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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

New Faster Compact Primes at NAB 2012

1.5
 
Probably based on 35mm f1.4, 50mm f1.4 and 85mm f1.4 ZF/ZEs, which means that the 50 will be a miss.
 
Demetri Zuev said:
Probably based on 35mm f1.4, 50mm f1.4 and 85mm f1.4 ZF/ZEs, which means that the 50 will be a miss.
Click to expand...

Er... The original production of the Zeiss CP's already had the 50 1.4 and 85 1.4. When they launched the CP.2 production, they crippled the apertures on those lenses.

And yeah, the 50 1.4 is a miss, the 50 2.0 Macro is a great lens though and is available as a ZF/ZE and as a CP.2 already. I guess we'll see what they come up with. I know they're working on a new 18mm as the current one is a dud.
 
The CP2s are pretty horrible wide open as they are, I would hate to see how these perform wide open.

Nick
 
My CP2s rock, but that 1.5 would help!!! I love my 50mm cp2, not sure about the bad batch everyone is taking about
 
Justin Marx said:
My CP2s rock, but that 1.5 would help!!! I love my 50mm cp2, not sure about the bad batch everyone is taking about
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm more of a Contax guy, but I know for a fact that in Contax the 35 1.4, 50 1.4, and 85 1.4 are all well known for their "soft focus" wide open. It makes for some very creamy, soft amazing bokehs. The 35 1.4 is frequently referred to as a "cream machine" for this reason. But it's a litte soft (wide open) - ie, you win some, you lose some. In this war for resolution, some people hate this softness, which is understandable. But instead of seeing it as a flaw, perhaps one might consider that the Zeiss designers know what they are doing, and there is a REASON why they are soft wide open. At least, this is how these lenses are seen in the STILL world. But in cinema, this may be less forgiveable. But it's this "softness" that made the the Contax Zeiss 85 1.4 one of the most popular portrait lenses in the world for over 15-20 years. It's famous for how it handles women's faces in particular, wide open...cuz that softness did them a world of good. It's because the 85 1.4 was "soft" that Zeiss made the 100 f2 "hard". Its tack sharp wide open and contrasty, and designed more for landcapes believe it or not than portraits. The 85 1.4 was always exclusively a portrait lens, and the softness was intentional.

I'm just trying to apply some context here, as these CP2's are derived essentially from these original Contax designs, and I think it's only fair to call out the original design intentions of these still lenses when they were first concieved. Hope this helps!

PS these soft 1.4 lenses get completely sharp and contrasty by 2.8, for whatever it's worth, at least in Contax. At F2 they begin to improve a bit.
 
I could forgive the softness if it wasn't for the veiling flare that they exhibit when there is something bright in the same general direction you are pointing the camera. But I think they are great for what they are. Ziess isn't going to undercut their own market. You aren't going to get top of the line performance for bargain basement price. It certainly is one of the most affordable sets of lenses that are light, extremely well marked out for focus and very AC friendly.

Nick
 
Nick Gardner said:
I could forgive the softness if it wasn't for the veiling flare that they exhibit when there is something bright in the same general direction you are pointing the camera. But I think they are great for what they are. Ziess isn't going to undercut their own market. You aren't going to get top of the line performance for bargain basement price. It certainly is one of the most affordable sets of lenses that are light, extremely well marked out for focus and very AC friendly.

Nick
Click to expand...

Yeah between you and I....I actually don't like the new Zeiss T* coating. I think it does weird things, and looks really digital to me. I'm a much bigger fan of the old coating, which allegedly is on ALL older Zeiss lenses, whether it be Contax, Hasselblad, or Standard and Superspeeds. The older T* coating (at least on Contax) did flare a bit, but it looks GOOD.

Anyway. Yeah, I mean CP2's are still lenses, except they have like a million aperture blades. But they have that heritage. Allthough the Super Speeds have a similar reputation, they are so frequently called out for being "soft" wide open...

But I agree with you...They have the Ultras and Masters to protect...There is only so far they are going to re-design these still lenses.

And quite frankly, for many of the reasons listed above, its why I went with Contax: cooler Vintage look, fully cinemoddable (all manual, focus right way), and they are the predecessors to the CP2s.

Not saying CP2s don't have great mechanics, but for an indie kit, Contax are hard to beat!

Be well.
 
Nick Morrison said:
Yeah, I'm more of a Contax guy, but I know for a fact that in Contax the 35 1.4, 50 1.4, and 85 1.4 are all well known for their "soft focus" wide open. It makes for some very creamy, soft amazing bokehs. The 35 1.4 is frequently referred to as a "cream machine" for this reason. But it's a litte soft (wide open) - ie, you win some, you lose some. In this war for resolution, some people hate this softness, which is understandable. But instead of seeing it as a flaw, perhaps one might consider that the Zeiss designers know what they are doing, and there is a REASON why they are soft wide open. At least, this is how these lenses are seen in the STILL world. But in cinema, this may be less forgiveable. But it's this "softness" that made the the Contax Zeiss 85 1.4 one of the most popular portrait lenses in the world for over 15-20 years. It's famous for how it handles women's faces in particular, wide open...cuz that softness did them a world of good. It's because the 85 1.4 was "soft" that Zeiss made the 100 f2 "hard". Its tack sharp wide open and contrasty, and designed more for landcapes believe it or not than portraits. The 85 1.4 was always exclusively a portrait lens, and the softness was intentional.

I'm just trying to apply some context here, as these CP2's are derived essentially from these original Contax designs, and I think it's only fair to call out the original design intentions of these still lenses when they were first concieved. Hope this helps!

PS these soft 1.4 lenses get completely sharp and contrasty by 2.8, for whatever it's worth, at least in Contax. At F2 they begin to improve a bit.
Click to expand...


Where do get that silly info from?
 
Zakaree Sandberg said:
people rag on the 1.4 50... i don't know why.. i have shot some real pretty images with the 50 wide open
Click to expand...

It's not a bad lens, it's the equal of Canon & Nikon's 50 1.4s in my opinion.

The disappointment stems from the high pricing that leads one to expect more than that.

Same is true of the 35 and 85, in my opinion.
 
The rokinon 35mm 1.4 is a pretty nice still/video lens. Wish someone would cinevise all of those lenses. Full rehousing to CP style.
 
Jiri Vrozina said:
Where do get that silly info from?
Click to expand...

What in particular did you find silly about my previous post? It helps if you can be specific. Or are you digging the school yard tactics of a total blow-off of a post? Nice touch.

Since you quietly judge from afar and leave me to guess only, I can imagine you disagree with one of these observations

1) CP2's are derived from Contax Zeiss designs.
-- Well, Mathew Duclos has written about this already, so I'm not sure what your problem is.

2) The 35 1.4, 50 1.4, and 85 1.4 are all known for their soft "close focus".
--If you don't believe me, why don't you check Zeiss's website yourself.

If that's too much work for you, why don't I copy and paste some of it for you, make it really easy:

ZEISS WEBSITE ON 35 1.4
"Our eyes are drawn to exactly where the photographer wants them, through the deliberate use of sharp contrast and soft focus. The Distagon T* 1,4/35 is a master of light and color at both ends of the spectrum. Precise when in focus, this lens also creates enchanting images thanks to its distinctive, harmonious bokeh in the out-of-focus areas."

ZEISS WEBSITE ON 85 1.4
"The Planar T* 1,4/85 lens brings out the best in its subject, while masterfully manipulating both sharpness and soft focus. This classic portrait lens captures people in their surroundings, playing with a range of sharpness, soft focus and contrast effects. Its distinctive circular bokeh is a crucial creative element."

--Again, if you want me to translate..."playing with a RANGE OF SHARPNESS" is Zeiss-speak for variations of contrast depending on what aperture you're at...IE....SOFT/LESS CONTRAST wide open...and SHARP/CONTRASTY stopped down a bit...That's what "range" means...

3) The Contax 100 f2 was a portrait AND landscape lens (as opposed to the 85 1.4 which was JUST a portrait lens).
Again, Zeiss is pretty upfront about this in their LENS MANUAL.

Do I need to copy and paste this info for you too? Or can you click on a link?


Thanks. Stay classy San Diego.
 
Jeff Kilgroe said:
Er... The original production of the Zeiss CP's already had the 50 1.4 and 85 1.4. When they launched the CP.2 production, they crippled the apertures on those lenses.
Click to expand...

Nonetheless, a Zeiss rep's singling out in one of the NAB videos of just the 35 "super speed" as a new optical design makes me think Zeiss may really be "double dipping" on the 50 & 85.
 
The zeiss rep said the 35mm is indeed a brand new design and that 50 and 85 are improved version as well (just not a complete redesign)...then I asked them if they are soft on wide open and he said they are a bit soft simply because customers have asked for them to be....uhmm...REALLY????
 
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