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Contax Zeiss Survival Guide

Hello,

I was wondering why the RTS line is preferred to the other mounts? As I cannot seem to find a 21mm rts lens. But I do find heaps of 21mm G1, G2 mounts.

I was originally going for a leica-r 19mm. But that also seems a mythical lens not be found easily.

Update:

There is no adapter from contax g to EF. So I should check regulary for the rts line then :)
 
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Ben Scott said:
Both Camera City and Aperture in central London
Click to expand...

Aperture are very good in my experience. I tend to use them for anything mechanical. For example I took my 35-PC-Distagon there for gritty focusing and the repairs guy immediately showed me that the lens cap I’d been using was impairing the movement of the front element (I hate the stock slip on cap the PC-D and the 18 share). - so no repair and no charge.

He has also cleaned up fungus from my 25/2.8 and 60 Makro Lenses and everything basic like that seems to be £96 i.e £80+VAT.

Forum reviews of Camera City are patchy so interesting to see them name checked.
 
Joe Cage said:
Hello,

I was wondering why the RTS line is preferred to the other mounts? As I cannot seem to find a 21mm rts lens. But I do find heaps of 21mm G1, G2 mounts.

I was originally going for a leica-r 19mm. But that also seems a mythical lens not be found easily.

Update:

There is no adapter from contax g to EF. So I should check regulary for the rts line then :)
Click to expand...

The G series lenses are rangefinder style lenses which had a short flange to film plane distance. They simply don't work on SLR and DSLR cameras, though you can use them on mirrorless. However, they aren't massively popular as the wides typically projected into the G1 & G2 bodies meaning that the rear elements on those lenses are very close to the sensor and light at the fame edges strikes the microlenses at odd angles giving smearing and aberrations. The longer lenses (G45mm & G90mm) do, however work very well on Sony A7 series bodies.
 
Barry Reid said:
Aperture are very good in my experience. I tend to use them for anything mechanical. For example I took my 35-PC-Distagon there for gritty focusing and the repairs guy immediately showed me that the lens cap I’d been using was impairing the movement of the front element (I hate the stock slip on cap the PC-D and the 18 share). - so no repair and no charge.

He has also cleaned up fungus from my 25/2.8 and 60 Makro Lenses and everything basic like that seems to be £96 i.e £80+VAT.

Forum reviews of Camera City are patchy so interesting to see them name checked.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't use Camera City again to be honest. They were okay but took forever. In a pinch they will do the job though.
 
I never saw a contax zeiss lens in reality. So just checking before purchasing that this is a good one?
35hpgkl.jpg


Thanks!
 
It might be the weird angle in the picture but it looks to me that the aperture shape looks kind of off. Be sure that none of the blades lag behind.
 
I have a question regarding Contax with Metabones Speedboosters. Currently have a set of AEG´s 28 2,0 50 1,4, AEJ´s 35 2,8 and 135 2,8 and MMJ 35-70 3,4. I enjoy them very much but I have hard time focusing to infinity with SB. Already adjusted the lens in SB and was able to achieve better focus but still seems really soft in infinity. Especially 28 and 50.

I am using Contax CY to Sony E Speedbooster Ultra with Sony FS7 & FS700/Odyssey 7Q+ combo. Do any of you guys use these lenses with SB´s or have you found similar problems with Leitax to Canon SB? All of the lenses work prefect with regular adapters, mine is Kipon CY/NEX. Really nice images!

And thanks for all the great info I have found from this thread!
 
Hi all, longtime lurker of this thread here (what a great read, currently on page 300). Thanks so much for your effort Nick on what has become the best source of Contax info on the web.

Regarding matching the Sigma 18-35 and 50-100 1.8's to Contax, I was thinking about using my existing Black Pro Mist 1/4s for the Sigmas, and get the weaker BPM 1/8 for the Contax's. Does this sound like it'd help with the matching in post, or should differing strengths only be used for different focal lengths?

Thanks in advance,

Gary.
 
Only you can tell that Gary, depending on the qualities of your particular lens. I would tend for lighter diffusion on more telephoto lenses. and 1/8 on my 18-35 matches my contax pretty well with zero diffusion on.
 
Teemu Lahtinen said:
I have a question regarding Contax with Metabones Speedboosters. Currently have a set of AEG´s 28 2,0 50 1,4, AEJ´s 35 2,8 and 135 2,8 and MMJ 35-70 3,4. I enjoy them very much but I have hard time focusing to infinity with SB. Already adjusted the lens in SB and was able to achieve better focus but still seems really soft in infinity. Especially 28 and 50.

I am using Contax CY to Sony E Speedbooster Ultra with Sony FS7 & FS700/Odyssey 7Q+ combo. Do any of you guys use these lenses with SB´s or have you found similar problems with Leitax to Canon SB? All of the lenses work prefect with regular adapters, mine is Kipon CY/NEX. Really nice images!

And thanks for all the great info I have found from this thread!
Click to expand...



Hi Teemu, this gets answered about once every other page but you need to cut the aperture tabs off, or use something other than Metabones.

EDIT: I completely read this wrong. apologies!

Don't the metabones have a back focus adjustment?
 
Last edited:
Ben Scott said:
Only you can tell that Gary, depending on the qualities of your particular lens. I would tend for lighter diffusion on more telephoto lenses. and 1/8 on my 18-35 matches my contax pretty well with zero diffusion on.
Click to expand...

Thanks Ben, much appreciated.
 
Teemu Lahtinen said:
I have a question regarding Contax with Metabones Speedboosters. Currently have a set of AEG´s 28 2,0 50 1,4, AEJ´s 35 2,8 and 135 2,8 and MMJ 35-70 3,4. I enjoy them very much but I have hard time focusing to infinity with SB. Already adjusted the lens in SB and was able to achieve better focus but still seems really soft in infinity. Especially 28 and 50.

I am using Contax CY to Sony E Speedbooster Ultra with Sony FS7 & FS700/Odyssey 7Q+ combo. Do any of you guys use these lenses with SB´s or have you found similar problems with Leitax to Canon SB? All of the lenses work prefect with regular adapters, mine is Kipon CY/NEX. Really nice images!

And thanks for all the great info I have found from this thread!
Click to expand...

@ Teemu

I emailed David regarding the Leitax - Metabones SB issue and this was his reply:

"Thanks for your order.
Regarding your question, the Leitax mount puts the Contax lenses at the correct distance to the sensor. So I cannot solve this problem."

I guess basically that means that it's not ideal and we won't ever get something perfect if we were going with the Metabones SB route. I dug a little deeper and realize that David has additional Cine Canon Mounts for some cameras: http://www.leitax.com/Leica-lens-for-Cinema-cameras.html

While the site says Leica lenses, what I'm reading seems like there're other options that these mounts can work with, in this case, our beloved Contax Zeiss range. I'm currently shooting him a few queries and will get back here with his replies.

P.S. I apologize if we are going off track from the discussion of lenses to the discussion of cameras that will accept the lenses (especially since this is still largely a RED forum), but y'know, this is like the only forum/thread that has such a mine of information regarding these Contax Zeiss babies.
 
I use these babies on Red and Sony Alpha alike, so I don't think it's inappropriate to post here.

When I shoot with my A7S, which is better for motion with cropped sensor, I use an SB straight from C/Y to E-mount and don't see the problems you mention (this is my low light solution). Could either be the limited resolution (under 4K, but better than HD) or this combo is working better.

You could exchange test charts by PM with me in about 10 days from now, when I'm back to my German location.
 
Thank you Ben, Derek and Uli. I have made adjustments on the SpeedBooster lens. I first noticed the problem with my 28 2,0, the rear element is touching SB lens when trying to focus to infinity. There is rubberized collar around the lens of 28 2,0 and that is making the contact, not the lens itself. After adjusting SB (open screw, rotate lens), focusing to infinity is possible but it still is not right. I am making some more tests as soon as I can (hopefully next week) and try to adjust it again.

Leitax mounts do seem really nice, I would love to test them with Canon SB.
 
Teemu Lahtinen said:
Thank you Ben, Derek and Uli. I have made adjustments on the SpeedBooster lens. I first noticed the problem with my 28 2,0, the rear element is touching SB lens when trying to focus to infinity. There is rubberized collar around the lens of 28 2,0 and that is making the contact, not the lens itself. After adjusting SB (open screw, rotate lens), focusing to infinity is possible but it still is not right. I am making some more tests as soon as I can (hopefully next week) and try to adjust it again.

Leitax mounts do seem really nice, I would love to test them with Canon SB.
Click to expand...

Glad to be of help - this community has helped me immensely.

I got my Leitax mounts a couple of weeks ago and did a conversion this week. I put it on the studio's GH5 with the Metabones Ultra SB and as expected, and documented, the iris could not be switched. Please take care when you attempt them on the Canon SB. I took out the lens and noticed a mark that it left on the velvet/rubber part of the SB (probably used to prevent light leaks) and there was a scratch/tear there. Glad I didn't ruin any of the pins on the Metabones.

And finally my kit is up: https://imgur.com/a/iCPoJ
Huge thanks to Nick, David (Leitax), Sean (Focus Gears), Michael (Cordvision), Birk (stickers) and everyone here. It's been 1.5 months of solid research since deciding to build up a set. Looking forward to making magic with them soon!
 
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