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WTB: Zeiss contax 85mm and 25mm

Domenic Barbero

Domenic Barbero

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Any leads on these lenses would be a big help. Thanks guys.
 
anyone?
 
thanks liam, that was super helpful, they have lots of awesome lenses there. good find.
 
Yeah I second KEH as a GREAT place to buy used lenses. An "EX+" is a "Like New" on ebay.

I got the AMAZING contax 28-85 zoom on KEH a while back, it was listed as EX+, but what I got looked factory new to me. I was blown away.

The 25mm is a great lens/focal length btw, nice choice.

And the 85...WOW...is all I have to say. A stunner of a lens.
 
great feedback nick. Have you tried the 135 or the 180, they are both pretty cheap and am really contemplating getting them as well.
 
Domenic Barbero said:
great feedback nick. Have you tried the 135 or the 180, they are both pretty cheap and am really contemplating getting them as well.
Click to expand...

Hey Domenic. Yeah, I have the 135 f2 and the 135 2.8, as well as the 180 2.8 and the 300 F4. All are awesome.

The 135 2.8 is an amazing bang for the buck. Its VERY SHARP, and also a FANTASTIC portrait lens, especially wide open. Its probably the best "deal" of all the Contax lenses because the performance is 5x better than the price. Run, don't walk, for this one.

I've stumbled on a fair share of posts on fredmiranda of people discovering this lens and how amazing it is....and its made a number of people's "top contax lenses" lists...

The 180 2.8 is super useful as a longer tele because its a 2.8. Ive used it indoors on interviews, believe it or not, for really close up intimate details. Its quite a big bigger than the 135, and as a result the manual focus range is TREMENDOUS...its way over 180 degrees so you can get really really creamy focus racks. This is another, awesome lens...and they don't make it in ZF/ZE! And for $400 another steal.

The 300 F4 gets a lot of shit for not being razor sharp, but mine is perfectly awesome, and for $400-500 I think its a steal too. I used mine this weekend and was reminded of how dope it is. Its HUGE though. About two feet long, and weights 5lbs.

Another one to SERIOUSLY consider is the 80-200 F4 zoom. Again, not INSANELY sharp...but the "look"...OMG the look is pure zeiss, and the constant F4 across the range is super useful. I use this all the time when I shoot outdoors, and the macro function at the 200 end is incredibly useful. What's also fantastic is again, the manual focus range on this is probably close to 270 degrees...totally amazing. And the price? A paltry $300.

In two years, when people REALIZE how insanely good these lenses are, there will be none left...but until then...they are yours to plunder.

I already have them all :)

Remember...Contax competed HEAD TO HEAD with Leica R's. They match each other for quality blow for blow. Anyone who tells you differently is full of shit. Both Leica R's and Contax Zeiss have a tremendous "pre-digital" look that is absolutely stunning...except the Contax line is still ridiculously under-priced...even though the cinema-mechanics are so much more convenient than ZF/ZE lenses.

Anyway. Go forth and prosper. Forgive my ranting.
 
this is so much more than i could have asked for in a response. Thanks so much Nick. Im def gonna snag these bad boys up, then ill have the 28 2.8, 35 1.4, 50 1.4, 85 1.4, 100 2.8 macro, 135 2.8 and 180 2.8. im gonna ditch the 28 for the 25, but when i do ill have a great set of lenses to stick on the ol scarlet. I also have a tokina 11-16 and a canon 70-200 2.8
 
Domenic Barbero said:
this is so much more than i could have asked for in a response. Thanks so much Nick. Im def gonna snag these bad boys up, then ill have the 28 2.8, 35 1.4, 50 1.4, 85 1.4, 100 2.8 macro, 135 2.8 and 180 2.8. im gonna ditch the 28 for the 25, but when i do ill have a great set of lenses to stick on the ol scarlet. I also have a tokina 11-16 and a canon 70-200 2.8
Click to expand...

The 25 2.8 for the 28 2.8 is prob a good idea. BUT...get the 28 F2...Its like the 35 1.4's smaller brother. A whole different animal than the 28 2.8. The 28 f2 was known as "The Hollywood", cuz its derived from a cinema design. it has a floating element (like the 35 1.4), and its CLOSE FOCUS ability is INSANE. For fashion, portraits, etc...its unreal.
 
Domenic your welcome. Exactly as Nick says re KEH listed quality, indeed I have had just "Excellent" quality lenses that look pretty damn impeccable.

I'd back a "bargain" off KEH over many Ebay Good condition ratings tbh.

And as you found out, if you mention Contax on RU, Nick will jump in and give you almost as much bang for buck value as the contax glass will! :)

Nick, hey mate :), quick question for you, I have always wanted the Hollywood, but saving bucks I bought the 28 2.8 and reinvested the difference in other focal lengths. Anyhow I have some work coming up which will involve quite a bit of shooting INT cars, and just wondering if you'v used the 28 2.0 for this? As I was thinking that with the 10 inch minimal focal distance and low distortion it would be a great lens choice for this kind of work?

Best

Lliam
 
cant wait to ship them to duclos. lol
 
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