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! Certainly sharper than both its larger brothers, the 100 planar and 100 Macro. Eventually will spring for 135/2.8. That's where my obsession started. The downside of such magnification is that the focus ring travels a lot, pretty much doubling the physical length of the lens. To me, Contax are a GREAT way to affordably get a very real cinematic look from a golden age in Zeiss optics. All times are GMT-8. AEs and MMs all color match. Its also quite similar to the modern 15/2.8 ZF/ZE offered by Zeiss, just a 2/3 stops slower. - Contax was created by Zeiss subsidiary Zeiss Ikon. 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. 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. 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! The Standards were w/out a doubt the sharpest wide open. Im still weighing if I need it or not. Whereas Contax is an F4 at 18mm, and 2.8 at 25mm. All content, design, and layout are Copyright 19982023 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved. Fuck!). 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!). Fluorescent paint to make markings easier to spot in the dark, by Moritz Schierenbeck. What IS the Ninja-Star? Contax Zeiss. On the 918 I keep the main six lenses of the set plus variable NDs and other filters. 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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. May be one of the sharpest Contax primes ever made. 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. As photography slowly shifted from rangefinder to SLR, Contax was. 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. Every time I had to pick a lens I went for the 35mm f/2.8 instead. 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. Zeiss has their own language, their own nomenclature, for lens designs that is very useful to be familiar with as you start hunting for lenses. Generally speaking, these fall into 3 lens types, categorized by how fast and complex they are. Canon FD's are the predecessors to Canon L glass, and have a superb pedigree. 300 g Possibilities of combining Carl Zeiss lenses with Mutarconverters for use with the ContaxSLR camera system Carl Zeiss Photoobjektive D-73446 Oberkochen Telephone (07364) 20-6175 Fax (07364) 20-4045 eMail: photo@zeiss.de http://www.zeiss.de Heavy, but sharp. The focusing ring on my 85mm AE is much smoother than my 85mm f1.4. The 135mm f/2.8 was a great lens. You have to admit they look sexy. Its also a big change in size and weight, almost doubling its predecessor. Heres a very interesting article by Edward T. that summarizes tech papers published on these designs and their differences, pros and cons. Building this set was a great experience throughout. And they all have a very wide focus throw compared to other still lenses. 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. 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. I like to add 0.3mm to the measurement to give me a little wiggle room after printing. For that reason I had to make a super tall focus gear that would not slip off when travelling from infinity to minimum focus. The Contax 25mm 2.8 is good, but you may want to consider the 28mm 2.8 which is cheaper, and "technically" better. thanks for the info! The Hollywood is indeed a star and the image that comes out of it is much more appealing than the 28/2.8. Contax Zeiss Survival Guide. 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 . 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. You can either build a $1500 set or a $10000 set and youll always impress with the results. I always took the 135 with me and some of my favorite photos come from that time. Each page with eight stickers cost me about $10. Contax Zeiss 60mm f/2.8 Macro AEG: Infinity focus on the left, minimum focus on the right. It's cheapass ones I got from China. This was a game changer. You NEVER SEE it wide open, because the blades arent engaged. I remember someone doing a test a when the epic first came with stills lenses and noticed it too. DxO PureRAW 3 review: Give Adobe's apps a much-needed boost with modern AI algorithms, The best cameras for family and friends photos in 2022, Best affordable cameras for sports and action in 2022, May 2023 Part 1 This Month Through Your Adapted Lens. Contax I. Contax are by no means the only cool, vintage kids on the block. I have a mixed set and barely notice the difference. Againthis is just a hunch on my part, dont shoot me 5) HOW TO SHOP FOR THEM - DON'T GET "G", "N", or "645". Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* (C/Y) 35-70mm f3.4: A review ZF/ZEs only go as far as 135mm. AgThunderbird A7Riii | A7ii infrared mod | Minolta 7 . The price-performance ratio of the Minolta lenses is the best in the camera world. It was the most expensive lens in the set and it shares a lot of the beautiful look of the 28/2 Hollywood. You can unsubscribe at any time via an unsubscribe link included in every newsletter. Proof of this is that arguably their most famous lensthe 21was ONLY made in Japan. Contax RTS glass can easily be adapted to EOS. Next up was the 35mm, two stops faster at f/1.4. This page was generated at 05:50 PM. In my experience, the gears never fit on the first try. So all you do is get a Cine Ring with the rear thread of your lens and thats gonna make it standard! Otherwise, the transition from AE was meant to be seamless. To fit the barrel of the lens, use a caliper and be precise about it. Copyright 2007-2022. The price was pretty good and Im the type of person that can buy something just because the price is good. Zeiss made the jump to MM's in order to enable camera control of the aperture. They rack focus beautifully. One thing that the push-pull nature of the zooms helps with, is snap-zooms. As stated repeatedly, like ZF/ZEs, Contax lenses have great cinema mechanics. By giving you that extra latitude in the blacks and highlights, they were letting photographers dial in how much black and contrast they wanted later in the dark roomwhen they were printing. 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). The screws on the back of the lenses are tiny, and if you strip them, you cant get the new mount into place. So I kept using an adapter on that one (the best adapter I had). This one was only made in Japan and it doesnt exist in AE, just MM. My favorite lens switched to the 85/1.4 after that, though. Collapse. It provides basically the same information on the AE lenses as the 'current' Zeiss data sheets do for the MM lenses. Also almost twice as big and heavy as the previous one. There are DOZENS of lenses to choose from, that cover all focal lengths from 15mm to 500mm. So not everything has gotten better over time. Or do what I did and find an affordable Standard Prime 16mm T2. Thoughts? Distagon, Planar, Sonnar, Tessar, Biogon and Hologon. 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. 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. You have to keep wiggling them slowly, side by side, until they are in place. No comparison. This means that not all MM lenses are made in Japan. Sharp wide open and has a floating element. We're Noct messing around with this review. Ive had great success on ebay, but only from premium buyers. Are usually 3.5 and F4. It's definitely not lens breathing. Whats the best camera for around $2000? Zeiss AE lens information brochure, "The Finest Optics by Zeiss", If I have a motor on the iris, itll have to be adjusted every time the lens is swapped. Zeisss quality control was extremely demanding. The f/2.8 never really impressed me, even though its regarded as one of the best budget 28mm out there. Blackmagic Forum View topic - CONTAX Zeiss lenses | BMPCC 6K Time. I'm thinking about a Contax tele, such as the 180/2.8 Sonnar. All of you, thank you. Theyre fully manual focus and aperture -, have solid metal construction, long focus throw, and a great feel overall. Wide open the 1.4 is great, but the focusing ring just feels very clunky on my copy. Its the one I always took with me and it gave me gorgeous shots. At this point the price argument was adding a lot of weight. This is a guide for people that love handling gear and tweaking little things here and there. As always very much appreciated. I needed a proper case! These last two are challenging to adapt to EOS because of their. After I got the five Contax I went to look for more info and found Nick Morrison's Contax Zeiss Survival Guide at REDUser.

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