VaricamLT: Lightweight zooms
- Thread starter Milan O.
- Start date
BerkeCreative
Member
Milan O. You're gonna like the lens. I'm sure of it. It's a solid piece and should hold value pretty well. I didn't shoot a chart, but the lens had no seriously objectionable CA under normal conditions. 11000 sounds pretty darn good to me. Congrats!
Thank you! If all goes well it will be in my hands in a week or two.
So, I have paid for the Zeiss LWZ2 15.5-45mm and I'm awaiting the delivery. Do any of you have a suggestion for a prime lens (85 mm) with matching colours? I own a Zeiss Planar T 85mm photo lens (EF mount) and I'll find out soon enough if they match. Since the 15.5-45mm has interchangeable lens mounts I could use them at the same time, but I'd prefer to use the 15.5-45mm with a PL-mount and a proper 85mm cine lense will probably suit my needs better. As usual I'd also like to avoid lens breathing as far as possible. Any suggestions other than the Zeiss CP2 and CP3 lenses?
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Run&Gun
Veteran
To stay in that same price and "class" as a CP2/3, look at the Canon CN-E 85. It's faster than the equivalently priced cp2, T1.3 vs. T2.1. You have to spend more money(~$1500) to get the T1.5 Zeiss(and there doesn't appear to be a T1.5 version in the cp3). The drawbacks for you with the Canon however(if you're wanting to migrate to all PL) will be that it's EF mount, unless you want to spend the extra money with Duclos to have the PL conversion done and you may have to do some tweaking in post if you're interacting with the 15.5-45(I have no idea how different the lenses really look or if you can even see a notable difference as I don't own any Zeiss glass). But the Canon is a lovely lens. I have it. It's based on the "magical" EF 85 f/1.2L II still lens. My two most used lenses for interviews are the CN-E 135 and CN-E 85.
Mitch Gross
Veteran
I do not recommend mixing the Canon Cine primes with the Zeiss zooms. Both are great glass but the Canon Cine line are all considerably warmer than the Zeiss, making a color match more difficult. This look was purposefully done by Canon to enrich skin tones. I'm not diging on Canon for this, and in fact there's a strong argument for the choice. But it does mean that these lenses will not match well with Zeiss, which is highly color-neutral.
).Mitch Gross
Veteran
If you want a prime that matches Zeiss, why not go with Zeiss? Perhaps an Otis lens.
icarusfilm
Veteran
I use Zeiss Otus lenses and they are amazing basically Masterprimes for a quarter of the price. The 55 and the 85 have 220 degree rotation zero breathing and the mechanics are superior to CP2s or Canon CNes. I have them in Nikon mount with declicked aperture I use a reversible Arri FF to mitigate the nikon focus rotation. You can pick them up used for ca. 3k each.
I've been trying to find information about the Otus lenses (breathing for example) but I haven't been successful in doing so. This is good news! Thank you very much!
The question is: Will anyone try to rehouse them? I would really like to have a PL-mount version but of course that's not a dealbreaker as long as the image is beautiful and a good match for the zoom.
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Edit
The answer is: Yes. GL Optics.
The question is: Will anyone try to rehouse them? I would really like to have a PL-mount version but of course that's not a dealbreaker as long as the image is beautiful and a good match for the zoom.
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Edit
The answer is: Yes. GL Optics.
Alex Derrick
Active member
@icarusfilm - the otus series is really lovely glass. I checked them out at Duclos Lenses earlier in the year. Very impressive optics for the price.
@Milan - Have you checked out the Angie EZ Series?
@Milan - Have you checked out the Angie EZ Series?
Grug
Veteran
No, not really anything I'd suggest outside of the 85mm CP.2 to match with the LWZ.2. The CP.3 or an Ultra Prime would be problematic because you'd be jumping from a 114mm front with the LWZ.2 down to a 95mm with either of those.
The 85mm CP.2 gives you a matching front diameter (for faster lens changes), and is a beautiful lens (it's my second favourite CP.2 after the 21mm). Colour and contrast will also match well. So I can't think of a better alternative.
icarusfilm
Veteran
Duclos makes 114mm fronts for the Otus primes:
https://www.ducloslenses.com/products/zeiss-otus-114mm-front-ring
https://www.ducloslenses.com/products/zeiss-otus-114mm-front-ring
Unfortunately it turned out that the lens has some issues and maybe some of you might have good ideas in how to handle this situation.
The lens is bought from a UK company which sells new and used broadcast/video equipment. In this case they have sold it on behalf of a client (and are charging some sort of fee for that I guess). When I spoke to the sales person at the company I specifically stated that it's important to me that the lens is completely clean and that everything works as it should. He told me that he had checked it and that everything was as it should be. (Since I record all my business calls with an app, I have proof of this.)
When i received the lens everything looked fine. I put it on my camera for a quick test and all seemed to be good, except from the back focus. Since I was on vacation I didn't attend to "work stuff" but did other things. A few days later I decided to adjust the lens. Then, when I accidentally held the lens in a certain way (and had light going through it) I noticed that there was a sort of hair fibre on the glass (closest to the sensor). First I thought it was on the outside but quickly realized that it was inside the lens. So I started looking more thoroughly and also noticed there was some sort of black dot further in inside the lens. (See the pictures).
When looking at the image from the camera using this lense, this isn't noticed, but I fear that these things affect the image anyway and might cause issues in the future.
As soon as I noticed this (just a few days after I receved it) I contacted the sales person and told him about this and that I'll see if there's some easy way to have it cleaned here in Sweden. I contacted a rental house but it turned out that their lens technician was on vacation, which I also told the sales person. On Monday this week the lens technician returned and he told me that he can't open this lens since it is a complicated lens. Instead he suggested I should speak to Camera Nordic, the distributor of Zeiss and other brands, here in Sweden. I did so and the person there told me that I would probably have to send it to Zeiss, but we agreed that I could drop by his office and show him the lens and just hear his opinion.
The following day I did that. I explained the situation and that I was told that it was clean when I bought it. He said that the dirt might have been there all the time, but that it fell into that position during transport, which means that it might have looked clean when the sales person checked the lens in the UK.
So I contacted Zeiss via e-mail but didn't receive an answer in a couple of days, so finally I e-mailed the sales person yesterday and said that this thing is turning into something complicated and that I'd like to return it and get a refund, and that this would also mean that I'd lose an equivalent of 300 GBP since the currency has changed, but that I wan't a lens that doesn't have issues and that I can use.
He replied:
"I just spoke to my customer. He said he tested the lens before he send it to me and it was nice and clean. I also checked it and I didn’t see any hair or the spot you’ve sent me.
Moving forward. The lens at worst needs some cleaning. We use http://truelens.co.uk/ could you please try to get a quote from them?"
At almost the same time I got a reply from Zeiss where they said that a cleaning would cost between 600-700 euros.
I replied:
"Regarding the lens being clean: As I mentioned before I’ve had a vacation, so I still haven’t used the lens for any kind of work (I did a shoot yesterday and today inside a studio but I have used my FS700 with a Sigma lens for that) nor have I had it outside or in any form of dirty environment. I’ve just had it on my camera and tried it in my flat (and transported it in a bag to and from Camera Nordic where they looked at the lens). The dirt isn’t on the outside, it’s inside the lens and it would be pure madness if I for some reason would deliberately (or accidentally) try to put those things inside the lens when I want to have a clean lens (that is why I asked about it being clean and that is why I tried to find an easy solution, but failed). I contacted you just a few days after the arrival of the lens, when I had the time to check it thoroughly since I wasn’t at home much before that. As I also mentioned the dirt doesn’t create any apparent visible changes in the image (you need to look at the lens using lights and a white background to see the dirt) but it might in some circumstances and I can’t risk that. The likelyhood that I have caused this, by just keeping the lens inside a clean camera bag, is extremely low. Especially since the lens looks just like when I got it."
Then I mentioned what the person on Camera Nordic said and that I got a quote from Zeiss and continued:
"I record all my business calls via an app, so there’s no question if I have asked about to get a clean lens and being told that it is clean, or not. That is a fact. I’m not blaming anyone, since it might as well be as xxxxx told me - that the transportation might have caused the dirt to move inside the lens. Personally I think that it would be appropriate to be able to send it back and get a refund, since I have clearly asked for a clean lens and that is not what I have received. I’m not saying anyone has said something wrong on purpose, just that it is what it is – the lens isn’t clean. Yes, there’s not much dirt there and the lens seems to be in great condition except from that, but still it isn’t what I wanted to buy and when spending that ammount of money I want to get what I’ve asked for. To send it to Germany, get it cleaned and so on will probably take time and also I’m not prepared to pay that ammount for this."
As I was waiting for a reply I put the lens on my camera just to see if I could "live with it" since I hate spending time on matters like these but then I discovered the following which I also sent to the sales person:
"There’s actually one more issue with the lens. The aperture control is supposed to go between T2.6 – T22, but when turning it the exposure only starts changning when the aperture control is at approximately T2.9-T3. Clearly also this isn’t something that just happened while lens was in a camera bag and fixing this will probably add to the cost."
I still haven't received a reply.
So what do you say, am I being nitpicky or should they in fact agree to a return and a refund?
The lens is bought from a UK company which sells new and used broadcast/video equipment. In this case they have sold it on behalf of a client (and are charging some sort of fee for that I guess). When I spoke to the sales person at the company I specifically stated that it's important to me that the lens is completely clean and that everything works as it should. He told me that he had checked it and that everything was as it should be. (Since I record all my business calls with an app, I have proof of this.)
When i received the lens everything looked fine. I put it on my camera for a quick test and all seemed to be good, except from the back focus. Since I was on vacation I didn't attend to "work stuff" but did other things. A few days later I decided to adjust the lens. Then, when I accidentally held the lens in a certain way (and had light going through it) I noticed that there was a sort of hair fibre on the glass (closest to the sensor). First I thought it was on the outside but quickly realized that it was inside the lens. So I started looking more thoroughly and also noticed there was some sort of black dot further in inside the lens. (See the pictures).
When looking at the image from the camera using this lense, this isn't noticed, but I fear that these things affect the image anyway and might cause issues in the future.
As soon as I noticed this (just a few days after I receved it) I contacted the sales person and told him about this and that I'll see if there's some easy way to have it cleaned here in Sweden. I contacted a rental house but it turned out that their lens technician was on vacation, which I also told the sales person. On Monday this week the lens technician returned and he told me that he can't open this lens since it is a complicated lens. Instead he suggested I should speak to Camera Nordic, the distributor of Zeiss and other brands, here in Sweden. I did so and the person there told me that I would probably have to send it to Zeiss, but we agreed that I could drop by his office and show him the lens and just hear his opinion.
The following day I did that. I explained the situation and that I was told that it was clean when I bought it. He said that the dirt might have been there all the time, but that it fell into that position during transport, which means that it might have looked clean when the sales person checked the lens in the UK.
So I contacted Zeiss via e-mail but didn't receive an answer in a couple of days, so finally I e-mailed the sales person yesterday and said that this thing is turning into something complicated and that I'd like to return it and get a refund, and that this would also mean that I'd lose an equivalent of 300 GBP since the currency has changed, but that I wan't a lens that doesn't have issues and that I can use.
He replied:
"I just spoke to my customer. He said he tested the lens before he send it to me and it was nice and clean. I also checked it and I didn’t see any hair or the spot you’ve sent me.
Moving forward. The lens at worst needs some cleaning. We use http://truelens.co.uk/ could you please try to get a quote from them?"
At almost the same time I got a reply from Zeiss where they said that a cleaning would cost between 600-700 euros.
I replied:
"Regarding the lens being clean: As I mentioned before I’ve had a vacation, so I still haven’t used the lens for any kind of work (I did a shoot yesterday and today inside a studio but I have used my FS700 with a Sigma lens for that) nor have I had it outside or in any form of dirty environment. I’ve just had it on my camera and tried it in my flat (and transported it in a bag to and from Camera Nordic where they looked at the lens). The dirt isn’t on the outside, it’s inside the lens and it would be pure madness if I for some reason would deliberately (or accidentally) try to put those things inside the lens when I want to have a clean lens (that is why I asked about it being clean and that is why I tried to find an easy solution, but failed). I contacted you just a few days after the arrival of the lens, when I had the time to check it thoroughly since I wasn’t at home much before that. As I also mentioned the dirt doesn’t create any apparent visible changes in the image (you need to look at the lens using lights and a white background to see the dirt) but it might in some circumstances and I can’t risk that. The likelyhood that I have caused this, by just keeping the lens inside a clean camera bag, is extremely low. Especially since the lens looks just like when I got it."
Then I mentioned what the person on Camera Nordic said and that I got a quote from Zeiss and continued:
"I record all my business calls via an app, so there’s no question if I have asked about to get a clean lens and being told that it is clean, or not. That is a fact. I’m not blaming anyone, since it might as well be as xxxxx told me - that the transportation might have caused the dirt to move inside the lens. Personally I think that it would be appropriate to be able to send it back and get a refund, since I have clearly asked for a clean lens and that is not what I have received. I’m not saying anyone has said something wrong on purpose, just that it is what it is – the lens isn’t clean. Yes, there’s not much dirt there and the lens seems to be in great condition except from that, but still it isn’t what I wanted to buy and when spending that ammount of money I want to get what I’ve asked for. To send it to Germany, get it cleaned and so on will probably take time and also I’m not prepared to pay that ammount for this."
As I was waiting for a reply I put the lens on my camera just to see if I could "live with it" since I hate spending time on matters like these but then I discovered the following which I also sent to the sales person:
"There’s actually one more issue with the lens. The aperture control is supposed to go between T2.6 – T22, but when turning it the exposure only starts changning when the aperture control is at approximately T2.9-T3. Clearly also this isn’t something that just happened while lens was in a camera bag and fixing this will probably add to the cost."
I still haven't received a reply.
So what do you say, am I being nitpicky or should they in fact agree to a return and a refund?
I my opinion I would rather go with one of the rehoused PL Sigma 18-35mm than that. I know it doesn't have the same reach. But Having a 1.8 lens is more useful than a few extra mm in zoom length. I also think it's better glass too. Just my opinion.
abreu-canedo
Well-known member
Sure, that's a nice lens. Glad to know your preference.
I think due to Milan O's use of the Varicam LT, I made the suggestion thinking that the low light capability of his camera might make the slower T stop less of an issue, thus rendering the move to 50mm focal length a nice thing in a general use scenario...since the 17-50mm is a great reach for a short compact zoom.
But it seems like both of those lenses might breath too much for his use.
To me the aperture is not only a matter of exposure. It also controls what's in focus. Sure cameras today are more sensitive than ever. But I still don't want to be limited in my aperture choice. The wider the aperture the more options it will give me.
abreu-canedo
Well-known member
Yeah, T2 aperture is great. I agree. Right...shallower focus plane. Yep, you're absolutely right. Sounds good!