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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 :)

Zeiss vs. Nikon 35mm still lenses

yes

yes

ZeissUser said:
Couple of points to mention here. First of all I think most people buying Zeiss lenses (myself included) have already tested Nikon's and chose the Zeiss instead of Nikon. The reverse is not always true.

A lot of people are quick to point out that ZF's are made in Japan and are nothing special, when it comes to light that they have never actually used them and are relying on some random internet reporter to think for them.

I recently purchased a set of 4 Zeiss ZF lenses (25, 35, 50, 85). Here's my take on it. They are really sharp. Mechanically they feel solid. The set only costs $3050.00... A tiny amount in the grand scheme of things. Plus, there is a HUGE marketing appeal of saying you have Zeiss lenses.

The only real disappointment with ZF was discovering that not all of them have 270-degree focus scales. They are, in fact, all different. They vary from a measly 90-degrees on the 35mm, to 270 degrees on the 50mm and 85mm, to a full 360 degrees on the 25mm. Weird huh?

Overall I am happy with my purchase and plan to supplement the set of 4 with a Nikon 18mm to round out the set. But you can believe as soon as Zeiss makes an 18mm in the ZF line I will promptly replace the Nikon with the Zeiss and never look back. They are just simpler, better lenses.

That's my opinion. Thanks for listening..
Click to expand...

Yes!I have Nikons but these feelbetter.I have beeen playing for 3 weeks on hvx and Lettus ex.2 short films. sharp and great bokeh!
Focus with FF with lot of motion is tricky.
Thx,
babu
 
Opps...my bad.
You can get it in Contax mount and use it with a Canon adapter if your using that mount on the camera.
 
Yes, there is an 18mm Zeiss ( ZM )only, for now. And it's an F4.0
Earlier someone mentioned maybe they made the ZF's for DoF adapters,
I tend to think not because of the inconsistency in the speeds - 2.8,2.0, 1.4.
Although the focus throws of 360 and 270 degrees and the close focusing
capabilities resemble cine primes.
I have tested the Nikons (MF) and the ZF's on a sharpness indicator and I see
very little difference between them. Slightly rounder aperture on the ZF's
might make for a little nicer bokeh. I sell both sets and the big difference
is Name and New, although some of my Nikons are New.

~ Peter at RPLENS.com
 
Firts post here.

I have jumped back and forth between ZF and Nikon AF. As I get older my eyes are failing me but I truly believe the ZF are untouchable. Shot some pictures down town a few days ago and was just blown away by the way this lens holds it together across the entire frame. I posted some large attachments here http://www.nikoncamerauser.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=82 and even a 200% crop of a building window way up in the sky :)

My dilemma now is that I already have the 100 and don't know weather getting the 85 is worth it or not. Maybe I should go with the 50.

JT
 
I have found the Contax mount Zeiss lenses to be a great option for low budget projects which don't allow for the rental of Zeiss Super Speed PL mount lenses. They focus in the same direction as the Super Speeds, as opposed the the ZF lenses which focus like the Nikons. And slap on a C/Y to EOS mount adapter, and they will work with any camera with an EOS lens mount.
 
Hi David,
What do you estimate your Zeiss/Contax lens set would be worth? Just curious how much more these would cost compared to ZF. Did you buy them as a set or collect them over time secondhand?
 
David W. Jones said:
I have found the Contax mount Zeiss lenses to be a great option for low budget projects which don't allow for the rental of Zeiss Super Speed PL mount lenses. They focus in the same direction as the Super Speeds, as opposed the the ZF lenses which focus like the Nikons. And slap on a C/Y to EOS mount adapter, and they will work with any camera with an EOS lens mount.
Click to expand...

Wow David.

Great find and impressive Zeiss prime lens collection.

You are a lucky guy.
 
OZMA said:
Hi David,
What do you estimate your Zeiss/Contax lens set would be worth? Just curious how much more these would cost compared to ZF. Did you buy them as a set or collect them over time secondhand?
Click to expand...

I put the set together over time secondhand. It covers my basic shooting style, but there are a few more lenses I would like to get that are just a little faster. Zeiss produced a number of great lenses for the Contax and Rollei lines, and some of the earlier Zeiss Jena lenses can also be used with great results.
As far as cost goes, the price of used Contax lenses, " glass in general" have started to climb due to the release of RED, as well as the ton of 35mm DOF adapters out there. But I would guesstimate that the cost of a lens plus the cost of adding focus gears comes out to the basic price of a new ZF lens.
 
FWIW, I like the build of the Nikons better. Seems sturdier as I got the older manual metal builds compared with plastic on the ZF. Evin is right though that it's always nice to say you have a Zeiss set. Optically I can't see any real dif on tests. The 18mm sounds interesting. But they are all in the $600-1300 range whereas you can get 3-4 used Nikons for 1300. Kinda like what Jim is trying to do with Red lenses. udaman jim!
 
David W. Jones said:
I have found the Contax mount Zeiss lenses to be a great option for low budget projects which don't allow for the rental of Zeiss Super Speed PL mount lenses. They focus in the same direction as the Super Speeds, as opposed the the ZF lenses which focus like the Nikons. And slap on a C/Y to EOS mount adapter, and they will work with any camera with an EOS lens mount.
Click to expand...

Hi Dave,

It's really nice to see you here... and that is a very nice set of glass. I will look at getting the EOS mount to test it out on my RED when I get it. As a matter of fact, I would enjoy it if you would like to "torture" test it when I get it ( I am in the next batch). Please PM me, we need to get together. I think I pm'ed you before... don't remember.

Cheers,

Mark Andrew Benz

PS. Hey Red Users, Dave is a great V.O. talent if you are ever in need, please try Dave. He is also multi-talented in post and production. I learned a lot from Dave when I first got started... and I still appreciate it.
 
Thanks for the kind words. I have a lot on my plate lately, but it's a little hard to concentrate at the moment. My companion for the last 11 1/2 years, "Bear" passed away last night. He was 223 pounds of loving lapdog that will be sorely missed.
 
Dave, Bear was an amazing dog, I am really sorry. Hmmm... Please pm if I can do anything for you and Cathy or when you have a break in your schedule. I am just down the road.

Take care man,

Benz

ps-- sorry for the interruption everyone.
 
I've found this lens review round-up to be unbelievable. Tons of info on practically every Nikon lens out there. Down at the bottom of the page you can pick which group of lenses you'd like to look at. He reviews the Zeiss 50mm as compared to the Nikon.

http://www.naturfotograf.com/lens_surv.html

But overall this is a great place for lens info. This guy has a ton of real world experience and seems really knowledgeable.

Letus extreme is the best 35mm adapter? Then there must be some major upgrades over the brand new letus I used last year. It sure looks like the new Letus extreme is still made out of plastic with a cheap aluminum lens mount that quickly wears out. Hopefully for $1200 you're at least getting a real achromat instead of a plastic hobby-store magnifying glass:biggrin:

I've used letus, brevis, & redrock. If you know how to properly set-up the units Redrock has been far and above better than the vibrators. Besides the much more solid build quality. As soon as one of the big 4 gets the hint and includes a flip feature in-camera to record and monitor a 35mm adapter image the flip ability of letus will be irrelevant. Personally I already think it is. It's easy to flip in post and it's easy to monitor flipped on-set. And you lose less light. I have a suped=up G4 that can even edit flipped footage in real-time. It would be nice if FCP provided a flip option to capture footage flipped when you bring it in. All in all, properly set-up with a good 35mm lens on it Redrock wins for me. We've shot product footage in the studio with a 200mm Nikkor F2 and this set-up produced razor-sharp images. This has led me to conclude that those who have had problems with Redrock either didn't set it up properly or used sub-standard lenses with it. Because it has worked beautifully for us after carefully set-up and the very best Nikkors.
 
David W. Jones said:
Thanks for the kind words. I have a lot on my plate lately, but it's a little hard to concentrate at the moment. My companion for the last 11 1/2 years, "Bear" passed away last night. He was 223 pounds of loving lapdog that will be sorely missed.
Click to expand...

Sorry about your lost. Jake and my thoughts are with you.
 
Nathan Troutman said:
All in all, properly set-up with a good 35mm lens on it Redrock wins for me. We've shot product footage in the studio with a 200mm Nikkor F2 and this set-up produced razor-sharp images. This has led me to conclude that those who have had problems with Redrock either didn't set it up properly or used sub-standard lenses with it. Because it has worked beautifully for us after carefully set-up and the very best Nikkors.
Click to expand...

I have to agree with you. I've used both adapters and the REdRock M2 wins when it comes to image quality, plus it's the most "filmic" and with the sweetest bokeh. However, I presently use the Brevis and I like it quite much. I traded ease of use for image "preference," 'cause the Brevis is less cumbersome. There's a brand new Brevis flip module unit that loses next to zero light, which incidently, you can use with your M2. Now that's a perfect combo right there. In hopes of being able to use my Brevis with the Birger Nikon mount, I sent it to Erik to see how he can make that happen. I keep my fingers crossed. That combo could hold me over until I get my REd One a few months from now. BTW, according to Erik, the Birger mount works well with the M2.
 
Nathan Troutman said:
I've found this lens review round-up to be unbelievable. Tons of info on practically every Nikon lens out there. Down at the bottom of the page you can pick which group of lenses you'd like to look at. He reviews the Zeiss 50mm as compared to the Nikon.

http://www.naturfotograf.com/lens_surv.html

But overall this is a great place for lens info. This guy has a ton of real world experience and seems really knowledgeable.

Letus extreme is the best 35mm adapter? Then there must be some major upgrades over the brand new letus I used last year. It sure looks like the new Letus extreme is still made out of plastic with a cheap aluminum lens mount that quickly wears out. Hopefully for $1200 you're at least getting a real achromat instead of a plastic hobby-store magnifying glass:biggrin:

I've used letus, brevis, & redrock. If you know how to properly set-up the units Redrock has been far and above better than the vibrators. Besides the much more solid build quality. As soon as one of the big 4 gets the hint and includes a flip feature in-camera to record and monitor a 35mm adapter image the flip ability of letus will be irrelevant. Personally I already think it is. It's easy to flip in post and it's easy to monitor flipped on-set. And you lose less light. I have a suped=up G4 that can even edit flipped footage in real-time. It would be nice if FCP provided a flip option to capture footage flipped when you bring it in. All in all, properly set-up with a good 35mm lens on it Redrock wins for me. We've shot product footage in the studio with a 200mm Nikkor F2 and this set-up produced razor-sharp images. This has led me to conclude that those who have had problems with Redrock either didn't set it up properly or used sub-standard lenses with it. Because it has worked beautifully for us after carefully set-up and the very best Nikkors.
Click to expand...

Not sure if you are aware, but the jvc hd 200 and 250 have built in image flip.
Designed to work with JVCs 16mm lens adaptor, but works with others as well.
 
zeke said:
Not sure if you are aware, but the jvc hd 200 and 250 have built in image flip.
Designed to work with JVCs 16mm lens adaptor, but works with others as well.
Click to expand...

I was not aware. I had heard through other forums that JVC was supposed to offer the option. Too bad the $1200 mini-DV/S-VHS deck I bought from JVC died on me with hardly any use just after the warranty expired. I've avoided their products ever since.
 
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