Russian vintage lens

The previous videos benefit from the more cinematic vintage coatings on the old lenses that flare and reflect the fog, unlike modern lens coatings that suppress flares and reflections.

This the same Cinema 54 Cinematography exercise using Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM (1st & 2nd), Helios 44-2 58mm F/3.5 anamorfake (3rd) and 1966 Mir-1 37mm F/3.5 anamorfake (4th) lenses.

Cinema 54 Fire scene - 3 lenses

First photo is the finished PL mount on the Soligor 180 and the 2nd photo is the lens with just the M42 threads shown. BTW I used an old used PL adapter to experiment with different lens, so it looks beat up. I have a brand new adapter to put on now that the T2 center piece fits well.

Soligor 180_5.jpg

Soligor 180_1.jpg

THANKS,what about Arsat 250,mm f/3.5 lens also Helios58 mm f/2 lens

Dear Thomas,I have a offer for a contax Zeiss sonar 180mm f/2.8 Y/C mount mint lens for 500usd, can it be converted to Arri PL mount by any means,by using M42 mount, please tell me the details for converting it to pl mount, also can it be used on EF mount Ursa mini pro 4.6for shooting feature film, how is it picture quality, early reply expected regards ashok

The Zeiss C/Y 180mm f2.8 is a wonderful lens, and it can be used on the UMP with EF mount with a very thin adapter. No chance for PL, though, since its flange distance is shorter.

I got a whole range of Zeiss C/Y and love them on my UMP. Feel free to ask about details.

Thanks,my purpose is to take vedio shots for a feature film, hope its optical quality and mechanical quality is in par with modern cine lens!?, the seller ask 599 USD for this new very rarely used lens,is the price worth?, please reply regards Ashok

Thanks,my purpose is to take vedio shots for a feature film, hope its optical quality and mechanical quality is in par with modern cine lens!?, the seller ask 599 USD for this new very rarely used lens,is the price worth?, please reply regards Ashok

Looking at average prices this well over priced.I find long focal length fixed focal length lenses pretty limiting in both stills and cinematography as changing camera position doesn’t change framing much compared to shorter focal lengths so they can only be used in very specific setups unless you have a set of 85, 100, 135, 150, 180, 200 etc but then the cost is way more than a good 70-200 zoom which with something like the canon EF 70-200 2.8 ( later versions) is likely optical superior and has AF and IS boot. If you absolutely need the 180 focal length and want something of exceptional quality and character then set your sights on the Leica R 180 3 ‘APO’

Thanks,iam having already a Zeiss Jenna 180 mm f/2.8 Pl mount MC, but it's pl mount is not aligned with the Ursa major,4 k pl mount!,I want to replace the pl mount with a better pl mount adapter, but the default pl mount is not available to remove!, please tell me how the mount (it's a pentagon 6 to Pl mount adapter) is removed, and what would be the price of Leica lens u mentioned,I preferred to buy contax Zeiss sonar 180 Y/C mount lens as it's made in West Germany and probably a 1990 product !, please reply, regards ashok

You can learn everything about these lenses here:
http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread ... ival-Guide

The one you mention is overpriced. Recently this lens is going for 200-300 Euro and one mint from Japan (which usually are mint if said so) went for 330.

I'm also wondering why you want such a long lens for a feature film. I rarely go beyond 85mm when filming, even if I have that lens for photography. Some of the lenses from that line are very close to their cinema siblings, the 28mm f2 is even nicknamed 'Hollywood' for a reason.

And, maybe we should start a new thread with an appropriate title since these are definitely not Russian.
(I also love my two Russian lenses)

Thanks,iam having already a Zeiss Jenna 180 mm f/2.8 Pl mount MC, but it's pl mount is not aligned with the Ursa major,4 k pl mount!,I want to replace the pl mount with a better pl mount adapter, but the default pl mount is not available to remove!, please tell me how the mount (it's a pentagon 6 to Pl mount adapter) is removed, and what would be the price of Leica lens u mentioned,I preferred to buy contax Zeiss sonar 180 Y/C mount lens as it's made in West Germany and probably a 1990 product !, please reply, regards ashok

Plenty of companies out there that do lens conversions for cine applications and not just the mount but the focus as well but not cheap as there are often machining operations involved. Also not sure why you want a Contax as it's going to have a very 'modern' look?

Thanks,u meant contax lens is having very primitive look?my plus point is its made in West Germany by Zeiss and around 80-90s product! And comparitiv cheap also, can put ourselves focus and iris rings,l can convert it to EF mount!, any thing wrong with this lens???, please reply,

Thanks,u meant contax lens is having very primitive look?my plus point is its made in West Germany by Zeiss and around 80-90s product! And comparitiv cheap also, can put ourselves focus and iris rings,l can convert it to EF mount!, any thing wrong with this lens???, please reply,

Contax lenses of the 80-90's have a modern look in my experience and I still use them commercially for that reason; good 'micro contrast' (the zeiss look) contrasty, enough resolution even for moderm 50MP+ sensors and good flare resistance thanks to T* coatings and well engineered so that most are still in good shape today. German vs Japanese is a mute point as when production shifted to Japan quite a few lens designs got improved. I have both and on the whole I'd always just get the most modern given the choice. Nothing wrong with the 180 2.8 apart from the one you have quoted looks way too much money. They are not rare, they are not particularly sought after by cinematographers or stills photographers and they don't offer anything you can't get with a modern zoom. Yes they are easy to convert to EF ( I recommend Leitax adapters but be careful as some of the early German contax lenses can't use these adapters as they don't have screws on the rear mounting face).The aperture control is easy to 'declick' and is often grease dampened so nice feel when done. Still not sure why you need 180mm focal length?

Has anyone who likes the vintage Russian lenses taken a look at the modern Zenit lenses? Do they retain the character of the vintage lenses?


https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/ph ... 1AEBFE1AFF

The MC-Helios 85mm f/1.5 is pretty close to the classic while giving you a smoother focus ring.
But when I tried a few, sample variation was also as wide as from soviet production.
So be prepared to send some back until you get a good one.

Thanks for the comment, Uli.

You can learn everything about these lenses here:
http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread ... ival-Guide

The one you mention is overpriced. Recently this lens is going for 200-300 Euro and one mint from Japan (which usually are mint if said so) went for 330.

I'm also wondering why you want such a long lens for a feature film. I rarely go beyond 85mm when filming, even if I have that lens for photography. Some of the lenses from that line are very close to their cinema siblings, the 28mm f2 is even nicknamed 'Hollywood' for a reason.

And, maybe we should start a new thread with an appropriate title since these are definitely not Russian.
(I also love my two Russian lenses)

Thanks, now I have an offer for contax Zeiss sonar 180 lens MMJ,mint for 270 USD in eBay, only problem made in Japan! not West Germany, ur valuable opinion, regards ashok, attached pictures

This for 599 USD,mint attached picture

Thanks, now I have an offer for contax Zeiss sonar 180 lens MMJ,mint for 270 USD in eBay, only problem made in Japan! not West Germany, ur valuable opinion, regards ashok, attached pictures

Why do you think you need it to be made in West Germany? ( btw the way overpriced 599 usd one is made in Japan as it has the green f22 so it’s an MM for the later electronic contact bodies)

Thanks a lot sir, but both having green colour at f/22, lesser priced is MMJ and other costier I don't know MMG or MMJ, ur information is very helpful to me, thanks, regards ashok

Please read the thread I linked, at least the first few entries. That information is very detailed.
It makes no difference at all if they are from Japan or West Germany, they were made in close co-operation.
Quality is absolutely the same. I'm saying that being German, but the idea that the MMG ones were better is nonsense (but driving prices by some collectors). Zeiss supervised production and licensed their optical formulas and coating to Yashica, while Yashica developed electronics which were a weak point of Zeiss.

Actually, some lenses were even exclusively produced in one place only.

Thanks a lot,I understood everything, thanks again., regards ashok

One last thing, though: why do you want that lens for filming?
They are all excellent, but the 180mm is very long for S-35.
You'll need a massive tripod to stabilize and if you want to pull focus, you'd need a lens support if the adapter to EF is not super precise. Unfortunately, there is no space on that lens for a support.

I know in super 35 it will be 270 mm, due to crop factor of 1.5, I need s long shot and its appearance and big size is very appealing, nothing else

Also sir I have another Zeiss Jenna MC 180 mm 2.8 pl mount, and when I take some shots on my Ursa major 4 k pl mount camera,it's results are good, and it's heavy,1.35 kg with tripod adapter, but could manage, and this contax Zeiss sonar 180 lens is I think is less than 1 kg and with a better optics than its counterpart Jenna, which u know all these things better than me!, expecting your very valuable comments and suggestions, regards ashok

Yes, it's less than one kilogram. But the problem is: it has no area where you could attach a lens support.
The whole length is focus ring and at the front is the extensible sunshade.
Clearly made for photography.

I just want to avoid disappointment for you.

The older Zeiss lenses , or lenses made for German cameras are made in Germany. The later Zeiss Contax cameras that were made in Japan, all have lenses that were made in Japan, same quality, and by the end of the 20th Century, quite a few excellent lenses were made in Japan, including all the Panasonic Leica FT lenses, Zeiss Contax and some excellent Nikon lenses. Olympus made some excellent lenses for their original Pen F.
Cheers

Thanks, one more doubt, my Zeiss Jenna MC 180 mm f/2.8 Pl mount lens adapter has some problem, do not aligned, it's pentagon 6 mount lens mount adapter to Pl mount camera,I want to remove it for replacing with a new one, but how it's possible,in which direction the ring at the adaptor end (near the lens end) rotated, attached pictures

Dear ULI PLANK, after converting Contax Zeiss 180 mm f,/2.8 MMJ lens to EF mount using some adapter like Fotodiox,can this lens be used on pl mount camera like Black magic Ursa 4k Pl mount by using speed booster like metabones,? This will reduce the focal length by .64 factor and increase field of view, also increase light entry by one stop? please give me ur expert opinion regards ashok

Sorry about that, but it won't work at all.

First, the flange distance of the EF mount is shorter than PL, so you can never adapt an EF mount lens to a PL on the camera side, only the other way around for some, but not all original PL lenses.
Second, there is no space for a SpeedBooster even between an EF mount and a PL lens.

The only thing you can do is forget about PL and get the Ursa with EF and either convert the Zeiss C/Y lens to EF with Leitax or the like (I didn't check if it that exists) or get one of those thin adapters from C/Y to EF (that's what I have).

Thanks, but my doubt still exists, once we use a speed booster, the lens itself totally changes, wether it is pl or EF mount, changes to a new lens with different focal length,fov etc,u can manipulate that New lens either ef or pl mount as we like, this is what I thought,(iam attaching s pictures), regards ashok

This is an speed booster/adapter for EF lens to black magic pocket cinima camera PL mount

Screenshot_2020-05-10-19-10-33-994_com.android.browser.png (378.24 KiB) Viewed 9283 times

Also this is

This is an speed booster/adapter for EF lens to black magic pocket cinima camera PL mount

There is no pocket cinema camera with a PL mount. Only EF (6K) or MFT (4K).

Before you were writing about an Ursa camera. That one can be found in EF and PL.

So, what is it for you? You can adapt nearly everything to an MFT mount (4K) and also use a Speedboster.

You can add a Pocket 4K MFT to PL Speed Booster, you can adapt some PL mount lenses to go on a EF (not a great idea), but their is not EF to anything Speed Booster, as there is not enough room for the lens elements, a previously stated.
Cheers

Thanks,my purpose is to take vedio shots for a feature film, hope its optical quality and mechanical quality is in par with modern cine lens!?, the seller ask 599 USD for this new very rarely used lens,is the price worth?, please reply regards Ashok

Looking at average prices this well over priced.I find long focal length fixed focal length lenses pretty limiting in both stills and cinematography as changing camera position doesn’t change framing much compared to shorter focal lengths so they can only be used in very specific setups unless you have a set of 85, 100, 135, 150, 180, 200 etc but then the cost is way more than a good 70-200 zoom which with something like the canon EF 70-200 2.8 ( later versions) is likely optical superior and has AF and IS boot. If you absolutely need the 180 focal length and want something of exceptional quality and character then set your sights on the Leica R 180 3 ‘APO’

Dear John, the Leica lens u mentioned is this type, seen eBay, picture attached, please look into, and reply regards Ashok

But adapting that Leica-R lens to PL wouldn't be easier.
Leica-R flange distance is 47mm vs 52mm for Arri PL.
EF is possible, it's 44mm.

Thanks, ULI is this lens good? equal or better than contex Zeiss 180 mm f/2.8 MMJ lens over all, especially on optical quality?, regards ashok

And asking price is 729 euro,is it fair price? regards ashok

A bit high, they are normally going between 500 and 600 here.

I don't know that lens from my own experience, but Leica and Zeiss were always head-to-head, albeit with a slightly different style. One difference that might matter to you is the close focus: the Leica lens is focusing on a minimum of 2.5 meters, the Zeiss is going all the way to 1.4.

Just in case you want to fill the screen with two eyes only

once upon a time.jpg

Thanks for ur valuable information, this picture of 2 eye taken at a distance of 2.5 m,I hope that beyond 2.5 m,say 4 metres I would be able to get a portrait like pictures,at least half upper body?, Also can u suggest any other affordable Leica lens prime or zoom lesser than 180 mm lens with fair optical quality for vedio shoot,I have cannon cn e 14.5-60 mm t/2.6 lens, but very huge, so reserved for an exclusive situation, regards ashok

That picture is from a very famous movie (guess which one) and I have no idea which lens was used
Just meant to illustrate. It would look similar taken from 1.4m, not 2.5 with a 180mm. So: Zeiss, not Leica.

And from about 4m a 180 on S-35 would give you the head including the shoulders, not more. I told you it's a very long lens for film. The 135mm f2.8 Zeiss C/Y is a very good lens too, but suffers from the same difficulty: no space for a support. In that case, you may get away without one if the adapter is good.

May I please ask you a more basic question, since you are now switching the discussion to Leica-R?
What are you looking for? Vintage lenses in particular, or specific focal lengths? Primes or zooms?
Please forgive me, but I'm not sure if you start this investment with the necessary knowledge. There are excellent modern lenses too, like Sigma Art line, or even some cheap ones from China with decent quality.

Anyway, I'm not familiar with Leica lenses, I'm a Zeiss and Minolta guy. Over at Reduser is a Leica-R thread with lots of information and pictures: http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread ... D-Pictures
They tend to be more expensive second-hand than Zeiss C/Y, but quality is in the same league.

Thanks for great information, actually I prefer vintage lens,I started with russian vintage lens, brought a lens from iron glass adapters Ukraine, it's good lens, when heard about contax Zeiss from u,bit more picture quality and later than Russian,I leaned to Zeiss, but accidentally I found that Leica equally good to Zeiss and bit more later version like 90s , I felt bit edge , hardly over Zeiss vintage lens, any way thanks for ur kind information, regards ashok

Thanks,my purpose is to take vedio shots for a feature film, hope its optical quality and mechanical quality is in par with modern cine lens!?, the seller ask 599 USD for this new very rarely used lens,is the price worth?, please reply regards Ashok

Looking at average prices this well over priced.I find long focal length fixed focal length lenses pretty limiting in both stills and cinematography as changing camera position doesn’t change framing much compared to shorter focal lengths so they can only be used in very specific setups unless you have a set of 85, 100, 135, 150, 180, 200 etc but then the cost is way more than a good 70-200 zoom which with something like the canon EF 70-200 2.8 ( later versions) is likely optical superior and has AF and IS boot. If you absolutely need the 180 focal length and want something of exceptional quality and character then set your sights on the Leica R 180 3 ‘APO’

Dear John Griffin, I got an offer for Leica APO-TelvitR-180mm f3.4R 3 can boxed, with serial number (3563874)1991 model, sparingly used asking price 950 pounds,At the same time another offer Leica 180 mm f/2.8APO Elmari R manual focus 67 mm with model number 11357(2004-2009 make), used , very good condition for 650 USD, iam bit confused, which to buy, this for using on my Ursa mini pro EF mount camera, among these which has made more flagship in the industry, regards ashok

Hi, iam planning to do some vedio shoot for my feature film in my black magic Ursa mini pro 4.6 EF camera, for which iam planning to use some vintage lens, especially Leica Apo series lens by using an adapter to convert it to EF mount by letix adapter ,my doubt is Leica Apo lens like for example Leica Apo 180m f/3.4 lens focal ring rotates to what degree/angle,270 degree? Is focal and iris gear is available in the market? I preferred Leica Apo series lens as 2005 year
make lens available in the market ,is it wise to use for vedio shoot? Or is contax Zeiss later version like MMJ model Len's better for modifying to cinima lens? Which is more practical in terms of mechanical parts among contax Zeiss or Leica Apo series lens for modifying to cinima lens? PLEASE reply regards ashok

Again, I can only speak for the Zeiss C/Y line.
The 180mm f2.8 hast more than 270 degrees focus rotation, about 290-300.

Thanks

Finally I decided to buy Leica almarit R 80-200 f/4 R ROM lens for using my Ursa mini pro EF camera with an adapter! serial number is 3836346,I think it's a later production lens offered for 1000 pounds, mint, please comment ur valuable information regarding this lens for cinimatography with a letix EF adapter, regards ashok

What can I say? You got a great lens, but it's very long for filmmaking.
You'll need a very good tripod for stability and a very good head for any movements.