Sorry there are so many threads and I was hoping to get a good sticky resource of what (non canon) lenses work with the camera (without breaking/cracking the mirror) so please use this thread to chime in with your experiences!

I'm personally interested in the Zeiss Nikon-mount 50mm 1.4 planar lens and the Zeiss Nikon-mount 85mm 1.4 planar lens. Any other zeiss nikon-mount lenses that have been used would be appreciated.

Bolted right on:

28.2.8 Arrived last week.

135 2,8 Arrived this week.

60 2.8 makro required that a dog ear be filed down. Arrived this week.

Nikon 50 1.4

Tamura 50 1.4

Going to browse at the Photorama in Detroit on Sunday.

thanks gary, do you mind telling me which adapter you're using?

Not sure, just grabbed one off of ebay from China. Some lenses reach infinity before the mark. Some are spot on.

I was thinking they were going to release these with a Canon connector....

This way you could still have manual aperature adjustments and focus confirmation... and
no adaptor is required

Bear in mind that while these are Zeiss lenses they're made by Cosina in Japan and they're aparently not that special. If you look at tests at Welcome to Photozone! (http://www.photozone.de) I seems to remember they were just a tiny bit better than the Nikon equivalents.

Steve

Hey ray, they did in fact release these with a canon connector unfortunately they are like the other canon ef lenses and don't have a manual iris control, so if you want the zeiss lenses with iris control (for video) then you need to buy the nikon version and an adapter.

Nick.... The Zeiss web site is a little hard to grasp... but if you look at the pictures of
the lenses you can clearly see the aperture manual adjustment ring at the bottom of
the lenses.... from what I am reading... you can control the lens in manual mode... Focus
and aperture... and the lens reports to the body the settings of focal length, aperture settings and focus confirm.

You can't get this info from a Nikon lens with an adaptor...


Welcome to Carl Zeiss Camera and Cine Lenses (http://www.zeiss.com/photo)

For both Zeiss (Contax) and Leica, see: CONTAX CANON COMPATIBILITY DATABASE A list of which Contax C/Y lenses which work on Canon dSLRs (http://www.pebbleplace.com/Personal/Contax_db.html)

You might also take a look at the alternative lens forum over at Fred Miranda.

The Ziess lenses I'm talking about are just being introduced... the ZE ( Canon mount )

I'm not even sure they are on the market yet....

The Ziess lenses I'm talking about are just being introduced... the ZE ( Canon mount )

I'm not even sure they are on the market yet....

B&H has the 50 & 85 listed ... but they are still manual focus. The primary difference between the new ZE lenses and the old Contax/Zeiss lenses (apart from the price) is that the new lenses have a Canon mount and electronic contacts, so all exposure modes, such as programmed auto exposure, shutter priority, aperture priority and manual settings are supported on the new lenses. With the classic Contax/Zeiss lenses you are limited to aperture priority and manual modes.

I just found an interesting discussion comparing the new Zeiss 50/1.4 ZE and the old Contax Zeiss 50/1.4 here: http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/714645

I just ordered a 5dMkII and am considering getting Zeiss primes. Specifically the ZF 50mm f1.4 as my "main" lens (for video work). However there are a lot of comments out there to the effect of the bokeh being ugly at 1.4, e.g:

Nikon 50mm Lens Comparison (http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/50-comparison/bokeh.htm)

Some of the reviews here:
Zeiss | 50mm f/1.4 ZF Manual Focus Lens | 1405-174 | B&H Photo (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/441695-REG/Zeiss_1405_174_50mm_f_1_4_ZF_Manual.html#reviews)

Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 ZF Planar T* Lens vs Nikon AIS 1.4 - Photo.net Nikon Forum (http://photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00L5BL)

Example comment: "The Zeiss 50mm f1.4 is the original Planar, the double Gauss that is the poster child for bad bokeh."

I know the lens has 9 aperture blades, so in theory the bokeh should be nice -- I'm wondering what everyone's talking about. What is this "bad bokeh"? I'd definitely be using the lens wide open at times, but I'm after the Zeiss primes due to their particular rendering characteristics and smoother manual controls (sans AF motor).

Any comments?

So can we confirm one way or the other, it looks like the zeiss ze lens do not have manual iris control if they do they would be perfect for the video mode but I don't think that's the case can anyone confirm one way or the other?

So can we confirm one way or the other, it looks like the zeiss ze lens do not have manual iris control if they do they would be perfect for the video mode but I don't think that's the case can anyone confirm one way or the other?


Here is a review of the 85 ZE: Zeiss 85mm f/1.4 ZE Planar T* Lens Review (http://www.the-digital-picture.com/reviews/Zeiss-85mm-f-1.4-ZE-Planar-Lens-Review.aspx)

There is no manual iris control. I think it is safe to assume that is also the case with the 50 ZE.

The Zeiss web site shows a different lens ( with aperture ring) than the actual lens that
you can purchase from B&H.. ( no aperture ring )

So I don't think you can get manual aperture control with the Zeiss lens thats being discussed....

The barrel hits the mirror on return, when lens is set to infinity, a slight twist of the barrel will let it return. I'm not afraid of that.