The Contax Zeiss Distagon 'Hollywood' 28mm F2.0 is a classic fast wide for full frame and is incredible on Super 35mm as well. Not saying the 135/2 isnt worth it the investment, its just much heavier and harder to carry as a walk-around lens. First I measured the slip-on caps I got from SIMMOD and created a Photoshop template with that size. Expect there to be bidding wars on eBay now, the gates of CONTAX HELL have been unleashed. My favorite lens switched to the 85/1.4 after that, though. Conveniently for me as I was finishing the set, SIMMOD Lens came into the picture, with very competitive prices, impressive customer service and super high-quality products. I almost went for the wrong one with my MM obsession, but I was warned by my followers on Instagram about the edge the AE had over the MM. Leica Rs are much prettier. MM's from 1984 to 2005. I own them both. Enjoy! The two specialty lenses the 15/3.5 super wide and 60/2.8 macro go on the smaller 904 case. Are often more traditional designs. That was probably one of the most stressful experiences of my life with lenses. If I have a motor on the iris, itll have to be adjusted every time the lens is swapped. All content, design, and layout are Copyright 19982023 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved. Posts; Latest Activity; Photos . Theres a lot of discussion whether the 135mm f/2.0 has a clear advantage over the f/2.8, especially when you take into account the price difference. Those ocasional shots where you need to SNAP from one extreme focal length to another. Your choice if you want them Cine-modded or not. If you are not great at DIY, make sure to check out our sponsors SimmodLens and FollowFocusGears.com for pretty much all the mods mentioned in the article above. These lenses thread the fine line between organic and sharp, a line as thin as depth of field on an 85/1.2 wide open, only second to Leica. Distance between first and last lens vertex: 33.6 mm 51.8 mm Weight: approx. All times are GMT-8. The issue that came up from was the stickers were having a hard time sticking to the material of the lens caps and were peeling off on their own. Never been an issue for us - and truth be told, if I have a problem with a lens, Id send it to Duclos anywaybut be advised. I returned to the guide and started eBay hunting. You have a wide range of lenses to pick from and equally different price tags. There are DOZENS of lenses to choose from, that cover all focal lengths from 15mm to 500mm. This page was generated at 05:50 PM. Fluorescent paint to make markings easier to spot in the dark, by Moritz Schierenbeck. All times are GMT-8. Even the 21 is only a 2.8. Its agreed that MM lenses perform better and have cleaner results than AE lenses, theyre also less prone to flaring. I know a bunch of photo magazines back in the 90's and early 2000's did comprehensive tests and reviews of Contax, I wonder if they lifted the numbers from one of those? comments sorted by Best Top New Controversial Q&A Add a Comment . Luckily for me, out of the five lenses I only messed up really bad on one (the 85mm, which was also the first one I tried). It looked neat, but from my experiences as 2nd Assistant Camera, I was constantly being asked how fast so-and-so lens was, or whats its minimum focus. The price-performance ratio of the Minolta lenses is the best in the camera world. Landmine Media, LLC. to use on my Komodo. Thats where my obsession started. This wraps the first step in building a set of lenses: getting the glass. In fact, they MOD better than ZF/ZEs believe it or not. You can also tell their place of manufacture based on whats written on the lens! The Standards were w/out a doubt the sharpest wide open. As they were designed for photography, they have clicked stops, which has to be dealt with, but they all feature non-rotating front elements, which is a very valuable feature these days with vari NDs. Luckily for me, out of the five lenses I only messed up really bad on one (the 85mm, which was also the first one I tried). It was the most expensive lens in the set and it shares a lot of the beautiful look of the 28/2 Hollywood. I got all my standard 80mm fronts from him, as well as slip-on lens caps. Happy with 35-70(macro too) 3.4 & 85 1.4 on a6300(with speed booster). Landmine Media, LLC. When the ZF/ZEs first came out in 2006, they appear to have been direct re-badges of the Contax line (with small modifications to the designs). That said, many still photographers (and DPs) have gotten magic out of these lenses at an F2 or faster. What's the word on that lens? I repeated the technique for the rear caps, this time with only the focal length written on them. I havent tested these much yet, and I ended up not doing standard outside diameters. Still on the DIY train, a friend and I had just bought a 3d-printer, so I started making my own focus gears. Want regular CineD updates about news, reviews, how-tos and more?Sign up to our newsletter and we will give you just that. I started using these lenses casually. Im still weighing if I need it or not. Contax Zeiss Survival Guide In reply to Giovanni_1968 9 months ago While this site is targeted to adapting Zeiss Contax lenses for video, it also seems to be the go-to guide for the rest of us with respect to these lenses. (I read the Contax Survival Guide, thank you Nick . These babies were bleeding me dry. Also because Soviet glass was super cheap. This turns the original C/Y mount into a solid EF mount that wont budge for nothing. check out the. The 15/3.5 took the cake though. And. I reached out to David at Hardcases.ca and got both a Nanuk 918 with padded dividers and a Nanuk 904 with foam to fit these babies. So far, I had no previous love for Contax and a little bit of prejudice against Zeiss for making lenses too clean. Originally launched in 1932 as a rangefinder system to compete with - you guessed it. Nick P. - lenses like your 35/2.8 and 50/1.4 with the last (largest) number on the aperture ring in green are MM lensessince made in Japan, they are called MMJs. But on CERTAIN LENSES (with wide barrels) you def see it prominently at your SECOND and THIRD F-stop position (counting wide open as your FIRST position), For example, I notice it by far the most on my 35 1.4 and 85 1.4. But Leica Rs are certainly more expensive, so take that into consideration if you are on a budget. @ Yean: Same here, my Contaxes shift very little if at all, especially when compared to any modern electronic lens. The process turned out alright and the gears worked great, but later on I learned some useful tricks. The Contax Zeiss version fetches $800 on eBay but there's a $60 wolf in sheep's clothing called the Pentax PK 28mm F2.0 which has a fascinating story behind . I repeated the technique for the rear caps, this time with only the focal length written on them. Plus, fitting these is never a one-slip move. Above $2500 cameras tend to become increasingly specialized, making it difficult to select a 'best' option. Im a big fan of these lenses and have been building my own set for the last few years, but Im nowhere close to creating a buyers guide, so Im very happy that a good friend of VLFV, Tito Ferradans has written the amazing guide below, which doesnt just introduce and explain various aspects of ContaxZeisslenses but will also show you how to tune them up for video use! It's a weird, over-the-top kind of effect, but when you need it (as I did a few weeks ago) it's actually pretty helpful. I find it charming, its a lot like the Cooke 8-blade star you see in the back of every True Blood Merlots shot, so I dig it. Easy to see which one I loved the most back in 2015. Its a very charming (or annoying, depending on your POV) design to the aperture blades that looks like a crooked ninja throwing star. Fairly "affordable" as well. There are a lot of photo/video cameras that have found a role as B-cameras on professional film productions or even A-cameras for amateur and independent productions. I still dont know when to use them, though! WOW! The optics in these Zeiss are very similar, if not the same as the current Zeiss still lenses, a different coating on the glass is the main difference. However, I wont argue that having a lens that says Made In West Germany is wicked cool. Could it be that yours was bumped once in it's lifetime, if it's not the adapter? DxO PureRAW 3 aims to come to their rescue without totally reinventing your workflow! Theyre fully manual focus and aperture -, have solid metal construction, long focus throw, and a great feel overall. I own (or have owned) an AE 25 2.8, 28 f2, 28 2.8, 35 1.4, 45 2.8, 50 1.4, 50 1.7, 60 2.8, 85 1.4, 85 2.8, 135 f2, 135 2.8, and 200 3.5and ALL OF THEM have the Ninja-Star. Are not only the slowest, but frequently the most classic. The two specialty lenses the 15/3.5 super wide and 60/2.8 macro go on the smaller 904 case. Its also a big change in size and weight, almost doubling its predecessor. These are creative tools, use them as such. Every time I had to pick a lens I went for the 35mm f/2.8 instead. Collapse. I prefer the C/Ys but since I already own 3 FDs (cheap ones: 28 2.8, 50 1.8 and 135 2.8), I'm leaning towards the latter, although still undecided. This means that not all MM lenses are made in Japan. If you are like me and are interested in building up a large, varied kit of lenses that can fit every jobthen Contax are a great choice. On the 918 I keep the main six lenses of the set plus variable NDs and other filters. The 18mm is almost one fourth of the price and half the weight of the 15mm, plus it fits along with the other MMJs in the set. They rack focus beautifully. To fix that I took the stickers off, added a thin layer of glue, put the stickers back in place and let it all dry overnight. Heres the answer to all of this, broken down. Next up was the 35mm, two stops faster at f/1.4. The one main difference I can see isas stated aboveI think the Contaxes cinemod slightly BETTER than ZF/ZEs (because they ALL focus the right way, and ALL have an aperture ring), and also ALL they have that wonderful older T* coating that I believe looks better on digital than the newer T* coating (renders more organically). In my previous buyers guide Ive shown you how to build a Zeiss Jena Mini-Cine set for $1000, but if you have a bit more money to spend then ContaxZeiss is the way togo! If you dont have a 3d-printer, Im selling all the gears I made for my set on eBay! Nitze's Affordable Cage for Atomos Shogun CONNECT Introduced, Three Lenses on One Camera at Once VERTIGO by MultiTurret Coming To Kickstarter Soon, MASV Completes AWS Integration with "Send from Amazon S3" Feature, FALCAM Maglink Camera Straps First Look, Aputure INFINIBAR Review - RGBWW Full-Color LED Pixel Bars, Sony ZV-E1 Review - Sony a7S III Lowlight Capabilities, Enhanced Autofocus and Powerful AI, OSEE Megamon 15 Review - Great 1000nits Portable Monitor with few Shortcomings, Filmstro Web App Demonstration with New Features - Make Your Own Soundtracks, Canon EOS R3 Lab Test - Rolling Shutter, Dynamic Range and Latitude Test, Panasonic LUMIX S5 II Lab Test - Rolling Shutter, Dynamic Range and Latitude, Nikon Z 9 N-RAW Lab Test (FW 3.00) - Rolling Shutter, Dynamic Range and Latitude. I know organic is a hackneyed term, but it fits. This is another trick to make lens swaps faster, since you wont need to adjust your follow focus back and forth on the rig. Great post about contax! It was the most expensive lens in the set and it shares a lot of the beautiful look of the 28/2 Hollywood. Theyre much cheaper than modern lenses, yet share similar designs and performance. This makes life easier when grabbing gear to go out and renting it as well. ZF/ZEs only go as far as 135mm. Next came the 60mm f/2.8 Macro. Nothing is free. Here are some things I got from it: Contax Zeiss lenses were designed for 35mm full frame, which means theyll cover all the way up to Vistavision sensors on modern cameras and anything smaller. The price was pretty good and Im the type of person that can buy something just because the price is good. The 18mm is almost one fourth of the price and half the weight of the 15mm, plus it fits along with the other MMJs in the set. I have no idea why this is so and why they continue to sell this dog which takes until at least 2.8 to get reasonably sharp. Whenever I started thinking the Soviet lenses were sharp, Id pop one of the Contax on the camera and stare in awe. You can tell them apart because MM have their last aperture number painted green, and they have a small tab on the mount that doesnt exist on AEs.