Zeiss compact primes

[Gene Crucean]

Has anyone had an opportunity to test the Zeiss compact primes that would like to share their experience with them?

[PatrickFaith]

I just converted my cp2 from EF to PL ... was perty easy (i was kind of scared ... first time i did something like that ... but is something a novice can do).

nofilm school has a good video using a cp2 ... http://nofilmschool.com/2012/01/red-...-owner-renter/

Within a couple of weeks I should have some r3d with zeiss, I'm doing a lot of testing on 4k for vfx tracking ... i'm finding qhd with cp2 is a dream for vfx processing (especially 2.5D - zdepth calculations). I have never shot with a higher end lense then a cp2, so can't comment on it compared to high end glass.

[Matt Ryan]

Theres another thread with a lot of opinions on the cp.2's ( http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthr...063-Zeiss-CP-2 ).

I find the lenses to be soft with focus for several of the focal lengths. Color rendition between lenses is off, and the mix of f/t stops is frustrating.

As for positives, they are lightweight. If you don't need light lenses I would suggest you look at the Red Pro Primes. Yes they are heavy but they are extremely sharp and match color from lens to lens. The RPP's are also 1.9 to the fastest CP.2's at 2.1.

[Shane Kelly]

I own a set, use them on practically every job and love them. They are built extremely well, very sharp and light with loads of focus marks.
here's a couple of screen grabs from my first epic job shot at 120fps so the compression is 13:1.
http://reduser.net/forum/showthread....-5k-120-frames
The main complaints about them are that the wider lenses are slower. I didn't buy the 18mm, just got a red pro 17-50.
Overall a good set for the money.

[Gene Crucean]

Matt, you wouldn't happen to have samples of the issues you are talking about would you? I'd like to see just how soft and off.

[Timur Civan]

http://timurcivan.blogspot.com/2011/...zeiss.html?m=0

[Matt Ryan]

Matt, you wouldn't happen to have samples of the issues you are talking about would you? I'd like to see just how soft and off.

yeah I have a couple examples from a shoot tuesday. Ill upload some pics in a few minutes. They were mainly at infinity when soft. One shot was wide open at night and the other was at an f8/11 at infinity on an overcast day. Give me a sec.

[Matt Ryan]

Here is an album I put together. These are JPEG's from the original 4k TIFF's exported straight from Redcine X Pro. If you want the 4k TIFFS I can send them to you via wetransfer. Although some of the images appear to be sharp if you zoom into the photo it looks like nothing is really ever in focus. Compressing these down to 1080p would help sharpness wise. Take a look. https://plus.google.com/photos/11732...Nma_d6V0_nu1AE
I added a caption for each photo with the specs.

[Mike Halper]

As for positives, they are lightweight. If you don't need light lenses I would suggest you look at the Red Pro Primes. Yes they are heavy but they are extremely sharp and match color from lens to lens. The RPP's are also 1.9 to the fastest CP.2's at 2.1.

I have been looking at the Compact Primes myself and was also considering the Red Pro Primes. I've decided against the RPP's for 2 main reasons.

1. They are big and heavy, and with cameras getting smaller I would prefer a smaller lens.
2. The focus and aperture marks on the RPP's are horribly inaccurate, in 2 ways. One, usually neither side of the focus marks is accurate to where the actual focus is. Two, the focus and aperture marks are the sides are mismatched. Aperture is usually about 1/3 difference between the 2 sides of the lenses so you can't be sure what t-stop you're actually at. I understand they might be the best bang for the buck, but inaccuracies like that seems like a lack of attention to detail in manufacturing and concerns me about what else might be wrong with them or go wrong with them in the future. And this has all been known for a long time and Red has not fixed it. Just not good. If Red fixed these issues I might consider them, even with the bulkiness and weight.

I personally have always liked Zeiss and currently own a set of ZF's. I'm looking at upgrading to the CP's to gain cinema mechanics, uniform size across the set, even better bokeh (14 blades vs. 9), and the overall Zeiss manufacturing quality. They are a little more than the RPP's, and do breath a bit, but they are Zeiss. I'd skip the 18 though and probably go with the Duclos 11-16 (or just Tokina 11-16).

[Mike Halper]

That said, does anyone know of a place to get a good deal on a full set CP.2's (or even CP1's)? I'm having trouble finding a used set for sale.