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Contax Zeiss Survival Guide

chris ware said:
Hello everyone,

I decided to make a set of these lenses. Love them. Having great results. Massive thanks to everyone here for their contributions.

Two of my lenses are having an infinity focus problem though. I just noticed that distant objects, when the lens is focused at infinity, are not sharp. I can see that they are not sharp when I toggle on 'magnify' and look at the area on the LCD that is in the distance.

Is there anyway to adjust the lens to fix this?

thanks

chris.....
Click to expand...

Hello Chris, it's not hard to fix in most lenses. Which lenses in particular (focal length/maximum aperture, AE or MM) have the problem?
Also, if you are using simple adapters other than Leitax/Simmod, make sure the adapter doesn't cause the issue by switching between your other lenses and testing.
 
I did some tests. Depending on the lens, I need to stop down to a specific F stop so it will be sharp for distant objects while focusing at infinity. I created a cheat sheet for my lenses. Im good to go now! Thanks Georgios!
 
Hey guys!

I have a boxed Contax Zeiss 21mm 2.8 MM I could sell.

Now it's very very rare, almost impossible to find so PM me if you're looking for one before I list it on eBay!

I'll probably sell my full set too (incredible set, all MM, including the uber rare 28 Hollywood in MM) after this summer, PM me for info on that too
 
Tommaso Alvisi said:
Hey guys!

I have a boxed Contax Zeiss 21mm 2.8 MM I could sell.

Now it's very very rare, almost impossible to find so PM me if you're looking for one before I list it on eBay!

I'll probably sell my full set too (incredible set, all MM, including the uber rare 28 Hollywood in MM) after this summer, PM me for info on that too
Click to expand...

@Tommy I would love to buy this or any of the other contax. Please let me know if it's available. I sent you a PM
 
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chris ware said:
Hello everyone,

I decided to make a set of these lenses. Love them. Having great results. Massive thanks to everyone here for their contributions.

Two of my lenses are having an infinity focus problem though. I just noticed that distant objects, when the lens is focused at infinity, are not sharp. I can see that they are not sharp when I toggle on 'magnify' and look at the area on the LCD that is in the distance.

Is there anyway to adjust the lens to fix this?

thanks

chris.....
Click to expand...

Yes what Giorgios says...this may be an adapter thing. Some adapters over correct, so lenses focus to infinity BEFORE where the actual focus mark hits infinity on the barrel. Try pulling back a hair and seeing if these lenses hit infinity a little earlier.

Or its the other way around - and the adapter has over corrected in the opposite direction and the lens will just never hit infinity. In that case swap out the adapter.
 
Hello guys, I have the same or at least a very similar problem. It is a Zeiss Contax 28mm 2.8 MMJ that wont focus to infinity. When the aperture is closed down to f22 it does fine but as you start to open it up the focus comes closer quite quickly. on f2.8/4 it only focuses about 5/6 meters far.

I did remove the mount to get rid of the pin that interferes with canon mounts. In the end i ended up cutting it away but could this have caused the problem? The adapter i use is a Fusnid CY-EOS adapter. I currently only own one Contax lens so trying it with other lenses is no option.

I have seen tutorials where they open the front of the lens and change the infinity point, is this the way to go with my problem?
 
Don't ruin your precious lens! I never heard of that adapter, but wides are more affected by back focus than longer lenses.
First try a different adapter.
 
Bart Oerbekke said:
Hello guys, I have the same or at least a very similar problem. It is a Zeiss Contax 28mm 2.8 MMJ that wont focus to infinity. When the aperture is closed down to f22 it does fine but as you start to open it up the focus comes closer quite quickly. on f2.8/4 it only focuses about 5/6 meters far.

I did remove the mount to get rid of the pin that interferes with canon mounts. In the end i ended up cutting it away but could this have caused the problem? The adapter i use is a Fusnid CY-EOS adapter. I currently only own one Contax lens so trying it with other lenses is no option.

I have seen tutorials where they open the front of the lens and change the infinity point, is this the way to go with my problem?
Click to expand...
Bart, any other mount than the Leitax is a false economy. http://leitax.com/Zeiss-Contax-lenses-for-Canon-cameras.html
 
Hey gang,

After some information about some lenses I picked up over the weekend.
The guy said they were zeiss contax, but they look a little like the ZE/ZF versions. they do not flare easily when hit with hard light.

The set is a PL rehouse that was brought here to Australia several years ago. most Serial numbers are in the low 700000's. all have the T* coating.

The kit comes with
21 2.8 Distagon
35 2.8 Distagon
50 1.4 Planar
85 1.4 Planar
100 2 Planar
135 2 Planar

here are some images. I can provide more

https://ibb.co/dpmm8mV
https://ibb.co/pL3wNV2

I purchased off the cuff thinking they would be great for large format work, but was really hoping for the contax coatings.
 
I am sharing what is hands down the best youtube video ever created related to Contax Zeiss. Over 45 minutes in 8k resolution of high quality footage about the history, comparisons, mod'ing etc of Contax Zeiss lenses. If you don't have the time to watch the whole thing, the intro is worth it alone. Great job by the guys over at media division - they really out did themselves with this.



 
Pedram Talai said:
I am sharing what is hands down the best youtube video ever created related to Contax Zeiss. Over 45 minutes in 8k resolution of high quality footage about the history, comparisons, mod'ing etc of Contax Zeiss lenses. If you don't have the time to watch the whole thing, the intro is worth it alone. Great job by the guys over at media division - they really out did themselves with this.
Click to expand...

Just saw the Newsshooter article as well that featured this video

https://www.newsshooter.com/2019/09/03/heres-johnny-contax-zeiss-vs-zeiss-super-speeds/
 
Mitch Ayers said:
Hey gang,

After some information about some lenses I picked up over the weekend.
The guy said they were zeiss contax, but they look a little like the ZE/ZF versions. they do not flare easily when hit with hard light.

The set is a PL rehouse that was brought here to Australia several years ago. most Serial numbers are in the low 700000's. all have the T* coating.

The kit comes with
21 2.8 Distagon
35 2.8 Distagon
50 1.4 Planar
85 1.4 Planar
100 2 Planar
135 2 Planar

here are some images. I can provide more

https://ibb.co/dpmm8mV
https://ibb.co/pL3wNV2

I purchased off the cuff thinking they would be great for large format work, but was really hoping for the contax coatings.
Click to expand...

These are definitely Contax lenses.
1) You mentioned serials in the low 7xxxxxx. That's all MM Contaxes. The Classics are 15xxxxxx.
2) There is no 35/2.8, neither a 100/2 Non-Makro Planar "Classic" lens (that's the official name of what people used to call ZE/ZF lenses)

Truth is that people expect some enormous difference between the Contaxes and the Classics but in fact, in practical situations, they are all great Zeiss lenses and the two look very similar when compared against other brands. Many people have mixed sets and don't struggle at all about it. In fact, partly thanks to this thread, these days is so hard to find the premium Contaxes (21/2.8, 28/2, 35/1.4, 100/2, 135/2) in good condition and reasonable price so I recommend to people to go for the Classics instead if they are aiming for a premium Zeiss set. Even Milvus look similar to the Contaxes when you compare them to lets say Sigmas or Canons and they come with vastly superior optical performance, mechanics and durability to the Classics and of course the 25~45 years old used and abused Contaxes (just got a balsam separation last month on my $2000 worth mint and cherry picked Contax 21/2.8 simply for daring to go out and film on a 35C hot day). I also found out that the iris blades number can make a great impact in rendering, sometimes to more obvious ways than the coating would. The older T* on the Contaxes might be from that Zeiss Standard/Superspeed era but the "Classics" coating is also something between the Ultra Primes and the CP.2 T*. All delicious and wonderful Zeiss lenses :)
 
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Hi guys

i'm Cristian from italy, i have a contax lens set for sale:
28mm f2
35mm f1,4
50mm f1,4
85mm f1,4
100mm f2
135mm f2

all in very good condition, with canon ef adapter.
if anyone are interested, i will make the photos in a few days.
Have a nice day
 
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