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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 :)

P + S Technik 35 Digital Lens

If I'm not mistaken, these are Zeiss ZF lenses rehoused with your choice of either meter or foot readout, 80mm fronts, and integrated focus gears.
They still use a Nikon F mount, and still focus backwards.
Which makes me ask the question... Sorry I've had a really good bottle of wine tonight... What's the point?
Is it just because I'm Mr. Frugal, or would it not make more sense to just purchase the Zeiss ZF mount lenses, add focus gears, step-up rings, and use what's left to rebuild the suspension on your classic Ferrari?
 
P&S has added value to the ZF line

P&S has added value to the ZF line

IanK said:
And was wondering what the main differences were between these and the Zeiss ZF lenses (besides gear teeth?)?

Does anyone know what these cost?
Click to expand...
We interviewed the P&S guys at NAB 2007 and got the scoop on the rehoused Zeiss ZF lenses. The front lens diameter has been standardized for mattebox use, a cine pitched focus gear added, and the ZF's hard iris stops have been converted to a smooth aperture adjustment. At that date they quoted us around $2200 per lens. In contrast, a basic 25/50/85 three-lens ZF kit will run you about the same price for the entire set (last I checked). So while the P&S set isn't exactly a barnburner price, I can see why some pros would spring for those lenses instead of kitting out with used PL. You are paying for convenience and form factor, really. It's all a matter of taste.

You can watch the NAB 2007 P&S segment here.

EDIT: In this thread TJ Williams mentions another good reason you might want a rehoused lens vs a stock still lens...the distance between focus marks is farther (and more fine-grained). Being that P&S has put a full size cine gear on the ZF glass, I imagine the internal focus gearing has been addressed as well.
 
How would these compare or fit with the Arri Zeiss standard primes that were specifically made for cinema applications? (primarily, how does the glass compare?)
 
I've shot with both and with the exception of T stops and the PL mount they are surprisingly similar. We shot a number of tests with a Zeiss 85 a while back and were a bit surprised how much the cine lens breathed on focus pulls. You can see it in action in the following video segments:

*Bartech BFD overview
*Follow Focus Systems Shootout
*The Role of a First AC

I'm not stating definitively that the ZF lenses meet/exceed the glass performance of the Arri Zeiss line, but that they appear to be quite similar. Hope that helps.
 
This are lenses i'd like to test.
if the focus pulling is nice and repetitive it could be a deal.

i've never thought that
add focus gears, step-up rings
Click to expand...
could be an option.
i've tried several times to pull focus with this systems and never been complitely satisfied.

The only option I see for using still lenses is birgher or something like it that uses the internal focusing motors of the lens.
 
I was under the impression that still 35mm lenses would not film onto the whole 4K image plane of the Red sensor. Would these?
 
As far as Still 35mm Lens vs. Cine 35mm, what is the difference in covering the whole frame? I thought that with Still 35mm lenses there was some drawback in getting use of the whole frame? Or did is the drawback just that you cant get a Super 35 size out of a Cine lens?
 
I was under the impression that still 35mm lenses would not film onto the whole 4K image plane of the Red sensor. Would these?
Click to expand...

wrong impression. sill lenses cover the sensor the same way cine does
 
Thats exactly what I was talking about. So would this modified P + S Technik lens cover a S35mm area or a Still Photo 35mm Area?
 
mjeppsen said:
I've shot with both and with the exception of T stops and the PL mount they are surprisingly similar. We shot a number of tests with a Zeiss 85 a while back and were a bit surprised how much the cine lens breathed on focus pulls. You can see it in action in the following video segments:

*Bartech BFD overview
*Follow Focus Systems Shootout
*The Role of a First AC

I'm not stating definitively that the ZF lenses meet/exceed the glass performance of the Arri Zeiss line, but that they appear to be quite similar. Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

But subjectively they seem pretty close to each other. That's helpful information. Thank you Matt.
 
David W. Jones said:
If I'm not mistaken, these are Zeiss ZF lenses rehoused with your choice of either meter or foot readout, 80mm fronts, and integrated focus gears.
They still use a Nikon F mount, and still focus backwards.
Which makes me ask the question... Sorry I've had a really good bottle of wine tonight... What's the point?
Is it just because I'm Mr. Frugal, or would it not make more sense to just purchase the Zeiss ZF mount lenses, add focus gears, step-up rings, and use what's left to rebuild the suspension on your classic Ferrari?
Click to expand...


That's exactly what I did for my Mini-35 adapter. Much cheaper and works just the same. IMHO, the P+S offering just isn't worth it.

I've found the focus pulling to be OK. They have more rotation on the scales than Nikons, the the all metal construction makes them much more robust and similar to cine lenses. I've intercut these with Zeiss super speeds on the min-35 and they look the same. But, there's the issue of the ground glass you're focusing on... I suspect you wouldn't see much of a difference optically with the the ZF primes to Zeiss cine primes. Mechanically, that's a different situation. The backwards focusing is a big problem for ACs who have been focusing for years. If you're doing it yourself, or have someone who can switch hit, NP. The biggest issue is that they are not consistent stops. The 25mm is only 2.8. They range from there to 1.4 for the 50 and 85. Bottom line, you have to light to your slowest lens, so you don't get the full benefit of the faster lenses most of the time.

But if you're on a budget and can't afford cine glass, I'd highly recommend these lenses. I was going to sell mine, but might hang on to them to use with an EX-1.

If you want resources for adding the gears and step up rings, let me know. It was very reasonable.

M

3589_1203190110.jpg


3589_1203190151.jpg
 
IanK said:
Thats exactly what I was talking about. So would this modified P + S Technik lens cover a S35mm area or a Still Photo 35mm Area?
Click to expand...

They cover Still photo 35mm, which means that they have a larger image circle than most cine lenses and thus will cover all cine 35mm formats. There's no such thing as a fixed focal length lens "zooming" on different formats. A focal length is a focal length. A lens will just be designed to have a larger or smaller image circle to cover larger or smaller formats. The size of the format will then dictate the crop of that image circle that we see.

The conversion factors that people talk about are just for reference if one is accustomed to a particular format and the Fields of View of lenses based on that format, but then are comparing to the crop and resulting FOV of another format.
 
Mark, did you just add gears and the step-up ring to the ZF lenses? Would love to hear more about how you did it.


Ian
 
I had 2 of them done at RP Lens in Grand Rapids, MI.
616-855-4095 – office

He gave me the name of someone in LA that did the other 2 since I'm in SF.
The gears are pressed on so they don't slip. They can be removed if necessary. You can order the step ups yourself to save a few bucks. The caps are standard issue Zeiss 80mm plastic caps.

M
 
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