Help On My Zeiss Lenses... Please.

Polanski

Well-known member
I don't know if someone around here have had this problem.
I've received two Zeiss lenses Nikon mount which I'm going to use in my 7D.

The Fotodiox adapter that I bought, which by the way are great, don't adjust properly in the Zeiss lenses because the Zeiss have two extra black little borders that don't permit the adapter to fit down as it should.

I have included a picture with the back of the lens showing the plastic protuberances.

Lens1.png



Please, if you had this problem and found any adapter to use on these lenses tell me where you got it...

Thanks
 
OK, these are my lenses:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/472572-REG/Zeiss_1424_661_35mm_f_2_ZF_Distagon.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/441695-REG/Zeiss_1405_174_50mm_f_1_4_ZF_Manual.html

I've found this on Ebay. The company you suggest, only sell package of six mounts at 175. I don't want to buy a lot of mount to discover they aren't what I need.
Please, tell me if this one on Ebay would also work.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Adapter-Fits-Ca...ItemQQptZLens_Accessories?hash=item19b8ce7272

Thanks
 
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Look. You have purchased excellent (and expensive) lenses. They are ZF's. I have ZF's. You have misread the Camerquest web-site. The adapters are $175.00 each! Not 6 for $175.00. Cameraquest has 6 different adapter mounts for Canon cameras, depending upon the particular make of the lens. Yes. they are expensive. However, all you really need is one adapter and you can easily switch it between your 2 lenses. I would be very surprised if the Cameraquest adapter doesn't solve your problem. (You can even call the owner, Stephen Gandy if you like ... his phone number is on the web-site)

I really can't comment on your Fotodiox or your $39.00 e-bay special. You wanted to know what works ... and I have told you what works for me. I have 3 ZF's and they work flawlessly with Cameraquest Nikon F to EOS adapters. I have 3 C/Y Zeiss lenses and they also work flawlessly with Camerquest C/Y Zeiss to EOS adapters.

Like most things in life, " ... your mileage may vary ..."
 
You should call photodiox and talk to them about the issue. I have a photodiox mount for my leica r lenses and it works flawlessly. There is 0 play in the adapter and focuses to infinity perfectly (mine even has focus confirmation for stills, all for $150).

Maybe you just got the wrong adapter?
 
I don't mean to be a wanker ...

There are even more expensive adapters on the market. Go price Novoflex from Germany. And ... if you want to use an exotic Nikon G lens on your EOS camera, there is only 1 guy in the world who makes an adapter for those lenses. They are about $300.00 with a confirmation chip ... and the wait is 3 - 5 months. Actually, when you consider the price of that lens and his adapter, it turns out to be a pretty good deal ... since a Nikon 14-24 G lens that is converted for use on a Red One by Focus Optics will set you back around $10,500.00! I have a 14-24 lens, and I am still waiting for the adapter for it that I ordered in November.
 
I've been using the Haoda brand contax to eos adapter and it goes past infinity slightly which I guess is better than not hitting it at all.. but it's still annoying as heck. Actually tonight is a great time to test out adapters, the blue moon is full in the sky and perfect for testing infinity.

Anyways, I've never owned a dlsr before, what is the confirmations chip for? I can't figure what it's good for.
 
There are even more expensive adapters on the market. Go price Novoflex from Germany. And ... if you want to use an exotic Nikon G lens on your EOS camera, there is only 1 guy in the world who makes an adapter for those lenses. They are about $300.00 with a confirmation chip ... and the wait is 3 - 5 months. Actually, when you consider the price of that lens and his adapter, it turns out to be a pretty good deal ... since a Nikon 14-24 G lens that is converted for use on a Red One by Focus Optics will set you back around $10,500.00! I have a 14-24 lens, and I am still waiting for the adapter for it that I ordered in November.

I believe you. However, I do appreciate the difference between a "dumb" mount that simply provides a mechanical mounting interface and a "smart" mount like the $300 one you mention and some of the RED mounts which allow electronic lens control.

And that Focus Optics lens makes me wonder, as well. Especially when a fully cinema converted Tokina 11-16mm T2.8 from Duclos is $3500 and a Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8 from Duclos is $2,615. And I know the Tokina looks really nice and covers 4.5K. Is the Ruby really three times better? $10,500 is more than half the price of an entire T1.8 Red Pro Prime set!

I apologize for being off-topic here. I just can't believe the premiums charged sometimes for a benefit which I can imagine is difficult to justify. At least for me.
 
... what is the confirmations chip for? I can't figure what it's good for.

If you are using an "alternative" manual focus lens for still photography, some people want (or need) a little light to pop on in the view finder to tell them that their shot is now focus. And ... depending on the alternative lens that you are using, and/or the make of your of your camera, and/or the type of focusing screen that is in your camera, using just the viewfinder to focus, (without any additional focusing aid ... such as a little green light), can be more difficult at times. As a result, some adapters have a chip glued on to them so that the alternative lens can (sort of) communicate with the camera and provide some indication as to whether your shot is in focus. Some chips can be coded with focal length and aperture settings, so that information is then included in the EXIF data.

I have found that Live View is so good on the 5DMkII and 7D that I don't need focus confirmation with my Zeiss lenses for the type of still work that I do.

For video applications, there is certainly no need for it.

There is a good discussion of adapters over at Pebbleplace. Here is a quote from their review of the new happypagehk focus confirmation adapter: " ... Focus accuracy with the focus confirmation adapters is “so-so”. It is a nice back up and can help avoid grievous errors, but when it comes to fine tuning focus - such as distinguishing between a pupil and eyelashes - they do not do that well."
 
oh okay I see. I am so not into still photography so those functions don't matter to me at all. Like you, I find that live view is great, especially combined with the focus zoom function.. I'ts so much better than a camcorders focus assist zoom because the image rezzes up as it zooms. I find myself using that all the time.

I contacted the people at Haoda and they said that they make their adapters to go slightly past infinity to make sure it works with all lenses..or some lenses may not reach infinity and it would be worse. So i guess that's how they can make that "infinity garaunteed" claim.
 
... Is the Ruby really three times better? $10,500 is more than half the price of an entire T1.8 Red Pro Prime set!

I apologize for being off-topic here. I just can't believe the premiums charged sometimes for a benefit which I can imagine is difficult to justify. At least for me.

I certainly agree with you. The prices are crazy. (Go price a set of Zeiss Compact Primes ... I couldn't afford those much less a set of a Superspeeds or Cooke 5/i's.)

It would certainly be interesting to see a direct comparison between the 11-16 Tokina and the Nikon (Ruby) 14-24. At this point, I am just happy to have my 14-24 and eager to see how it performs on my 5DMkII when the 16:9 adapter finally shows up. (I bought the lens used in mint condition for $1,300.00 and the adapter is another $300.00 ... so I am into it for a lot less than $10,500.00!)
 
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