Does the Zeiss ZE/ZF breath?

[Mike Brent]

The title says is all. Do they?

 

[Primaural]

Breathing

Breathing

I haven't played with them directly, but in a video interview with Zeiss about the new Compact Primes for EF, they talked about the ZE and ZF and he made a point of talking about how good the 'breathing' characteristics of the ZE and ZF lenses are, that they are very similar to the CP sets.

Also, do a search on Vimeo for Zeiss ZE or ZF and you'll find some examples. I was impressed. Certainly a lot better than the Canon Primes. I think I've realized that my biggest problem with the footage I've seen from the Canon's is how much they zoom on focus, it's distracting.

I think in the end I'm going to get a set of the ZE lenses. I wish I could afford the new CP2 lenses, but man, $4k a piece. I know they're brilliant and everything. But that's a heck of a lot of money.

 

[xmephestox]

I've worked with them mounted on several red shoots, it depends on the lens actually. the standard primes breathe the least, practically none, but found that the longer and wider lenses to breathe a lot more. we ran into an issue with the 18 mm breathing a lot on the crane we had and constantly had to reset it.

 

[xmephestox]

and i'm only talking about the ZF lenses, not the CP's, from wha ti hear the CP's have practically no breathing.

 

[Mike Brent]

I think in the end I'm going to get a set of the ZE lenses. I wish I could afford the new CP2 lenses, but man, $4k a piece. I know they're brilliant and everything. But that's a heck of a lot of money.

Until a few days ago I thought I will get the CP2. But now that they are out - there is a different problem. They are slower. 1.4 vs. 2.1 ... so you pay more for the same glass, just slower. The only upside is the 300 degree focus ring. What I'm trying to understand now is if these 300 degrees worth the extra $$$ espceially because they are slower.............. much slower. It drives me nuts.

 

[xmephestox]

It's a lot of give and take, it's the same optics, but they had to change the way the did the housing to be able to give you interchangeable mounts, and figure a way to bring down the price point too. I'm sure they want to make a similar % of profit on these lenses, but wanna show they dropped the price. All those factors, you got a set that's 10k cheaper than the cp1's, interchangeable mounts but now they are slower.

I was gonna get them too and that was a deal breaker for me now, they would have been great future proofed lenses. I mean with the sensitivity of a lot of these cameras the slower speeds don't really "matter" but you always want the option, not having the option automatically puts this set in a lower bracket.

 

[Mike Brent]

I feel exactly the same. They probably have much less interest than they expected... people are not stupid.

 

[GRENCH]

Yes. But not no where near like most other still 35mm lenses. I own the ZFs and I found them to breath far less than there German made counter parts. The ZFs are made in Japan with the same glass. I believe the build of the ZFs are alot more exact IMHO.

 

[xmephestox]

Yeh but the point of my purchase wasn't just personal use. I have several colleagues and friends that shoot all the time, DP's, camera owners, etc. From RED to 5d, so on. so forth. I wanted to get a set to rent out with them and eventually turn a profit. FF glass seemed the best choice considering the increasing sensor sizes coming out. But I also know a lot of DP's that wouldn't touch these solely because of how slow they are. With low budget shooting they want the most cost effect flexible options possible.

Increased sensitivity in cameras are great, but if you have the option of opening up a little more for an aesthetic and lowering your iso to make it less noisy, you want that option. The optics themselves may be up there with top grade glass, but sometimes these things just don't matter from a business perspective when you are looking at your clientele...

 

[yoclay]

Until a few days ago I thought I will get the CP2. But now that they are out - there is a different problem. They are slower. 1.4 vs. 2.1 ... so you pay more for the same glass, just slower. The only upside is the 300 degree focus ring. What I'm trying to understand now is if these 300 degrees worth the extra $$$ espceially because they are slower.............. much slower. It drives me nuts.

Hey folks, let's remember that we are talking T-stops here. The lenses are not necessarily slower. Often the unstated f-stop is actually faster than the T-stop on the same lens. This is almost systematic.