The Ultimate Guide to Constructing a Contax Zeiss Cine Prime Set
I’ve been slowly putting together my own Contax Zeiss cine prime set, and found myself making crazy Excel Spreadsheets as I try to piece together a nice set of primes from the Contax Zeiss range. In this post, I’ll show you all my working and show you how to build your own set of Contax Zeiss glass, and show you some sets that other people have put together.
Why Contax Carl Zeiss?
During the mid-1970s, Carl Zeiss of West Germany partnered with Yashica in Japan to launch a new line of Contax SLR cameras. Together, the two companies created the Contax/Yashica (C/Y) mount. The partnership of the two companies produced a set of extremely high quality lenses built from Carl Zeiss designs. The lens were manufactured in both Germany and Japan, and with two different aperture varieties.
The lenses have remained popular with collectors and film makers alike for the close resemblance to Carl Zeiss Super Speeds cinema prime lenses. The lenses carry a similar design, build quality, and aesthetic with the the Super Speeds that can go for several-to-tens-of-thousands-of-dollars per lens. Comparatively, Contax Zeiss lenses can be had for hundreds to low thousands.
To learn more about these lenses Media Division has an amazing 46-minute long video comparing Contax Zeiss to Zeiss Super Speeds. Mark Holtze has a popular video on the Contax Zeiss lenses. And finally, over on Red User, Nick Morrison has an amazing “Survival Guide” going into great depth on each of the lenses.
The Contax Zeiss Taxonomy
Leveraging on an amazing resource over at Apotelyt by Peter Walkenhorst, I was able to taxonomise the full range of Contax Zeiss prime lenses and put them into a nice table.
| Focal Length (mm) | Design | Type | f/1.2 | f/1.4 | f/1.7 | f/2 | f/2.8 | f/3.5 | f/4 | f/4.5 | f/5.6 | f/8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Distagon | AE | built-in | |||||||||
| 16 | F-Distagon | AE | built-in | |||||||||
| 18 | Distagon | AE/MM | 86* | |||||||||
| 21 | Distagon | MM | 82 | |||||||||
| 25 | Distagon | AE/MM | 55 | |||||||||
| 28 | Distagon | AE/MM | 55 | |||||||||
| 28 | Distagon | AE/MM | 55 | |||||||||
| 35 | Distagon | AE/MM | 67 | |||||||||
| 35 | Distagon | AE/MM | 55 | |||||||||
| 35 | PC Distagon | ? | 86 | |||||||||
| 45 | Tessar Anniversary | ? | ? | |||||||||
| 45 | Tessar | 49 | ||||||||||
| 50 | Planar | AE/MM | 55* | |||||||||
| 50 | Planar | AE/MM | 55 | |||||||||
| 55 | Planar Anniversary | MM | 77 | |||||||||
| 60 | Makro-Planar C (1:1) | AE | 55 | |||||||||
| 60 | Makro-Planer S (1:2) | MM | 67 | |||||||||
| 85 | Planar Anniversary | MM | 77 | |||||||||
| 85 | Planar | AE/MM | 67 | |||||||||
| 85 | Sonnar | AE/MM | 55 | |||||||||
| 100 | Planar | AE/MM | 72 | |||||||||
| 100 | Makro-Planar | AE | ? | |||||||||
| 100 | Makro-Planar (1:1) | AE | ? | |||||||||
| 100 | Sonnar | AE/MM | ? | |||||||||
| 135 | Planar | AE/MM | 72 | |||||||||
| 135 | Planar Anniversary | MM | ? | |||||||||
| 135 | Sonnar | AE/MM | 55 | |||||||||
| 135 | Sonnar | ? | ? | |||||||||
| 180 | Sonnar | AE/MM | 72 | |||||||||
| 200 | Aposonnar | MM | rear | |||||||||
| 200 | Tele-Tessar | AE | 67 | |||||||||
| 200 | Tele-Tessar | MM | 55 | |||||||||
| 300 | Tele-Apotessar | AE | rear | |||||||||
| 300 | Tele-Tessar | AE/MM | 82 | |||||||||
| 500 | Mirotar | ? | rear | |||||||||
| 500 | Mirotar | ? | 82 | |||||||||
| 1000 | Mirotar | ? | rear |
Note: The numbers in the table reflect the lens’ filter diameter in millimeters. As you can see not all information is complete.
From this table we can start to pull out lenses and put together different sets. Following on from my previous blog post about constructing vintage prime sets we will be building the set up progressively from starting from a Wide-Normal-Tele 3-lens set.
Sensor sizes and naming conventions
I will be constructing simultaneous sets for 135 full-frame (135 FF), Super 35 (S35), Super 16 (S16), and Super 16 + 0.58x SpeedBooster (S16 + 0.58) sensor sizes.
I will also be using the following naming conventions for the lens angle of view descriptions. To come up with these I’ve taken fairly accepted definitions for lens groups and given an approximate min-max focal length in 135 FF terms. From there I calculate the angle of view in degrees, and then with a bit of maths you can calculate the min-max focal lengths on various sensor sizes to achieve the same angle of view.
Describing lens groups is a bit of art and a bit of science, so I know some of you may disagree with what I call a “Mid-Tele” for example, but for me that is a lens that has an angle of view between 29º and 43º.
135 FF
| Group | Min Focal Length | Max Focal Length | Min AoV | Max AoV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fish-eye | 1 mm | 20 mm | 175º | 94º |
| Special-Wide | 1 mm | 15 mm | 175º | 111º |
| Super-Wide | 10 mm | 24 mm | 130º | 84º |
| Ultra-Wide | 20 mm | 35 mm | 94º | 63º |
| Wide | 24 mm | 35 mm | 84º | 63º |
| Mid-Wide | 35 mm | 50 mm | 63º | 47º |
| Normal | 35 mm | 60 mm | 63º | 40º |
| Mid-Tele | 55 mm | 85 mm | 43º | 29º |
| Tele | 85 mm | 100 mm | 29º | 24º |
| Ultra-Tele | 100 mm | 135 mm | 24º | 18º |
| Super-Tele | 120 mm | 185 mm | 20º | 13º |
| Special-Tele | 185 mm | 1000 mm | 13º | 2º |
S35
| Group | Min Focal Length | Max Focal Length |
|---|---|---|
| Fish-eye | 1 mm | 14 mm |
| Special-Wide | 1 mm | 11 mm |
| Super-Wide | 7 mm | 17 mm |
| Ultra-Wide | 14 mm | 25 mm |
| Wide | 17 mm | 25 mm |
| Mid-Wide | 25 mm | 36 mm |
| Normal | 25 mm | 43 mm |
| Mid-Tele | 40 mm | 61 mm |
| Tele | 61 mm | 72 mm |
| Ultra-Tele | 72 mm | 97 mm |
| Super-Tele | 86 mm | 133 mm |
| Special-Tele | 133 mm | 719 mm |
S16
| Group | Min Focal Length | Max Focal Length |
|---|---|---|
| Fish-eye | 0 mm | 7 mm |
| Special-Wide | 0 mm | 5 mm |
| Super-Wide | 3 mm | 8 mm |
| Ultra-Wide | 7 mm | 12 mm |
| Wide | 8 mm | 12 mm |
| Mid-Wide | 12 mm | 17 mm |
| Normal | 12 mm | 20 mm |
| Mid-Tele | 18 mm | 28 mm |
| Tele | 28 mm | 33 mm |
| Ultra-Tele | 33 mm | 45 mm |
| Super-Tele | 40 mm | 61 mm |
| Special-Tele | 61 mm | 331 mm |
S16 + 0.58
| Group | Min Focal Length | Max Focal Length |
|---|---|---|
| Fish-eye | 1 mm | 11 mm |
| Special-Wide | 1 mm | 9 mm |
| Super-Wide | 6 mm | 14 mm |
| Ultra-Wide | 11 mm | 20 mm |
| Wide | 14 mm | 20 mm |
| Mid-Wide | 20 mm | 29 mm |
| Normal | 20 mm | 34 mm |
| Mid-Tele | 31 mm | 49 mm |
| Tele | 49 mm | 57 mm |
| Ultra-Tele | 57 mm | 77 mm |
| Super-Tele | 69 mm | 106 mm |
| Special-Tele | 106 mm | 571 mm |
The Fastest Set
The fastest lenses in the Contax Zeiss set are f/1.2 which is super impressive for a family of lenses that started life in the 1970s. The f/1.2 lenses are Anniversary Editions, and came out in 1982 and 1996, respectively. There are only two f/1.2 lenses, 3 f/1.4 lenses, with most of the lenses sitting in the f/2.8 column.
We can start to build some sets with the goal of having the fastest set of lenses for our sensor size.
135 Full Frame
| Fastest | 3 Lenses | 5 Lenses | 7 Lenses | 9 Lenses | 11 Lenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fish Eye | F-Distagon 16mm f/2.8 | ||||
| Special-Wide | |||||
| Super-Wide | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 | ||
| Ultra-Wide | Distagon 28mm f/2.0 | Distagon 28mm f/2.0 | Distagon 28mm f/2.0 | Distagon 28mm f/2.0 | |
| Wide | Distagon 35mm f/1.4 | Distagon 35mm f/1.4 | Distagon 35mm f/1.4 | Distagon 35mm f/1.4 | Distagon 35mm f/1.4 |
| Mid-Wide | Tessar 45mm f/2.8 | Tessar 45mm f/2.8 | Tessar 45mm f/2.8 | ||
| Normal | Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2 | Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2 | Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2 | Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2 | Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2 |
| Mid-Tele | Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8 | Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8 | |||
| Tele | Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2 | Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2 | Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2 | Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2 | Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2 |
| Ultra-Tele | Plannar 100mm f/2.0 | ||||
| Super-Tele | Planar Anniversary 135mm f/2.0 | Planar Anniversary 135mm f/2.0 | Planar Anniversary 135mm f/2.0 | Planar Anniversary 135mm f/2.0 | |
| Special-Tele | Sonnar 180mm f/2.8 | Sonnar 180mm f/2.8 |
Our 3-lens set for 135 FF all feature quite fast apertures of f/1.2 and f/1.4. Going to the 5-lens set we introduce two f/2.0 lenses at the extremes, and the come to the 7-to-11-lens sets we fill out the groups with f/2.8 and one f/2.0.
Super 35
| Fastest | 3 Lenses | 5 Lenses | 7 Lenses | 9 Lenses | 11 Lenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fish Eye | F-Distagon 16mm f/2.8 | ||||
| Special-Wide | |||||
| Super-Wide | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 | |
| Ultra-Wide | Distagon 25mm f/2.8 | Distagon 25mm f/2.8 | Distagon 25mm f/2.8 | ||
| Wide | Distagon 28mm f/2.0 | Distagon 28mm f/2.0 | Distagon 28mm f/2.0 | Distagon 28mm f/2.0 | Distagon 28mm f/2.0 |
| Mid-Wide | Distagon 35mm f/1.4 | Distagon 35mm f/1.4 | |||
| Normal | Distagon 35mm f/1.4 | Distagon 35mm f/1.4 | Distagon 35mm f/1.4 | Tessar 45mm f/2.8 | Tessar 45mm f/2.8 |
| Mid-Tele | Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2 | Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2 | Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2 | Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2 | |
| Tele | Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2 | Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2 | Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8 | Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8 | Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8 |
| Ultra-Tele | Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2 | Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2 | Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2 | ||
| Super-Tele | Planar Anniversary 135mm f/2.0 | Makro-Plannar 100mm f/2.8 | |||
| Special-Tele | Planar Anniversary 135mm f/2.0 |
The Super 35 set is slightly slower with a f/2.0 lens for our Wide coverage. The Contax Zeiss set doesn’t really have a lot of options in the wide-end of the spectrum (which we will see in S16), and no wider lenses than 28mm that are faster than f/2.8.
Super 16
| Fastest | 3 Lenses | 5 Lenses |
|---|---|---|
| Fish Eye | F-Distagon 16mm f/2.8 | |
| Special-Wide | ||
| Super-Wide | ||
| Ultra-Wide | ||
| Wide | N/A | |
| Mid-Wide | ||
| Normal | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 |
| Mid-Tele | ||
| Tele | Distagon 35mm f/1.4 | Distagon 35mm f/1.4 |
| Ultra-Tele | Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2 | |
| Super-Tele | Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2 | |
| Special-Tele |
We can really only manage the Normal- and Tele-end of the spectrum with a Super 16 sensor. We can cobble together a 5-lens set if we include the F-Distagon 16mm f/2.8 Fish Eye lens. Even with the Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2 the angle of view on a S16 sensor is extremely narrow.
Super 16 + 0.58x
| Fastest | 3 Lenses | 5 Lenses | 7 Lenses | 9 Lenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fish Eye | F-Distagon 16mm f/2.8 | |||
| Special-Wide | ||||
| Super-Wide | ||||
| Ultra-Wide | ||||
| Wide | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 |
| Mid-Wide | Distagon 25mm f/2.8 | Distagon 25mm f/2.8 | Distagon 25mm f/2.8 | |
| Normal | Distagon 28mm f/2.0 | Distagon 28mm f/2.0 | Distagon 28mm f/2.0 | Distagon 28mm f/2.0 |
| Mid-Tele | Tessar 45mm f/2.8 | Tessar 45mm f/2.8 | ||
| Tele | Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2 | Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2 | Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2 | Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2 |
| Ultra-Tele | ||||
| Super-Tele | Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2 | Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2 | Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2 | |
| Special-Tele | Makro-Plannar 100mm f/2.8 | Makro-Plannar 100mm f/2.8 | ||
| Super-Special-Tele | Planar Anniversary 135mm f/2.0 |
With the larger apparent sensor that the SpeedBooster provides, we can put together a more rounded set for S16 + 0.58. The 5-lens set is a little clustered with a 21mm, 25mm, and 28mm. You could easily forgo the Distagon 25mm f/2.8 for a 4-lens set. With the 9-lens set due to the Tele-weighted nature of the Contax Zeiss set we introduce a new lens group of “Super-Special-Tele” to include the Planar Anniversary 135mm f/2.0 for an extremely tight angle of view.
Consistent f/2.8 aperture
With a large clustering of lenses at the f/2.8 wide-open, we can start to construct lenses with a consistent f/2.8 aperture across the set. Of course, this is not like having a consistent T-stop across a true cine-prime set, it is a nice enough approximation and makes for a pleasing set — that is also a lot cheaper to put together.
135 Full Frame
| f/2.8 | 3 Lenses | 5 Lenses | 7 Lenses | 9 Lenses | 11 Lenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fish Eye | F-Distagon 16mm f/2.8 | ||||
| Special-Wide | |||||
| Super-Wide | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 | |
| Ultra-Wide | Distagon 25mm f/2.8 | Distagon 25mm f/2.8 | |||
| Wide | Distagon 28mm f/2.8 | Distagon 28mm f/2.8 | Distagon 28mm f/2.8 | Distagon 28mm f/2.8 | Distagon 28mm f/2.8 |
| Mid-Wide | Distagon 35mm f/2.8 | Distagon 35mm f/2.8 | Distagon 35mm f/2.8 | ||
| Normal | Tessar 45mm f/2.8 | Tessar 45mm f/2.8 | Tessar 45mm f/2.8 | Tessar 45mm f/2.8 | Tessar 45mm f/2.8 |
| Mid-Tele | Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8 | Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8 | Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8 | ||
| Tele | Sonnar 85mm f/2.8 | Sonnar 85mm f/2.8 | Sonnar 85mm f/2.8 | Sonnar 85mm f/2.8 | Sonnar 85mm f/2.8 |
| Ultra-Tele | Makro-Plannar 100mm f/2.8 | ||||
| Super-Tele | Sonnar 135mm f/2.8 | Sonnar 135mm f/2.8 | Sonnar 135mm f/2.8 | Sonnar 135mm f/2.8 | |
| Special-Tele | Sonnar 180mm f/2.8 | Sonnar 180mm f/2.8 |
With a 135 FF sensor, you can get a consistent f/2.8 across the board all the way up to the 11-lens set.
It should be noted that the Tessar 45mm f/2.8 is actually a pancake lens, and is probably not suited for film work. A more practical set would be to include the Planar 50mm f/1.7 or f/1.4 as the Normal lens in these sets.
Super 35
| f/2.8 | 3 Lenses | 3 Lenses | 5 Lenses | 7 Lenses | 9 Lenses | 11 Lenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fish Eye | F-Distagon 16mm f/2.8 | |||||
| Special-Wide | ||||||
| Super-Wide | ||||||
| Ultra-Wide | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 | ||
| Wide | Distagon 28mm f/2.8 | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 | Distagon 25mm f/2.8 | Distagon 25mm f/2.8 | Distagon 25mm f/2.8 | Distagon 25mm f/2.8 |
| Mid-Wide | Distagon 28mm f/2.8 | Distagon 28mm f/2.8 | ||||
| Normal | Distagon 35mm f/2.8 | Distagon 35mm f/2.8 | Distagon 35mm f/2.8 | Distagon 35mm f/2.8 | Distagon 35mm f/2.8 | Distagon 35mm f/2.8 |
| Mid-Tele | Tessar 45mm f/2.8 | Tessar 45mm f/2.8 | Tessar 45mm f/2.8 | |||
| Tele | Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8 | Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8 | Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8 | Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8 | Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8 | |
| Ultra-Tele | Sonnar 85mm f/2.8 | Sonnar 85mm f/2.8 | Sonnar 85mm f/2.8 | Sonnar 85mm f/2.8 | Sonnar 85mm f/2.8 | |
| Super-Tele | Makro-Plannar 100mm f/2.8 | Makro-Plannar 100mm f/2.8 | Makro-Plannar 100mm f/2.8 | |||
| Special-Tele | Sonnar 135mm f/2.8 | Sonnar 135mm f/2.8 | ||||
| Super-Special-Tele | Sonnar 180mm f/2.8 |
In S35, we can keep f/2.8 consistent all the way to 11-lenses. There are two different 3-lens set options. The difference is in the Tele group, where you can choose from the Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8 or Sonnar 85mm f/2.8. The first is a macro lens, with 1:1 magnification, it can definitely be used as a standard Tele, however, if you do not want a macro lens in your set, you can opt for the Sonnar 85mm f/2.8 which at 85mm is a lot wider than 60mm on S35.
On the very narrow end, we again introduce the Super-Special-Tele to include the Sonnar 180mm f/2.8.
Super 16
| f/2.8 | 3 Lenses | 5 Lenses |
|---|---|---|
| Fish Eye | F-Distagon 16mm f/2.8 | |
| Special-Wide | ||
| Super-Wide | ||
| Ultra-Wide | ||
| Wide | N/A | |
| Mid-Wide | ||
| Normal | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 |
| Mid-Tele | ||
| Tele | Distagon 35mm f/2.8 | Distagon 35mm f/2.8 |
| Ultra-Tele | Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8 | |
| Super-Tele | Sonnar 85mm f/2.8 | |
| Special-Tele |
Again, for S16 without the wider-end being covered we can really only do a 3-(neé 2)-lens set, a cobble together a 5-lens set with a Fish Eye and macro lens.
Super 16 + 0.58x
| f/2.8 | 3 Lenses | 5 Lenses | 7 Lenses | 9 Lenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fish Eye | F-Distagon 16mm f/2.8 | |||
| Special-Wide | ||||
| Super-Wide | ||||
| Ultra-Wide | ||||
| Wide | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 |
| Mid-Wide | Distagon 25mm f/2.8 | Distagon 25mm f/2.8 | Distagon 25mm f/2.8 | |
| Normal | Distagon 28mm f/2.8 | Distagon 28mm f/2.8 | Distagon 28mm f/2.8 | Distagon 28mm f/2.8 |
| Mid-Tele | Tessar 45mm f/2.8 | Tessar 45mm f/2.8 | ||
| Tele | Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8 | Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8 | Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8 | Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8 |
| Ultra-Tele | ||||
| Super-Tele | Sonnar 85mm f/2.8 | Sonnar 85mm f/2.8 | Sonnar 85mm f/2.8 | |
| Special-Tele | Makro-Plannar 100mm f/2.8 | Makro-Plannar 100mm f/2.8 | ||
| Super-Special-Tele | Sonnar 135mm f/2.8 |
With a S16 + 0.58 sensor, we have to include the Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8 as core to our set. We can go all the way to 9-lenses while maintaining f/2.8 throughout the set. As with last time, we end up with a clustering with 21mm, 25mm, and 28mm — once again dropping the Distagon 25mm f/2.8 can result in a nice 4-lens set.
f/1.4 (bonus round)
We can construct a consistent f/1.4 set for 135 FF with 3-lenses, and supplement this set with two f/2.0 lenses to get to a 5-lens set.
| f/1.4 | 3 Lenses | 5 Lenses |
|---|---|---|
| Fish Eye | ||
| Special-Wide | ||
| Super-Wide | ||
| Ultra-Wide | Distagon 28mm f/2.0 | |
| Wide | Distagon 35mm f/1.4 | Distagon 35mm f/1.4 |
| Mid-Wide | ||
| Normal | Planar 50mm f/1.4 | Planar 50mm f/1.4 |
| Mid-Tele | ||
| Tele | Planar 85mm f/1.4 | Planar 85mm f/1.4 |
| Ultra-Tele | ||
| Super-Tele | Sonnar 135mm f/2.0 |
If you’re mainly shooting with 135 FF sensors, this is an extremely strong set to build. It is more affordable than trying to get the f/1.2 lenses, and covers a nice range of focal lengths. I would really recommend trying to build this set.
Anniversary Edition
If you’re a real collector, or if money is no option for you, putting together a set of Anniversary edition Contax Zeiss might be up your alley.
| Anniversary | 4 Lenses |
|---|---|
| Fish Eye | |
| Special-Wide | |
| Super-Wide | |
| Ultra-Wide | |
| Wide | |
| Mid-Wide | Tessar Anniversary 45mm f/2.8 |
| Normal | Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2 |
| Mid-Tele | |
| Tele | Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2 |
| Ultra-Tele | |
| Super-Tele | Planar Anniversary 135mm f/2.0 |
| Special-Tele |
Once again the Tessar Anniversary 45mm f/2.8 is a pancake lens. To turn this into a workable set, you might want to tack on the Distagon 35mm f/1.4.
Bonus sets from around the internet
As I’ve been learning about the Contax Zeiss lenses, I’ve seen various lens sets that have been put together by other filmmakers. I will include the some that I have found, if you would like yours to be included, get in touch and I’ll add it.
Media Division
As I mentioned earlier, Media Division, put together a truly excellent video comparing the Contax Zeiss to the Zeiss Super Speeds. In that video they constructed 3 sets of 3-, 7-, and 9-lenses.
| Media Division | 3 Lenses | 7 Lenses | 9 Lenses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fish Eye | |||
| Special-Wide | Distagon 15mm f/3.5 | ||
| Super-Wide | Distagon 25mm f/2.8 | Distagon 25mm f/2.8 | |
| Ultra-Wide | Distagon 28mm f/2.0 | Distagon 28mm f/2.0 | |
| Wide | Distagon 35mm f/1.4 | Distagon 35mm f/1.4 | Distagon 35mm f/1.4 |
| Mid-Wide | Distagon 35mm f/2.8 | Distagon 35mm f/2.8 | |
| Normal | Planar 50mm f/1.4 | Planar 50mm f/1.4 | Planar 50mm f/1.4 |
| Mid-Tele | |||
| Tele | Planar 85mm f/1.4 | Planar 85mm f/1.4 | Planar 50mm f/1.4 |
| Ultra-Tele | |||
| Super-Tele | Sonnar 135mm f/2.0 | Sonnar 135mm f/2.0 | |
| Special-Tele | Vario-Sonnar 35-70mm f/3.4 |
The 3-lens set is identical to our f/1.4 3-lens set. The 7-lens set is very similar to our fastest 7-lens set, with Media Division going for the Sonnar 135mm f/2.0 over the Planar Anniversary 135mm f/2.0. The Sonnar designed lens is cheaper, and features an older optical design. The 9-lens set includes a zoom lens with the Vario-Sonnar 35-70mm f/3.4.
Nick Morrison’s Contax Zeiss Survival Guide Sets
In the 473-page Red User thread started by Nick Morrison, he writes about a few different Contax Zeiss sets, that I will reproduce here for you.
The Contax “Supers”
Nick writes, “These are the primes I’d recommend if you are willing to spend $$$. Except for the macro and the 21, these keep you at an f2 from 28mm to 135mm.”
| Supers | 8 Lenses |
|---|---|
| Fish Eye | |
| Special-Wide | |
| Super-Wide | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 |
| Ultra-Wide | Distagon 28mm f/2.0 |
| Wide | Distagon 35mm f/1.4 |
| Mid-Wide | |
| Normal | Planar 50mm f/1.4 |
| Mid-Tele | Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8 |
| Tele | Planar 50mm f/1.4 |
| Ultra-Tele | Plannar 100mm f/2.0 |
| Super-Tele | Sonnar 135mm f/2.0 |
| Special-Tele |
The Contax “Standard Primes”
These primes offer a more affordable range of primes that are all slower than the “Supers”, analogous to the Zeiss Standard Speeds.
| Standards | 8 Lenses |
|---|---|
| Fish Eye | |
| Special-Wide | Distagon 18mm f/4.0 |
| Super-Wide | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 |
| Ultra-Wide | |
| Wide | Distagon 28mm f/2.8 |
| Mid-Wide | Distagon 35mm f/2.8 |
| Normal | Planar 50mm f/1.7 |
| Mid-Tele | |
| Tele | Sonnar 85mm f/2.8 |
| Ultra-Tele | Sonnar 100mm f/3.5 |
| Super-Tele | Sonnar 135mm f/2.8 |
| Special-Tele |
This set includes the Distagon 18mm f/4.0 a lens we haven’t so far in our sets.
The Contax Gimble Primes
Nick writes that, “THESE primes in particular are almost identical in shape/size/weight […] Why is this important? Well in this age of gimbals, where lens size/weight is so important to balancing your rig, having a set of tiny LIGHT WEIGHT Zeiss primes that also happen to be evenly SIZED…is incredibly convenient.”
| Gimble | 8 Lenses |
|---|---|
| Fish Eye | |
| Special-Wide | Distagon 18mm f/4.0 |
| Super-Wide | |
| Ultra-Wide | |
| Wide | Distagon 28mm f/2.8 |
| Mid-Wide | Distagon 35mm f/2.8 |
| Normal | Planar 50mm f/1.4 |
| Mid-Tele | |
| Tele | Sonnar 85mm f/2.8 |
| Ultra-Tele | |
| Super-Tele | |
| Special-Tele |
The Contax Specials
These primes are additional ‘special’ lenses to add to your set to give it something ‘special’, these include a Fish Eye a macro, and some longer lenses.
| Specials | 5 Lenses |
|---|---|
| Fish Eye | F-Distagon 16mm f/2.8 |
| Special-Wide | |
| Super-Wide | |
| Ultra-Wide | Distagon 25mm f/2.8 |
| Wide | |
| Mid-Wide | |
| Normal | |
| Mid-Tele | |
| Tele | |
| Ultra-Tele | Makro-Plannar 100mm f/2.8 |
| Super-Tele | Sonnar 180mm f/2.8 |
| Special-Tele | Tele-Tessar 300mm f/4.0 |
The Contax Zooms (bonus)
Finally, Nick provides a set of zoom lenses from the Contax Zeiss line-up. The zooms are identified with the “Vario” moniker in the name of the lens.
| Zooms | 5 Lenses |
|---|---|
| Fish Eye | |
| Special-Wide | |
| Super-Wide | |
| Ultra-Wide | |
| Wide | Vario-Sonnar 28-85mm f/3.3-4.0 |
| Mid-Wide | Vario-Sonnar 35-70mm f/3.4 |
| Normal | |
| Mid-Tele | Vario-Sonnar 35-135mm f/3.4-4.5 |
| Tele | Vario-Sonnar 80-200mm f/4.0 |
| Ultra-Tele | Vario-Sonnar 100-300mm f/4.5-5.6 |
| Super-Tele | |
| Special-Tele |
Duclos
Duclos Lenses blogged about their Contax Zeiss prime set of 4-lenses.
| Duclos | 4 Lenses |
|---|---|
| Fish Eye | |
| Special-Wide | |
| Super-Wide | |
| Ultra-Wide | Distagon 25mm f/2.8 |
| Wide | Distagon 28mm f/2.0 |
| Mid-Wide | Distagon 35mm f/1.4 |
| Normal | Planar 50mm f/1.4 |
| Mid-Tele | |
| Tele | |
| Ultra-Tele | |
| Super-Tele | |
| Special-Tele |
This set is appropriate for S35 in addition to 135 FF. I would add a longer lens to this set, maybe the Planar 85mm f/1.4.
GL Optics (re-housed)
GL Optics created a beautiful re-housed Contax Zeiss “Super Speed” set for cinema use — with PL mounts, iris and focus gears, and aluminium housing.
| GL Optics | 5 Lenses |
|---|---|
| Fish Eye | |
| Special-Wide | |
| Super-Wide | |
| Ultra-Wide | Distagon 25mm f/2.8 |
| Wide | Distagon 28mm f/2.0 |
| Mid-Wide | |
| Normal | Planar 50mm f/1.4 |
| Mid-Tele | |
| Tele | Planar 85mm f/1.4 |
| Ultra-Tele | |
| Super-Tele | Sonnar 135mm f/2.8 |
| Special-Tele |
This set differs from the above “Supers” set with a Distagon 25mm f/2.8 instead of the Distagon 21mm f/2.8, and has a slower Sonnar 135mm f/2.8 over the Sonnar 135mm f/2.0.
407 Local Co
407 Local Co offer a 5-lens set for rental ranging from 28mm to 100mm.
| 407 Local Co | 5 Lenses |
|---|---|
| Fish Eye | |
| Special-Wide | |
| Super-Wide | |
| Ultra-Wide | |
| Wide | Distagon 28mm f/2.8 |
| Mid-Wide | Distagon 35mm f/1.4 |
| Normal | Planar 50mm f/1.4 |
| Mid-Tele | |
| Tele | Planar 85mm f/1.4 |
| Ultra-Tele | Plannar 100mm f/2.0 |
| Super-Tele | |
| Special-Tele |
Matthew Canada
Matthew Canada offers a 6-lens set for retail ranging from 21mm to 85mm.
| Matthew Canada | 6 Lenses |
|---|---|
| Fish Eye | |
| Special-Wide | |
| Super-Wide | Distagon 21mm f/2.8 |
| Ultra-Wide | |
| Wide | Distagon 28mm f/2.0 |
| Mid-Wide | Distagon 35mm f/1.4 |
| Normal | Planar 50mm f/1.4 |
| Mid-Tele | Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8 |
| Tele | Planar 85mm f/1.4 |
| Ultra-Tele | |
| Super-Tele | |
| Special-Tele |
Conclusion
I hope this post has been useful and that it inspires you to get out there and start building your own Contax Zeiss vintage cine prime lens set.
I’ve still got a little go to fully complete my set, and I can’t wait to see it fully realised.
Please get in contact if you see any errors in this post, or if you have your own set that you’d like me to include, or even if you have some lenses you want to off-load to me.
