Gear ring for Zeiss ZF 100mm

[Nils J. Nesse]

The Zeiss ZF lenses are popular here these days, so maybe someone can help.

I'm looking for good focus gear rings for my ZF set, but the challenge is:

The 100mm lens' focus barrel moves in and out when you focus. Unlike the other ZF lenses.The barrel moves approx 25mm out when you focus from nearest to infinity.

Has anyone found a gear ring for this lens? I guess it would have to be very wide.

The ZF 100mm is probably the best lens in the set, and is officially "the first photo lens with ARRI/ZEISS Master Prime optics from Hollywood's movie industry". So I'd like to use it.

[Mike Prevette]

A very common still lens that was converted to PL back in the day was the Contax/Zeiss 100mm macro. Usually rental houses cut gears for these lenses that were very long, like 50mm of geared stock. Most places that do this can do it very easily.

I don't have any contacts for this sort of thing in europe, but I would think Les Bosher in the Uk would be a good start.

[C.H.Haskell]

Hey Nils, I am about the Zeiss ZF glass, from what I remember reading its just Zeiss branded but actually made in japan, not the german optics? Not that anything is wrong with this, I love my old vivitar nikors...just wondering how people like the Zeiss ZF compared to the nikons?

Sorry, not to get off topic...I would think getting a custom gear would be the trick as well. I will let you know if I find someone who can.

[Nicholas Shields]

The set-up I've seen most often is not a wide gear on the lens, but a wide gear on the follow-focus. The Zacuto FF has a wide-gear option specifically for still lenses. I think it is at least 30mm in width.

Nick.

[Nils J. Nesse]

A very common still lens that was converted to PL back in the day was the Contax/Zeiss 100mm macro. Usually rental houses cut gears for these lenses that were very long, like 50mm of geared stock. Most places that do this can do it very easily.

I don't have any contacts for this sort of thing in europe, but I would think Les Bosher in the Uk would be a good start.

What kinds of places would have geared stock like this? There aren't many cine oriented rental houses around here. Maybe someone like RPLens could do it, but I would prefernot to ship my lenses halfway around the globe.


Hey Nils, I am about the Zeiss ZF glass, from what I remember reading its just Zeiss branded but actually made in japan, not the german optics? Not that anything is wrong with this, I love my old vivitar nikors...just wondering how people like the Zeiss ZF compared to the nikons?


There's another thread comparing the ZFs favourably to Arri Super Speeds. The lenses are produced by Cosina to Zeiss spec, and every lens is allegedly quality controlled by Zeiss people before it leaves the factory.



The set-up I've seen most often is not a wide gear on the lens, but a wide gear on the follow-focus. The Zacuto FF has a wide-gear option specifically for still lenses. I think it is at least 30mm in width.


Hm, I wonder if Mr. Von Badinski could make wide gear for the Inclino I've ordered..?

[ATF]

Hello,

I noticed in another thread that someone had the gears done at RP Lens (http://www.rplens.com) for about $130-$140? a lens.

Ah! Here is the thread. The comments are about half way down the page.

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=13760&page=13


Gears were $135 per lens. 80mm Step Up rings and Zeiss Lens cap was $62 per lens. http://www.jsinteractive.com/sensor/
Peter Sensor I believe is the owner. Very nice, standup guy. You can probably figure our your own step ups if you want to save a few bucks. I went for convenience ;)

Mark Pedersen

I'm looking to get my 100mm Macro-Planar F2.0 and the 50mm F1.4 done there. I like these lenses so much I'm going to cancel my Birger order and just get a few more of them and leave my Canon stuff on the 1ds.

Best!

ATF

[Nils J. Nesse]

Thanks ATF,



I like these lenses so much I'm going to cancel my Birger order

That's just what I did. And ordered the Viewfactor follow focus instead.

[Mitch Gross]

The Zeiss ZF lenses are very, very nice. I like that with the included shade they are each 80mm fronts (except the wide angle, I think). So no need for bump up rings for a mattebox. Zacuto -- on my suggestion, may I add -- makes a 1" wide gear for their followfocus. But I believe Arri and Chrosziel make these as well for their follow focuses.

Years ago, Stuart Rabin at Focus Optics made me Delrin rings for my Zeiss Contax lenses that I used on my old Aaton package. Because some of the lenses breathed so much I asked him to make some of the gears rather wide, which he did for a relatively small additional fee.

[Nils J. Nesse]

Thanks Mitch
There have been several quiestions about gear rings lately (it's not just me). Maybe Abel should conquer this market segment? All the people buying ZFs will have to buy gear rings somewhere.

The problem with the products from Zacuto, Redrock, SGPro etc is that they won't allow 360 turn. Some of the ZF lenses need this. (25mm and 50 macro) The problem with RPLens (and similar) is that I have to send the lenses to him.

Someone should come up with a more elegant solution.

[Mark Pedersen]

The Zeiss ZF lenses are very, very nice. I like that with the included shade they are each 80mm fronts (except the wide angle, I think). So no need for bump up rings for a mattebox. Zacuto -- on my suggestion, may I add -- makes a 1" wide gear for their followfocus. But I believe Arri and Chrosziel make these as well for their follow focuses.

Years ago, Stuart Rabin at Focus Optics made me Delrin rings for my Zeiss Contax lenses that I used on my old Aaton package. Because some of the lenses breathed so much I asked him to make some of the gears rather wide, which he did for a relatively small additional fee.

Yes, Arri has a 35 tooth .8 module. "Gear for lenses with axial movement of focus ring" K2.47557.0. It is almost an inch long, and we got it for the problem that LDS lenses have with the FF4. This fits the FF4 (and all Arri FF units).

Hope that helps. I didn't know that lens doesn't have internal focusing like the others. Thanks for the heads up.

M

[Martin Weiss]

Yes, Arri has a 35 tooth .8 module. "Gear for lenses with axial movement of focus ring" K2.47557.0.
List Price is 90 GBP (about 175 USD, or 900 NOK) http://www.arri-ebulletin.com/sep07/PDFs/video_accessories.pdf

Here's a US dealer that sells it for 220 USD.
http://www.zgc.com/zgc.nsf/c7a682995edb4e7585256b4d001ebd57/5bf6d608670125b0852573a100576482?OpenDocument

[FRAME]

I am thinking in the cinevate's gear. Will THIS (http://www.cinevate.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=41) work?

[David W. Jones]

As Mitch mentioned, you might give Stuart a call.
Here is my Zeiss 60mm Macro which I asked Stuart to install a wider gear on.

[Mitch Gross]

Want some lens to go with that gear?

[Nils J. Nesse]

I am thinking in the cinevate's gear. Will THIS (http://www.cinevate.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=41) work?
It will work with the other ZF lenses, but not the 100mm. Unless you have a wide gear module on the FF, like the Arri in the post above. It will do some cosmetic damage to the metal barrels.



Years ago, Stuart Rabin at Focus Optics made me Delrin rings for my Zeiss Contax

Thanks, I sent Stuart an email.

[David W. Jones]

Want some lens to go with that gear?



Careful... It grows when I play with it!

[CVB]

Hm, I wonder if Mr. Von Badinski could make wide gear for the Inclino I've ordered..? We're going to have wider gears available but its going to be a month or so after we ship. The volumes on the wider gears are substantially lower than the normal width gears so they will probably not be super-cheap. I'm guessing around $75 each, the standard gears are going to be around $25 each.

[Nils J. Nesse]

Excellent Curt, Viewfactor rocks! :)

[Finner]

Excellent Curt, Viewfactor rocks! :)

Not only do they rock. They are all ridiculously good looking.

Can't wait for your gear Curt. It is amazing me how many really good companies are being built around the red community. It's cool to see not just red shaking up the industry.

[C.H.Haskell]

Yeah I am pretty amped about the VF gear myself, def plan to use there focus system with a set of Zeiss ZF I got on order from RP.

[Ryan E. Walters]

The view factor option sounds like a good idea.

Here is another thought that I just had- if you need something now- why not try placing two gears next to each other? The gears would have to be lined up, and securely attached to the lens, but you should be good to go. I've been using the Redrock gears, and they are solid enough to pull something like that off.

BTW- thanks for this thread, I am looking into getting the 100mm lens to add to my collection, and I had no idea that it rotated that much!

[ATF]

Hello,

The 100mm is an amazing lens. Cranking the focus from a person walking in the distance right up the camera so their boot is in focus is quite a turn. Very cool, though!

I wonder what they charge at Focus Optics for the gears.

Best,

ATF

[C.H.Haskell]

I look forward to your results using this Nils, I am considering adding this lens to the set but I really need something wider.

[Nils J. Nesse]

I look forward to your results using this Nils, I am considering adding this lens to the set but I really need something wider.

Yes, the wide end is the problem with the SLR lens approach. I'm gonna use my Nikon 17-35 zoom for now. I bought some gear rings on ebay that have clip on hard stops, that will make this lens more usable.

Zeiss told me they are planning something wider. I'm hoping for a ZF version of their Leica mount 15mm.

[C.H.Haskell]

Wow, I did not know they had a leica mount 15mm...we should keep pestering them until they see a point in making a ZF 15mm. Again, not too stray off topic but can you recommend a solid 14, 15mm with F mount?

[Mike Prevette]

15mm 2.8 M mount
http://www.zeiss.com/C12567A8003B8B6F/GraphikTitelIntern/DistagonT28-15ZM_2/$File/objektiv_gross.jpg

A little spendy at 3k, but very nice. I have the ZM 21mm biogon and it's possibly the sharpest lens of it's focal length I have ever used.

[C.H.Haskell]

Nice piece of glass, I can not do much with Leica on my RED nikon mount unfortunately unless I missing out on something.

[Nils J. Nesse]

The ZM 15mm is a beauty. Here's a review. (http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/lenses/zeiss-m-mount.shtml)

I think maybe there was talk about Mr. Underdahl making a Leica mount? EDIT: Here's a thread (http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=10211)
Then there is the P+S Technik IMS -- Sanjin can tell you all about it.

Haskell, the Nikon 14mm f/2.8 is supposed to be a good performer. (Although bettered by the new 14-24 zoom (which is missing the aperture ring.)) There is also an older 15mm f/3.5, looks cool.

[Mitch Gross]

Doug told me he made some Leica mounts and then no one has bought any!

[Nils J. Nesse]

Doug told me he made some Leica mounts and then no one has bought any!

That's a shame, the Zeiss ZM line seems like a great solution for Red. More complete range than ZF. And then throw in the Leica Noctilux f/1.0 50mm for good measure.

[Mitch Gross]

OK, so buy one from Doug!

[Nils J. Nesse]

If I didn't just spend all my money on ZFs... :sad:

[C.H.Haskell]

S...the Zeiss leica equivalent is literally the same as the ZFs except M mounted and more glass in their collection?

[Nils J. Nesse]

S...the Zeiss leica equivalent is literally the same as the ZFs except M mounted and more glass in their collection?

They have real wide angles but only go as long as 85. Both the 15mm and 21mm are great lenses with no equivalent in the ZF line.

I believe the ZMs are different optical designs than the ZFs -- they are rangefinder lenses, as opposed to SLR lenses.

From zeiss.com:

Why M-mount?
For more than 50 years now, passionate 35 mm photographers have been embracing the M-mount rangefinder camera system. From the lens designer’s perspective, a rangefinder camera offers an exciting advantage over single lens reflex (SLR) cameras: more space. After all, there is no moving reflex mirror and drive mechanism. This allows for a short distance between the last lens element and the film meaning more opportunities for designing of superior lens types, including high performing wide-angle lenses.


The 15mm and 85mm are made in Germany, which make them more expensive. The others are made in Japan, and similar price to ZF.

If you want to mix n match between ZM and ZF, there are adapters to use Nikon mount lenses on Leica M mount cameras, but not the other way around.

[Ryan E. Walters]

If you want to mix n match between ZM and ZF, there are adapters to use Nikon mount lenses on Leica M mount cameras, but not the other way around.

Hmm, now that sounds like an interesting solution- as it seems neither line has a complete collection of glass. Do you know where you can get a Nikon adapter for the Leica M mounts?

[Nils J. Nesse]

B&H-link (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/220123-REG/Novoflex_LEM_NIK_Lens_Adapter_Nikon_to.html)

Cameraquest (http://www.cameraquest.com/adpSLRRF.htm)

[C.H.Haskell]

That was going to be my next question, unfortunate you can not go the other way around. Decisions, decisions...

[C.H.Haskell]

Doug did make a leica R mount if anyone is interested, the M mount will not work as he mentioned to me...

"I only have the Leica R mount, not the M mount, for the RED. The M mount is very short and would require removal of the front adjustable collar on the RED."

[Nils J. Nesse]

Doug did make a leica R mount if anyone is interested, the M mount will not work as he mentioned to me...

"I only have the Leica R mount, not the M mount, for the RED. The M mount is very short and would require removal of the front adjustable collar on the RED."

Ok, I see the Leica M is one of the few mounts with shorter register than Canon FD, so I guess the mount would have to be "inside" the Red chassis. But I believe Leica M is still an option in the P+S Technik IMS system?

Also, here's a link to a Leica M-to-PL adapter from Cinemods in Australia. (http://www.cinemods.com/)

[Mike Prevette]

I have the PL>Leica adapter from cinemods and it's a lot of fun. Great guy to deal with.

But yes there is no way to mount the Leica M glass on the Red until that IMS comes out. Even them I'm pretty skeptical about it working due to the short Flange depth.

I've held up some of my Leica glass to the RED with the mount off and it would require moving the OLPF back in order to use most of the lenses.

[chuck colburn]

Or make your own as long as you want.

https://sdp-si.com/eStore/Direct.asp?GroupID=593

I recommend you mesh these with Acetal or Nylon-12 gears on the lens to reduce noise and wear.

[Rick Darge]

I always thought the Zeiss zF line was similar in optical quality to the Nikkor counterparts. I thought the difference laid in the mechanics.

I didn't know this but,

'The new ZF lenses are improved in two ways over previous Contax RTS versions: better straylight suppression, leading to cleaner, crisper color, and improved aperture geometry, leading to more pleasing, more natural looking circular out-of-focus highlights.'

Interesting read.. http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-7890-8183


Anyone want to buy my 80-200? I can't deal with this ongoing image shift issue.. Maybe someone else doesn't care as much.