Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

Log in
  • 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

Ben Scott said:
So my Contax 28mm Hollywood arrived and there was a bit of grit or something making a grinding noise in the barrel so I've left it with the local camera guy. Hopefully it won't be too expensive to sort but it's a shame as I was hoping to go do sexy filming with it this weekend.
Click to expand...

Hopefully it's ok!

Ben Scott said:
Also, has anyone seen this?

http://www.dpvisualmedia.com/home/home-3/diy-delrin-follow-focus-gears-75

What do you think? Any chance we could ascertain which item numbers are needed for the contax range? Would certainly continue the theme of making these bad boys super affordable. Sadly I don't speak your crazy voodoo ft and inches witchcraft language so have a bit of a hard time understanding from the site they link to at servo city precisely which dimensions I should be looking at. Hurry up and get with the mm and cm guys - It makes EVERYTHING sound bigger ;)
Click to expand...
Looks intriguing. I'm personally happy to let Peter at RP lens put gears on mine (makes me nervous to fiddle with my glass). But a good DIY kit certainly looks interesting...
DAVID BARKAN said:
I'm shooting a series of talks, and I wish I had the 35-135 with me. =)
Click to expand...

I'm smitten with my 35-135. Such an impressive piece of glass. On Dragon it's going to have a 28 to 110 FOV, which is pretty killer. Remarkable macro, too.
 
Last edited:
Hey guys, I just wanted to give a plug to Duclos's remarkable 8-hole case. Take a look at pic below. I own one, and am so impressed have ordered two more. I've been struggling to find a good case solution for over a year now. I have numerous 1510 cases with assorted foam "cut outs", but none have felt ideal. I don't like untreated foam, as it tends to leach "particles". And I designed my own laser cut outs once, and while handy, weren't perfect either (didn't have the blend of hard foam up top, and soft foam below).

I love 1510s, are ideal for travel, but Reduser Ryan De Franco made a comment that really left an impact:

"Ever notice real lens cases don't have wheels? Do you really want your glass smashing on the pavement each the time you wheel them around the city?".
Click to expand...
Funny thing is, I was wheeling them around the city, he had a point! 1510's are great, but if the wheels aren't ideal, then what other solutions exist? I can keep 1510's for travel jobs, but what about my bread and butter - local jobs around the city? Was there a real case out there that could provide world class protection and usability for me day in and day out? Was there a PRO case out there ideal for cine-modded glass?

A month later, I stumble on Duclos's 8-hole case. It looked promising, so I bought it. When it arrived, I almost "oooohed" when I opened it. I could tell right away I'd hit the mother load. THIS was a professional case. Finally, something I knew my lenses would be safely kept in. I instantly dropped in my 21, 25, 28 Hollywood, 35, 50, 85, 100 Macro, and 135 f2. They fit so snug it was borderline a religious experience. To top it off, the accessories "drawer" on the right is remarkably convenient.

I feel like I've hit the jackpot - so had to share!

Already looking forward to the next two to arrive.
8hole_1024x1024.png
 
Last edited:
Ben Scott said:
Also, has anyone seen this?

http://www.dpvisualmedia.com/home/home-3/diy-delrin-follow-focus-gears-75

What do you think? Any chance we could ascertain which item numbers are needed for the contax range? Would certainly continue the theme of making these bad boys super affordable. Sadly I don't speak your crazy voodoo ft and inches witchcraft language so have a bit of a hard time understanding from the site they link to at servo city precisely which dimensions I should be looking at. Hurry up and get with the mm and cm guys - It makes EVERYTHING sound bigger ;)
Click to expand...

I'm interested whether anyone has done this DIY gear approach on here. The two complications, how to bore out the centre of the delrin rings and secondly if heat expands them, then wouldn't heat in the field cause an issue too? Or are the extremes too great? Is there some kind of additional adhesive required as well? I don't know how the 'proper' lens folk do it?

Very interested in this though,

cheers
Paul
 
I have to tell I'm feeling so frustrated being without lenses and camera and not contributing to this thread.
Anyway while I was diging some Leica pics, I found this old test.

Tele Tessar 200

Tele-Tessar-200.jpg


Really need to work more with this lens.

Cheers
B
 
paulcurtis said:
I'm interested whether anyone has done this DIY gear approach on here. The two complications, how to bore out the centre of the delrin rings and secondly if heat expands them, then wouldn't heat in the field cause an issue too? Or are the extremes too great? Is there some kind of additional adhesive required as well? I don't know how the 'proper' lens folk do it?

Very interested in this though,

cheers
Paul
Click to expand...

I believe the Duclos rings are heatshrunk on as well, without any extra adhesive. If I we going to do this - as soon as I had a clue of those the actual items I need from Servo city, I'd actually just pay a shop to cut them for me that that 1mm under measurement so you can always file it out a bit. Can't see it being more than £1 per gear...

Brice those are looking lovely.
 
Ben Scott said:
I believe the Duclos rings are heatshrunk on as well, without any extra adhesive. If I we going to do this - as soon as I had a clue of those the actual items I need from Servo city, I'd actually just pay a shop to cut them for me that that 1mm under measurement so you can always file it out a bit. Can't see it being more than £1 per gear...

Brice those are looking lovely.
Click to expand...

I've seen the rings in the UK from tis, but they're looking at 80+ quid each, although i think they will do the boring as well. The servo city prices by comparison are next to nothing. I guess it's a question of finding a friendly local shop somewhere to do the boring. Plus i assume we'd need to cut off the rubber surround on the focus so the delrin makes contact with the metal instead.

I'm tempted!

cheers
Paul
 
It's a lot harder than you think to mill gears accurately so that they are perfectly centered on the lens and fit the barrel diameter exactly. You don't want any slippage, binding or rotational unevenness when using a follow focus. There is a lot of hand labor & skill involved in gearing a lens properly, that is why it costs what it does. Also, Delrin (acetal resin) is very expensive stuff.
 
well, it's $7.95 per gear from servo city which is not exactly going to break the bank. The gear teeth are already made. a circular cutout just needs to be bored which really isn't rocket science, especially if you're getting a proper place to cut them. Compared to using ziptie gears or redrock-style gear it has to be an improvement
 
Ben Scott said:
well, it's $7.95 per gear from servo city which is not exactly going to break the bank. The gear teeth are already made. a circular cutout just needs to be bored which really isn't rocket science, especially if you're getting a proper place to cut them. Compared to using ziptie gears or redrock-style gear it has to be an improvement
Click to expand...
Worth a try I guess…
 
Hello!

To cut the whole you need to clamp these plastic wheels into a universal clamp ( so is called ). These are heavy industrial equipment and to proper fix the wheel in the machine you will need a mold ( like father - mother ) to apply equal pressure on the wheels so the tooths will not get damaged !
 
Tom Greenberg said:
Worth a try I guess…
Click to expand...

Hello!

To cut the whole you need to clamp these plastic wheels into a universal clamp ( so is called ). These are heavy industrial equipment and to proper fix the wheel in the machine you will need a mold ( like father - mother ) to apply equal pressure on the wheels so the tooths will not get damaged !
 
Ben Scott said:
Oooh. Very nice.

Once I've had all my lenses tidied up I'm possibly going to start hiring them out. That looks like the perfect case to do it in.
Click to expand...

Yeah...this case just got better. I noticed this weekend I can fit my 180 2.8 into the "accessories" box if I protect the lens in a padded case. There's probably enough space for one more lens this way (maybe the 11-16?). 10 lenses in one robust case ain't bad.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top