Contax Zeiss Survival Guide

[Nick Morrison]

just got a 100-300 off of ebay! 25 2.8, 35-70, and 100-300 so far.

Nice! The 100-300 is a gem.

 

[Ben Scott]

Thanks for comments all. I really really need to get some red shooting underway. Not done anything for a few weekes now.

 

[Uli Plank]

@Daniel:

I compared a Rokkor 35-70 with the Contax 35-70 a while ago. They were very close to each other in quality as far as measurable IQ goes, in some details the Rokkor was better, some points went to the Contax, but it was head-to head. Decided to keep the Rokkor and sell the Contax, cause I never really made friends with one-touch zooming. But that's me, and of course there are differences in aesthetics. In short you may say that Minoltas are poor man's Leica and Zeiss is, well, Zeiss!

Plus, I have both a fine Minolta and a Contax collection by now (started more than 3 years ago). When I look at current prices, it was one of the better investments I made in my life…

 

[Daniel Pearson]

@Daniel:

I compared a Rokkor 35-70 with the Contax 35-70 a while ago. They were very close to each other in quality as far as measurable IQ goes, in some details the Rokkor was better, some points went to the Contax, but it was head-to head. Decided to keep the Rokkor and sell the Contax, cause I never really made friends with one-touch zooming. But that's me, and of course there are differences in aesthetics. In short you may say that Minoltas are poor man's Leica and Zeiss is, well, Zeiss!

Plus, I have both a fine Minolta and a Contax collection by now (started more than 3 years ago). When I look at current prices, it was one of the better investments I made in my life…

The Rokkor 58 1.2 is a stunning looking lens, I'm kinda new to the vintage lenses but there are some great offerings. I'm only looking to build a humble set, but there is plenty to choose from.

 

[Jeffrey T. Morgan]

The Contax lenses are looking pretty darn good on the GH4 with the Speedbooster. Turns my 80-200 F4 into F2.8!

Both handheld, which is dumb at 200mm, lol.





There seems to be an extra layer of washing out you have to be careful of, but they are still pleasing (28mm 2.8) :



What do you guys think?

 

[Nick Morrison]

@Daniel:

I compared a Rokkor 35-70 with the Contax 35-70 a while ago. They were very close to each other in quality as far as measurable IQ goes, in some details the Rokkor was better, some points went to the Contax, but it was head-to head. Decided to keep the Rokkor and sell the Contax, cause I never really made friends with one-touch zooming. But that's me, and of course there are differences in aesthetics. In short you may say that Minoltas are poor man's Leica and Zeiss is, well, Zeiss!

Plus, I have both a fine Minolta and a Contax collection by now (started more than 3 years ago). When I look at current prices, it was one of the better investments I made in my life…

I'll second everything Uli said. I love my Contax, but I'm also fond of Rokkor, and have built a pretty complete modded/EOS set, as a way to connect with my father. My dad owned a photo store when I was a kid, and is an avid Rokkor collector (he has amost every Rokkor prime ever made). It's been very special to collect a parallel set to his, and given us much to talk about when I call him in Madrid every week or so.

He actually just shot an indie feature on his Rokkors last year with a FS100! He's inspiring to say the least.

And I can second how good the Rokkor 35-70 is too. It's in my permanent collection alongside my Contax primes and zooms.

The Rokkor 58 1.2 is breathtaking.

The Rokkor 50mm macro I'm very fond of also...

 

[Nick Morrison]

@ Jeffrey: Looking good! Im a huge fan of the 80-200 because of its remarkable close focusing. It gets VERY SHALLOW, and is essentially and unbelievably thin focused macro at 200mm that is just gorgeous. I have it in my main kit alongside the 60 macro and 100 macro because I like it so much. Close focusing at 200mm is pretty dreamy...

 

[Roy Rossovich]

Some more fun on the road, Shot at F2 on the 28mm, straight out of camera. Been on the road now for 6 weeks and have too many terrabytes of footage. Heading home in 2 more weeks and will start having to edit some of this stuff!

 

[Roy Rossovich]

And a few more from earlier in the day. Portraits shot at 85mm and the flower the 28mm

 

[Chris McKechnie]

Nice stuff Roy.

Some more fun on the road, Shot at F2 on the 28mm, straight out of camera. Been on the road now for 6 weeks and have too many terrabytes of footage. Heading home in 2 more weeks and will start having to edit some of this stuff!

 

[Nick Morrison]

WOW Roy, jaw-dropping as always...

 

[Roy Rossovich]

Thanks Nick, appreciated, look forward to posting something edited one of these days after soon 8 weeks on the road shooting! Really liking the Contax lenses in the back lit scenarios, the Low contrast of them makes it very fun to work with.

 

[Nick Morrison]

Thanks Nick, appreciated, look forward to posting something edited one of these days after soon 8 weeks on the road shooting! Really liking the Contax lenses in the back lit scenarios, the Low contrast of them makes it very fun to work with.

Can't wait to see the cut!

 

[Daniel Pearson]

Great shots Roy!

 

[Kemalettin Sert]

sorry for OT post
have these lenses and what kind of adapter i should for Eos mount on epic? (AF confirm)

 

[Chris McKechnie]

sorry for OT post
have these lenses and what kind of adapter i should for Eos mount on epic? (AF confirm)

Leitax are the best of the best. Solid. Reliable. Make sure you add the confirmation chip if you want MF confirmation.

http://leitax.com/Zeiss-Contax-lenses-for-Canon-cameras.html

 

[Nick Morrison]

Leitax are the best of the best. Solid. Reliable. Make sure you add the confirmation chip if you want MF confirmation.

http://leitax.com/Zeiss-Contax-lenses-for-Canon-cameras.html

What he said.

 

[Arto Marttinen]

I have been looking for Contax Zeiss macro lenses. All my 4 lenses are MMJ, but I haven't seen any C/Y makros that are MMG or MMJ except 60mm f2.8 C.

Are 100mm f2.8 Makro-Planar or 60mm f2.8 S-Planar makro even available in MM?

Which one would you recommend? I'm looking for to shoot mechanical details and some flora and fauna.

I already have 28mm f2.8, 50mm f1.4, 85mm f1.4 and 135mm f2.8.

Thanks for this great topic.

 

[Brandon Kelly]

Hey guys, I was doing a shoot yesterday in an abandoned building by the ocean and was having some really weird flares. They look more like sensor type reflections, but I'm not sure what is causing this. I was using contax mmj 25 2.8 for the first shot, and mmj 35-70 for the second shot. I shot a few a bit more exposed to emphasize the reflections. I was using tiffen ww nd, and tried with and without, with no changes. The first one has the blue in the middle of the frame, while the second has a dirty looking rectangle with a horizontal line. Thanks

[/URL]A013_C093_0101QM by B.L.K cinema, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/URL]A013_C139_0101YS by B.L.K cinema, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[Uli Plank]

@Arto: My S-Planar 60mm f2.8 is an AE (ser. in the low 60's), has the 'Ninja' aperture only at f4 and is absolutely gorgeous, but heavy. Other than the 'C" version (for compact) it goes to 1:1.
Adorable, not only for macro, but for portrait too. Quite different from your 50, worth having both.