GH1 Need help identifng possible Zeiss glass and adapter

C

CColton

Well-known member
I found a few lenses in my grandpa's attic, one of them is a Zeiss lens. I'm wondering if you can help me determine whether this is the nice Zeiss glass that the company is known for, and I need help finding an adapter to use on a GH1.

The front of the lens is marked "Carl Zeiss Planar 1.4/50 T* 6433496" It's a 50mm 1.4 and the glass appears to be in great condition, although since I can't yet attach it to my camera, I can't know for sure if it's a sharp lens. Any ideas?
 
ChipThome said:
I'll take a wild assed guess it's a Contax/Yashica mount and yes, that is a sweet piece of glass.
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I think that's it! I couldn't remember what the body was marked as (it's still in a different state, I only took the lenses). I'm excited to try it and see what I think of the glass :D
 
Contax Zeiss glass is some of the best SLR glass for "film use". Check if the smallest aperture marking is in green color, this would mean that you got the newer more desirable MM version...
 
cordvision said:
Contax Zeiss glass is some of the best SLR glass for "film use". Check if the smallest aperture marking is in green color, this would mean that you got the newer more desirable MM version...
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None of the aperture markings are green, is that a bad indicator?
 
Na, don't worry about that. I don't think there's terribly much difference. I know they're a bit expensive, but buy the Voigtlander adapter - you'll never regret it. The cheap ones are rubbish in comparison. You'll soon find yourself buying a full set of these Contax Zeiss lenses - they're terrific bargains except for the 35/1.4 which is fiendishly expensive, and the image quality for video is fantastic and just has this special quality to it.
 
ian_h said:
Na, don't worry about that. I don't think there's terribly much difference. I know they're a bit expensive, but buy the Voigtlander adapter - you'll never regret it. The cheap ones are rubbish in comparison. You'll soon find yourself buying a full set of these Contax Zeiss lenses - they're terrific bargains except for the 35/1.4 which is fiendishly expensive, and the image quality for video is fantastic and just has this special quality to it.
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Haha I just finished ordering a cheap adapter just to see if the lenses are sharp enough to warrant an expensive adapter. I found several Contax lenses in my grandpa's house, only the 50mm 1.4 was a Zeiss lens but I took the others with me, so once I can adapt them we'll see how sharp they are!
 
you will be well pleased with the 50 f1.4. i use two cheap C/Y adapters, one $70 one and one $20. both seem to work fine for me....maybe I'm missing something. what should I be looking out for? my photos and video's look fine. another gem is the 85 f1.4.
 
I have the cheap ones and the Novoflex - the cheap ones have small amounts of play, the release buttons are a bit fiddly and the mount is much less secure. On the Novoflex everything is rock solid - I can use one mount and leave it on the camera, swopping lenses into the mount, and although they're expensive, it's money very well spent in my book if one's using them professionally. As always YMMV though :)
 
without a doubt, and good to know. the $20 one isn't as well made as the $70 one, but not by much. I just leave them on my two fav's the 50 and 85 =)
 
Received the $25 adapter and tried the 50mm. It's nice and sharp, not quite as sharp as the Panasonic 20mm, but barely less sharp. But definitely sharper than the Canon 50mm, and I like the bokeh better as well.. I'd be comfortable shooting a video for a professional client with this lens. I also really like its color rendition. A great lens and the $25 adapter is sturdy and trustworthy. Now it's one of my favorite lenses! Surprisingly enough the difference between f1.4 and f1.8 is actually a noticeable stop :)
 
yep that and the 85 f1.4, are my fav lens, and yes the color rendition beautiful. i gave up trying to match the 20mm footage with it, the things just too darn sharp =)
 
I'm so pleased with this lens. Mine is actually pretty much exactly as sharp as the Panasonic 20mm. Best find ever.
 
no arguement its a sharp lens, i just cant match it asthetically with the 20 myself. i dunno, it has a very modern look to it the 20mm, hard to explain
 
MR Fanny said:
no arguement its a sharp lens, i just cant match it asthetically with the 20 myself. i dunno, it has a very modern look to it the 20mm, hard to explain
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Also a good point. I haven't tried cutting between the two yet, so that will be the real test for me. Thanks again for the help, I'm glad I ran across this lens!
 
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