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Zeiss (older) Distagon/Planar or Milvus for Raven?

T

Thomas Ramsey

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Hey guys,

So I am moving on from BMD cameras to the Raven and also upgrading from my Rokinon cines in the process. I love Zeiss glass and recently heard about Milvus after seeing the offical Raven showcase video. I am looking to be a little bit economical, and Milvus are a little more than the older ZE models. I do a lot of gimbal work as well, so what is the consensus of the best image quality/weight distribution? Is Milvus worth it? Hardcore info is still a little scare.

The focal lengths I am looking at (to start) are 18/21mm, 35mm, 50mm and possibly 85mm.

Thanks in advance,

T.
 
I would be interested in hearing some real-world comparison stories as well. That said, I've found some amazing deals on new or very lightly used "older" Zeiss ZE lenses. I picked up a 28/2, 50/2 Makro, and 85/2 for around $700 each. The Milvus are obviously going to be at a premium in comparison. The Raven demo video was shot on Milvus for a reason, though - it would be interesting to know the thought process behind that decision.
 
I know, I have seen amazing deals on used ZEs in great condition. I could get a full set for a little less than half of Milvus in comparison. I saw one review, but it was photo based. I am wondering if anyone on the board actually owns a Milvus yet. Zeiss said the optics are better, but if it's not leaps and bounds....well you know.

Are the older ones still able to hold up for a 4-5 year personal investment?
 
Zeiss keeps saying that the optics are drastically better, but wondering if its mostly fluff and more of a new housing/similar optics of the older model? The gap between the old ZE/ZF and Milvus isnt nearly as wide as OTUS.

Since the Raven is crop sensor, should I even bother with a 35 for now? If I did do the older - which would be a nice starter set:

-18/50/85
-18/35/50

I know the widest the current Milvus is 21mm, so the older ZE works a tad better for potential gimbal work.

Also, should I keep my Rokinons? Sorry with so many questions, I am just eager to start piece together everything for my Raven kit. It's like Christmas is coming.
 
I really prefer the ZF to the Rokinons. You might also check into Leica-R.
 
Thomas Ramsey said:
Since the Raven is crop sensor, should I even bother with a 35 for now?
Click to expand...

Probably depends more on the kind of shooting you're doing. Are you doing a lot of 2K high frame rate stuff? Then the crop factor will definitely come into play to a large degree - and would warrant a lens that is wider angle.
 
Good call, I do a ton of slow motion (mostly 60p) in my work. Maybe the older models will suffice. Any cons on these from regular users? I've only used them on 2 shoots, haven't spent a ton of time with them, but loved the look nonetheless.
 
ZFs might be a bit more ideal than ZE as they are manual aperture so no electronic errors to deal with. It does focus the opposite way though (which doesn't really bother me much). Right now, I just have a Nikon to Canon EF adapter on each lens and it works perfect on EF mount.

Personally, I never liked the Rokinon colors as they have this slight yellow tint to the image. ZF colors are much nice IMO, but that's just personal taste.

One lens that's kind of terrible is the 50mm ZF which is terrible at f1.4 (bad coma / really soft). However, at f2 it's much better. I saw a chart test and the new Milvus 50mm is much cleaner at f1.4 than the old ZF 50mm. I'm thinking of replacing the 50mm only and keeping the other ZFs as those are great lenses.
 
So I should opt ZF? I also have a A7S I would use these lenses for as well. Never was a fan of electronic ap....way to go? Which adapter do you have?
 
If it was me considering these options and Raven I'd run with the Milvus in EF mount. Some prefer the manual iris control you can get in the Nikon mount adapted to Canon and that's totally valid. But remember RED's EF Mount can be adjusted in 1/10th stop increments via the menu. That's a lot of control and control you can have electronically which is useful in some circumstances.

The additional thing to mention is the mechanics of the focus pull and newer design of a couple of those Milvus lenses are an improvement. Especially that 50mm.
 
I'll just throw out there that personally I think that you like the idea of Zeiss sharpness allied to older and flare-happy organic feeling coatings then you're missing a trick by not going for the all manual focusing the correct way modded Contax Zeiss glass.
 
Anymore information on the Contax? And the modding for them? I would love to see the price difference...
 
I would keep in mind the crop factor, in this case, something like a wide wont be so wide on the raven
 
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