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

Thanks Nick, i was aware of Leitax mount was hoping there was an easier way
 
Heres one of those annoying 'thinking out loud' questions.....

Currently have the 35-70 (love it) the 50 1.4 (love it) and the 135 2.8 (its ok)
I have a bunch of other canons tokinas ect ect

Now I really want the 35 1.4...but these are pretty expensive, considering brand new ZE sometimes is cheaper then a 35 1.4 CY on ebay....

Ideally I would like the 35 1.4, 50 1.4 and 85 1.4....

Money is a little tight right now, and I am hearing lots of good about the 28 2.8.....how does that compare against the 35 1.4....other then being 1/4 to 1/5th the price.

I would love the bokeh of the 35 1.4, and will eventually buy it...but the 28 would be a easy purchase, and the focal length is probably a little more useful seeing that I have the 50 as well (the 21 2.8 is also on my list....but yowsers its pricey)
 
Mike Harrington said:
Heres one of those annoying 'thinking out loud' questions.....

Currently have the 35-70 (love it) the 50 1.4 (love it) and the 135 2.8 (its ok)
I have a bunch of other canons tokinas ect ect

Now I really want the 35 1.4...but these are pretty expensive, considering brand new ZE sometimes is cheaper then a 35 1.4 CY on ebay....

Ideally I would like the 35 1.4, 50 1.4 and 85 1.4....

Money is a little tight right now, and I am hearing lots of good about the 28 2.8.....how does that compare against the 35 1.4....other then being 1/4 to 1/5th the price.

I would love the bokeh of the 35 1.4, and will eventually buy it...but the 28 would be a easy purchase, and the focal length is probably a little more useful seeing that I have the 50 as well (the 21 2.8 is also on my list....but yowsers its pricey)
Click to expand...

The 35mm 1.4 ZF/ZE is pretty damn expensive even used- are you thinking of the 35mm 2?

The contax 35mm 1.4 is pretty damn nice but I'd be patient/careful. I jumped the gun on a "BGN" grade version of it from KEH- optically great. However, there is a bit of rattle when focusing, which I suspect is a loose element inside...might have to send it back to KEH for repair soon...

Patience will get you the 21mm 2.8 as well- I eventually got it for a not terribly absurd price from a Japanese camera store via eBay. Btw, thanks for the advice on making hold out for it Nick :)
 
Mike Harrington said:
Heres one of those annoying 'thinking out loud' questions.....

Currently have the 35-70 (love it) the 50 1.4 (love it) and the 135 2.8 (its ok)
I have a bunch of other canons tokinas ect ect

Now I really want the 35 1.4...but these are pretty expensive, considering brand new ZE sometimes is cheaper then a 35 1.4 CY on ebay....

Ideally I would like the 35 1.4, 50 1.4 and 85 1.4....

Money is a little tight right now, and I am hearing lots of good about the 28 2.8.....how does that compare against the 35 1.4....other then being 1/4 to 1/5th the price.

I would love the bokeh of the 35 1.4, and will eventually buy it...but the 28 would be a easy purchase, and the focal length is probably a little more useful seeing that I have the 50 as well (the 21 2.8 is also on my list....but yowsers its pricey)
Click to expand...

I love the 28 2.8, however visually it's quite different than the 35 1.4, which can get very shallow, and has deep, gorgeous bokeh. The 28 2.8 has "nice" bokeh, but nowhere near the fall off or "wow" factor of the 35. The 35/50/85 1.4's all compliment each other nicely with their bokeh. The 28 f2 is the closest wide that gives you a similar look (also has tremendous fall off and bokeh, feels like the 35 1.4's "cousin"), and the 25 2.8 AE has great "funk" to it, due to it's classic design. You may want to look at that vs the 28 2.8 - which I consider a more reserve, more polished design, but the performance (esp stopped down) comes at the expense of some of the "character" present in these other primes we've mentioned.

Unfortunately, it's hard to replace the 35 1.4. The 35 2.8 is a great bet, but as you have the 35-70 the 1/2 stop jump may not buy you much.

That said, the 28 2.8 is a GREAT lens, and would give you a great wide to work from. While it won't give you the bokeh you are looking for, it will likely give you everything else you need (wider FOV, performance, and stand out look).

Hope this helps!
 
Last edited:
Definitely helps....thanks guys....

In the end...I think I want a lens with character...and will probably grab the 35 1.4....
My wife's new kitchen will have to wait :hand:

I had not heard good things about the 25....or the hollywood for that matter...but I guess too often character is overlooked when evaluating against pure performance
 
Mike Harrington said:
Definitely helps....thanks guys....

In the end...I think I want a lens with character...and will probably grab the 35 1.4....
My wife's new kitchen will have to wait :hand:

I had not heard good things about the 25....or the hollywood for that matter...but I guess too often character is overlooked when evaluating against pure performance
Click to expand...

I actually quite like the 25mm. It gets judged too often at FULL FRAME, however on a cropped sensor you won't see these vintage "failings". VERY sharp in the center, even at 2.8. Stopped down to F4 and further it really starts to scream.

Same for the Hollywood. Stopped down it's bonkers good. And wide open its gorgeous. Much better than it gets credit for. I know I preach the virtues of the 28 2.8, but truth is...once you get the Hollywood, there's no going back. It's really, really good.
 
Wow, that's more than I paid for my 21mm 2.8 (also off ebay), which should be a considerably pricier lens

Just took a look on us ebay and there are a lot more at reasonable price (still not cheap): http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trk...m+1.4&_nkw=contax+35mm+1.4&_sacat=0&_from=R40

I'd say look on KEH since they sell items at a fair price (no crazy markups) though I think because of this thread, they've been consistently cleaned out of Contax lenses (the 85mm 1.4 is up there right now though- no takers?)

I grabbed my 35mm 1.4 as a 'bgn' grade over a year ago- happy with my purchase despite the dubious rattle when focusing, since I haven't seen one up there since. Thanks for blowing the secret of the Contax line, guys ; )
 
Alex...

Definitely looking at KEH....and ya there are cheaper 35 1.4's on ebay....tough to find one in decent shape under $1200 though...
 
Nick Morrison said:
I actually quite like the 25mm. It gets judged too often at FULL FRAME, however on a cropped sensor you won't see these vintage "failings". VERY sharp in the center, even at 2.8. Stopped down to F4 and further it really starts to scream.

Same for the Hollywood. Stopped down it's bonkers good. And wide open its gorgeous. Much better than it gets credit for. I know I preach the virtues of the 28 2.8, but truth is...once you get the Hollywood, there's no going back. It's really, really good.
Click to expand...

My only gripe with the Hollywood is the (comparatively) short focus throw. Well that and the tight focus ring (which is probably just my copy? haven't tried any others)

Otherwise- the lens is awesome! Incredible close-focus gives it a very unique look due to the wide angle. I think somebody else pointed out here earlier, but it has gorgeous fall off as well.
 
My Hollywood is back in the shop as the barrel is loose. Boo. That sais, for the 4 or 5 days I had it in my hand it was instantly going to be my number one lens.

That said, the 25mm is excellent. Once you're past the pixel peeping side of things it simply looks great.



 
I really like those two shots Ben.
Still away from lenses and camera, and stuck in editing rooms in Paris.
So I continue reviewing some old footages and playing with Print Stock Luts.

The infamous 100/300. As you can notice I missed the focus on the eyes, it still feel darm sharp to me. (Ctrl+click for bigger pic)
VarioTessarDear.0001415_00000.jpg


Cheers
B
 
I want to use contax on Red one with A-mount and a Blackmagick EF, can be a solution with no loss use fotodiox adapter and then put on the canon allstar adapter when i have to use with Red One?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top