Contax Zeiss Survival Guide

[Nick Morrison]

Does anyone have 80mm push cap recommendations besides Cordvision (out of stock) and RP Lens (haven't responded to multiple inquiries)? The Arri one's are awfully expensive for lens caps...

Yup, try these:
http://mobile.adorama.com/flslip80.html?utm_referrer=direct/not provided

Affordable, and fit very snug on cordvision fronts.

 

[Sammi Kim]

I would stay away from it. On April 28th a listing from Osaka, Japan (icon camera) has ended that went for 659,- U$. It didn't seem to have any problems.

With some patience you should find a good one.

Thank you, you are right I should be patient.
Had a bad experience with lens with fungus already

 

[liam howlett]

Thank you, you are right I should be patient.
Had a bad experience with lens with fungus already

The most recent ZC lens I got off ebay is where I was impatient... paid 450$ for the - however minty - 180 2.8 AEG. But then I saw the same lens in just as good condition for less, in the 330+ range. So yeah. But I'd regret it more if I paid for something that had defects or a ton of scratches... not in this case though.

P.S. receiving my GH4 this Friday... will start to finally post my own samples of this combo here.

 

[Oscar Stegland]

Oscar - nice set!

My 35 1.4 AEG has the same loose rubber focus grip. Once RP lens modded it, the delrin focus gear they added clamped it down tight, and its never moved since.

The 35-70 is push pull, and may have sucked in some dust inside the zoom shaft (at 40mm). Id have a lens tech give a good check/clean.

The "moving part" of the 135 2.8 is a sliding lens shade. If you have a Cordvision/Duclos/Generic 77mm step up ring, it becomes pretty unusable, yes.

Love your passion for the Ninja-Star, and agree sbout its "Cooke"-ness! In an age where everything often looks very similar and exacting, the ninja-star oozes personality and is 100% unique.

Also completely agree about how "log" the glass renders - it does indeed seem to make footage more gradeable as blacks are lifted, and highlights roll off smoother.

Alright,

Do you or does anyone else have experience with helicoptersean's focus gears? Would they possible do the job as well as proper custom fit delrin ones? I'm thinking about just slapping some epoxy underneath the rubber as I realized after my post that it really isn't that difficult to remove in parts.

That sounds reasonable. It was completely falling apart a while back and the focus shifted all the time so I gave it in to the cine glass-tech I was talking about. He put it back together but it still seems to get stuck. He only really works with cine-glass so he's probably not the best guy to talk to but I'll see if I can have someone else check it out.

Haha, I've had the 135 for like 2 years or something and never realized until you said it haha. Pretty nifty. Nick (or anyone else with experience for that matter), would you say the 135 f2 is worth jumping up to for the extra stop. Would be great to have a kit that's at least f/2 across the board (except for the 21mm but I can't live without that bad boy).

Ninja-Star is really something. I like having the choice. When lightning I generally don't have to push 2.8 so I can get rid of it pretty easily if the project calls for it, but I like the oddness and unique bokeh that comes with it. And generally I think only people with a passion and understanding of glass notice that kind of stuff anyways. Took me a while to identify the Cooke-bokeh as well. But wide-open the bokeh on most Contax-lenses is absolutely gorgeous. The 35mm and 28mm being my most recent purchases I must say it's impressive, the short depth of field, that these lenses can give you.

Have another question for you guys? What's your experience with Leitax and Contax? I've Leitaxed my 35-70 and it focuses slightly past infinity whereas a cheap Fotodiox is basically perfect on all my other lenses. When Leitax-modding have you guys had to adjust for infinity focus and is it difficult on these lenses? Has anyone here declicked apertures on their own? Is there any good guide out there?

I have a similar set to yours, also went with the AE versions. I would strongly recommend you add the 60mm makro 1:1. A really awesome lens generally but the 1:1 makro is really exciting. Also, have to agree that the 50 1.4 is a gem, especially for the cost. I picked mine up for $50 back in 2009 and it has been used on all manner of camera. It's usually the one when a shot lacks something, I put it on and ZING! Definitely a desert island pick for me. This video was shot entirely on the 50 on a 5D, probably all at 1.4 Mechanically it just feels so good to focus with.

Thanks for the tip Chad! Yeah might have to add that 60 as well, but I'm starting out with this kit at least. On Super35, that kit equates to about 4 tele lenses which is more than enough for my needs at the moment. Only 1 wide, so if anything I'd want to get a good ultra-wide zoom of sorts that might match these somewhat. Anyone have a tip on a full-frame ultra-wide angle zoom that isn't the Canon 11-24 (which I'd love to get but just cant afford right now)? Yeah I've shot a lot without removing my 50 as well. It's just worth more than its weight in gold! Absolutely lovely rendering and one of my go to portrait lenses.

 

[Uli Plank]

The Leitax would be better than the Fotodiox, because it's going slightly past infinity! All my photographic lenses do this, it's meant to compensate for tolerances (e.g. heat). Someday you might not get to infinity with the Fotodiox.

 

[Nick Morrison]

I agree, Leitax adapters are great. All our glass gets Leitaxed at RP lens. Oscar I have no experience with those delrin gears, as RP has generally done all our gearing.

The 135 f2 is good yes, but certainly not cheap. The ninja star is great though - on such a wide bodied lens, you certainly notice it more than on the 2.8 Sonnar.

best

 

[Ben Scott]

I've been using helicoptersean and his focus gears for ages now - since way before he had a proper site advertising his wares. The truth is when they work they are fantastic.

However, I have a bag of about 8 gears that don't fit properly and while he is always brilliant at sending out new versions free of charge and has brilliant customer service, it took about 5-6 attempts to get the one for my 50 1.7, and some of my recent Leica ones are a bit loose too. He is definitely worth the money bt be prepared for a bit of fiddling about.

I'm toying with the idea of going for some of these for my newest lenses

http://www.jbkcinequipt.com/product21.htm

 

[David B.]

I'm using helicopterseans gears on all my contaxes except for the 18f4 and didn't encounter any problems whatsoever. Maybe he doesn't get it right with custom sizes straight away? My guess is: as long as you stick to what he already offers you should be more than fine!

 

[liam howlett]

Some screengrabs from the GH4 with the Macro 60mm + CY speedbooster. No post, untouched.

 

[Nick Morrison]

Looking good Liam! That's a lot of detail!

 

[Daniel Pearson]

If anybody is interested I have a 35-70 zoom for sale, US$250 plus shipping from Australia.

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?133079-Contax-Zeiss-35-70

Love the zoom, regretful sale, it is just a bit of an odd one out in my kit as I'm not in the market to invest further in the Contax range... PM me for any further details.

 

[liam howlett]

Looking good Liam! That's a lot of detail!

Thanks Nick.

Had my first shoot with ZC's today for my work covering an event at Washington Post. I'll post examples tomorrow... but first impressions after looking at my footage. I shot majority of it on my 180 2.8 with Speedbooster...so more like 1.8 (or is it f/2) and kept ISO at 400... Wow... don't know what it is but everything is so sharp even at that low an aperture. I literally feel like I need to soften some shots.

I tested all 3 lenses I've got and everything looks good. Even the MMJ matched nicely with the AEG's...and this was all on GH4. I can imagine how much I'll be geeking out when I try these on a RED or anything else. Best investment I've made, thanks to this thread!

EDIT: couldn't resist posting this...

 

[Ben Scott]

Just received a 60mm macro. Looks very promising.

Just as a reference for others interested in it - here's minimum focus - Not trying to take nice shots or anything. Purely a test.

Lens Test - Contax Zeiss Makro S-Planar 60mm f2.8 by Ben Scott, on Flickr

Lens Test - Contax Zeiss Makro S-Planar 60mm f2.8 by Ben Scott, on Flickr

Lens Test - Contax Zeiss Makro S-Planar 60mm f2.8 by Ben Scott, on Flickr


And a couple of recent stills. Excuse my awful mic. New nice lav hasn't arrived yet.


Sony FS7 and lenses mounted with cheapo Camdiox focal reducer (a dumb mount EF speedbooster)

35mm f1.4

Sony FS7 and COntax Zeiss interview screengrabs by Ben Scott, on Flickr

Sony FS7 and COntax Zeiss interview screengrabs by Ben Scott, on Flickr

85mm f1.4

Sony FS7 and COntax Zeiss interview screengrabs by Ben Scott, on Flickr

50 f1.7

Sony FS7 and COntax Zeiss interview screengrabs by Ben Scott, on Flickr

 

[liam howlett]

All of these are on a GH4 and speedbooster @ 2.8 - (well f1.8 or f2 because of speedbooster).

180 2.8 AEG

CNN correspondent Sunlen Serfaty

Macro 60 2.8 AEG

28 2.8 MMJ

 

[Sammi Kim]

Wow images from both Ben and Liam look great~!
How do you like your cameras so far in conjunction with the lenses?

 

[liam howlett]

Wow images from both Ben and Liam look great~!
How do you like your cameras so far in conjunction with the lenses?

Considering the quality I'm getting with this combo and the type of work that I'm currently doing, I am ecstatic. I'm able to get wonderful quality out of this camera and lenses and seeing as majority of our shoots have no control over much of the lighting, the 2.8's in conjunction with metabones is a savior as well. I'm amazed how low an f-stop I can go and remain sharp. It was blowing my mind the entire shoot yesterday.

I'll be posting some shots later in the week from another event shoot and from a music vid.

 

[Chris McKechnie]

Awesome Liam....so glad you've been converted! It's amazing glass isn't it?

 

[Chris McKechnie]

Epic and Contax - Best marriage!

Epic and Contax - Best marriage!

I constantly praise the contax line with every production that I'm on since on almost every set, at least 1 person says - what glass is that and how is it rendering such a beautiful image (and that's with them only seeing a 1080 version).Here are some grabs from a recent film that will be released soon.

Film was a single day, multiple location shoot with a crew of myself. All handheld work too. Most of the time, shot wide open or a 2.8-4 split on the 35, 50 and 85 lenses. These are compressed grabs with film grain applied. Enjoy!

 

[Ben Scott]

Beautiful Chris.

 

[liam howlett]

Agreed, those are fantastic shots, Chris! And yes, this glass has surpassed my expectations. Having now shot on them, I can see what the hype's about!

And I haven't commented on your shots, Ben... the quality is beautiful, the render in its totality is so "pleasant" to the eye. It's so rich.