Zeiss medium format primes on a 5D

Postmaster

Postmaster

Dark Side of the Camera
I shoot some narrative stuff yesterday.

I tried my old (1965) Zeiss Jena medium format primes and was pretty happy with them.
Everything was shot wide open (2.8)

Faster than the Canon glass and way more character.

I learned, that Bayer chips don`t like small plaid and that I need a hoodloupe or a monitor for focus pulling - the little screen on the camera don`t really work with wide open.

I´m not allowed to show the clips yet, but I can give you some stills.

Frank
 

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Those frames are from the video.

I mount the primes with a simple lens adapter (canon to Pentacon Six/Kiev 60) for 50 bucks.

b8e4_12.JPG


Frank
 
Postmaster said:
I shoot some narrative stuff yesterday.

I tried my Zeiss Jena medium format primes and was pretty happy with them.
Everything was shot wide open (2.8)

Faster than the Canon glass and way more character.

I learned, that Bayer chips don`t like small plaid and that I need a hoodloupe or a monitor for focus pulling - the little screen on the camera don`t really work with wide open.

I´m not allowed to show the clips yet, but I can give you some stills.

Frank
Click to expand...

These images are realy cool for me. "way more character" as you said.
Could you tell me please exactly which lens you used ? And how much is conversion
factor ?

Thanks in advance
 
also, I am curious to how many aperture leaves the lens has. Perhaps it's more than a 35mm slr lens
 
Would it be be possible to mount the Zeiss Contax 645 lenses in a similar way? Does an adapter exist for them to an EOS camera like the 5D MII?
 
Nice stills Frank, your right, it does have "character", and it seems those zeiss lenses of yours are "camera agnostic", :-)

aren't they the same lenses you used on your adapter+hvx setup?

Ted
 
Exactly Ted, but this time with the Pentacon to Canon and not the Pentacon to Nikon adapter that goes on my LEX.

Not having an 35mm Adapter between the lens and the sensor (and yeah, also having a full size sensor) makes quite a difference in sharpness and definition. But the Zeiss "character" is still there, making the 5D looking less digital - at least in my book.

I´m preaching the gospel of those wonderful glass since a while here, but nobody seems to jump on the bandwagon and try one of them - at least not that I know.

I wonder why?

Frank
 
Love the images. Do the lenses breathe when pulling focus?

I got the Hasselblad CF adapter and a CF lens (Zeiss 80mm F2.8 T*). How do you rate that? Did you use the older Jena lenses?
 
No breathing at all.

I got the famous "Zebra" primes (black and white striped rings) of Zeiss Jena (1960s).

Best glass they ever mad IMHO.

The later primes with multi coating (MC) and black rubber rings are not that quality anymore.
Even modern Zeiss primes don´t come close (regarding character).

In the sixties they still had the know how (people) and the material to make those wonderful primes. Later communism took his toll with material shortages and the "old hands" going in to retirement.

Frank
 
Interesting stuff Frank.

I heard that only the Zeiss men knew how to melt the glass in that certain way to produce the Jena medium format lenses. Those are worth looking for but for now I'll see how my T* performs.

I am not one who tends to view lenses with rose tinted spectacles but I do believe that these 1960's and 1970's Zeiss lenses are just plain better than a lot of modern lenses in terms of 'character'. Maybe not scientifically better or better coated - but better glass.

There is something in the way they handle light and colour that is really natural looking and analogue.
 
Well modern Zeiss glass for 35mm will definitely resolve more lp/mm than any Med Format glass, and the T coatings reduce flare, ghosting and give you a faster T stop.

But those qualities don't necessarily give you a "nicer" image, as softer older glass often renders beautifully with digital sensors.

I'm surprised that these particular MF Zeiss lenses don't breathe... my Bronica and Mamiya 645 glass breathes like hell, as did the Zeiss lenses I had with my old Hasselblad 500c.
 
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