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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Anyone using Scarlet + Zeiss ZE Primes?

Watch that crop factor, it makes all of your lenses "longer" (1.6X at 4k, 2X at 3K) and confirm the mount is compatible with Epic/Scarlet bodies.
Some earlier Zeiss lenses won't mount due to an interference issue.
David Fuller tested several lenses on his Epic so we would know what works.

From an earlier thread, D. Fuller:
"The 25mm and 16 mm Zeiss MK I superspeeds cover more. Very close to 3K, but not quite. The Bad news is that the 12mm and 9.5mm don't clear the OLPF. The Angineux 5.9mm also won't clear the OLPF on an Epic."
 
I ordered a Scarlet and plan to use my Zeiss 35mm and 50mm. They should be fine as they are designed with the built in Canon mount and do not present any known issues.
 
Zeiss Contax have longer focus throws, West German glass, and rare earth element T* coatings Zeiss cannot use in the modern ZE series. The older Contax are sometimes more prone to flare, but that's what the matte box is for. They are just as sharp with less of the cold "clinical" modern Zeiss look--a little less Ultra, a little more Cooke S4.

We a full set in NYC, 7 primes, all f/2.8 or f/1.4. Send a pm and we'll bring 'em to you for a free test drive (within the 5 boroughs of course!).
 
Ryan De Fanco said:
Zeiss Contax have longer focus throws, West German glass, and rare earth element T* coatings Zeiss cannot use in the modern ZE series. The older Contax are sometimes more prone to flare, but that's what the matte box is for. They are just as sharp with less of the cold "clinical" modern Zeiss look--a little less Ultra, a little more Cooke S4.

We a full set in NYC, 7 primes, all f/2.8 or f/1.4. Send a pm and we'll bring 'em to you for a free test drive (within the 5 boroughs of course!).
Click to expand...

I had a couple of those zeiss contax primes, but they had that weird buzzsaw shaped aperture I couldn't stand and had to sell them off. Did you find ones that dont have it? I know there are some that were manufactured in Japan and some in Germany, so they may not all have exactly the same design. Like a lot of older FF35 manual lenses, they didnt have many wide options for S35/APS-C and the wides sure were slow and expensive. Which lenses does your set consist of, and how do you like them?
 
You could always invest on a set of modified Zeiss ZF.2 from Duclos Lenses, with 80mm front rings, solid focus gears and de-clicked apertures. You could even have Duclos add a semi-permanent EOS mount with the focus confirmation chip, which allows you to use the ZF.2 lenses as if they were ZE. I don't know if SCARLET's Canon mount will support focus confirmation on normal ZE lenses, but if it does (I don't see how it wouldn't since it communicates with true Canon lenses), then it should also work with the modified ZF.2 lenses. The only drawback is the reverse focus, but I don't think that's a deal-breaker. This way, you have a cine-like (real focus gear, de-clicked aperture ring), F-mount (Nikon) lens equipped with a semi-permanent EF-mount (Canon) that can also act as both a ZF.2 and a ZE lens!

It's the best of both worlds.
 
I'll be using Zeiss ZF's with the Optitek Nikon Pro lock on my Scarlet X.
 
I will use my Zeiss ZE lenses on Scarlet-X. Since they are made for Full Frame, there will be no problem on 5K which is ASP-H, still smaller than full frame.
 
ProLock For Epic/Scarlet-X

ProLock For Epic/Scarlet-X

Yes we do:wink5:
 

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Noah Yuan-Vogel said:
I had a couple of those zeiss contax primes, but they had that weird buzzsaw shaped aperture I couldn't stand and had to sell them off.... Which lenses does your set consist of, and how do you like them?
Click to expand...

I agree with you Noah, this can sometimes be an issue. In daily use though, the bokeh is circular most of the time. Much like the Cooke S4s, Zeiss designed the aperture blades in order to better control optical aberrations present in all lenses. Unlike the S4s, the Contax Zeiss will not display the "ninja star" bokeh throughout the aperture range, only 1-2 stops below wide open. At f/1.4 or f/4, the effect is gone. Our set consists of:


21mm f/2.8 -- Incredibly low distortion
28mm f/2.0 -- Copied from Zeiss cinema design
35mm f/1.4
50mm f/1.4
60mm Macro -- f/2.8 with 1:1 Magnification, focuses 2 inches from the barrel
85mm f/1.4
135mm f/2.8
28-85mm f/3.3 (T4)

All with solid focus gears and (soon) de-clicked apertures. I love shooting with them, the look is sharp without being overly crisp. T* coatings bring incredible microcontrast to every image. For under $10,000 I found a set of lenses with a few minor issues that I can live with. If I could afford Cooke Panchros I might go for it; instead I rent when I can and use the Zeiss as my set of eyes, day-to-day.

They are available for rent at extremely affordable rates in NY: 4 lenses for $140, 6 lenses for $220, full set of 7 primes + 28-85 for $280. Scarlet soon to come.
 
ZE are great.

I will be using them with my Scarlet-X

Great skin tones holds up really well if you crop in Cine-X.


I've been debating ZF or ZE I use DSLR for stills and ZE just seems more convinient. But I do have a couple Nikon bodies and the Aperture control on ZF is cool since its manual but no Meta Data.

Tough call luckily I can borrow my friends ZE set until I decide.
 
I have a Zeiss ZE 21mm and I love it. Has always looked incredible on the 5D, and I'm sure will only look that much better on my Scarlet-X!!!

Can't wait!!
 
Wells Phinny said:
I have a Zeiss ZE 21mm and I love it. Has always looked incredible on the 5D, and I'm sure will only look that much better on my Scarlet-X!!!

Can't wait!!
Click to expand...
I'm hesitating about adding the 21mm ZE or the 18mm ZE to my kit, some thoughts about those two? I already have the 35mm and the 50mm. The 18mm is cheaper, but is it as good as the 21?
 
I've use the 21mm extensively....

I LOVE THAT LENS!

Its amazing def my lens of choice when it comes to wide angle. May not be as cool on the MX sensor but if you're thinking of going the Dragon route in a couple months then go with the 21mm. If you're gonna stick with S35 format then the 18mm is something to heavily consider.
 
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