Contax Carl Zeiss 50mm f/1.7 T* Planar vs Rollei Hft 50mm F/1.8 Planar 2 Pin

H

hopkins802

Well-known member
Looking for thoughts / experiences with the Contax Carl Zeiss 50mm f/1.7 T* Planar and Rollei Hft 50mm F/1.8 Planar 2 Pin lens. Or if you have other thoughts on vintage, sharp, contrasty 50mm I should consider that would be great! It will be used on an A7sii and used primarily for wedding videography.

Thanks!
Dan
 
The Contax/Yashica mount Zeiss lenses are absolutely wonderful. There's a massive, and massively-educational thread on them over at Reduser.net. The 50mm f1.7 is very highly regarded as not just a budget-friendly lens, but people say it's as sharp as the f1.4. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the Contax Zeiss lenses.
 
If it were me, I would choose the Contax over the Rollei due to the FFD and adapter tolerance issues with the Rollei. That being said, I wouldn't consider either to be very high contrast examples. If you are wanting a sharp high contrast lens, I would look for something more modern like a Sigma Art for example.
 
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Thanks David. Yeah the Sigma Art 50mm is beautiful, we use it at our studio. However, I'm looking for a personal lens for shooting weddings (I do that on the side). I guess it wouldn't have to be super contrasty, I can always add that back in post if I want. Really just looking for a sharp vintage 50mm that won't break the bank. Any personal suggestions?
 
The Contax would be nice. The Issue I have had using Rollei lenses is because of the original focal flange depth the adapters needed are much thinner than the ones used for the Contax lenses. So it can be really hit and miss as far as getting full focus depending on the adapter used.

Something I'll throw out there. I'm not really a wedding guy, but when I do shoot them I tend to use zooms.

Both the Contax 35-70mm and 28-85mm zooms are also great looking as well as versatile.

All the best!

Dave
 
David W. Jones said:
The Contax would be nice. The Issue I have had using Rollei lenses is because of the original focal flange depth the adapters needed are much thinner than the ones used for the Contax lenses. So it can be really hit and miss as far as getting full focus depending on the adapter used.

Something I'll throw out there. I'm not really a wedding guy, but when I do shoot them I tend to use zooms.

Both the Contax 35-70mm and 28-85mm zooms are also great looking as well as versatile.

All the best!

Dave
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Agree with DWJ on this. The 35-70 zoom is legendary, and the 28-85 is almost as good but with a better range. Combine either of those with the 50mm f1.4 or f1.7 and you've got two lenses that can cover a lot of ground. And you won't spend a ton to get them if you shop smart.
 
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