Contax Zeiss Survival Guide

[Nick Morrison]

Hi guys,

finally I got my first contax zeiss lens. A wonderful 60 s-planar 2.8. I got it winning a bid in an ebay shop.
I was so happy to open the box and try it. Perfect. Lens clean, no scratches, but unfortunately I quickly become sad when I tried the focus ring. It jumps in some part, losing the grip and stopping to focus and extend the lens for a while.
Do you think it's something easy to fix or it's better I will send back the lens to the shop and have a refund?

So sad...

That's because the rubber "grip" has come lose from the metal barrel of the lens. Usually fixed if you attached a focus gear to the lens, that also serves to "clamp" the rubber ring.

 

[Nick Morrison]

So I'm going to be using my Contax Zeiss set with an Alexa mini on a shoot in a week or so. Has anybody ever used this combo and had any issues? Just wondering about potential clearance issues like there were with the 5D and stuff.

Clearance issues are generally reserved for SLR cameras with mirrors. You shouldn't have that problem with a Mini...

 

[Tony Yang]

Clearance issues are generally reserved for SLR cameras with mirrors. You shouldn't have that problem with a Mini...

Yeah that's what I figured, but I've never worked with any of the Alexa series so I wanted to make sure.

On another note, I've now been using my Contax set for over half a year now and couldn't be happier. Thank you for bringing these amazing lenses to light Nick!

 

[Nick Morrison]

Yeah that's what I figured, but I've never worked with any of the Alexa series so I wanted to make sure.

On another note, I've now been using my Contax set for over half a year now and couldn't be happier. Thank you for bringing these amazing lenses to light Nick!

My absolute pleasure. So glad you're enjoying them!

 

[Michel Domaine]

That's because the rubber "grip" has come lose from the metal barrel of the lens. Usually fixed if you attached a focus gear to the lens, that also serves to "clamp" the rubber ring.

Thanks Nick!
But I think this is not the problem. The rubber is solid, the problem is the barrel, that slide directly on the other barrel, losing the focus twist.
That's why the indicator of the focus distance don't sign the correct value.
The shop told me it was technical perfect...

 

[Nick Morrison]

Thanks Nick!
But I think this is not the problem. The rubber is solid, the problem is the barrel, that slide directly on the other barrel, losing the focus twist.
That's why the indicator of the focus distance don't sign the correct value.
The shop told me it was technical perfect...

Ahh yeah if that's the case return it. That sucks.

 

[Tom Hamilton]

Hey All,

Just received my 85 1.4 from Japan, looks like there's some internal debris, the biggest speck at 12 o'clock near the edge, can anyone tell from the attached pics if this lens is a no-go?

Cheers

 

[Nick Morrison]

Hey All,

Just received my 85 1.4 from Japan, looks like there's some internal debris, the biggest speck at 12 o'clock near the edge, can anyone tell from the attached pics if this lens is a no-go?

Cheers

That should be OK, the only problem is that type of debris is IMHO more vulnerable to fungus, which as an underwater filmmaker may give you pause.

 

[William Long]

Hey All,

Just received my 85 1.4 from Japan, looks like there's some internal debris, the biggest speck at 12 o'clock near the edge, can anyone tell from the attached pics if this lens is a no-go?

Cheers

I'm sure you could get that opened up and cleaned? Is it at the front or the back of the lens?

 

[Tom Hamilton]

Appears to be the back, I've sent a message to Peter at RP who does all my mounts and gearing to see if that's do-able. Would be a shame to return it, it is otherwise in mint condition.

 

[William Long]

Appears to be the back, I've sent a message to Peter at RP who does all my mounts and gearing to see if that's do-able. Would be a shame to return it, it is otherwise in mint condition.

Annoying - but I am sure it can be removed.

 

[Tom Hamilton]

That should be OK, the only problem is that type of debris is IMHO more vulnerable to fungus, which as an underwater filmmaker may give you pause.

Hadn't thought of that Nick, thanks.

 

[Ilya O.]

Tom, just forget and go shoot. That won't show itself and the return process does not justify itself.

That being said, before you dive down deep you'd better shoot a wall or a solid white/grey background at f5.6-f11 to check if it's seen in the picture edges.

 

[Tom Hamilton]

Thanks Ilya, even though it may not show, I know it's there, and that makes me feel I'm cheating the audience somehow. Sometimes it is really annoying to be a perfectionist

There's also the fungus thing Nick mentioned.

The lens will be sent to a very professional shop for de-click, Leitax and gearing, so they may as well take care of that while they have it dis-assembled.

 

[Tana Pirapokin]

Hello, I have been a fan of the Contax Zeiss CY series and now collecting a few. The photo that comes out of these lenses are magic; it is sharp, contrast, lovely color with very nice rendering.

I love to hear your opinion on the CY 28mm F2 vs CY 35mm f1.4. I'm fine with both focal length, but love to hear your experience on each lenses sharpness, color, rendering, contrast and Magic. I would love to acquire a fast lens.

 

[Ben Scott]

If you could have only one then the 35mm is more practical and is sharper. Both amazing lenses though

 

[Jake Wilganowski]

Anyone know why the 35mm mmj SPEED can't be rehoused to PL?

 

[Jeff Goggin]

FYI, the image circle projected by my just purchased 18/f4 MMJ lens -- obviously, I couldn't resist the impulse! -- is quite small, allowing for only 2-3 mm of movement on a 24x36 format sensor before it vignettes heavily.

And even without any movements applied, the extreme corners are slightly soft and/or smeared, at least when it's used with my Sony A7R.

So much so, in fact, that I either have to crop the photos to a 4:3 format or crop ~10% from each of the four sides to maintain a 3:2 format, yielding an effective focal length that's closer to ~20mm.

That said, the center of the images are still decently sharp by f5.6 / f8 and compared to the significant mustache distortion applied by the C/Y 21/f2.8 lens, I prefer the cropped photos captured by the 18/f4, so I'll be keeping it regardless.

Plus, they can be purchased for a small fraction of what the 21/f2.8 lenses cost these days.

P.S.: One thing I've noticed recently is that when I use my C/Y lenses at night -- which is when I do the majority of my photography -- I can often get away with applying a lot more movement than I can during the daytime. This is because the vignetting and/or soft corners that result aren't necessarily an issue when they affect an already black sky or inkly black shadow areas. So for many of my photos, I can often shift these lenses well beyond the acceptable limits for daylight photography use.

 

[Nick Morrison]

FYI, the image circle projected by my just purchased 18/f4 MMJ lens -- obviously, I couldn't resist the impulse! -- is quite small, allowing for only 2-3 mm of movement on a 24x36 format sensor before it vignettes heavily.

And even without any movements applied, the extreme corners are slightly soft and/or smeared, at least when it's used with my Sony A7R.

So much so, in fact, that I either have to crop the photos to a 4:3 format or crop ~10% from each of the four sides to maintain a 3:2 format, yielding an effective focal length that's closer to ~20mm.

That said, the center of the images are still decently sharp by f5.6 / f8 and compared to the significant mustache distortion applied by the C/Y 21/f2.8 lens, I prefer the cropped photos captured by the 18/f4, so I'll be keeping it regardless.

Plus, they can be purchased for a small fraction of what the 21/f2.8 lenses cost these days.

P.S.: One thing I've noticed recently is that when I use my C/Y lenses at night -- which is when I do the majority of my photography -- I can often get away with applying a lot more movement than I can during the daytime. This is because the vignetting and/or soft corners that result aren't necessarily an issue when they affect an already black sky or inkly black shadow areas. So for many of my photos, I can often shift these lenses well beyond the acceptable limits for daylight photography use.

The 18 just barely covered Monstro, but looked great - agreed!

 

[Nick Morrison]

Hello, I have been a fan of the Contax Zeiss CY series and now collecting a few. The photo that comes out of these lenses are magic; it is sharp, contrast, lovely color with very nice rendering.

I love to hear your opinion on the CY 28mm F2 vs CY 35mm f1.4. I'm fine with both focal length, but love to hear your experience on each lenses sharpness, color, rendering, contrast and Magic. I would love to acquire a fast lens.

The 35 is more practical.

The 28 is more interesting.

For s35 shooting, a 35mm super speed is a must - it's your "normal" lens. The bokeh and character of the Contax 35 1.4 really shine too, so it's an excellent choice.

The 28 is a more interesting prime, it's more unusual. Even though it has a wider, more dramatic FOV, there's still minimal distortion on s35, allowing for more composed establishing shots. The excellent close focus also lends itself to dramatic and vivid portraits, another huge plus. It's just a really interesting lens.

Hope this helps.
Best