Question about 7d and Zeiss Compact Primes

jambredz

jambredz

Veteran
Ok so i read here on the site that it doesnt make sense for 7d/5d owners to use these uber expensive lenses cuz the camera cant really utilize them to their full potential (for video). Why then would someone get these compact primes for their 5d or 7d? Just for the mechanical differences? better pull focusing ect? I mean if its no better than a mid level Canon/nikon ect. on said cameras.

Also do these attach to a 7d with an adapter or no?

they are really sexy though. wish i could afford them.
 
They have canon mount versions .I remember somone posting that zeiss glass can produce some nice contrasty footage .
 
There is a lot more to glass than just resolved detail like focus falloff and all sorts of other things you could put a name to but they are more visceral than anything.

Also, you said it... mechanical feel. It is very important for focus pulling. And also the focus throw is nice and long, getting longer for the telephotos. I think they all have longer throws than most still lenses, but I've barely used them.

An other plus is that they are color matched, meaning you'll have less CC to do to make them match.

They have nice round iris with 8 or 9 blades (I think), which lets you avoid geometrical shapes with sharp edges in the OOF areas.

Also neet to keep in mind how sharp a lens is at its widest aperture. There is a difference between a lens with a f/1.4 that is soft at f/2 and a lens with a maximum f/2 that is as sharp wide open as the other is at f/2.8

Coatings make a difference in flares...

...some other stuff I am forgetting I'm sure.



The canon mount don't have an iris ring, so you can get the Nikons and use an little slim metal adapter. Then you ca use them on Nikon mounts as well.

The only way to know is to look at them. Go to a shop and try them on. Check out full resolution stills in Flickr: http://Thewww.flickr.com/search/?q=zeiss+ZF

The 28mm is gorgeous: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lukechanchan/3815184284/sizes/o/

Just my sleepy 0.02
 
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thanks for the response fellaz...but maybe i didnt make myself clear. I;m talking about the Zeiss Compact prime Cine lenses.

USLatin. thanks for that link. I plan to get some ZF lenses whenever i can because i also want to get into photograhy(saving for my 7d now). Those prices I can save for . But the Cine primes...nah. I'd never be able to afford that lol. But those are the ones i;m talking about.

these bad boys http://www.abelcine.com/store/Zeiss-Compact-Primes/
 
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Oh... I missed that on the title, sorry. Then again the glass is the same. Supposedly they hand pick the best out of each crop for the Compact Primes, but it is the same thing in a new housing.

They did just announce/(come out with?) Canon mount versions. Of course everything is manual on these puppies, and the focus throw is probably somewhere around 300 degrees... the housings for the compact primes will satisfy anyone, so no worries there, at all, just goodness for the hands.

Here is an article on Abel: http://blog.abelcine.com/2010/02/18/zeiss-compact-primes-in-eos-mount/

But it seems they are not out yet, so right now all you can get them in is PL mount, so a PL mod (or adapter?) would be required for the Canons.

Keep in mind that these cover FF35 so you might want to pick them for a 5D, and for a 7D they'll still rock, just don't frown over them not being super speeds cause they are made for FF35.

Good point Davis.
 
lol...i wont be frowning at all cuz i cant get them

Explain to me if you would about "focus throw". I hear the term used but i;m not sure what it is.
 
jambredz said:
lol...i wont be frowning at all cuz i cant get them

Explain to me if you would about "focus throw". I hear the term used but i;m not sure what it is.
Click to expand...
Focus throw refers to how much you can rotate the lens barrel when you're focusing. For most operators, the longer (i.e. more rotation) the better, because you can focus more precisely as you're tracking moving subjects. Many modern auto-focus lenses only have about 60-90 degrees of throw. That means that the difference between the closest focus distance and infinity is only 60-90 degrees; try to picture yourself working with that. Older, manual focus lenses, and expensive new lenses, tend to have longer throws.

Zeiss ZF and ZE lenses actually have the same glass and very similar mechanics to the Compact Prime cine lenses. There's a shop called Duclos that can modify the housing of the ZE/ZF lenses, typically at a rate of $250 per lens, to be more like cine lenses. That's what Barry Green wants. This is a much better value proposition than the CPPs.

You can also buy pre-modified lenses from Duclos: http://www.ducloslenses.com/Duclos_Lenses/ZeissZF.html
 
nice! very informative and clear answer. lol yeh that would be prety hard to follow action with that critical distance.

Now those lenses at Duclos i can see saving towards.

Cheers.
 
Yea, those are a great investment, especially if you can find a nice set of used ZFs and then send them in to Duclos. They'll do three things to them:

Hoods, so they all have the same size for easy and fast swaps when working with a matte box.
Matching (thicker and thinner) gears, so you don't have to adjust the follow focus because of the lens diameters being different.
De-clicked aperture ring, so you can set the aperture anywhere you want instead of only to the stops where the ring clicks to.
 
Not really, but...

...you do have to grab the gear instead of the ring for focusing which won't be as confortable. The rings are on there for good. They are pretty think though, and solid.
 
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