Contax Zeiss Lenses

D

DDirector

Veteran
Currently I own a DSLR to shoot videos on.
I know that I will not want to be shooting on this far in the future. I shoot on a DSLR now, but I will want to upgrade later to a RED scarlet.

I only own one lens right now. - Canon 17-55mm f2.8 IS
Although its a great lens, its not really a cine lens.

I want to get lenses that I can use as cine lenses for my DSLR today, and for the RED scarlet in the future.
I want all manual lenses that will not break my budget, so I found the old Contax Zeiss Lenses.

Contax Zeiss Distagon 21mm 2.8
Contax Zeiss Distagon 28mm 2.0
Contax Zeiss Distagon 35mm 2.8
Contax Zeiss Distagon 50mm 1.7
Contax Zeiss Sonnar 85mm 2.8 (Currently interested in this one - Just bought this)
Contax Zeiss Sonnar 100mm 3.5
Contax Zeiss Sonnar 135mm 2.8

I am interested in getting these for my DSLR to use as 'cine' lenses and then when upgrading to the RED.
They are all manual, and have hard stops, and made by Zeiss. So, it seems very good. I like Zeiss, and would like to stick with them, but im not interested in the newer Zeiss lenses (ZE & CP's) and dont have the money for them.

So, regarding the Contax Zeiss Sonnar/Distagon lenses as listed above, what do you think about getting a set of these as 'cine' lenses?
- Does it breathe
- Sharpness
- Contrast
- Bokeh


*Obviously these arent true cine lenses, as I cant afford Zeiss CP's. But Im trying to get a nice set of manual lenses that I can use for video format cameras for the final footage to be seen on: YouTube/Vimeo, TV, Large/Medium sized Theatre screens. I may get the Duclos CINE-MOD modification.​
 
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I have a bunch of them and love them. The bokeh on the 1.4 is amazing but even the slower ones is very good. You have picked most of the cheaper ones except the 28mm, but it is amazing and worth the money. The contrast is Zeiss like... it is Zeiss ;) and they are very sharp wide open compared to a lot of other lenses of equal speed.
 
I just purchased the 85mm Contax, as mentioned in the first post for $330.

I don't have an adapter yet, so I cant really check out the quality and sharpness. But I sure hope its good!
The other thing I noticed is that its make in Japan and not from Germany. I never noticed this until I got it.

Although I would prefer a German make, reading reviews, it seems that it doesnt really matter if its German or Japanese since its Zeiss glass.
 
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as far as i see the good copies coast like any other modern lens. in fact i believe the new zeiss SLR are cheaper, and i am not sure if old are better!

but i bought my self a brand new 50mm f1.7 cy for 140 usd - the guy just did not know what he was selling, but then again i spent like 160 usd for the leitax adopter..... seems crazy, will see how it works tomorrow..

also just a note maybe f2.8 and up are not that perfect for low light especialy with red scarlet as its sucks at low light ...
 
I liked mine but there really aren't many bargains left, it says 'zeiss' on it and too many people watch 'pawnshop wars' or some such and believe they have the crown jewels.

In practical terms I found the C/Y lenses optically excellent but both the 50mm f1.7 and f1.4 quite compact and a little tight to rig for FF and MB. The f2.8 series are a lot less expensive, everyone wants the f1.4 50 and 85, and the wide angles are relatively scarce and expensive, especially the 21mm. They do breath (not many lenses don't), many people have written that the 50 f1.7 is sharper than the f1.4 but has funky bokeh. I tried both, primarily for interview setups, at f2 or 2.8 I couldn't distinguish between them in terms of bokeh but I rarely have 'busy' backgrounds that might reveal something like that.

Shop carefully, by the time you are through acquiring a full set of clean C/Y Zeiss primes you may have spent the same on a set of Leica R summicron/elmarits (which might be the wiser 'investment').
 
wiki says 50 f1.7 is very sharp wide open, thats what i ve seen with my eyes. bokeh is great to me, the out of focus lights are nice circles! - great lens especially for its price!

f2.8 for cinema work on super 35mm cinema censor - its maybe not ok, i would say f2.0 is good

Getting the full set of old zeiss cy - i think its economicly not very smart, as new zeiss zf or ze will coast same or even less (based on prices i ve seen on ebay).
 
I've been browsing around for these lenses again. Thinking about getting the set in the summer and maybe selling my 17-55 IS for the lenses.
In total with adapters, Id be spending about $1,500 used. Give or take shipping costs.
 
I would hold on to your zoom as well. As soon as you get rid of it, a job will come up where it would be a better choice than a case full of prime lenses.
 
I can speak from experience on some of these. I much prefer the 50mm f1.4 to the 50mm f1.7. The 1.7 might be a little bit sharper, but I find the bokeh much harsher. The rendering of the 50mm f1.4 in my experience is just much smoother. I also have the 35-70mm f3.4, AWESOME legendary zoom. Also have the 85mm f2.8 which I love. It preforms like a CHAMP at 2.8. I also have the 135mm f2.8 which is spectacular as well. Heres a screen that I took with the 135mm f2.8 yesterday. The focus was ever so slightly off so her face is a little soft, but regardless, gives you an idea of the beautiful rendering. Forgive the dropbox compression:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/a1ifr6u7l0kug88/Jenny.jpg
 
DDirector said:
I just purchased the 85mm Contax, as mentioned in the first post for $330.
Click to expand...

Seems like for that kind of money, the Rokinon 85mm would have been a better choice. And it's image quality is very comparable to Zeiss 85mm f 1.4. Can't say the same to the build quality.

There doesn't seem like many Contax Zeiss floating around any more. Probably because of people like David W.Jones. Set from 18mm-300mm what??
 
The ones that need to be are, and yes I use a follow focus with them when needed.
 

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