Contax Zeiss Survival Guide

[Chris McKechnie]

Really great work Chris - over and above the (great) images you told a really nice story in a really simple way that let it breath and have impact. I have to go now... I think I have a bit of dust in my eyes after, you know... cutting all those onions..

Thanks so much for the kind words Ben. Glad it made an impact on you. We always seem to want more presents, the latest tech, etc for Christmas. It really touches my heart to see these kids light up like Christmas trees, but also watching the parents as well....since now they can have the Christmas they wanted for their kids.

 

[Ben Scott]

Merry Christmas Nick and all...

Now I'm Redless I feel like an interloper in here

Nick, have you renamed/rebranded your company or jumped ship elsewhere?

Camdiox arrived today so will throw up some tests after tomorrow to see how it compares to more expensive offerings.

 

[Nick Morrison]

Merry Christmas Nick and all...

Merry Xmas to you too Ben!

Now I'm Redless I feel like an interloper in here

Never! You're one of the orginals Ben! You're in the club no matter what cam you have!

Nick, have you renamed/rebranded your company or jumped ship elsewhere?

We're all on solo ventures now! My agency is called "Small Giant", and for the past year we've been working on campaigns for History, Lifetime, H2 and FYI primarily. I'm lucky to have great clients, and feel blessed they trust me with their series. We're a pretty lean/mean team...and so far...clients seem to be happy!

My goal for 2015 is to work on a couple of commercials (if possible), as we only do promos now. Fingers crossed!

Camdiox arrived today so will throw up some tests after tomorrow to see how it compares to more expensive offerings.

Can't wait to see how it fares!

 

[Ben Scott]

That's fantastic Nick. really happy for you. It's great to be part of a dynamic lean, mean shooting machine. I spent the last 6 months earning well but working on the worst quality and most soul-destroying corporate stuff I have done in a decade and have vowed 2015 is the year of doing good work again.

 

[Janis Huber]

Maybe this is a stupid question, but i'll ask it anyway:

Is there a need to clean the Contax lenses differently because of some coatings?
How do you clean the rear element?

Background: I got my 28-85 and the 80-200 - happy!! the 80-200 is from a non-premium seller on ebay (200$), it was listed as "Mint" but there is some stuff on the rear element - not sure if its dirt (hopefully) or sratches. I don't wanna damage anything by
cleaning it wrong...Can I just clean it normally with a microfibre and cleaning liquid?

2. question: the aperture blades of the 80-200 are not symmetrical - one seems to be a little dislocated; have any of you had this issue as well? is it a problem?

Thanks.

 

[Nick Morrison]

Maybe this is a stupid question, but i'll ask it anyway:

Is there a need to clean the Contax lenses differently because of some coatings?
How do you clean the rear element?

Background: I got my 28-85 and the 80-200 - happy!! the 80-200 is from a non-premium seller on ebay (200$), it was listed as "Mint" but there is some stuff on the rear element - not sure if its dirt (hopefully) or sratches. I don't wanna damage anything by
cleaning it wrong...Can I just clean it normally with a microfibre and cleaning liquid?

2. question: the aperture blades of the 80-200 are not symmetrical - one seems to be a little dislocated; have any of you had this issue as well? is it a problem?

Thanks.

Because the coatings are old, I generally just use breathe and a cleaning cloth.Then again most have ever needed more than that.

An asymmetrical aperture blade sounds unusual - maybe there's grease on blades and its getting stuck?

Ive been burned several times from non-premium ebay sellers. Hopefully the 80-200 works out!

 

[Uli Plank]

I've just put the 28-85 Zeiss on a focal reducer on the Sony FS7, so that's now a sort of f2.4ish 21-70ish mm Zeiss on a Super 35mm sensor

By the way is anyone was interested the only focal reducer I've found that both fits Leitaxed EF mount Contax glass AND fits on the Sony FS7 is the cheap little Camdiox one which I believe is engineered and manufactured in Germany.

Looks like my 35mm f2.8 just became a superspeed too

Dear Ben,

I doubt this is a German product, just Chinese trying to rebrand their stuff as "Germany quality controlled". I don't judge them for bad English grammar, but from their website it looks like a German photographer teamed up with some Chinese.

That said, I wouldn't necessarily expect it to be bad stuff, the Zhongyi Lens Turbos are very good for the price (as are Fotga follow focuses). So, please let us know how it turns out for you, I just hope it's not rebranded Fotodiox ;-)

 

[Janis Huber]

Because the coatings are old, I generally just use breathe and a cleaning cloth.Then again most have ever needed more than that.

An asymmetrical aperture blade sounds unusual - maybe there's grease on blades and its getting stuck?

Ive been burned several times from non-premium ebay sellers. Hopefully the 80-200 works out!

Ok so I checked:

1) there are some micro-scratches on the rear element of this lens - will this affect picture quality? There doesn't seem to be
greas on the aperture blades...seems to be some other kind of disfunction...

2) The 28-85 I bought was from a private person working a Zeiss in Germany. He testified, that the lens is in perfect shape,
which I belived him, because he's working at Zeiss. The lens is in very good shape, almost no signs of use, no scratches.
Though there seems to be something on the second element of the rear lens, which looks like haze (maby he didn't check
well enough!!

Here some pictures I tried to take: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fj4g8pjhjo9zc17/AADfFW7CHbXqXXeOIOLkhOoWa?dl=0

==> is it haze or even fungus? I'm no expert. I hope the pictures are of any help!
Whats your experience with cleaning haze?

* the lens has quite an 'old' smelle if this info is of any value..


3) Except from KEH, can you recommend any specific premium-reseller on ebay? I really want to have near mint lenses which
I can have for a long time, though lenses on ebay tend to be cheaper...

 

[Ben Scott]

Dear Ben,

I doubt this is a German product, just Chinese trying to rebrand their stuff as "Germany quality controlled". I don't judge them for bad English grammar, but from their website it looks like a German photographer teamed up with some Chinese.

That said, I wouldn't necessarily expect it to be bad stuff, the Zhongyi Lens Turbos are very good for the price (as are Fotga follow focuses). So, please let us know how it turns out for you, I just hope it's not rebranded Fotodiox ;-)

Ah okay. My mistake. They appear to be made by Roxsen.

 

[liam howlett]

Man, I wish someone could post some examples of ANY of these lenses on a GH4... and I mean, video.

Anyway, made my first purchase. Got myself a 60mm 2.8 Macro AEG. Always wanted a macro.

 

[Nick Morrison]

Man, I wish someone could post some examples of ANY of these lenses on a GH4... and I mean, video.

Anyway, made my first purchase. Got myself a 60mm 2.8 Macro AEG. Always wanted a macro.

Congrats on the macro! I LOVE THAT LENS!!

Not sure about GH4, but I'm pretty sure there were some GH3 samples early on in the thread!

 

[Chris McKechnie]

Man, I wish someone could post some examples of ANY of these lenses on a GH4... and I mean, video.

Anyway, made my first purchase. Got myself a 60mm 2.8 Macro AEG. Always wanted a macro.

I recently picked up the GH4. With the sharpness all the way down, I found these lenses are a great combo. Will get some video up soon. On vacation at the moment.

 

[J Obertone]

Some recent Stuff shot on Zeiss Contax , 35mmf1.4 mmj , 50mmf1.4 mmj

 

[J Obertone]

Zeiss Contax examples. No processing, jpeg's from redplayer. Shot on Scarlet Dragon 5K except the third one down on ScarletMX 4K. All contax 85mmf1.4 mmj except the top one is contax 180mmf2.8mmj. The macro shot was contax 85mm with extension tube.

 

[Nick Morrison]

Some recent Stuff shot on Zeiss Contax , 35mmf1.4 mmj , 50mmf1.4 mmj

Holy Moley Batman! These look GREAT!!! WOW! You'd never know they weren't shot on film. And quite frankly the intimacy/immediacy is just great on these. Congrats. The 35/50 range is so great to work in. "Wild" was just recently shot 90% on a 35mm (Master Prime), and the remainder mostly on a 25 and 50 - for the same reason, the intimacy and connection to the characters.

Love, love these.

 

[Nick Morrison]

and some more, Zeiss Contax 180f2.8 mmj and Zeiss Jena 300mm. The macro shot was contax 85mm with extension tube.

These too are DROP DEAD gorgeous. Which are the 180 and 300 if you don't mind? So hard to tell on telephotos.

Love the tonality. And again the intimacy. You have a real knack for that. Congrats again.

 

[J Obertone]

Nick, Yes actually I got it wrong they are all 85mm and one 180mm contax. Il go back and label them accordingly. I would have never picked these lenses up if not for this thread either. Here is one from the jena 300mm:

 

[Nick Morrison]

Nick, Yes actually they are 85mm and 180mm contax. Il go back and label them accordingly. I would have never picked these lenses up if not for this thread either. Here is one from the jena 300mm:

Amazing job with these shots. Can't wait to see the final piece! Love seeing what you guys all do with your glass!

Happy new year all!!!

 

[Chris McKechnie]

Stuff looks good J! Nice comps.

 

[J Obertone]

Thank you Chris!