GH2 Best way to Zeiss on GH2?

The video capabilities of these cameras are not good enough to allow taking full advantage of a thousand dollar lens. The economy alternatives for Zeiss and Leica are Yashica ML and Minolta MD. Yashica partnered with Zeiss and Minolta partnered with Leica. Several Minolta MD lenses can be had branded and built to Leica standards, but they were made by Minolta in Japan.

I like Zeiss and Leica as much as anybody, but the economy alternatives exist and can be had almost free of charge.

What the newer "digital lenses" have is a strong coating at the back of the lens that eliminates sensor flares. The reflectivity of the surface of the sensor is greater than film. I have developed an adapter for Minolta MD lenses called Unflare, which has a modern multi coated UV filter inside the adapter. This will eliminate majority of the sensor reflections and you can have still images and video images from a sub hundred dollar lens that rival a modern thousand dollar lens.
 
Aki_Hartikainen said:
The video capabilities of these cameras are not good enough to allow taking full advantage of a thousand dollar lens..
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Well that is your opinion, but not mine.
And the OP was asking for the most economical way to put some Zeiss glass on the GH2. Not Minolta, Yashica, or any other brand.

As Berry pointed out, used Zeiss Jena lenses would be the most economical way to do so.

As far as your adapter for Minolta MD lenses with the UV filter inside, remember to take into account the change to the flange focal distance by adding the filter!

Good Luck!

Dave
 
If you could have nearly indistinguishable images, as was pointed out in the side by side comparison on the last page, I would consider that good enough to offer as a low cost alternative. The MD filter adapter is already in production. It can produce images from a 50 dollar lens like this: http://www.fourseasonshd.com/blueLightUnflare1.png

The 4k RAW image compares quite well with a much more precious lens, even if it's just my opinion.
 
Look, I'm not here to get into an online argument, and I don't have anything to gain, unlike you who has a website selling Yashica and Minolta lenses. I was just trying to help answer the OP's question, and correct any misinformation.

Since your adapter is already in production I'm sure you already know that placing a filter behind the lens changes the flange focal distance by 1/3 the thickness of the filter you used, which likely won't be apparent until you use wide angle lenses. But I'm sure you have already factored that into your design.

All the Best!

Dave
 
David W. Jones said:
Look, I'm not here to get into an online argument, and I don't have anything to gain, unlike you who has a website selling Yashica and Minolta lenses. I was just trying to help answer the OP's question, and correct any misinformation.

Since your adapter is already in production I'm sure you already know that placing a filter behind the lens changes the flange focal distance by 1/3 the thickness of the filter you used, which likely won't be apparent until you use wide angle lenses. But I'm sure you have already factored that into your design.

All the Best!

Dave
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I think it was you who provided misinformation on the previous page by saying that Yashica lenses were made by Cosina, when the Yashica ML lenses were actually made by Zeiss' Japanese partner Kyocera in the same factory that made the Japanese Contax Zeiss lenses.

The Internet still works but I copied this information: "While these lenses were designed by Zeiss and manufacture shared between Zeiss and Yashica's optical division Tomioka, Zeiss increasingly allowed Tomioka to take responsibility of their manufacture."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contax

"Tomioka became part of the Kyocera group in 1983 after the merge of Kyocera and Yashica and became Kyocera Optec Co., Ltd. (?????????) in 1991.[15] Rumours say that Carl Zeiss progressively took control of the production facility and closed down the plant but they seem wrong (though the production line of the Zeiss licensed lenses has obviously stopped).[16] The company currently (2008) still exists."

http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Tomioka

This information indicates that the Yashica ML lenses are Zeiss licensed technology. If Zeiss licensed technology can not be offered as a low cost alternative, then there is some other motive that prevents using the other name, even if it's sourced directly from the name that was asked.

I do have a website showing a few lenses, but they can be had most economically from eBay or similar source. I can provide a lens, though, but that's not the point I was making. The point was that if you do not need to show a precious brand, very similar images can be had very economically.

Makes sense when we are talking about eur 600 camera, right?
 
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Well, apologies for not being sharp enough to ask a succinct question originally. I have a personal GH2 rig and am speccing one for work. I haven't used Ziess and would be buying them based on reputation.

My intention with the reference to economics was a rejection of the
Cine lenses in hopes of anything else made by Ziess and Available.


  • I don't believe the CP/Cine lenses are appropriate for me... pricey and not sure the camera or my process is worth that investment.
  • I prefer to buy new, not used... as I have not had the best experiences buying used already with FD lenses.

From what I gather, here in this thread... the only fairly standardized way to get access to Zeiss for this camera is the ZF line made for Nikon. The caveat is that for some reason, the direction of the movement of the focus rings is backwards.

Am I seeing this clearly?
Why, BTW, did they do the focus that way?

Thanks for all the replies. It is educational.
 
That is Nikon standard way to focus and many manufacturers making lenses for Nikon mount prefer to keep it that way. I have Tokina AT-X lenses (fantastic, by the way) that focus in either direction depending on the mount version.
 
BTW, at the risk of being a pest...

If Zeiss and Lieca hold the top tier, who is below them but still above the fray?

My best assumption is that Voigtlander is one of those.
 
Heartfelt said:
BTW, at the risk of being a pest...

If Zeiss and Lieca hold the top tier, who is below them but still above the fray?

My best assumption is that Voigtlander is one of those.
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That would be Tokina. The glass is made by Hoya, world's largest manufacturer of optical glass. Tokina is a low key company but the lenses have been found to be as good or better than the mainstream OEM lenses. Many modern Tokina lenses have both auto-focus and genuine manual focus that can be switched on/off.
 
Looks like the Nikon mount is a standard for them as well. Perhaps a plan focused on quality glass can stay that direction (Nikon Mount) and not be confusing, considering the Nikon based focusing.
 
I have not had a Nikon F adapter yet to learn how easy or difficult the transition from usual focus direction to opposite could be. I have the AT-X 35-70 f2.8 in both Canon FD and Nikon mounts. I immediately bought a second unit as a spare lens, and then learned about the focus directions.

The Canon FD version is terrific, very sharp at full aperture, organic look with little or no chromatic aberrations. Build quality feels solid and nice. Price is ~150 dollars, so what's not to like? The newer AT-X lenses can be much more expensive, though.
 
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I'm not sure if this is the right thread for this, but I try to have double everything. When the price of certain fine lenses is what it is, that is easy to accomplish. If a lens gets stolen or dropped in a pond while I'm in the middle of a production, a clone is good to have available.
 
Back on topic... the most economical way? Whatever Zeiss lens you end up picking and a $30 eBay adapter.

The discussion on Jena, Y/C and all that is very good. Some love them, some say they don't come close to the modern Zeiss lenses. It also depends if you're ok with a softer filmic look or want excellent sharpness and clarity.

We shoot corporate video and commercials, so we ended up with new Zeiss ZF.2 Nikon glass, MTF adapter, Shrigg Rig cage and some rigging tweaks. Focus direction is a non-issue with a follow focus with a reversible gearbox.

If I can give one piece of advice, it is to do yourself a favor and GET A CAGE. I've spent half a year futzing with our GH2 because the thing is so plasticy and flimsy, the camera flexes. Basically, the force a follow focus exerts on a lens can be enough to nudge the frame because of that. It starts becoming visible at 50mm and really bad at 100mm. (And I'm talking about functional lenses and FF's.) So I wouldn't even considering using a GH2 without a cage, get a simple $100 Shrigg Rig from indiSystems, it does the job just fine. I'm planning on writing a blog post or article about these and other GH2 experiences.
 
binba,
Awesome post. Thank you! Pretty well solves it for me, especially with the reversible follow focus.

I hear you on the cage too... that is the intention but appreciate the heads up.
 
If you're set on buying a new Zeiss lens but don't specifically need the Nikon mount they sell an M42 mount version for almost 200 dollars less. It focuses the same direction as the Nikon and is identical except for the mount. The 35mm ZS f/2 is the main lens I use for my GH2. I got it because I also use old Pentax SLRs. If you use the M42 to M4/3 adapter you can also use the very good (and very cheap) old M42 lenses if you ever decide to buy used.
 
binba said:
The discussion on Jena, Y/C and all that is very good. Some love them, some say they don't come close to the modern Zeiss lenses.
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I had a whole lot of Jenas, and yeah, they don't compare to the new ZF line. Stopped down to 5.6 they were still very good, but paled in comparison to the newest ZF's.

It also depends if you're ok with a softer filmic look or want excellent sharpness and clarity.
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Indeed a valid point -- and one reason a lot of folks seem to like Canon FD's too.

We shoot corporate video and commercials, so we ended up with new Zeiss ZF.2 Nikon glass, MTF adapter, Shrigg Rig cage and some rigging tweaks. Focus direction is a non-issue with a follow focus with a reversible gearbox.
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That is one popular way to overcome the oddness of the backwards focusing on all Nikon-mount lenses, is to use a reversible follow focus. I have a Durus for that exact reason.
 
binba said:
We shoot corporate video and commercials, so we ended up with new Zeiss ZF.2 Nikon glass, MTF adapter, Shrigg Rig cage and some rigging tweaks. Focus direction is a non-issue with a follow focus with a reversible gearbox.
Click to expand...

Which follow focus did you choose for your use?
 
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