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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

Sounds cool Nick, look forward to seeing some examples.

How was Europe? Funnily enough I just got back from a trip to the US, going to New York then Chicago. Only toys I bought were a 2nd Peli 1510 with Trekpak dividers. Should have picked up a cheap Sigma 18-35 too....

Got a gazillion shots with the 6D and Contax glass though. A couple for fun - All 85mm f1.4MMJ except skyline shots which are the 28-85mm


New York City - Union Square by Soma Pics, on Flickr


New York City Cop texting behind her hat by Soma Pics, on Flickr




New York CIty -Manhattan Skyline by Soma Pics, on Flickr


New York City -Manhattan Skyline by Soma Pics, on Flickr
New York by Soma Pics, on Flickr


And obligatory Dog Shidt Optiks shot

New York City - Midtown at Night with FF58 Lens by Soma Pics, on Flickr
 
Ben Scott said:
Sounds cool Nick, look forward to seeing some examples.

How was Europe?
Click to expand...

How Ben, Europe was great. Thanks for asking. Great seeing family in Spain again. Portugal was breathtaking, really took me by surprise. I assumed it be more like Spain (which I'm so familiar with), but it wasn't at all. Lisbon has a weathered, colorful grace that shocked me. Maybe the most gorgeous city in Europe I've seen after Venice - the faded colors, the incredible sight-lines from the old neighborhoods hanging precariously off high hills. And then Evora, an old medieval city deep in the heart of Portugal, was like stepping back into a sundrenched Europe from the 1960s...my wife and I fell in love that part of country.

And of course my Dad made me leave Spain with one of his "extra" Rokkors. Haha. Love that I made it back with "more glass".

How was NYC?!!
 
Just want to report that on our big shoot today (DAY TWO, three REDS) the crew used my modded Contax 28-85 to run around and grab tons of extra B-Roll of the facility.

We only had Super Speeds and Standard Speeds Tele primes in our rental package, so the Zoom did the trick.

Again, matched all the other footage pretty seamlessly!!

They came back with some SICK shots too!!



PS - I'll try and post some shots/footage when spot comes together in a couple of weeks!
 
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Great stuff Nick.

NYC was great fun but we crammed a lot in with only 3 days there. Chicago was a lot more chilled and relaxing, plus I got to meet one of my heroes for the second time - Mr Buddy Guy :)
 
Having been inspired by this thread,

I am now trying to negotiate a fair price for a Contax 35mm 1.4 ae that arrived with unexpected
small grey marks on the lens coating around the edges of the rear element. The marks do not come off.

It was CLA'd recently and otherwise in excellent condition, using KEH measures.


Any thoughts on what a fair price for this lens would be in this condition?

It was 1300usd, but seems like it is worth less now.

Any thoughts welcome!
10061675016_1f09272e31_c.jpg


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7323/10061675016_1f09272e31_c.jpg
 
John Inglis said:
Having been inspired by this thread,

I am now trying to negotiate a fair price for a Contax 35mm 1.4 ae that arrived with unexpected
small grey marks on the lens coating around the edges of the rear element. The marks do not come off.

It was CLA'd recently and otherwise in excellent condition, using KEH measures.


Any thoughts on what a fair price for this lens would be in this condition?

It was 1300usd, but seems like it is worth less now.

Any thoughts welcome!
10061675016_1f09272e31_c.jpg
Click to expand...

I'd say $800 or $900. Shame about the marks on the back coating. Maybe $1000?
 
Does anyone know where I can get my Contax lenses serviced and/or declicked in Australia?

thanks
 
No idea I'm afraid Phil, but I just bought a replacement ready-declicked and hard EOS mounted 50mm f1.7 from a former guitarist for Thin Lizzy :)

Just popping in with a UK/Europe recommendation of http://www.thelensdoctor.co.uk/

Many people visiting the site will know my name Eddie Houston, more synonymous with Rock Groups, and guitars, having built up a successful career in the music industry playing with many famous bands including Thin Lizzy, Creed, Pilot and many more. Previous to this I worked with Canon as a Technical Manager repairing and overseeing the running of both a photographic department, and photocopier repairs. Photography never left me and I suppose the art of repairing particularly FD range has always been with me. With the influx of adapters and other disciplines these old lenses which are far superior in engineering and optical characteristics still have a valid place in today's photography world, and more so now with the advent of DSLR HD Video.
Click to expand...

Not only does he service, collimate, declick and re-mount the usual suspects, he also is an export in modding FD lenses for use on EOS cameras. He also refurbishes and sells older lenses too of all descriptions to work on EOS mount cameras.

He makes the Canon mounts himself I believe and checking it out I'd say it will certainly outlive me before coming loose. Really nice and friendly and helpful.

My 50mm f1.7 cost me £245 including shipping. If you figure the going rate for a 1.7 is £150 on Ebay, then a leitax mount is about £75 inc shipping and to have the lens serviced, declicked, collimated and cleared of any dust etc. It's really a good deal in my opinion.

I'm shooting a short feature from Saturday till Tuesday so will let you all know how I get on. All contax with an additional rented 15mm CP2 for some of the cramped interiors.
 
Ok, serious question here.

I have had a German and Japanese 85 1.4 now, and both bloom something fierce at 1.4 and 2.0. At 2.8 and above they are sharp and contrasty and awesome.

here are samples at 1.4, 2.0 then 4.0 respectively:







What's going on? What am I doing wrong? As a side note, it doesn't look like this through the viewfinder.
 
Jeffrey T. Morgan said:
Ok, serious question here.

I have had a German and Japanese 85 1.4 now, and both bloom something fierce at 1.4 and 2.0. At 2.8 and above they are sharp and contrasty and awesome.

here are samples at 1.4, 2.0 then 4.0 respectively:







What's going on? What am I doing wrong? As a side note, it doesn't look like this through the viewfinder.
Click to expand...

Jeffrey, what are the serial #s on your lenses? I have a German 1.4 (AE) that blooms a bit wide open, yes (actually looked kind of good on a starlet we interviewed last month....like built in Classic Soft). I have a japanese MM (Serial in the 7's) that seemed to bloom less (during same shoot).

It's not uncommon for 1.4 lenses to soften up and loose contrast wide open. In this particular case, it's not clear if Zeiss did this intentioanally to add a dreamy "flair" to this well known portrait lens. In any case, these lenses were designed to perform optimally at 2.8 (as you've noted) and an f2 and 1.4 the wider apertures are there as a creative option or low light necessity.

I think it also depends on how the light is hitting the lens. My guess is that if you are flaring the lens that "bloom" may exacerbate.
 
thats crazy. my 85 is ridiculously nice wide open. One of my fav lenses actually. Ill try to post a comparison pic
 
Thanks for the input, everyone! The serial number of the MM lens is 7226619, the AE lens is gone. I am going to try some shots in very low light now and see if less light hitting the glass helps.

Domenic, I am looking forward to the comparison pics. :)
 
Ok, here is another test. I have found that in truly lowlight situations the blooming is half as bad. I have gotten better results than these a little bit, but these are par for the course.

1.4, 2, 2.8 respectively





 
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