7D and glass

[Noel Evans]

The 7D for me is a inbetweener, I will be going to Scarlet as soon as any of us possibly can. In the meantime, I dont wont to throw money down on glass for the 7D that I wont be able to use on the Scarlet (FYI the S35). So if I get myself a nice set of Zeiss Distagons for example, I understand that I am going to get a 1.6x crop factor and 1.6x focal length.


BUT... is this workable in the meantime? Anyone doing this?

fwiw THE 5DMKii is out of the question, the camera must shoot 1080/25p and 720/50P for my needs.

And I just noticed that the Zeiss Electronic lenses for Canon could work on Scarlet - but are the Full frame electronics OK for the 7d?

 

[Isaac_Brody]

So if I get myself a nice set of Zeiss Distagons for example, I understand that I am going to get a 1.6x crop factor and 1.6x focal length.

Only in relation to full frame photography. It's much more useful and less confusing to think of a 50mm on a 7D being normal for cinema purposes.

Those electronics should be fine on a 7D.

 

[Barry_Green]

So if I get myself a nice set of Zeiss Distagons for example, I understand that I am going to get a 1.6x crop factor and 1.6x focal length.

No you won't. You'll get a nice set of Zeiss lenses. The crop factor comes from the sensor, not the lenses.

And, by the way, they'll look basically exactly the same on the Scarlet S35 as they do on the 7D (assuming the Scarlet S35 uses a 24mm wide sensor)

BUT... is this workable in the meantime? Anyone doing this?

I'm going with the ZF setup, and having Duclos modify them into more acceptable versions of cinema lenses.

And I just noticed that the Zeiss Electronic lenses for Canon could work on Scarlet - but are the Full frame electronics OK for the 7d?

The ZF.2 lenses have some electronics connectors.

The 7D has the same lens mount and takes the same lenses as the 5D. Anything that works on the 5D should work exactly the same on the 7D (with the understanding that the 7D won't see as much of the image as the 5D would).

 

[Noel Evans]

I'm going with the ZF setup, and having Duclos modify them into more acceptable versions of cinema lenses.

Thanks for the info Barry, greatly appreciated. Im pretty impressed with the Distagons.

Now, who are Duclos? And how much does this cost and where can I find more information? Sorry Barry.

 

[dadoboy]

Duclos lenses are a family owned business. They do great repair, rehousing and refitting work on cinema and still lenses.

They'll add delrin focus gears, 80mm fronts and de-click your iris stops for $250 per lens according to the last quote I got from them earlier this year. The delrin gears are much better for focusing than redrock or cinevate gears, because they are pressed on.

Their website is ducloslenses.com and they can also sell you the lenses with modifications at a fair price.

I would get the Zeiss ZFs too if I did not already have a fast set of Nikons, I believe the Zeiss lenses will give you better micro contrast and saturation from what I've seen. And you can buy them brand spanking new.

 

[Noel Evans]

Awesome dadoboy...

Thanks for the information and why doesnt some do this locally to me? Someone in Aus need to get this happening.

 

[dadoboy]

I hear the same complaints from Europeans too. What Duclos does to the ZFs is pretty unique. Other than getting a set of Compact Primes, it's a great way to get ZF glass closer to the mechanics of cine glass for moderate cost. I think rplens basically just sends the work to Duclos for their gearing too.

Since the Scarlets will have that PL style Nikon mount, it will be a good option for both the s35 and FF35 scarlets, future Nikon/Canon DSLRs, etc. The ZFs set should hold its value well. Biggest reason I never used Nikons on the RED was because of the two bit $500 mount from RED, but there's new mounts out now.

why doesnt some do this locally to me? Someone in Aus need to get this happening.

 

[Barry_Green]

I really like the idea of having a common lens front, common focus gear size, and common color & contrast across the lens setup. The ZF lineup has the color & contrast, but none of the rest; Duclos adds that, as well as a declicked more-cinema-style iris ring. Plus, with a proper follow focus, it makes the silly backwards-focus of the Nikon lenses a non-issue. And with common gear size, it makes a follow-focus much less of a hassle.

So yeah, I ordered the 25, 35, and 85 today. Still haven't decided if I'll trade in my 50 for the Macro 50mm, it's supposed to be so much nicer, but it's another grand...

I wanted to just spring for the Red Pro Primes, but at $20k per set, the idea of a $3,000 Zeiss setup with glass as good as the $40,000 Compact Primes, and all the rest... too good to pass up.

Plus, even though the darn Zeiss lenses are absolute MSRP everywhere, you can get 10% off if you're a crafty shopper by going with Bing, getting the 8% cashback from ebay, and then the 2% "ebay bucks" deal... when an individual lens is $1000, $80 of Bing cashback and $20 of ebay bucks adds up...

 

[Barry_Green]

Awesome dadoboy...

Thanks for the information and why doesnt some do this locally to me? Someone in Aus need to get this happening.

Consider ordering a complete set from Duclos as-is. With the Aussie dollar being so high compared to the American dollar, you might be able to get a whole set ready to go for a lot less than buying local?

 

[dadoboy]

Barry,
I heard the Macro ZFs have a lot of breathing, so I would try it out if you can if you intend to use it for normal movie shooting. The macros I suppose weren't designed for the same purposes. Also if you look at their focus scales, they are weighted heavily for the close marks, and not for the more critical 3ft to 20ft where most acting marks play out.

The RPPs are attractive, so are the new Cooke T2.8 Pancros. Yummy to look at but I think I'd rather put a down payment on a house.

So yeah, I ordered the 25, 35, and 85 today. Still haven't decided if I'll trade in my 50 for the Macro 50mm, it's supposed to be so much nicer, but it's another grand...

 

[Barry_Green]

Yeah, but the 50mm f/1.4 is kinda nasty wide open, and the 50mm f/2 is supposed to be a lot better...

I guess I'll just wait for the other three to get here. I don't want to spend the dough to get it Duclos'ed, and then sell it and get the f/2 anyway, and then have to Duclos that...

(I wonder if the Ducloses like that their name has now become a verb?)

 

[Noel Evans]

So yeah, I ordered the 25, 35, and 85 today. Still haven't decided if I'll trade in my 50 for the Macro 50mm, it's supposed to be so much nicer, but it's another grand...

Exactly what I want - though I am thinking of adding the 18mm as well. Ill most likely order right after xmas and cheers for the heads up, these are EXACTLY what I have been looking for.

I wanted to just spring for the Red Pro Primes, but at $20k per set, the idea of a $3,000 Zeiss setup with glass as good as the $40,000 Compact Primes, and all the rest... too good to pass up

Again, my thoughts. I have been looking at a lot of moving and still footage from Ziess glass wherever I can, and the image really does it for me.

And FWIW I also be grabing a EF-S zoom lens with the 7D. For pick it up and run around shooting like a madmen. Wouldnt want to be going at an insane pace on the go and have to swap out lenses and risk damaging them.

 

[ydgmdlu]

And, by the way, they'll look basically exactly the same on the Scarlet S35 as they do on the 7D (assuming the Scarlet S35 uses a 24mm wide sensor)

Don't assume that. RED's DSMC announcement from last December stated that the S35 Mysterium-X will be 30x15mm. Canon's APS-H, found in cameras like the 1D Mark IV, is 28.7mm wide, making for a 1.3x crop factor. So RED's S35 should be very close to that.

Even with their latest announcement, they haven't changed their sensor size specs. We'll be more sure in less than a week, though...

 

[Barry_Green]

Why would it be 30x15? Oh, wait, it's because they like that 2:1 aspect ratio. Bizarre. Well, I hope it can do a proper 24x13 for 1.85. How odd. I haven't dug around in the Red specs forever, now that you say it I think I remember that, but didn't bother thinking too much about it because I thought maybe it was for stills or the "active pixel" area would be smaller (Red One is a 4K system but it has 4.5K on the sensor, which I think they just recently opened up)...

Well, less than a week to go before their next announcement...

 

[Noel Evans]

When I originally started this thread, I talked about the "Ziess ZF" lenses.

No one corrected me so I continued the discussion, now I am going to actually order and the ZF is for Nikon. The correct mount for the EOS cameras is the ZE lenses.

My issue: The Zeiss ZE lenses do NOT have a manual aperture ring.

OK on an EOS I can set aperture in camera, am I going to be able to do this with scarlet?

 

[SPZ]

When I originally started this thread, I talked about the "Ziess ZF" lenses.

No one corrected me so I continued the discussion, now I am going to actually order and the ZF is for Nikon. The correct mount for the EOS cameras is the ZE lenses.

My issue: The Zeiss ZE lenses do NOT have a manual aperture ring.

OK on an EOS I can set aperture in camera, am I going to be able to do this with scarlet?

If I recall correctly, In reduser.net they said it was electronic mounts, so I assume it has all the electronic controls...

 

[Noel Evans]

If I recall correctly, In reduser.net they said it was electronic mounts, so I assume it has all the electronic controls...

I recall reading something similar, but cant remember the source, so just want to reconfirm that.

Barry if youre around what DSLR are you actually using? And with what Ziess lenses.

Cheers mate.