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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 :)

Contax Zeiss Survival Guide

Ted Parkes said:
Nick .. just logged in for the first time in a week or so. Wow! Thank you for the amazing amount of work you put in to the update and continue to put into this thread.
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Ted, you're super welcome!!

Chris McKechnie said:
As always, thanks Nick. Your dedication not only to us redusers but to the Contax line of lenses is unsurpassed. You're the reason I switched to Contax. Thanks for making images I capture so much better. :thumbup:
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Thanks Chris. Love what you are doing with your glass. SO INSPIRING!! YOU ROCK!!
 
Nick Morrison said:


500 4.5 Mirror ($36,000 new, $??? today/used)
This lens is sort of an urban legend. I saw one on ebay once for almost $20k! Its the size of a Howitzer. Impractical for filmmaking. For the price, you'd almost need to be delusional to get this (esp with so many great 400mm primes available). A collector's item only.
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Which affordable 400mm lenses could you recommend?
 
If you consider a mirror lens, the 500mm f8 by Minolta is a bargain. I got mine for 180,- € and it's one of the best next to the Zeiss.

It's compact and not too heavy.
 
Nick! Thanks for the updated guide!
Did you ever get a chance to test that other hood you talked about?

Cheers.
 
Has anyone got some samples of the 35-135, maybe from a dragon sensor?

@ Nick: is the macro function of this lens just available at 35mm or through the whole range?
 
DAVID BARKAN said:
Nick! Thanks for the updated guide!
Did you ever get a chance to test that other hood you talked about?

Cheers.
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I have several of those Schneider hoods yes. I will post a review shortly. Sorry, have been very late with that...

Janis Huber said:
Has anyone got some samples of the 35-135, maybe from a dragon sensor?

@ Nick: is the macro function of this lens just available at 35mm or through the whole range?
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Hey Janis, besides the open (Tokina 11-16), all non-fisheye shots in this spot are with 35-135. On Scarlet MX. You can see how useful the range is.


I tested it on Dragon last week. Looks pretty good!!

The Macro function is ONLY at 35mm yes.
 
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These look great, Nick. I expect my kids will be watching Monuments Men when it comes to this region. It'll be cool to say that I 'know' the guy who shot the promos.

I was in Dubai last week shooting something with high production standards and my old AE Contax Glass and HBM Combo went down very well with the client and the production house. Here are a few stills with a basic grade.

Bentley_1.4.1s.jpg

AE 25mm f2.8

FR__1.46.1s.jpg

AE 35mm f1.4

FR__1.1.1s.jpg

Contax AE 25mm f2.8

FR__1.9.1s.jpg

AE 85mm f1.4

FR__1.15.1s.jpg

AE 35mm f1.4

The fact that I can get the Dragon and my entire lens set in one airline carry on bag is a real plus.
 
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Nick Morrison said:
I have several of those Schneider hoods yes. I will post a review shortly. Sorry, have been very late with that...



Hey Janis, besides the open (Tokina 11-16), all non-fisheye shots in this spot are with 35-135. On Scarlet MX. You can see how useful the range is.


I tested it on Dragon last week. Looks pretty good!!

The Macro function is ONLY at 35mm yes.
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Hows the focus-creep of the 35-135?
 
Maybe this is covered in the thread--I've read *most* of it...
Do the 28-85 and 35-135 behave similarly in terms of sharpness and f-stop within their shared range? It seems like they likely do, but I wondered if anyone had done a comparison.
I recently got a great deal on a 35-135 and have loved shooting with it for B-cam close ups.

Thanks to all those sharing their brilliance with us on here.
 
Jon McNeill said:
Maybe this is covered in the thread--I've read *most* of it...
Do the 28-85 and 35-135 behave similarly in terms of sharpness and f-stop within their shared range? It seems like they likely do, but I wondered if anyone had done a comparison.
I recently got a great deal on a 35-135 and have loved shooting with it for B-cam close ups.

Thanks to all those sharing their brilliance with us on here.
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Yes, the 28-85 and 35-135 perform very similarly - similar sharpness up and down the iris range. They compliment each other nicely!
 
Hi all,

I'm still lurking but have nothing exciting to post after several months doing really dull green screen corporate stuff. Just wanted to say a lot of fantastic work going on in here still. Kudos to all :)


here's some recent stills on the A7s with the 28-85

Lingen in May by Soma Pics, on Flickr

Lingen in May by Soma Pics, on Flickr

Lingen in May by Soma Pics, on Flickr

80-200 f4

Lingen in May by Soma Pics, on Flickr

Lingen in May by Soma Pics, on Flickr

And a 'Drive-esque' still from a shot I did recently on the Sony FS7 which was the 35m f2.8

Ringtone - Short Film grabs by Soma Pics, on Flickr

Same film but a 28mm f2 Hollywood wide open

Ringtone - Short Film grabs by Soma Pics, on Flickr

And back to the 35mm f2.8 again

Ringtone - A short film by Soma Pics, on Flickr

Ringtone - A short film by Soma Pics, on Flickr

Toying with the idea of the 35-135 on a speedbooster for the FS7. Equivalent focal length of 24-95mm with almost a 1-stop increase in light gathering. Pretty much perfect sounding.
 
Nick Morrison said:
Not sure if they're avail yet - I had to call Schneider and custom order them directly. I can put you in touch with them if you like?
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I'd like that indeed, could you send me some pics by email? Just so I have an idea of what it's like?
I finally got the hood last week and quickly put it to test... shooting with the speedbooster on the GH4 in either 4K mode or 1080p (roughly a S35 equiv) it doesn't vignette at all even when fully expanded on the 28-85... even with all the rings I have on it. (82-77 down, 77mm cordvision ring for cap)
It really blocks of the flares on that huge front element, I wonder if it'd work as flawless on the 35-135.

Speaking of the 35-135... let me ask for some help here.
I'm on pre-production for a Discovery Channel lifestyle/cooking show. It's going to be a 3 cam setup, I want to go with all GH4's because it's the best that I can get my hands on down here. So anyway. Two cameras on shoulder mounts (B and C) and one on a gimbal (A).

Now I'm debating on the lenses I should use... should I go with 28-85mm on B, either 35-135 or 35-70 on C and a contax prime on the Gimbal (ex 25mm) all with speedboosters... or should I bite the dust go with 28-85 on B and a Panasonic Stabilised 35-100 on C for steady closeups, and a 15mm Panasonic on the gimbal.

The thing is, I don't have speedboosters for all cameras, I'd have to buy them all, and I'f I'm going to do that, I might as well get Canon EF and a bunch of Leitax Mounts... but I don't have the 35-135 nor the 35-70... but that's ok. Lenses are always a nice investment. =)

Some help? What would you, Contax Lovers, do?

Cheers.
 
DAVID BARKAN said:
I'd like that indeed, could you send me some pics by email? Just so I have an idea of what it's like?
I finally got the hood last week and quickly put it to test... shooting with the speedbooster on the GH4 in either 4K mode or 1080p (roughly a S35 equiv) it doesn't vignette at all even when fully expanded on the 28-85... even with all the rings I have on it. (82-77 down, 77mm cordvision ring for cap)
It really blocks of the flares on that huge front element, I wonder if it'd work as flawless on the 35-135.

Speaking of the 35-135... let me ask for some help here.
I'm on pre-production for a Discovery Channel lifestyle/cooking show. It's going to be a 3 cam setup, I want to go with all GH4's because it's the best that I can get my hands on down here. So anyway. Two cameras on shoulder mounts (B and C) and one on a gimbal (A).

Now I'm debating on the lenses I should use... should I go with 28-85mm on B, either 35-135 or 35-70 on C and a contax prime on the Gimbal (ex 25mm) all with speedboosters... or should I bite the dust go with 28-85 on B and a Panasonic Stabilised 35-100 on C for steady closeups, and a 15mm Panasonic on the gimbal.

The thing is, I don't have speedboosters for all cameras, I'd have to buy them all, and I'f I'm going to do that, I might as well get Canon EF and a bunch of Leitax Mounts... but I don't have the 35-135 nor the 35-70... but that's ok. Lenses are always a nice investment. =)

Some help? What would you, Contax Lovers, do?

Cheers.
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Haha. You know what I'd say. All Contax. You could also save some $$$ and get the 80-200 instead of the 35-135.

PS - about the hood. We're actually going to shoot/post a review of it. It's not cheap though (couple of hundred bucks).

best
 
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