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Contax Zeiss Survival Guide

A colleague of mine recently purchased a gorgeous set of Leica Rs to have as a lower priced rental kit. Considering I am thinking of going a similar path, only with Contax, I asked him how they have been going.
He said its been slow.
Its a funny time here as even the young DPs who are shooting music video clips are able to access Panavision anamorphic glass for peanuts really that they dont need a lower priced option for lenses these days.
My idea was the get the Contax for my own owner operator use and offer them to some DPs that need a low con look at an affordable day rate but maybe the market here is not ideal anymore.
Hmmmm.

How do the owners of theses kinds of kits find the rental return?
 
Hi guys! Thank for an amazing thread! I first started off in the Leica-r thread, and got so inspired i´ve bought myself a set of that amazing glass! My, oh my, they are beautiful!
Then i came over a cheap 50mm F/1.4 contax zeiss 80xxx serial, and have to ask you guys if this is how it is or not. It looks to be in very good condition, but i suspect haze, it looks with a flashlight from behind, to be very even. It reminds me very much of a black promist filter. Please take a look at the photo attached and see the glow. (shot at 1.4 with my 5d mkII)

Thanks!

Jorgen
 

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Jørgen Storhaug said:
Hi guys! Thank for an amazing thread! I first started off in the Leica-r thread, and got so inspired i´ve bought myself a set of that amazing glass! My, oh my, they are beautiful!
Then i came over a cheap 50mm F/1.4 contax zeiss 80xxx serial, and have to ask you guys if this is how it is or not. It looks to be in very good condition, but i suspect haze, it looks with a flashlight from behind, to be very even. It reminds me very much of a black promist filter. Please take a look at the photo attached and see the glow. (shot at 1.4 with my 5d mkII)

Thanks!

Jorgen
Click to expand...

Hard to tell. Some of the 1.4's wide open can behave a bit like this (such as the 85mm 1.4, but our 50mm 1.4 does not). Is there dust in the lens?
 
Nick Morrison said:
Hard to tell. Some of the 1.4's wide open can behave a bit like this (such as the 85mm 1.4, but our 50mm 1.4 does not). Is there dust in the lens?
Click to expand...

Almost no dust in the lens, it looks superclean. When i look trough the glass with a flashlight backlighting it, there is like a layor that look very much like some kind of diffusion (black promist, black frost etc) and it looks too even to my eyes, to be a fault. Thats why I had to ask you guys.
 
Ben Scott said:
Cheers Brice.

Just cobbled together some timelapses from the last couple of years into a sequence. 100% Contax glass.

Click to expand...

Cheers Ben
Good work.
Particulary like the shot inside the bulding at 1mn 11 seconde
B.
 
Jørgen Storhaug said:
Almost no dust in the lens, it looks superclean. When i look trough the glass with a flashlight backlighting it, there is like a layor that look very much like some kind of diffusion (black promist, black frost etc) and it looks too even to my eyes, to be a fault. Thats why I had to ask you guys.
Click to expand...

That looks/sounds like haze. Which yes, will def create those halo's I'm afraid...
 
How much of a difference would I see between my Zeiss lenses in the 61... 63... serial number range and say a lens that begins in the 81... serial number range? Looking to get a 50mm in 81...SN
 
liam howlett said:
How much of a difference would I see between my Zeiss lenses in the 61... 63... serial number range and say a lens that begins in the 81... serial number range? Looking to get a 50mm in 81...SN
Click to expand...

The older ones will be a bit more lowcon and flare more...
 
I apologize if this has been asked / answered before, but I'd be interested to hear anyone's opinion that feels like sharing :) Currently debating on building a set of either classic's or milvus. Especially if you are someone who already has the classics - if you were starting fresh today would you still go classic or go milvus?
 
Alex Sworik said:
I apologize if this has been asked / answered before, but I'd be interested to hear anyone's opinion that feels like sharing :) Currently debating on building a set of either classic's or milvus. Especially if you are someone who already has the classics - if you were starting fresh today would you still go classic or go milvus?
Click to expand...

That's a hard question to answer, as what we're talking about is aesthetics.

The Milvus are technically much more modern. They will have more contrast, could be sharper wide open (especially at edges on full frame), and will generally have a far more modern look. The mechanics won't be quite as cinema-friendly as Contax, as EOS Milvus won't have a manual aperture, and Nikon Milvus will I imagine focus the wrong way.

But point is - they'll look very modern, which is great if that's what you're looking for.

Contax "classic" primes on the other hand can be anywhere from 15-to-40 years old. A very old AE will have unmistakable lowcon coatings that will render very classic, analog look. While still being quite sharp (and having wonderful, classic bokeh).

So there's no "right" answer.

I'm personally not a fan of clinical looking glass...and we've made great use of our extensive Contax set to create analog looks for our clients.

Here's an example below (Contax glass paired with Smoque 1 filters):

 
Hey gang, here's a shoot we did a couple of months ago. Contax 85mm 1.4 MM...at an f2....on Carbon Weapon @ 6K

https://vimeo.com/172531802

Shot on Skintone OLPF, with just one bare Tungsten Bulb.

This cut was straight from the dailies - wish had a chance to do a final grade! But still think some of the shots came out pretty good.

Amazing how clean Skintone OLPF was on Weapon!!
 
Thanks for the response Nick. Ive been reading through tons of your tips and insight throughout this thread and appreciate you taking the time to respond!
Nick Morrison said:
That's a hard question to answer, as what we're talking about is aesthetics.

The Milvus are technically much more modern. They will have more contrast, could be sharper wide open (especially at edges on full frame), and will generally have a far more modern look. The mechanics won't be quite as cinema-friendly as Contax, as EOS Milvus won't have a manual aperture, and Nikon Milvus will I imagine focus the wrong way.

But point is - they'll look very modern, which is great if that's what you're looking for.

Contax "classic" primes on the other hand can be anywhere from 15-to-40 years old. A very old AE will have unmistakable lowcon coatings that will render very classic, analog look. While still being quite sharp (and having wonderful, classic bokeh).

So there's no "right" answer.

I'm personally not a fan of clinical looking glass...and we've made great use of our extensive Contax set to create analog looks for our clients.

Here's an example below (Contax glass paired with Smoque 1 filters):

Click to expand...
 
Nick Morrison said:
Hey gang, here's a shoot we did a couple of months ago. Contax 85mm 1.4 MM...at an f2....on Carbon Weapon @ 6K

https://vimeo.com/172531802

Shot on Skintone OLPF, with just one bare Tungsten Bulb.

This cut was straight from the dailies - wish had a chance to do a final grade! But still think some of the shots came out pretty good.

Amazing how clean Skintone OLPF was on Weapon!!
Click to expand...

Gorgeous work. My 85AE was my most used prime ever. Searching for an Otus 85 now to re-inspire myself with new looks but I think I made a terrible mistake moving it on.
 
Hi, I started to buy my first contax lens, big thanks for all the advice ;) I choose to buy MM only with green number So I just bought this 50mm F1.4 MM that look in very good condition Can you confirm this is RTS Y/C mount please ?
$_57.JPG
$_57.JPG
second question, can you tell me where I will be possible to find this big front caps I just saw here ? http://www.cartelartists.com/assets/Uploads/ContaxZeisscine03l.jpg Regarding the wheels for adjust the focus, I guess it come from this website : http://www.followfocusgears.com/ So what' s the process? you measure the exactly diameter of each of your lens, then you ask them to build a wheels that perfectly fit with your lens? thanks a lot ;)
 
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