Page of 320. I shipped all of them to SIMMOD for declicking and a quick checkup. Still on the DIY train, a friend and I had just bought a 3d-printer, so I started making my own focus gears. http://www.pebbleplace.com/Personal/Contax_db.html, QuineCore Question - how to solve your production woes, If this is your first visit, be sure to
AEs and MMs all color match. The Hollywood is indeed a star and the image that comes out of it is much more appealing than the 28/2.8. Im one of the blowhards (haha) that has routinely made this claim that Contax glass shares a lot of the same pedigree as its medium format and cinema cousins.Standards, Supers and Hasselblads, respectively. Contax I. This website or its third-party tools use cookies, which are necessary to its functioning and required to achieve the purposes illustrated in the cookie policy. 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. Momentum picked up and I saw myself getting ready to DP a webseries pilot. My favorite lens switched to the 85/1.4 after that, though. Next came the 60mm f/2.8 Macro. But Leica Rs are certainly more expensive, so take that into consideration if you are on a budget. You can unsubscribe at any time via an unsubscribe link included in every newsletter. It had five lenses: 28/2.8, 35/2.8, 50/1.4, 85/1.4 and 135/2.8. On digital, these things are a home run, like Standards and Super Speeds. 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. Or buy Supers. Or get a Duclos/Tokina 11-16. When the MM's flare, they control it much better (you have to force it more), but when they do, and the coating is overwhelmed by a direct source, the coating will break out into more distinct, tight Zeiss purple flare marks. Note: My hunch on the latitude/low con deal is as follows. adapters work fine ($15) (They are conservative and tend to overcompensate by a millimeter or two, so they can make your glass focus past infinity at the tail end, a bit annoying but nothing terrible). It offers the advantage of one of the most sophisticated fully automatic through-the-lens exposure control available during the late seventies. Original Contax Zeiss set on the left, Soviet set on the right. 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. . You have a wide range of lenses to pick from and equally different price tags. 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. Also the low-con coating does give you more latitude. One last note on their generations, MMs were mostly made in Japan, so theyre called MMJs, while AEs were made in Germany and named AEGs. It's more like the image jumps! You can also tell their place of manufacture based on whats written on the lens! If you dont have a 3d-printer, Im selling all the gears I made for my set on eBay! The optics in these Zeiss are very similar, if not the same as the current Zeiss still lenses, a different coating on the glass is the main difference. You can either build a $1500 set or a $10000 set and youll always impress with the results. So all you do is get a Cine Ring with the rear thread of your lens and thats gonna make it standard! I started with the 28mm. Every time I had to pick a lens I went for the 35mm f/2.8 instead. So this reasoning is pretty bullet proof. The focusing ring on my 85mm AE is much smoother than my 85mm f1.4. 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. I still dont know when to use them, though! Have a look at Kipon for something decent or Novoflex for first class a Zeiss deserves it. Conveniently for me as I was finishing the set, SIMMOD Lens came into the picture, with very competitive prices, impressive customer service and super high-quality products. You can see our informal results. I personally own the 35mm and the 50mm. This turns the original C/Y mount into a solid EF mount that wont budge for nothing. ----------------------------------------------------------, 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. What an amazing amount of learningand research condensed and shared. Nick, awesome thread. I already talked about the mount replacements and focus gears, so Im left with standard fronts and de-clicking. It all started when I stumbled upon a post on Craigslist from a guy selling his Contax Zeiss set. Are often more traditional designs. How can i get those lenses from you? I then redesigned and printed new focus gears for these and ordered more Leitax mounts and that was good for another five months. I'll definitely look into my adapter. But then work started picking up and I saw that as the perfect opportunity to upgrade. 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. Its been there for quite a while and I have checked up on it countless times to help me make decisions. 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. All times are GMT-8. 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. So far I had been using adapters on them, and they sucked. Then, near the end of last year I decided to round out the set and make it suitable for renting. Copyright 2007-2022. See the photo below! Posts; Latest Activity; Photos . I needed the one extra stop of light though, for consistent f/2 or faster through the main set. Their disadvantages are that they don't have matching T stops (hey, theyre still lenses!). Heres a little short-hand: ". I thought I knew a bit but I just learned so much! In the same way RED wants to give you as many options by letting us shoot RAW, my hunch is that Zeiss was doing the same back in the day with a low-con coating. Copyright 2007-2022. 250 g approx. 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. All times are GMT-8. Its also a big change in size and weight, almost doubling its predecessor. Back to the story. They also look more modern and clean. Even the 21 is only a 2.8. Give the AC a good follow focus and a . Copyright 2023 Vintage Lenses For Video. 80mm is the outside diameter of the rings, and that number is so specific because its a standard size for clip-on matteboxes. Speaking of good prices, many links in this post will take you directly to eBay searches of each specific lens! It gains the 40MP sensor and AF system from the X-H2 but in a body with a more stills-focused slant. Really haven't tested it enough, but the color rendering of the 85mm f2.8 really seems to have some special magic. remained behind in the ruins of the city of Jena, trapped behind the Iron Curtain. Focal length marked on the rear caps as well. check out the. Sometimes you have to go with what you can get your hands on. check out the. The last decision I had to make was between the 18mm f/4 and the 15mm f/3.5. However, I wont argue that having a lens that says Made In West Germany is wicked cool. They have more saturated colors, deeper blacks. No comparison. ----------------------------------------------------------. 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. This makes life easier when grabbing gear to go out and renting it as well. When designing your focus gears, keep the number of teeth constant for all the lenses. This was a game changer. Zeiss and Yashica lenses are all in all rumored to be better, but are much more expensive. I have used the Nikon 85 1.4, Sony Carl Zeiss 85 and 135, Mino 85, Sigma 85, Canon 85 1.2 for reference. Having them separate also gives me versatility on pricing, since the main set can still go out without them for a more accessible price. But if you want SPECIFIC tailored performance, than RPPs, Cookes, or Ultraprimes are probably a better choice (for many times the budget). They rack focus beautifully. This will ensure a constant outside diameter, which means you dont have to adjust your follow focus every time you change lenses. 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 . The fastest "wide" is the 28 f2. The 85 is ridiculously fast with combo. thanks Nick im building Contax set in soon :). You can unsubscribe at any time via an unsubscribe link included in every newsletter. Impressive performance and also the fastest 35mm I ever owned. https://www.reduser.net/forum/shooting-red/lens-tests/94346-contax-zeiss-survival-guide. These are creative tools, use them as such. Those ocasional shots where you need to SNAP from one extreme focal length to another. http://www.ebay.com/itm/EX-Modified-item3a8193c812, If this is your first visit, be sure to
I think its safe to say all these lenses from this era of Zeiss optics have remarkably similar coatings and magic. That said, many still photographers (and DPs) have gotten magic out of these lenses at an F2 or faster. The 15/3.5 took the cake though. Contax Zeiss lenses are the gems for sharp yet vintage glass. I've noticed these designs are more likely to create punchy, contrasty images, too. Ron also offers the full mod service for great prices, including focus gears and lens mounts. (I read the Contax Survival Guide, thank you Nick . 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. Great help. The more opinions you have, the less you see. Plus, fitting these is never a one-slip move. Building this set was a great experience throughout. In fact, they MOD better than ZF/ZEs believe it or not. I also added the f-stop for each lens and its minimum focus in meters and feet. It was, perhaps, the first standard zoom of truly decent quality throughout its range. Building this set was a great experience throughout. Theyre much cheaper than modern lenses, yet share similar designs and performance. Conveniently for me as I was finishing the set, SIMMOD Lens came into the picture, with very competitive prices, impressive customer service and super high-quality products. check out the. 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. The Hasselblad we threw up also seemed to have an uncannily similar T* coating too. The 135 mm 2.8 MD lens can keep up with the big boys, some say it is one of the best tele lens of all time. Zeiss made the jump to MM's in order to enable camera control of the aperture. I got all my standard 80mm fronts from him, as well as slip-on lens caps. B&Hs 9 rating is mint and superb, as is EX+ at Adorama. Thats when I learned of Leitax and their mount replacements. check out the. The Contax I is a high-end 35mm rangefinder camera made by Zeiss Ikon to compete with Leica models. I plugged in the focal length in white so theyre easy to read in dark sets. All I ever had so far was a Canon backpack and that is not a safe way to transport this grade of gear everywhere. Filter. What IS the Ninja-Star? For a little over a year, this was enough. Check it out: Copyright 2007-2022. Fairly "affordable" as well. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The lenses were made in two generations. The screws on the back of the lenses are tiny, and if you strip them, you cant get the new mount into place. I'm planning on building a Canon FD or Contax Zeiss C/Y set (I read the Contax Survival Guide, thank you Nick Morrison!!!) They dont have it. Im a fan of DIY, so I decided to install the mounts by myself. reduser.net. 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. I remember years back when it was Pebble Place, Fred Miranda, a few random flickr pages and foggy lens tech folklore for figuring out this old glass. Next up was the 35mm, two stops faster at f/1.4. Or do what I did and find an affordable Standard Prime 16mm T2. (Heres where I beleive the Leica Rs have a clear advantage, their 19mm is a 2.8which is pretty amazing). If I have a motor on the iris, itll have to be adjusted every time the lens is swapped. ALL of my MMs do NOT have the Ninja-Star, so Im going to say this is a Maxim. I started with the 28mm. If you dont want to deal with that, hunt for MMs. Contax Zeiss Survival Guide. Its also quite similar to the modern 15/2.8 ZF/ZE offered by Zeiss, just a 2/3 stops slower. 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. 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. I always took the 135 with me and some of my favorite photos come from that time. I returned to the guide and started eBay hunting. It was the most expensive lens in the set and it shares a lot of the beautiful look of the 28/2 Hollywood. The 50 1.7 and 180 2.8 are also rumored to be better in MM. If you do have a printer, I made a tutorial on how to make focus gears! But at F2 and 2.8you def notice it if you have a very busy frame with lots of bokeh. I prefer it, cuz theres an honesty there I appreciate. As mentioned before, the 50mm F1.7 is no slouch and it sure isn't! An instant hit, it became synonymous with innovation. All Time Today Last Week Last Month. Leica Rs are much prettier. First I measured the slip-on caps I got from SIMMOD and created a Photoshop template with that size. Theyre killer tools for video, but in order to achieve maximum performance, theres a number of steps and procedures to tackle. 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. 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). 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. Leitax mount on the left, original Contax/Yashica mount on the right. 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. I own (or have owned) an AE 25 2.8, 28 f2, 28 2.8, 35 1.4, 45 2.8, 50 1.4, 50 1.7, 60 2.8, 85 1.4, 85 2.8, 135 f2, 135 2.8, and 200 3.5and ALL OF THEM have the Ninja-Star. I went for the fastest lenses and snuffed out the AEGs I had, in favor of the prettier bokeh of the MMJs. If youre not a DIY spirited person or you dont like getting things from a million different places -, I worked with Ron at SIMMOD so he can provide caps with stickers already on them. 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. Pm for pics. The tab and the last stop in green that mark MM lenses. Zeisss quality control was extremely demanding. On my set some were MMJ, others AEG. Its also a big change in size and weight, almost doubling its predecessor. Also almost twice as big and heavy as the previous one. 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). Out of curiousity, what is the purpose of having both the 35 f2.8 and the 35-70? 06-22-2022, 04:47 PM Hey, everybody, I know we have the awesome Contax Zeiss Survival Guide but looking at building a set of Zeiss lenses myself from bargain finds and fixer uppers I've collected, I wondered what anybody's experiences might have been with mixing Zeiss lineups together? The 135mm f/2.8 was a great lens. The 180 is cleaner, sharper and technically better. Canon FD's are the predecessors to Canon L glass, and have a superb pedigree. Learn how your comment data is processed. Happy with 35-70(macro too) 3.4 & 85 1.4 on a6300(with speed booster). So I kept using an adapter on that one (the best adapter I had). 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. See the photo below! In mint condition, comes with lens hood. Heres the full line of glass. All content, design, and layout are Copyright 19982023 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved. Another trick is to heat them up with a blow dryer or even your house heater. (Nick hope you don't mind my piggy-back!). Though alot of the photography forum guys refer to those tests for 'official' MTF results they're a lot easier to read than Zeiss's graphs and they're all in one place. 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. I would take Contax Zeiss over Canon "Cine Primes," Zeiss Compact Primes, or the new "Superspeeds" any day. X. X. Th 85 1.4 at an F2 for portraitsis KILLER. When the AE's flare, they generally flare white, evenly, and when overwhelmed by a direct source, can reveal a touch of green ghosting. DxO PureRAW 3 aims to come to their rescue without totally reinventing your workflow! comments sorted by Best Top New Controversial Q&A Add a Comment . This page was generated at 05:50 PM. This is an endeavor Ive been working on and off for the last two years and now I can see the finish line. It was intended to be a cheaper alternative. The only thing I could maybe do later is update the markings on each lens with fluorescent paint like what you see here, by Moritz Schierenbeck on VLFVs facebook group. Its a gradual process, guys. Renting Komodo ST, Helium, Gemini, Alexa Mini, Phantom VEO4K, break down into purple splotches when they flare, http://www.ebay.de/itm/Contax-Carl-Z#ht_500wt_1156, dittok One Stop RAW Visual Production Service, If this is your first visit, be sure to
Yupthey go as far 500mm. For a while I didnt understand the need for 80mm fronts, so Ill share what I learned so others wont live too long unknowing like me! The questions get dizzying. I own them both. Landmine Media, LLC. The process turned out alright and the gears worked great, but later on I learned some useful tricks. Sonnar originally meant "Sunny", because historically these used to be the bright, fast designs when they first came out. Having them separate also gives me versatility on pricing, since the main set can still go out without them for a more accessible price. Because the Contax lenses are noticeably more low-con than even Leica Rs their contemporaries, you will notice more latitude in your image. Related Topics . I know I stopped mentioning how sharp these lenses are, but the 60mm is worth highlighting. The bokeh behaves differently than with Sonnars and Planars and I find these can give the image an interesting look. I like to add 0.3mm to the measurement to give me a little wiggle room after printing. The process turned out alright and the gears worked great, but later on I learned some useful tricks. Contax Zeiss 60mm f/2.8 Macro AEG: Infinity focus on the left, minimum focus on the right. Another trick is to heat them up with a blow dryer or even your house heater. is a huge fan. You know, like a cine lens! I won't bore you with the history lesson, but Pentax worked with Zeiss when the Contax series was developed and they came out with a suspiciously similar multi-coated lens at the same time. Live with it. 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. This stumps everyone. The first one is AE and the second one is MM. There are MMG lenses out there I was weary of that for quite a while, since its not mentioned clearly anywhere. All of you, thank you. If anyone wants seven of the best Zeiss lenses ever made, PM me. Wide open these are more likely to deliver a strong image that is consistent up and down the aperture. Landmine Media, LLC. With less glass comes more consistency. But Zeiss was so precious about these lenses that some of them were only made in Japan and others in Germany. I needed a proper case! Are usually 2.8. That information was usually written in the lens case, and the focal length was on a sticker attached to the lens cap. send me payment method & how many days it will take? These babies were bleeding me dry. cinema5D GmbH, Kranzgasse 22/9-10, A-1150 Vienna, Austria. Otherwise, you should notice no optical or mechanical difference between the two lines. If you dont have a 3d-printer, Im selling all the gears I made for my set on eBay! Anyone have/had one? Its history criss-crosses wars, politics, and conjures up the never-ending battles between Leica and Zeiss. All times are GMT-8. If you want something ready to use from the get-go, Id say this is not for you. You have to admit they look sexy. 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. 2023 All rights reserved. Heres the answer to all of this, broken down. Caps & gears cool.
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