adapter? I prefer it, cuz theres an honesty there I appreciate. Eventually will spring for 135/2.8. It gains the 40MP sensor and AF system from the X-H2 but in a body with a more stills-focused slant. Over the years, Zeiss has added new, fantastic designs, this can not be overlooked. So far, I had no previous love for Contax and a little bit of prejudice against Zeiss for making lenses too clean. $2 each. Still on the DIY train, a friend and I had just bought a 3d-printer, so I started making my own focus gears. I don't want to feed your addiction or be your pusher or cause a break-up in your marriage or relationship but KEH has a "like new" 21/2.8 Distagon for $1,950.00. This makes life easier when grabbing gear to go out and renting it as well. So far I had been using adapters on them, and they sucked. There is a bit of breathing when rack-focusing. I have a mixed set and barely notice the difference. After WW2, Zeiss was split asunder in TWO. check out the. The process turned out alright and the gears worked great, but later on I learned some useful tricks. 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. All times are GMT-8. In this buying guide we've rounded-up several great cameras for shooting sports and action, and recommended the best. ----------------------------------------------------------, 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. Besides Leica Rs, also give Nikkors (obviously), Canon FDs, and Minolta Rokkors a good look. They are made in Spain, cost about 60 euros each and you install them on the back of the lenses using the provided screws. As always very much appreciated. Theyre much cheaper than modern lenses, yet share similar designs and performance. . Are usually 3.5 and F4. The bokeh behaves differently than with Sonnars and Planars and I find these can give the image an interesting look. I needed a proper case! Im sure that approach had similar benefits with cinema lenses and Hasselblads. First I measured the slip-on caps I got from SIMMOD and created a Photoshop template with that size. For declicking, I read a lot of posts from people saying its a super easy process on Contax Zeiss lenses, but I didnt have the guts for it. E) They are very easy to cinemod. Those ocasional shots where you need to SNAP from one extreme focal length to another. It's more like the image jumps! I remember someone doing a test a when the epic first came with stills lenses and noticed it too. I plugged in the focal length in white so theyre easy to read in dark sets. They dilate quite a bit and fit much more easily. For those not wanting to go the 'pro' Cine-Mod route, you can do it yourself with decent results. Distance between first and last lens vertex: 33.6 mm 51.8 mm Weight: approx. THE CONTAX LENS GUIDE - 2015 EDITION The most up-to-date guide to almost every Contax lens ever made. Your 50/1.7 is an AE lens, based on it's serial number and lack of green last numbersince made in Japan, it is an AEJ. I paid around $250.00 for my 35-70/3.4 and around $800.00 for my 21/2.8 both in mint condition! I went for the fastest lenses and snuffed out the AEGs I had, in favor of the prettier bokeh of the MMJs. All of you, thank you. WOW! http://slrlensreview.com/web/reviewszontalmenu-172, http://web.archive.org/web/200710120rode/TestZ.htm, If this is your first visit, be sure to It's cheapass ones I got from China. Or buy Supers. Contax Zeiss Survival Guide In reply to Giovanni_1968 9 months ago While this site is targeted to adapting Zeiss Contax lenses for video, it also seems to be the go-to guide for the rest of us with respect to these lenses. All I ever had so far was a Canon backpack and that is not a safe way to transport this grade of gear everywhere. The price was pretty good and Im the type of person that can buy something just because the price is good. to use on my Komodo. Nothing is free. But Leica Rs are certainly more expensive, so take that into consideration if you are on a budget. After that, B&H and ADORAMA are great choices. When designing your focus gears, keep the number of teeth constant for all the lenses. This is a sticky topic. B) They share very similar designs as the ZF/ZE/CP2 lenses, but for or the price Can't Attend? Out of curiousity, what is the purpose of having both the 35 f2.8 and the 35-70? Fairly "affordable" as well. Zeiss AE lens information I found a link to this awesome Zeiss Contax lens brochure, dated October 1975 (12 MB). Though I have to say, until you put in a lens review on each lens, I think you will continue to be fairly regularly PM'd :)) Though I'm sure that info is pretty well covered actually if you read through your post history :), Phil Holland - Cinematographer - Los Angeles. is a huge fan. But it's a lens meant for stills and cheap as hell compared to cine glass. Zeiss made the jump to MM's in order to enable camera control of the aperture. Now Im gonna move into streamlining it for shooting and making it the best possible lenses to handle on set. After aperture was made smooth and clickless I still had my 3d printer hanging around, so I printed aperture gears as well. I plugged in the focal length in white so theyre easy to read in dark sets. So Contax = Western Zeiss. Also almost twice as big and heavy as the previous one. Another trick is to heat them up with a blow dryer or even your house heater. Also ZF/ZE's tend to. The price was pretty good and Im the type of person that can buy something just because the price is good. I started using these lenses casually. Im still weighing if I need it or not.
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