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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 :)

ZF Lenses Moded by Duclos

Most lenses at 1.4 don't look as good as when they are stopped down a bit - even superspeeds. But , when you need the stop, that's worth the compromise.
The 85 is a great lens, not as good as the nikon, but damn close.
 
Are the ZF lenses thought to be as good as the Leica R Summilux lenses ?
 
Here's some footage that I shot today with the Zeiss ZF 50mm @ f~1.4. The 1080 file was set at maximum quality so people could get an idea as to how sharp the lens is.

50mm Test 1080 198MB

50mm Test 720 73MB

Right Click and Download.
 
I don't know about wack... I mean, for $500? Is there better out there?

Andrew I wonder how far you could push the road clip without getting too much noise? And are you planing on doing the same for the rest of your set? :D
 
Wow, breathing aside, that's pretty impressive. I'm going to do some night tests with my 50mm F/2 to compare. Might need to get the 1.4 after all, looks very useful.

Andrew Walker said:
Here's some footage that I shot today with the Zeiss ZF 50mm @ f~1.4. The 1080 file was set at maximum quality so people could get an idea as to how sharp the lens is.

50mm Test 1080 198MB

50mm Test 720 73MB

Right Click and Download.
Click to expand...
 
USlatin said:
I don't know about wack... I mean, for $500? Is there better out there?

Andrew I wonder how far you could push the road clip without getting too much noise? And are you planing on doing the same for the rest of your set? :D
Click to expand...

If you guys want to see similar tests for the 28mm, 35mm and the 85mm just let me know. I'll be out getting some shots over the weekend and I'm sure I could fit it in. Also I think you could push that clip a little further but I was surprised to be using ISO 2000. Most of the time its just way too crazy but in that clip I like the look of it. I'll try and find someway to post the R3D if you guys want to mess with it.
 
Yes please, I would love to see the same test for the other lenses. Whatever you want to do really, but the focus pull for sure if you wouldn't mind taking the time to upload. I am sure we all want the 1080s if you want to save some time by skipping the 720s.

Don't kill your bandwidth uploading R3Ds, but thanks for offering.
 
yeah, the zfs are great
 
Okay, so here are some focus tests where I rack from infinity to macro using the 28mm, 35mm, 50mm and the 85mm.

Zeiss ZF Set Focus Test 257MB 1080p

If you want to see one smaller let me know.
 
Hey man... that was quite a bit of work thank you so much for taking the time!

Those focus pulls felt smooth, were you using a FF? If so then out of curiosity, which one?

I have one question... what was the reason for the green in the 35mm f2 in the start of the pull away from the chart?
 
Andrew Walker said:
Okay, so here are some focus tests where I rack from infinity to macro using the 28mm, 35mm, 50mm and the 85mm.

Zeiss ZF Set Focus Test 257MB 1080p

If you want to see one smaller let me know.
Click to expand...

You're the man, thanks for posting that!

Why does the image on the 85mm seem so fuzzy? Almost like you've got a pro-mist filter on there or something? Is that just the lens?
 
USlatin said:
Hey man... that was quite a bit of work thank you so much for taking the time!

Those focus pulls felt smooth, were you using a FF? If so then out of curiosity, which one?

I have one question... what was the reason for the green in the 35mm f2 in the start of the pull away from the chart?
Click to expand...

I was using the FF from Cinetech to do all these focus pulls. Its about $2K cheaper than going with an Arri. Not sure what that little bit of green is that you are seeing. It could be from the 36" LCD that I had behind me in these tests to check focus.

Jonathan Stevenson said:
You're the man, thanks for posting that!

Why does the image on the 85mm seem so fuzzy? Almost like you've got a pro-mist filter on there or something? Is that just the lens?
Click to expand...

There was no filter on the 85mm. Seems to be something that the charts brought out, maybe because of the contrast in them and that the light source was about 2' away. The 50mm and the 85mm both had a similar effect at f~1.4.

Glad you guys like the tests.
 
Jonathan Stevenson said:
I wonder if the 50mm f2 has the same effect...
Click to expand...

It might be something associated with the 1.4 aperture. I know when I stopped down to f~2 that effect was almost gone. But of course if someone has the 50mm f~2 they could test this out.
 
The Zeiss ZF 50 f/2 is a completely different beast. Beautiful lens.

I wrestled with the Zeiss 1.4 vs used Nikon 1.4. Difficult thing is dealing with old used lenses off eBay. I guess it's another thing if you can get one from a reputable collector or technician, but at least the Zeiss is new. I ended up getting a mint near new Zeiss 1.4 only for when I need that extra bit of light from my F/2 for $470. Could I have gotten a Nikon for $150? Probably, but I'm happy.

KnockOutFilms said:
Ken Rockwell doesn't seem to be a huge fan of the Zeiss 50mm.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/zeiss/zf50.htm

I wonder why a person wouldn't just buy an older Nikon 50mm f1.4. They can be had for $50 to $75.

Even the nikon 35mm 1.4 is faster than the ZF option.

It seems the weak spot in any SLR option is a fast 18mm.

Chris
Click to expand...
 
You definitely made your pulling easier and at 1.4f it will save you time and money when you don't have to keep shooting the same thing over and over till you get through it without major blunders in the focus... I vowed never to use nikons again after this short film we did... of course the schedule was also jammed packed given the crew we had, but editing the stuff there simply is no reasoning for not getting ZF mechanics or better when you have so much money being invested into other aspects of a production... two shots at about 4 and 7 feet away from the camera with 1mm of throw and mere inches of DoF simply shouldn't be done unless it is the only way you can get the project made... it sort of was the only way we could get the project made, but next time I might postpone production till I can rent a ZF set from Andrew or better... never again, your gear limitation should not dictate the edit this much... I need that sort of leeway to be used for the content
 
USlatin said:
You definitely made your pulling easier and at 1.4f it will save you time and money when you don't have to keep shooting the same thing over and over till you get through it without major blunders in the focus... I vowed never to use nikons again after this short film we did... of course the schedule was also jammed packed given the crew we had, but editing the stuff there simply is no reasoning for not getting ZF mechanics or better when you have so much money being invested into other aspects of a production... two shots at about 4 and 7 feet away from the camera with 1mm of throw and mere inches of DoF simply shouldn't be done unless it is the only way you can get the project made... it sort of was the only way we could get the project made, but next time I might postpone production till I can rent a ZF set from Andrew or better... never again, your gear limitation should not dictate the edit this much... I need that sort of leeway to be used for the content
Click to expand...

This was my reason for getting the Zeiss lenses. I personally only used the Nikon primes to shoot stock footage and for that application they work rather well. But pulling focus on them sucks and its a good idea to not have your choice in shots dictated by how in focus they are. I still have my Nikon 80-200mm f~2.8 zoom in my kit because that lens is still nice and I wouldn't mind using it on a shoot. Pulling focus at f~1.8 on the Nikons I had would never happen. You would have to do 20 takes just to nail the focus, never mind the acting.
 
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