contax zeiss survival guide

It all started when I stumbled upon a post on Craigslist from a guy selling his Contax Zeiss set. So I kept using an adapter on that one (the best adapter I had). The Hollywood is indeed a star and the image that comes out of it is much more appealing than the 28/2.8. Also, Super Speeds are a 1.2/1.4 at 18mm and 25mm. Tito Ferradans spent the last six years researching, writing and making videos about the anamorphic format and how to achieve it without breaking the bank on low-budget productions. 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. It was the most expensive lens in the set and it shares a lot of the beautiful look of the 28/2 Hollywood. I needed the one extra stop of light though, for consistent f/2 or faster through the main set. They dilate quite a bit and fit much more easily. The 85 is ridiculously fast with combo. Standard lens, cant really make a set without a 35mm in it, right? Sometimes you have to go with what you can get your hands on. However, I wont argue that having a lens that says Made In West Germany is wicked cool. The price was pretty good and Im the type of person that can buy something just because the price is good. 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. I thought I knew a bit but I just learned so much! I already talked about the mount replacements and focus gears, so Im left with standard fronts and de-clicking. This is an endeavor Ive been working on and off for the last two years and now I can see the finish line. Thats where my obsession started. This is a guide for people that love handling gear and tweaking little things here and there. The main difference being that a normal human can afford Contax Zeiss but not Leicas. Leica has announced a mono-only version of its M11 60MP manual focus rangefinder. I prefer the FOV of a 25, but for the budget.the 28mm is amazing. Just the slight gain in speed/compactness? To me, Contax are a GREAT way to affordably get a very real cinematic look from a golden age in Zeiss optics. I took this question to Instagram again and got really good arguments for both sides. Great help. Wide open these are more likely to deliver a strong image that is consistent up and down the aperture. Thank you! An instant hit, it became synonymous with innovation. Bill that is an insane price for the 21, it's been hovering around 2,000 for as long as I can remember. Now Im gonna move into streamlining it for shooting and making it the best possible lenses to handle on set. Posts; Latest Activity; Photos . Copyright 2007-2022. To fit the barrel of the lens, use a caliper and be precise about it. Take or leave it. The stills guys LOVE IT. Copyright 2007-2022. I own them both. In my experience, the gears never fit on the first try. On digital, these things are a home run, like Standards and Super Speeds. A) They are FULL FRAME and will cover Dragon, and it would seam, even VISTA VISION WEAPON. check out the. 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 lenses were made in two generations. Caps & gears cool. The original CONTAX RTS was introduced in ,highly advanced electronic SLR system camera developed by mutual cooperation of Carl Zeiss, West Germany, and Yashica, Japan. 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 Distagon, Planar, Sonnar, Tessar, Biogon and Hologon. And. Enjoy our Full Show Coverage, Winners of the First AI Film Festival Showcasing the Latest Tools in AI Filmmaking. Heres a very interesting article that summarizes tech papers published on these designs and their differences, pros and cons. Copyright 2007-2022. 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 know a bunch of photo magazines back in the 90's and early 2000's did comprehensive tests and reviews of Contax, I wonder if they lifted the numbers from one of those? I paid around $250.00 for my 35-70/3.4 and around $800.00 for my 21/2.8 both in mint condition! Slowly I fell in love with them. It all started when I stumbled upon a post on Craigslist from a guy selling his Contax Zeiss set. Give the AC a good follow focus and a . Nick P. - lenses like your 35/2.8 and 50/1.4 with the last (largest) number on the aperture ring in green are MM lensessince made in Japan, they are called MMJs. Its been there for quite a while and I have checked up on it countless times to help me make decisions. The Zeiss ZF is phenomenally sharp and modern, which I found good for general and macro photography but I found unpleasant of for portraiture. You can see, Ryan de Franco called my bluff recently, and he let me sit in on his informal test looking into how similar Contax in FACT areto Standards and Super Speeds. 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. You know, like a cine lens! For that reason I had to make a super tall focus gear that would not slip off when travelling from infinity to minimum focus. 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. The 15/3.5 took the cake though. In this buying guide weve rounded up all the current interchangeable lens cameras costing around $2000 and recommended the best. I took this question to Instagram again and got really good arguments for both sides. If I have a motor on the iris, itll have to be adjusted every time the lens is swapped. Also the low-con coating does give you more latitude. Plus, fitting these is never a one-slip move. Landmine Media, LLC. All of you, thank you. I'm thinking about a Contax tele, such as the 180/2.8 Sonnar. So I sand the inside down a bit and try again. And other people too. Remember me Log in Forgot password or user name? I know I stopped mentioning how sharp these lenses are, but the 60mm is worth highlighting. AE lenses also show ninja-star bokeh when stopped down, which is a major turnoff for some folks. Yes, its one step slower than the its siblings, but it definitely crushes them with razor sharp focus and a beautiful transition into bokeh. You can either build a $1500 set or a $10000 set and youll always impress with the results. Collapse. I started using these lenses casually. Want regular CineD updates about news, reviews, how-tos and more?Sign up to our newsletter and we will give you just that. Contax Zeiss should be on your radar for a couple of reasons. After WW2, Zeiss was split asunder in TWO. 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 Contax dont look vintage to me, but they also dont look modern. 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. This page was generated at 05:50 PM. Also because Soviet glass was super cheap. I'm liking my 28:2.8 AE. So far, I had no previous love for Contax and a little bit of prejudice against Zeiss for making lenses too clean. Time. 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! I was just ahead of the game, so it wasnt necessary on my case. So I respond to that more. After aperture was made smooth and clickless I still had my 3d printer hanging around, so I printed aperture gears as well. In my previous buyers guide Ive shown you how to build a Zeiss Jena Mini-Cine set for $1000, but if you have a bit more money to spend then ContaxZeiss is the way togo! Proof of this is that arguably their most famous lensthe 21was ONLY made in Japan. This stumps everyone. Collapse. LensFinder | NEW way to buy & sell OLD lenses. Some folks consider several of the Zeiss Contax Yashica lenses to be very similar to the real Super Speed. 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. AgThunderbird A7Riii | A7ii infrared mod | Minolta 7 . The questions get dizzying. 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. I personally own the 35mm and the 50mm. I then redesigned and printed new focus gears for these and ordered more Leitax mounts and that was good for another five months. I would take Contax Zeiss over Canon "Cine Primes," Zeiss Compact Primes, or the new "Superspeeds" any day. to use on my Komodo. 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. That meant getting a few more lenses and upgrading various aspects I had neglected so far. The main difference being that a normal . Or get a Duclos/Tokina 11-16. reduser.net. 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. They focus the right way, have an aperture ring, and the focus rotation on many lenses reaches 180 degrees. A) They are FULL FRAME and will cover Dragon, and it would seam, even VISTA VISION WEAPON. If you dont have a 3d-printer, Im selling all the gears I made for my set on eBay! Whenever I started thinking the Soviet lenses were sharp, Id pop one of the Contax on the camera and stare in awe. Certainly sharper than both its larger brothers, the 100 planar and 100 Macro. Contax Zeiss. That information was usually written in the lens case, and the focal length was on a sticker attached to the lens cap. Domenic, you are selling your 100 Macro 2.8 right? Another trick is to heat them up with a blow dryer or even your house heater. These babies were bleeding me dry. Optically, Ive read numerous reports that show BOTH lines are very sharp, but frequently the Contax equivalent is deemed a tad sharper (stopped down). Im gonna stop saying these lenses are sharp, because at this point its just standard! How can i get those lenses from you? 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. They are made in Spain, cost about 60 euros each and you install them on the back of the lenses using the provided screws. Anyone who says a lens made in Germany is better than the same lens made in Japan is full of shit. As they are still lenses, there is some breathing on some of them, but nothing insane that has ruined any of our shots. You could use it an any focal length and not really have any compromise relative the prime lenses of the time. Thank you to Tito for a captivating read. The 60/2.8 AE can do 1:1 magnification, while the MM can only reach 1:2. I started with the 28mm. The Soviets were good enough for my own projects, but I needed something more reliable on this one. At this point the price argument was adding a lot of weight. Sony Information & communications technology Technology . But it's a lens meant for stills and cheap as hell compared to cine glass. 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. These I ordered from MOO, because they offered me more variety at a much lower price. The Contax I is a high-end 35mm rangefinder camera made by Zeiss Ikon to compete with Leica models. 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 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. 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. Check it out: Copyright 2007-2022. Anyone have/had one? Since the filter threads across the set are wildly different (from 55 to 72mm), standardizing the filter threads to 77mm allows you to own one single set of filters which can quickly switch lenses without the need for tons of step rings. Leitax mount on the left, original Contax/Yashica mount on the right. This makes life easier when grabbing gear to go out and renting it as well. 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. The Contax I was Zeiss' answer to Leica's offerings in the 35mm market, one . After I read stellar reviews about the 28mm f/2.0 Hollywood, I went looking for one. send me payment method & how many days it will take? $2 each. In my experience, ALL AEs have the Ninja-Star. The Fujifilm X-T5 is the company's latest classically-styled APS-C mirrorless camera. Impressive performance and also the fastest 35mm I ever owned. In fact, they MOD better than ZF/ZEs believe it or not. Its awesome Western Zeiss glass. This is an endeavor Ive been working on and off for the last two years and now I can see the finish line. Damn Nick! Happy with 35-70(macro too) 3.4 & 85 1.4 on a6300(with speed booster). Theyre killer tools for video, but in order to achieve maximum performance, theres a number of steps and procedures to tackle. Because the wides are slow, you will almost certainly need to compliment your kit with a Tokina/Duclos 11-16 2.8. The mount is exactly the same, and barring a couple of exceptionsALL the lens designs are the same. This wraps the first step in building a set of lenses: getting the glass. It was not a problem as a starter set. Thoughts? There are DOZENS of lenses to choose from, that cover all focal lengths from 15mm to 500mm. Every time I had to pick a lens I went for the 35mm f/2.8 instead. 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). B&Hs 9 rating is mint and superb, as is EX+ at Adorama. Im from Bangladesh. Could it be that yours was bumped once in it's lifetime, if it's not the adapter? ----------------------------------------------------------, 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. Its the one I always took with me and it gave me gorgeous shots. My copy has some fungus in it and other copies might be better. Are not only the slowest, but frequently the most classic. What's the best camera for shooting sports and action? Whereas Contax is an F4 at 18mm, and 2.8 at 25mm. 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. 77mm front. RED V-RAPTOR 8K VV Lab Test: Rolling Shutter, Dynamic Range and Latitude plus Video! Wide open it's one of the sharpest F2.0 wide angle lenses available and it has very little distortion. The 35-70 doesn't move when the camera tilts. It was a time when I didnt shoot much, but I went on long bike rides. And they all have a very wide focus throw compared to other still lenses. Stay current with regular CineD updates about news, reviews, how-tos and more. I returned to the guide and started eBay hunting. Im still weighing if I need it or not. 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. Not saying the 135/2 isnt worth it the investment, its just much heavier and harder to carry as a walk-around lens. Otherwise, you should notice no optical or mechanical difference between the two lines. 18mm is way too close to 21mm, plus lots of reviews mention its not-impressive performance. The focusing ring on my 85mm AE is much smoother than my 85mm f1.4. Contax Zeiss 60mm f/2.8 Macro AEG: Infinity focus on the left, minimum focus on the right. Because they focus the right way (ZFs do not, they are Nikon-oriented and focus backwards) and have an aperture ring (ZEs dont have one, as they are EOS-designed and have a digital iris controlled by the camera). Learn how your comment data is processed. All content, design, and layout are Copyright 19982023 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved. Plus, fitting these is never a one-slip move. The screws on the back of the lenses are tiny, and if you strip them, you cant get the new mount into place. 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. They are much more closer to a Super/Standard speed look then the modern zeiss glass including the Cp2s. You have a wide range of lenses to pick from and equally different price tags. Speaking of good prices, many links in this post will take you directly to eBay searches of each specific lens! The 50 should be among the easiest to get right because the optical path is among the simplest. Only 4 lenses were "officially" improved during the jump to MM: the 25 2.8, 28 2.8, 135 2.8, and 135 f2. The downside of such magnification is that the focus ring travels a lot, pretty much doubling the physical length of the lens. 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. The process turned out alright and the gears worked great, but later on I learned some useful tricks. 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. Landmine Media, LLC. 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. Nothing is free. This was a game changer. Even the 21 is only a 2.8. Heavy, but sharp. It doesnt really ever pop up on my 25 2.8, 28 f2, 50 1.4, or 135 2.8. This page was generated at 05:50 PM. When designing your focus gears, keep the number of teeth constant for all the lenses. I didnt think too much about them when designing, they just needed to fit around the ring, and our printer was painfully slow (M3D, Im looking at you). 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. 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. Oh and I believe that where the results are for "Real Aperture" in those tests may actually be the measured T-Stop? 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. In my experience, the gears never fit on the first try. Its a gradual process, guys. Mar 18, 2014 at 04:52 PM My C/Y Zeiss lenses have been a WAY better investment than money in the bank (or the stock market). Its the one I always took with me and it gave me gorgeous shots. Germany vs Japan? Im a fan of DIY, so I decided to install the mounts by myself. It was the most expensive lens in the set and it shares a lot of the beautiful look of the 28/2 Hollywood. Sharp wide open and has a floating element. Then, near the end of last year I decided to round out the set and make it suitable for renting. This is a guide for people that love handling gear and tweaking little things here and there. ----------------------------------------------------------. This will ensure a constant outside diameter, which means you dont have to adjust your follow focus every time you change lenses. At this point the price argument was adding a lot of weight. My favorite lens switched to the 85/1.4 after that, though. You can see our informal results. check out the. is a huge fan. If I know Im not gonna need either the 15 and the 60, I just dont take their case with me. 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. I was not impressed, so I decided to make my own. Happy Memorial day all. Im a fan of DIY, so I decided to install the mounts by myself. When designing your focus gears, keep the number of teeth constant for all the lenses. See the photo below! 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. Theyre much cheaper than modern lenses, yet share similar designs and performance. Contax Zeiss lenses are the gems for sharp yet vintage glass. Both look awesome, and I think people are splitting hairs. The fastest "wide" is the 28 f2. 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. 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 . comments sorted by Best Top New Controversial Q&A Add a Comment . The bokeh behaves differently than with Sonnars and Planars and I find these can give the image an interesting look. Its been there for quite a while and I have checked up on it countless times to help me make decisions. They are also a little sloppy on the mount, which can be alarming. Ive had great success on ebay, but only from premium buyers. 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! I was just ahead of the game, so it wasnt necessary on my case. Yes, its one step slower than the its siblings, but it definitely crushes them with razor sharp focus and a beautiful transition into bokeh. The tab and the last stop in green that mark MM lenses. B) They share very similar designs as the ZF/ZE/CP2 lenses, but for or the price. I also added the f-stop for each lens and its minimum focus in meters and feet. 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. The downside of such magnification is that the focus ring travels a lot, pretty much doubling the physical length of the lens. Each page with eight stickers cost me about $10. This gave me a great set of lenses ready for action, all I missed was a way of getting them to said action. I needed the one extra stop of light though, for consistent f/2 or faster through the main set. I havent tested these much yet, and I ended up not doing standard outside diameters. There are MMG lenses out there I was weary of that for quite a while, since its not mentioned clearly anywhere.

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