Zeiss Lenses for Canon EOS Camera

akdwivedi · 12th May 2005

Read the interesting posts about the Zeiss lenses on Canon eos 20D, I am interested in fiding more information about such lenses.. However, I see that there are a wide variety of Zeiss lenses for camera's of all format - large format, medium format, 35mm, rangefinders etc.. They come with all names like biogon, distagon, sonnar, planar, tessar in all M42, C/Y, G mounts..

Could someone share some information about what kind of lenses are suitable for use on Canon EOS bodies.. Any link providing information about these lenses would be great help...

Also why are the adapters (DSLRx and Cameraquest) so expensive.. I remember buying a Pentax screw mount to EF mount adapter for just around SGD20.. Is there something specific about these adapters..

thanks in advance for your help..

pokiemon · 13th May 2005

My knowledge of CZ is limited.

The lens can be identified by
(1) Type of mount - N mount, G mount, yashica/contax mount etc.

(2) Focal length names
CZ has a naming convention for different groups of focal length.
For example, yashica/contax mount has the following names:
a. distagon = wide angle lens from 14mm to 35mm
b. planar = 45mm to 100mm
c. sonnar = zoom lens and 135mm above.

(3) AE or MM diaphragm -
- MM type diaphragm allows for program AE, shutter-priority AE (Tv), aperture-priority AE (Av) and manual mode.
- AE type diaphragm on certain currently produced Zeiss lenses only supports the Av and manual metering modes; this is solely a function of the diaphragm action and has nothing to do with optical quality. the functions are not applicable if you are mounting it on a canon EOS.

Tessar* is referring to the coating on the lens.

akdwivedi · 13th May 2005

thanks.. appreciate it..

will do some more reasearch to find more details..

don juan · 13th May 2005

I have some of the zeiss lens as well as carl zeiss jena lens for my Eos. After using them over a period of time I find that they are really good lens. However
the manual focusing part is a pain for me especially in darker conditions. If you are using on 350D or 20D as the viewfinder is smaller than the pro models than you must have very good eyesight cause there is no focus confirmation indication given by canon bodies using these lens. Therefore a slight overadjustment on the lens would lead to a out of focus image.

ricohflex · 13th May 2005

Tessar refers to the lens element design. Tessar was first designed by Paul Rudolph in 1902. That was 103 years ago.
Tess - means 4. Derived from Greek word Tetra.
It is a 4 element lens. Contax CZ 45mm f2.8 has 4 elements in 3 groups.

T* is the multicoating applied to Contax CZ and Hasselblad CZ lenses.

On multicoating: Rollei has HFT, Pentax has SMC, Tamron has BBAR, Canon had SSC.

akdwivedi · 17th May 2005

thanks for your inputs..

I found a fairly good article on CZ lenses... http://www.photo.net/equipment/contax/shea-lenses

cheers

12th May 2005	#1
akdwivedi Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Singapore Posts: 790	Zeiss Lenses for Canon EOS Camera Read the interesting posts about the Zeiss lenses on Canon eos 20D, I am interested in fiding more information about such lenses.. However, I see that there are a wide variety of Zeiss lenses for camera's of all format - large format, medium format, 35mm, rangefinders etc.. They come with all names like biogon, distagon, sonnar, planar, tessar in all M42, C/Y, G mounts.. Could someone share some information about what kind of lenses are suitable for use on Canon EOS bodies.. Any link providing information about these lenses would be great help... Also why are the adapters (DSLRx and Cameraquest) so expensive.. I remember buying a Pentax screw mount to EF mount adapter for just around SGD20.. Is there something specific about these adapters.. thanks in advance for your help..

13th May 2005	#4
don juan Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 100	remember the cons I have some of the zeiss lens as well as carl zeiss jena lens for my Eos. After using them over a period of time I find that they are really good lens. However the manual focusing part is a pain for me especially in darker conditions. If you are using on 350D or 20D as the viewfinder is smaller than the pro models than you must have very good eyesight cause there is no focus confirmation indication given by canon bodies using these lens. Therefore a slight overadjustment on the lens would lead to a out of focus image.

13th May 2005	#5
ricohflex Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: sing Posts: 1,538	Tessar Tessar refers to the lens element design. Tessar was first designed by Paul Rudolph in 1902. That was 103 years ago. Tess - means 4. Derived from Greek word Tetra. It is a 4 element lens. Contax CZ 45mm f2.8 has 4 elements in 3 groups. T* is the multicoating applied to Contax CZ and Hasselblad CZ lenses. On multicoating: Rollei has HFT, Pentax has SMC, Tamron has BBAR, Canon had SSC. Last edited by ricohflex; 14th May 2005 at 12:14 PM.

13th May 2005	#2
pokiemon Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 935	My knowledge of CZ is limited. The lens can be identified by (1) Type of mount - N mount, G mount, yashica/contax mount etc. (2) Focal length names CZ has a naming convention for different groups of focal length. For example, yashica/contax mount has the following names: a. distagon = wide angle lens from 14mm to 35mm b. planar = 45mm to 100mm c. sonnar = zoom lens and 135mm above. (3) AE or MM diaphragm - - MM type diaphragm allows for program AE, shutter-priority AE (Tv), aperture-priority AE (Av) and manual mode. - AE type diaphragm on certain currently produced Zeiss lenses only supports the Av and manual metering modes; this is solely a function of the diaphragm action and has nothing to do with optical quality. the functions are not applicable if you are mounting it on a canon EOS. Tessar* is referring to the coating on the lens.

17th May 2005	#6
akdwivedi Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Singapore Posts: 790	thanks for your inputs.. I found a fairly good article on CZ lenses... http://www.photo.net/equipment/contax/shea-lenses cheers