Canon mount prime sets - With manual aperture and proper focus ring direction?

[Jess Dunlap]

I'm looking for all options of Canon mount prime sets that could be cine-modded by Duclos and result in an all manual/proper focus direction (not Nikon) lens.

The Zeiss ZE set and the ZF.2 set do not meet this criteria because the ZE's ARE Canon Mount, but do NOT have a manual aperture ring. The ZF.2's have manual aperture, but are Nikon Mount/style, so although they can be converted to Canon Mount, the focus ring still travels backwards.

One solution would be to get the ZF.2's with a follow focus that can reverse. I'd like to avoid that as well, but anyone who's doing that and mixing primes with different focus ring directions, please chime in as to how that is.

What are my options, then? I found the Bower 35mm 1.4 Canon Mount, which Matthew Duclos even recommends, which I may get cine-modded. That would total $700 (450 for lens, 250 for Duclos modification). Is there anything else like this? I don't even love the Bower 35mm idea because of its plastic build, but it's Canon mount, manual aperture and focus, and proper focus direction, and good reviews on its sharpness/quality.

Bower: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/787251-REG/Bower_SLY3514C_35mm_f_1_4_Lens.html

 

[Clint Lealos]

A few guys have been mounting their follow focus above the lens and upside down. That will reverse the direction of the follow focus. Pretty clever I thought

 

[Jess Dunlap]

Haha, I thought of that too. It would be great to avoid that though!

 

[Mike Garrick]

The Bower brand you refer to is actually made by Samyang. They have a range of fast lenses & have more coming, they've just released 1.4 24mm. They are also doing a 8mm cine lens with lens gear . These lens are not plastic but metal. They are sharp & well made I own a couple & they compare very favourably to Zeiss still glass. They are also sold rebadged as Rokinon.

For fast modern affordable lenses that compete with Canon & Zeiss it would pay to look up the name.

 

[Uli Plank]

Same here, the Samyang 85mm 1.4 is quite fine glass, in particular for that price.

 

[Sid Idris]

Same here, the Samyang 85mm 1.4 is quite fine glass, in particular for that price.

yes I picked up the samyang 14,24,35,85 and I'm very impressed with them. It took 5 minutes to declick the apertures and the focus throw is a generous 160 degrees. Highly recommended. I wonder why Samyang didn't release a 50.

 

[Trevor Meeks]

How about the Zeiss CP.2s? No mod needed.

 

[BrandonChristensen]

yes I picked up the samyang 14,24,35,85 and I'm very impressed with them. It took 5 minutes to declick the apertures and the focus throw is a generous 160 degrees. Highly recommended. I wonder why Samyang didn't release a 50.

It's rumored to be next, after the TS lens.

Is there an online guide to declicking them? I have the 8mm, 35mm and 85mm. 24 and 14 next.

 

[Uli Plank]

Hi Brandon,
I only have the 85mm, and it doesn't extend while focusing. Is this true for the rest as well?

And is the 8mm circular?

I think Samyang could get themselves quite some market share if the offered PL mounts and pro gear rings too.

 

[Patrick Banfield]

The Samyang 85mm is quite nice. We like it.

 

[BrandonChristensen]

Hi Brandon,
I only have the 85mm, and it doesn't extend while focusing. Is this true for the rest as well?

And is the 8mm circular?

I think Samyang could get themselves quite some market share if the offered PL mounts and pro gear rings too.

The 8, 14, and 35 do not extend while focusing. The 8 and 14 are circular...

 

[Justin Talley]

The Zacuto Z-FF-1-FR allows you to reverse the direction of your pulls even when flipped. This is the one I use so that I can pull the correct direction on my ZF lenses. It's also a hell of a follow focus without that feature.

 

[Paul Schneider]

Contax lenses are basically the same glass as Zeiss ZE/ZF. They are all manual in both focus and exposure and the focus ring turns the correct direction. They can be remounted to Canon with semi-permanent Leitax mounts. Cost to assemble a set is about 6-8K including mounts and conversion

 

[Uli Plank]

Classical Minolta SR lenses are great and still relatively cheap on Ebay. They co-operated with Leica for years, even designing the first zooms for them, like the legendary 35-70mm. All manual, right direction, mechanics still very smooth after 30 or 40 years of not mishandled. They can be converted to EOS mount, see here: http://digitalrokkor.altervista.org/minoltalens.html

Some of them would block the mirror in DSLRs when focused to infinity, but that shouldn't be a problem in the Scarlet ;-)

I love these lenses, they have a distinct look to them, something like poor man's Leica. Plus, Minolta made their own glass and the colors are very consistent over the range.