Which Zeiss Jena set to build?

[Phil Holland]

Yeah... am happy with my 50mm 1.4 and 80mm 1.4 and havent needed macro in that range yet but will definitely add it in my auxiliary lens later which will also include the 90mm 2.0 & super-angulon 28mm f/2.8 tilt-shift. Are you a fan of the 60mm?

I'm a fan of it and it performs really nicely, but macro and close ups are a normal thing for me.

Also had mine Cine-Modded at Duclos:

 

[Jean Bernard]

Thanks Sanjin... you had a lot to do with my interest in the Leica R's

Any particular reason I should stick to pre-late 50's? What are the characteristics of these Janas? Bokeh, coating, flares, etc...?

Thanks

Very nice set!!!

About Zeiss Jena glass try to get everything that is available till late 50's...

 

[Jean Bernard]

Duclos did an amazing job!!! And the turnaround was surprisingly quick!!!

I'm a fan of it and it performs really nicely, but macro and close ups are a normal thing for me.

Also had mine Cine-Modded at Duclos:

 

[Jean Bernard]

Thanks Peter,

Do you own a set? How do they all match? Are they comparable to any other popular Zeiss lenses?

CZJ M42 mount:

2,8/20mm Flektogon
4/25mm Flektogon
2,8/28mm or 29mm Pancolar (manufactured in Asia)
2,4/35mm Flektogon
2,8/50mm Tessar or
1,8/50mm Pancolar or
1,4/55mm Pancolar or
2/58mm Biotar
1,5/75mm Biotar or
1,8/80mm Pancolar or
2,8/80 Biometar (Planar design)
2,8/120 Biometar (Planar design) - may only be available in pentacon six (practisix) mount, adapts easily to m42
3,5/135mm Sonnar
2,8/180mm Sonnar or
2,8/200mm Sonnar
4/300mm Sonnar

 

[Sanjin Jukic]

Thanks Sanjin... you had a lot to do with my interest in the Leica R's

Any particular reason I should stick to pre-late 50's? What are the characteristics of these Janas? Bokeh, coating, flares, etc...?

Thanks

You're welcome Jean!

About Jena glass made between 30s and 60s last century it's about a combination from all you've mentioned...sharpness (MTF), bokeh, coating, flares, look,...

One of my favourite is Olympia Sonnar 180mm f/2.8 T*!!!

 

[Jean Bernard]

As Tom said, its the Allstar mount with similar locking style as PL.

Rehoused PL version of these lenses is a bit pricey and hard to come by. Dan Sasaki rehoused a few set for Dalsa Digital Cinema and Van Dieman in the UK still rehouse them I think.

Dan Sasaki's rehouse work:
http://www.alangordon.com/rental/lenses/hdslr/leica-digital-primes.php

Van Dieman rehouse work:
http://www.visualproducts.com/storeProductDetail02.asp?productID=897&Cat=3&Cat2=49

As for the Jena... I am also still enquiring what set they had. I shot a note to Sasaki & will call up Panavision to see if I can swing by to take a look at their set.

duclos did the pl mount as well? how much was that per lens?
im also interested in the jena line and dont know where to start, i wish we had more details on which ones he actually used for the film.

 

[Dave Blackham]

you're missing the 28mm as well.

How much were the 135mm and 180mm?

The 135mm can be found inexpensively, about 450 USD, Id guess. The 180mm f2.8 you want the later version which is about $950 USD , you can visually recognise it by the slightly larger front section of the barrel, or the 180mm Apo which is stellar, there is an F2 and f2.8.

 

[Dave Blackham]

Heres 2 more. TLS tell me they will offer leica R rehousing in the newx few months similar to the panchro rehousing they do.

http://www.lensrepair.co.uk/index.php?webpage=product_detail.php&product_id=76857&cID=32576

And Eastern Enterprises of course.

http://easternenterprises.biz/leitz-lenses/

 

[Dave Blackham]

You're welcome Jean!

About Jena glass made between 30s and 60s last century it's about a combination from all you've mentioned...sharpness (MTF), bokeh, coating, flares, look,...

One of my favourite is Olympia Sonnar 180mm f/2.8 T*!!!

Sanjin, How well do these lenses match for cinematography between lenses of a set.

 

[Jean Bernard]

I reached out to Dan Sasaki and waiting to hear back. Anyone knows Erik L. Brown who was the 1st AC?

SANJIN! Welcome back...you've been missed.

I just saw The Master last night, and was thinking the very same thing...

 

[peter roehsler]

You are welcome Jean,
I remember that my immediate reaction to the announcement of the EOS mount (for RED ONE, t.i. back then) was: now I can use my CZJ glass via an adapter M42 to EOS. I never did, actually - I own about half of what´s on the list. I may be able to give them a run over the holiday season and check the matching question. All I can say at this moment is: the older the better (as Sanjin has pointed out already. Go for older white metal housings over new black plastic) and not half as sharp as Zeiss standard speeds. But: nice bokeh and good on human faces. Heavy flaring, esp 1,5/75. Under controlled conditions certainly worth a try, depending on what you want to achieve. As you own a set of Leica glass, you will not have to depend on them as your standard set which they can´t possibly be. They have a special kind of magic to them, I would not be able to compare them to any other lenses. If you find clean samples, they will not disappoint you. Good luck with your hunt!

 

[Jean Bernard]

Mihai Malaimare on The Master, ASC Magazine extract regarding the use of Zeiss Jena:

[They also decided to shoot some of the movie on 35mm in spherical 1.85:1. The lenses they used for this work were inspired by one Malaimare owned. He explains, “I’m crazy about old still-photography cameras, and I had a 6x6 medium-format camera from the 1960s that had the sharpest lens I’ve ever seen: an 85mm Zeiss Jena. I brought that lens to Dan Sasaki, and he Panavised it. We used it to shoot some 35mm tests, and it cut really well with the 65mm material. The depth-of-field is different, but the sharpness is very close. Dan tracked down a whole set of 35mm Zeiss Jena lenses that Panavision had already rehoused.” These lenses, called “The T2 Set,” became part of the show’s package, which also included a Panaflex Millennium XL and a set of Zeiss Ultra Speed MK IIs.]

This is what I just got from Dan Sasaki regarding the Jena lenses they used:

The Jena set Mihai was talking about was a group of older lenses we had acquired from the MGM studios during the 1950's. The lenses consisted of some old Zeiss Jena optics and some old Cooke "Panchros" that were originally from the 1920's and as late as the 1950's. Some of these already existed in Panavision housings but a large part of the set required putting the lenses into Panavision housings. This required removing the shutter mechanisms and replacing them with standard irises, rehousing the optics, and calibrating the new lenses. Pretty much, this was a custom set inspired by Mihai. I hope this helps.

All the best,
Dan

 

[Nick Morrison]

but then you can only use the lenses on a camera that has the allstar mount? so the same camera for every job? i would go with something more universal i guess. they still look like pl to me, whats the difference?

The All star Mount is very easy to put on different cameras. It's a universal mount that allows you to mix PL and many different stills lenses, and use them all with the functionality of PL. Ingenious.

 

[Jason Diamond]

135mm was $600 from my leica ebay dealer George Ohara (leicagreatbuy) who has a lot of great leica r lenses and was able to buy from him directly at a discount and the 180mm was from a photographer on getdpi forum for $700.

The 28mm will be added on at some point.

thanks man!

 

[Tom Meimer]

The All star Mount is very easy to put on different cameras. It's a universal mount that allows you to mix PL and many different stills lenses, and use them all with the functionality of PL. Ingenious.

Hi Nick,

is the Allstar Mount also helping to get an better connection between lens and camera mount? I discovered some play with still lens mounts and now i think about using the allstar mount plus lens adapters to get rid of that. I am just not sure as the Allstar lens adapters just mount over the existing stll lens mount.

Do the lenses feel like PL-converted or does it just feel like an with an adpter in between lens and camera mount?

Thanks!

 

[Nick Morrison]

Hi Nick,

is the Allstar Mount also helping to get an better connection between lens and camera mount? I discovered some play with still lens mounts and now i think about using the allstar mount plus lens adapters to get rid of that. I am just not sure as the Allstar lens adapters just mount over the existing stll lens mount.

Do the lenses feel like PL-converted or does it just feel like an with an adpter in between lens and camera mount?

Thanks!

Yes, it removes that "play". I know exactly what you mean. Then again, so do the semi-permanent Leitax adapters. The only way to get a SOLID connection IMHO is to either go Leitax, or All-Star.

Yes, the All-Star mounts feel rock solid, like PL.

But they are expensive. Ideally you need one for each lens, and they are about $180+ each.

 

[Tom Greenberg]

As Nick says, the Allstar lens adapter attaches over the existing lens mount, and provides a very secure and heavy duty mounting structure for the lens. It has no play in it at all. And the flanges that attach to the camera mount are made of much heavier material than the thin bits of metal that make up a normal still lens mount, so there is a lot less wear and tear on the lens itself as you attach and remove it. Here are a couple of pix that show the lens adapter in more detail (sorry for the crappy iphone pix):

It is a fantastic solution and allows very secure mounting of a variety of still lenses easily. We use it week in and week out with film students and it stands up to everything we throw at it.

Sorry for this detour from the original post...