Contax Zeiss Survival Guide

[Nick Morrison]

@Mark - 28-85 looking great!!

Hi guys, I was reading about the new Zeiss Milvus line which are rated for 8K video and 50MP stills. What are the Contax Zeiss rated at?

Adam, I personally find these "ratings" a little arbitrary, as there no set standard for what "8k" ready means, as far as I know.

Lenses have image circles. Sensors have sizes. If a lenses' image circle can "cover" a sensor, then its essentially "rated" for that and ready togo.

Contax glass are full frame, so will most likely cover almost all 8K Weapon formats. They will also cover the new Canon 8k camera, which is only s35.

So by that definition, they will cover both 8k platforms and therefore yes, be "rated" for 8k. But were really talking about image circle here, not resolution. Contax are full frame glass and will cover all full frame sensors or smaller. Whether those sensors are s35/HD (Alexa Classic), S16/4k (new BM pocket), VistaVison/8k (Weapon), or 8k/s35 (new Canon), its often mostly marketing talking when it comes to a lenses "rating". If a lens' image circle covers the sensor, then for all intensive purposes its "rated" for it. Contax being full frame means they are "rated" for almost every digital camera out there (except Imax), which is generally a good thing for those of us who own them!!

Hope this helps. This type of marketing can be a bit vague, to be honest...

 

[adam fitz]

Hi Nick, thanks for your in depth response, you have been a massive help to myself and all the other readers of this amazing contax thread, cheers

 

[Ben Scott]

Nice stuff Mark.

 

[scott devitte]

Hi guys, I was reading about the new Zeiss Milvus line which are rated for 8K video and 50MP stills. What are the Contax Zeiss rated at?

Zeiss Milvus- Checking out the line at IBC. The 85 1.4 is very Contaxy in its rendering.

 

[adam fitz]

Cheers Scott, good to know

 

[Nick Morrison]

Hi Nick, thanks for your in depth response, you have been a massive help to myself and all the other readers of this amazing contax thread, cheers

My pleasure. This thread is home to a remarkable collection of artists and filmmakers. The spirit of generisority that permeates every question and answer is a testament to the character and good nature of everyone here. Not a day goes by when I dont marvel at what an amazing collection of folks congregate here!

And we all share a common love for the contagious joy of shooting with Contax glass!

Cant thank you all enough for making this such a great home for chatting about wonderful, charming Contax glass.

 

[Craig J Marshall]

I see Sony has released their new A7s MkII which unlike the current model, now records 4K internally to a high bitrate codec. The Mk II also inherits the 5 axis stabilisation from the A7r Mk II and of course accepts Full Frame or S-35 format lenses, with or without a Speed Booster adapter.

All these newly released E-Mount cameras (including the exciting new 'video' form factor Sony Fs5) seems to confirm that anybody's current collection of Full Frame Contax glass is proving to be an excellent 'future proof' long term investment...

 

[Ben Scott]

not sure but I think the IS still requires a native lens.

 

[Craig J Marshall]

not sure but I think the IS still requires a native lens.

"...Sony says this (A7r Mk II) is the world's first full frame camera with 5-axis image stabilisation.

Some Sony lenses already have stabilisation built in, but here's where the system gets clever. The A7 II will use the axes of correction provided by the lens and supplement them with the extra axes available in the camera. You won't get 'double' stabilisation, but you will get the best blend of both systems.

The big advantage, of course, is that you can now get stabilised images with non-stabilised lenses, and that includes older Sony A-Mount lenses for its D-SLR and SLT cameras, which can be attached to the A7 II via an adaptor.

Sony is claiming the equivalent of 4.5 stops of correction from the new system..."


from techradar.com

 

[Uli Plank]

Since the A7R II's stabilization works with all my vintage lenses, I suppose the A7S II will as well.

Regarding 8K 'certified': that's pretty much marketing speak for sure. If a lens is resolving well on the A7R with it's 36 mpx, it should resolve 8K just fine.

Of course, resolving that much on a S-35 area is more demanding. Think HD on a 2/3" sensor, you need quite a few more lines per mm than for 24 x 36mm still cameras. But I don't doubt that the sharpest Zeiss C/Y lenses will resolve even 50 mpx on a full-frame stills sensor.

 

[ivor ip]

not sure but I think the IS still requires a native lens.

There's a option to set focal length, works pretty well at 300mm on the 100-300mm. Not sure about the 4.5 stops claim, but definitely get acceptable results even when I have few cups of coffee.

 

[Sammi Kim]

Talking about new gadgets, what do you think about the new Milvus lenses from Zeiss?
The 21mm F2.8 is pretty much same price as the Contax 21mm. Don't get why they made the shape that way though

 

[Ben Scott]

All thematically linking up with Otus and Batis I think.

 

[Nick Morrison]

Hey guys. Incredibly proud to tease this recent shoot of ours, a :60 Vignette about PAWN SACRIFICE (shot by Bradford Young of Selma, Ain't Those Bodies Saints, A Most Violent Year...and directed by Edward Zwick of Glory, Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai, etc).

This was a project for History, and we were determined to saturate this shoot in as much cinematic pedigree and presence as we could!

We shot primarily on Contax glass (35 1.4 MM, 50 1.4 MM, 85 1.4MM, 60 2.8 Macro, 80-200), though our "wide" was the 24mm Standard Prime (thank you American Hustle), and our filtration was Smoque (thank you Rodrigo Prieto).

We also used a Hassy 50 2.8 for tilt shifting.

This project is a wonderful example of how well this vintage Zeiss glass cuts together - Standard Primes, Contax Primes, & Hassy Primes.

We shot on two Epic Dragons, at the historic Down Town Association (near wall street), where both Elementary and Gotham had just been. Filming in such a breathtaking location always elevates the work, and energizes the set experience!

The Contax glass was invaluable as always. Breathtaking 6K coverage. Incredible look/feel. Easy mechanics. For the stylized doc/interview work we do, I can't think of better glass. The 24mm Standard Prime is amazing (and I mean that), but it's limited to 5K.

That the Contax glass cut SO WELL with the Standard Prime, and easily covered 6K, and were WICKED SHARP at 2.8, was just breathtaking to witness AGAIN - it never gets old!

The 60 2.8 as always drew raves. Our operator literally turned to us and said "what is this lens? It's AMAZING!!!".

The 80-200 was incredibly versatile as always. Wish it wasn't an F4, but that close focus...wow...breathtaking!!

Hope you enjoy.

 

[John Brennick]

Love these frames Nick! Congrats!

 

[Nick Morrison]

Love these frames Nick! Congrats!

Thanks John very much. Really appreciate it!

 

[Ben Scott]

Looks sexy as hell Nick!

 

[Adam E]

Camera operated on a rented a set of CP.2's for an Ursa/BMCC job last week.

Really disappointing lenses. When reviewing the footage, there was no magic to the image at all. Kind of dull, not very sharp, maybe lacking a little in microcontrast, and the blacks just felt muddy. Especially the wides.

Didn't share this with the DP, but we should have used my set of Contax Zeiss lenses for the gig. I'm sure the CP.2s have their place, and the ergonomics are great, but personally I'd never rent them again. Especially on the Blackmagic cameras, the Contax really adds something extra to those sensors.

I bring this up because I'm still missing some wide Zeiss lenses to fill out my set. Still need an 18 and 21. I was thinking I'd go with modern ZE lenses since they are cheaper and, I had previously assumed, were probably sharper than the CYs.

But if the ZE/ZF line performs anything like the CP2s, it looks like I may pony up for an overpriced used CY 21mm or wait until this Milvus line gets reviews.

Any thoughts would be appreciated, thanks in advance.

Also, great shots Nick. I could tell those were Contax shots from a mile away. Love their look.

 

[Nick Morrison]

Camera operated on a rented a set of CP.2's for an Ursa/BMCC job last week.

Really disappointing lenses. When reviewing the footage, there was no magic to the image at all. Kind of dull, not very sharp, maybe lacking a little in microcontrast, and the blacks just felt muddy. Especially the wides.

Didn't share this with the DP, but we should have used my set of Contax Zeiss lenses for the gig. I'm sure the CP.2s have their place, and the ergonomics are great, but personally I'd never rent them again. Especially on the Blackmagic cameras, the Contax really adds something extra to those sensors.

I bring this up because I'm still missing some wide Zeiss lenses to fill out my set. Still need an 18 and 21. I was thinking I'd go with modern ZE lenses since they are cheaper and, I had previously assumed, were probably sharper than the CYs.

But if the ZE/ZF line performs anything like the CP2s, it looks like I may pony up for an overpriced used CY 21mm or wait until this Milvus line gets reviews.

Any thoughts would be appreciated, thanks in advance.

Also, great shots Nick. I could tell those were Contax shots from a mile away. Love their look.

Thanks Adam!

The CY 21 is absurdly sharp, if you can find one...you wont regret it...and its FULL FRAME/Vista Vision coverage could pay dividends for years to come!

Yeah, the older CY coatings are just magic. Whats interesting is on that Pawn Sacrifice job, we were mixing and matching vintage Zeiss glass from numerous formats (Standard Prime 24mm T2, Contax Primes/Zooms, Hasselblad 50mm - ie Academy 35mm, Vista Vision FF, and 65mm/Imax), and their common vintage Zeiss heritage (and wonderful older coatings) not only bound them together, but was plainly obvious across the sets, which was really rewarding and fun.

Vintage Zeiss glass were made for film, and the coatings have a very singular magic (lower contrast, more prone to flare, gentler on faces) that I really really admire.

So glad you're seeing it too!

 

[Chris McKechnie]

Camera operated on a rented a set of CP.2's for an Ursa/BMCC job last week.

Really disappointing lenses. When reviewing the footage, there was no magic to the image at all. Kind of dull, not very sharp, maybe lacking a little in microcontrast, and the blacks just felt muddy. Especially the wides.

Didn't share this with the DP, but we should have used my set of Contax Zeiss lenses for the gig. I'm sure the CP.2s have their place, and the ergonomics are great, but personally I'd never rent them again. Especially on the Blackmagic cameras, the Contax really adds something extra to those sensors.

I bring this up because I'm still missing some wide Zeiss lenses to fill out my set. Still need an 18 and 21. I was thinking I'd go with modern ZE lenses since they are cheaper and, I had previously assumed, were probably sharper than the CYs.

But if the ZE/ZF line performs anything like the CP2s, it looks like I may pony up for an overpriced used CY 21mm or wait until this Milvus line gets reviews.

Any thoughts would be appreciated, thanks in advance.

Also, great shots Nick. I could tell those were Contax shots from a mile away. Love their look.

I had an entire set, $18k worth of CP2's...used them for less than 6 months...sold them and went to Contax and haven't looked back. Contax blow CP2's out of the water!!!!