Has anyone used the Nikon Zeiss lenses with the 5dm2 at DVinfo.net

Nick Hiltgen · February 18th, 2009, 04:16 PM

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.

Gary Szunyogh · February 18th, 2009, 08:05 PM

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.

Nick Hiltgen · February 19th, 2009, 01:01 AM

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

Gary Szunyogh · February 19th, 2009, 07:23 AM

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

Ray Bell · February 19th, 2009, 09:03 AM

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

Steve Phillipps · February 19th, 2009, 09:35 AM

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! I seems to remember they were just a tiny bit better than the Nikon equivalents.

Steve

Nick Hiltgen · February 20th, 2009, 06:20 AM

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.

Ray Bell · February 20th, 2009, 08:31 AM

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

Bill Sepaniak · February 20th, 2009, 09:33 AM

For both Zeiss (Contax) and Leica, see: CONTAX CANON COMPATIBILITY DATABASE A list of which Contax C/Y lenses which work on Canon dSLRs

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

Ray Bell · February 20th, 2009, 07:20 PM

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....

Bill Sepaniak · February 20th, 2009, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray Bell

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

Ryan Koo · February 21st, 2009, 11:24 AM

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

Some of the reviews here:
Zeiss | 50mm f/1.4 ZF Manual Focus Lens | 1405-174 | B&H Photo

Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 ZF Planar T* Lens vs Nikon AIS 1.4 - Photo.net Nikon Forum

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?

Nick Hiltgen · February 21st, 2009, 05:29 PM

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?

Bill Sepaniak · February 21st, 2009, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick Hiltgen

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

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

Ray Bell · February 21st, 2009, 10:26 PM

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....

February 18th, 2009, 04:16 PM	#1
Nick Hiltgen Trustee Join Date: May 2003 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 1,427	Has anyone used the Nikon Zeiss lenses with the 5dm2 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. __________________ I have a dream that one day canon will release a 35mm ef to xl adapter and I'll have iris control and a 35mm dof of all my ef lenses, and it will be awesome...

February 18th, 2009, 08:05 PM	#2
Gary Szunyogh Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Strongsville, Ohio Posts: 30	zeiss 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.

February 19th, 2009, 01:01 AM	#3
Nick Hiltgen Trustee Join Date: May 2003 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 1,427	thanks gary, do you mind telling me which adapter you're using? __________________ I have a dream that one day canon will release a 35mm ef to xl adapter and I'll have iris control and a 35mm dof of all my ef lenses, and it will be awesome...

February 20th, 2009, 06:20 AM	#7
Nick Hiltgen Trustee Join Date: May 2003 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 1,427	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. __________________ I have a dream that one day canon will release a 35mm ef to xl adapter and I'll have iris control and a 35mm dof of all my ef lenses, and it will be awesome...

February 21st, 2009, 05:29 PM	#13
Nick Hiltgen Trustee Join Date: May 2003 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 1,427	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? __________________ I have a dream that one day canon will release a 35mm ef to xl adapter and I'll have iris control and a 35mm dof of all my ef lenses, and it will be awesome...

February 19th, 2009, 07:23 AM	#4
Gary Szunyogh Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Strongsville, Ohio Posts: 30	Not sure, just grabbed one off of ebay from China. Some lenses reach infinity before the mark. Some are spot on.

February 19th, 2009, 09:03 AM	#5
Ray Bell Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,414	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

February 19th, 2009, 09:35 AM	#6
Steve Phillipps Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Wales Posts: 2,130	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! I seems to remember they were just a tiny bit better than the Nikon equivalents. Steve

February 20th, 2009, 08:31 AM	#8
Ray Bell Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,414	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

February 20th, 2009, 09:33 AM	#9
Bill Sepaniak Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 62	For both Zeiss (Contax) and Leica, see: CONTAX CANON COMPATIBILITY DATABASE A list of which Contax C/Y lenses which work on Canon dSLRs You might also take a look at the alternative lens forum over at Fred Miranda.

February 20th, 2009, 07:20 PM	#10
Ray Bell Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,414	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....

February 21st, 2009, 11:24 AM	#12
Ryan Koo Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: New York, NY Posts: 92	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 Some of the reviews here: Zeiss \| 50mm f/1.4 ZF Manual Focus Lens \| 1405-174 \| B&H Photo Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 ZF Planar T* Lens vs Nikon AIS 1.4 - Photo.net Nikon Forum 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?

February 21st, 2009, 10:26 PM	#15
Ray Bell Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,414	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....