wfrank wrote:
Thank you. It looks like you have a Contax 35/1.4 far left in your 2nd image (in the previous batch).
I am particarly intersted in the Contax N 24-85. Has anyone used it on a 5D2 or even a Sony A7?
Yeah, that's a Contax 35mm f1.4 converted to N mount which I bought from a guy in Korea.
I would also like to know how they perform on modern bodies. As much as I love them I highly doubt they will outperform modern Zeiss lenses, maybe except the 17-35 and 85.
I hope to get an A7R in the future and test them out.
And if you want more sharpness and contrast, and are willing to sacrifice a little in the look and feel department, the ZF/ZE versions are also very good, but even larger.
wfrank wrote:
Are there any gems among the Contax N's? The general word I hear is they supposedly are not up to the standard of the "original" Contax's but I have no idea if that is true.
From what I've learnt here over the years:
N 17-35/2.8: Very good but I believe it had a bit of a wavy focus field or something like that.
N 24-85/3.5-4.5: Some have reported very good performance, but it seems that there are less well performing copies out there that have left some people unimpressed.
N 50/1.4 Planar: In a comparison posted here practically indistinguishable from the C/Y version.
N 85/1.4 Planar: Supposed to be really great. Significantly better than the C/Y version.
N 100/2.8 Makro-Sonnar: Similar to the C/Y Makro-Planar 100/2.8 in performance, which means excellent (although a bit behind the modern MP100/2). Edward Karaa has used both so he can tell you more.
N 70-200/3.5-4.5 Vario-Sonnar: Very good. Better than the C/Y 80-200/4, closer to the C/Y 100-300/4.5-5.6.
N 400/4 APO-Sonnar: Superb.
Not sure about the 28-80 and 70-300, but you can check out the MTF charts and compare them to other lenses.
The 85/1.4 & 50/1.4 "N"s + C/Y 35/1.4 are one of the only reasons I may stay with Canon - the 24-85 is very close to the 35-70/3.4 - sometimes indistinguishable depending on FL & aperture compared.
AhamB wrote:
N 100/2.8 Makro-Sonnar: Similar to the C/Y Makro-Planar 100/2.8 in performance, which means excellent (although a bit behind the modern MP100/2). Edward Karaa has used both so he can tell you more.
You get native 1:1 on both the Contax lenses, though. I haven't used the N, but if it's like the C/Y, it has, in my opinion, nicer focus transitions for macro work than the Z* MP.
carstenw wrote:
That's cheating, there is an adapter on the Contax!
yeah, but i can't use it on digital without the adapter and putting a contax camera on the lens would make the size difference even crazier. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7214/13482011683_3ecf7cc46f_o.jpg
i think the adapter makes it about the size of the new ZE version.
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