THE VINTAGE LENS CLUB Guide to Canon FD, Leica R and Contax Zeiss 

Love it Ben! Very helpful to see the side by side comparisons. Also a huge fan of long format youtube videos! Bravo on the effort, execution and delivery!

My god, this is such an amazing video. I've never seen anyone compare these three "vintage" lenses back-to-back-to-back like this. These are arguably the "big three" of vintage glass (at least at present). Just an excellent, excellent video from beginning to end. HUGELY inspiring, Ben and Jack. So grateful for your work on this.

60 second film school making 60 minute videos. This is so well written and presented.

This is the best and most informative video I’ve ever watched on this topic on RU-vid! I’m just starting out with GFX cameras and mainly focus on photography, but this video has been an absolute game-changer. The wealth of information and fascinating history about these top-notch camera makers is truly incredible. I feel so inspired and excited to dive deeper into the world of GFX cameras (with vintage lenses) thanks to this fantastic video. Keep up the amazing work!

Until recently, I owned nearly all the Contax primes including some of the rarer models and several zooms - all of which are vastly underrated. I loved them all but the documentary world does not wait whilst you change lenses so I sold most of them to finance a pair of stunning Sony 18-110mm servo zooms for my FS5 and FS7. The one Contax prime I kept is the coveted 21mm Distagon F/2.8 which when adapted to S35 via a Speed Booster, sees about F/1.9 at the sensor. IMO, the 21mm Distagon is one of the best wide angle lenses ever made. Little if any breathing, a 90 degree AoV with zero distortion and a front glass that does not rotate so perfect for a light weight matte box. Note also that the Contax 50mm F1.4 is soft wide open so smart money would buy the cheaper F1.7 and use a Speed Booster.

Your video is quite mesmerizing. Its like watching TV documentary, and fashion show, and nice things. I have to watch this twice because I forget to listen. Nice narration too.

Great work. Thank you for taking the time to do this. Thanks to your mates as well for contributing. I’m at the beginning of my vintage lens journey. I decided that I want lenses to bring a little something more to the party than just sharpness. I appreciate your insights. Very helpful.

Thank you. Great comparison. Love that you left the shots long enough to really see the images and not a bunch of quick flashy cuts.

I have been waiting for this video for so long thank you so much!! A master class in true vintage glass! Love it.. Please bring more of this to your channel.

You are amazing for making this an educational yet practical and truly a fun to watch video. Can’t thank you enough and excited to see more of these. 🤟🏻❤️

Wonderfully witty instructional video. Love it!

when the video ended at 1:03:10 I didn't wanted it to end, that was absolutely amazing work. highly appreciated.👍

Thank you so very much for putting this together! This is unbelievable and your analysis is absolutely incredible! Thank you for everything you do for filmakers and enthusiastic alike! The history as well is absolutely amazing!

So much useful information in one place, and entertaining to boot! Thank you!

One of the best equipment videos I've seen. Well done 👍🌟🌟🌟

Great video, mate! As a photographer who has beed using CONTAX Carl Zeiss for years, it's good to see the brand get the recognition it deserves. But not too happy seeing the prices for the lenses shoot up because we are competing with film makers now for the limited supply of great lenses. 🙂 Glad I picked up my stable of lenses years ago. Appreciate your effort. Keep up the GREAT WORK!!!

Excellent work here. Very much watched the whole thing. The honesty, intelligent feedbackm and the hard work of all the research, with the dead pan humor mixed in (the vintage hair shot) were appreciated. All worth the effort to educate a beginner like myself. Thank you.

Just a small correction to the Zeiss name: It is correct that before the war all Zeiss lenses were named "Carl Zeiss Jena". However, after Germany was divided after the war, the manufacture in East-Germany continued to use the "Carl Zeiss Jena" name and kept producing lenses. A new factory was established in West-Germany in the town of Oberkochen under the name of "Carl Zeiss", dropping the Jena as they were no longer located in the town of Jena. But after reunification in 1990 the Carl Zeiss AG took over the East German factory in Jena. Everything is just Carl Zeiss since then.

Great video! Thank you for taking the time to give us that valuable information. I recently purchased a Contax Zeiss 28mm 2.8 and had it cine modded. I absolutely love it. I'm looking at picking up the 35 & 50 in 1.4.

I appreciate this video in so many levels

Holy shyte, this is the most comprehensive guide to the vintage lens world.

What an amazing video. Appreciate the effort. Simply the best review of these lenses I've seen. Just getting into the vintage lens market and this was invaluable. Even the candid commentary at the last section was brilliant. Massive thank you from Australia.

GREAT video!! Thank you so much for all this info!

Thanks for taking the time . . very helpful : )

Great work, and a very nice video! I've seen a lot of lens comparisons, but this one stands out.

Absolutely incredible!!! Ben, you did right by these lenses.

I love vintage lenses I’m currently rocking an FD set.

That was deeeeep!… Was hooked all the way through!… Gwaaanmyooots! ✊🏿

Well done gents... Very much enjoyed it!

Excellent video. Very informative with lots of interesting insights even for stills photographers.

This was really insightful & a feast for the eyes, many thanks for making it from Cape Town South Africa

that is beautiful !!! thanks for taking the time to make this

Great video!! I love my FD set! I don't have the unicorns but the mid range and the cheap 55 F1.2 . It is just amazing and I shot a 48H short film with it last weekend. Even used the 135 F2.5 wide open 😍

Vintage...artisinal...organic... even when I say it, I have to roll my eyes. ... but I love these. Vintage lenses have given me back my passion for photography, after 20 years of pro shooting, and it's basically all I talk about on my channel now! Great video. Really like the comparisons.

amazing work on the in depth guide and comparisons!

Paul out here rocking the adult themed shirt 😝

Great video. I just acquired 2.8/50mm Silver Jena, 2.8/45 mmTessar, 2.8/28mm Distagon and I can't wait to try them out and even hunt for more.

I literally had no prior knowledge of lenses of any type, but I very much enjoyed watching this video! 👍

Thanks for sharing your knowledge

amazing! thanks for making this ben

Nice job, thanks. I have a few of these lenses and like these comparison videos 👍🏼

hey, great one hour content, very inspiring, thx!

Amazing work! Thank you so much for this and the comparisons. Contax vs Leica is a tough choice!

This is some quality content right here Thanks very much

Wow, great reviewzzzzz. So funny, fun & fascinating.

This video is amazing!!!!!! Such high quality, I absolutely love it! However, there's one thing to keep in mind. At the end of the video, you compare the lenses. I definitely understand the choice to go f4 on all of them, BUT... I've heard many big cinematographers say that the real character of a lens is at full wide open. I've even heard some state that "every lens is the same starting at around f4-f5.6". So comparing then wide open or close to wide open would've shown their true character better I think. That being said, I really love this video and I'm so grateful you guys made this, don't take any of my critique as a common negative view on this video Cheers!

Awesome video! Beautifully shot and written, great humour and wryness! After a 30y break in photography (film), I'm discovering 'vintage' lenses on mirrorless, and addictive is the right word! Although I seem to be at the cheaper end at this time...

Oh well I guess my addiction is coming back.. Thanks for the great content!

This was the video that put me on the addicting hunt for Leica Rs. I’ve just completed a set finally. 19v2, 24, 35, 50, 90, 135, and now the 28-90mm. The prices even since this video have exploded much higher. Imagine how many people are coming for these now with the future of lidar autofocus. I feel I’ve just slipped under the gate before it closed. Thanks Ben.

enjoying the infos and, collateral damage... your video! what a beautiful lightning!

Amazing. The time the research and the effort to put this together! Incredible! Thank you

Amazing work mate!

Dope footage at the start. Great lineup

More of this, PLEASE! Phenomenal video. Loved every second of it. Incredible to see the side-by-side comparison of all three classic lenses. Never seen that before. And so expertly done. If you could do something with Mamiya-Sekor lenses, that would be freaking amazing. Thank you for this dope ass video.

Absolutely incredible video. Beautiful, informative, and you're a great host. Came here for the Leicas, stayed for all of it. Silly question, what cases do you use to store and transport lens?

This video is a hidden gem. There is nothing as good as this on RU-vid. Appreciate the effort. I want to build my first vintage set for video work but I can't really afford the Leica R/Zeiss and I can't find any Canon FD wide lenses in my local market. Can you recommend a good budget frendly set for video? let's imagine there was no Canon/ Leica/ Zeiss option... what would be on your list ?

Gentlemen, really appreciate this, helping me to make a decision , its the cannon for me

Wonderfil video! Thanks for the effort

Realli liked the video. I became really interested in these lenses because of the CREAMY RENDERING

Super video. I love the FDs.

In my young days I bought an Angenieux 180mm 1:2.3 for my F1n, the colour quality blew me off my feet, taking pictures parallel with my FD 300 2.8 SSC the slides where 2-3 stops better exposed at the same time setting, fully opened evening in the opera house, crazy good. When printing on my Fuji minilab, the colours of the Angenieux where so stable, one could shift magenta, cyan, whatever, the picture never got color biased, so stable. Somehow the Leica R grade colors with the Zeiss contrast if I had to describe it.

Great video.

Love hearing cinematographers discuss whether the Contax AE or MM is better. Trying to decide which 85 1.4 to get...do I want perfection/ more contrast or that old school flare/slight softness?

I love this video, thank you!

I have a chrome nose 50mm FD that I picked up last year and I love the pastel look I get in the bokeh.

Really well done, man.

Love this!! I went the canon FD route, 24, 35, 50, 55 and 85 with the 35mm f2 being the only one that isn't ssc but nFD. I always wondered how the compared to Zeiss and Leica and being able to see them side by side was awesome!! Correct with the EF modding. My 24, 35 and 50 were done at The Lens Doctor in 2020, the 55 and 85 will be the kit mount version through Simmod in collab with Ed Mika, which I have purchased this week, so eagerly awaiting the kits!!

Outstanding video , so glad I stumbled on this, beautifully filmed and entertaining - I am a Leica R stills guy and really enjoyed this - would love it if you could offer more info on the guy who made the lens adapters and caps thank-you

Très intéressant, merci beaucoup 👍

I think I heard you say that someone had recommended you put your yellowed lens out in the sun to deyellow it. DON'T. That will heat up your lens and cause the grease in the lens to begin to outgas which will forever fog your lens. Heat is bad for your lens. Around here I do silk screening of front panels. I use a UV lamp to expose the emulsion through a negative. I have a lot of radioactive lenses. For the lenses, what I did without hurting a lens was get a step ladder, hang a brooder lamp through the middle with a CFL UV lamp in it. This was in my garage where it is cool. Then get a mirror out and lay it on the ground facing up. Then get your first lens, check that the rear lens does not extend to a point where it will allow the lens to touch the mirror. If it does you will scratch the coating on the rear lens. Then face the lens up toward the light as you lay it down on the mirror. Adjust the brooder lamp with the power cord, so that it is about 8 inches above the lens. You will not need to turn the lens over. The mirror will reflect the UV back up into the lens. You can keep an eye on the temperature of the lens using a thermometer gun. For me it took about 10 hours, but this depends on your setup. Keep in mind that sometimes the lens coating might goldish and look like yellowing. There should be an area between the lens and the CFL that will let air flow and keep things cool. Use a mirror, not aluminum foil, as the mirror will be smooth and flat. If you have any questions, message me back.

Love your vintage lenses freaking video....

Wahoo superbe vidéo pour tous les amoureux des objectifs vintage.Pour ceux qui veulent essayer , on peut se faire plaisir avec des objectifs bien moins onéreux que les objectifs zeiss ou Leica .Mon objectif préféré est un pentacon 50 mm F1,8 que j'ai payé 15 euros.C' 'est une première étape découverte que je crois nécessaire pour essayer avant de faire des investissements plus importants.Very very nice vidéo , very very good job.Tks ..

Great piece of work! I used a Leicina Super super 8 for a while. Now i have a Canon 1014 and i wish i could take off the 7-70mm and put it on my C100

Just wow, a full long form comparison of the top 3 vintage lens brands. Really well done and highly entertaining too. I thought the guy’s at media division had it covered but direct comparisons, had to watch it 3 times. Now all I need is someone to do a similar long form video about lower priced vintage lenses, Pentax K, Minolta, Zeiss Jena, Topcon, Tomiokas etc as alternatives. Or a video about Russian glass.

really well done!

Love that real time post edit commentary lol

I loved every second of this video! This old lens thing is new to me, i just bought a Sony A7SII few weeks ago and started experimenting with old lenses but im SO hooked i just wanna buy more lenses that inpire me to grab my camera. I think this will lead to a bankrupt and/or divorce but what the heck the journey is worth it. I know it is. It will be, right?

In your opinion, what is the most beautiful vintage lens?

I use loads of old glass, mainly M42 screwfit stuff and Pentax K mount stuff. I got into it mainly because I cant afford anything brand new, and I use a Pentax DSLR for RU-vid, not a great video camera, but the entire range of Pentax/Takumar going back decades is available to me, either native K mount, or with just a cheapo K to m42 adaptor! :-) I'm not seriously suggesting people buy Pentax bodies for filming, but pentax/takumar lenses adapt easily to Sony. I also recently jumped on the Helios 44 2 bandwagon and absolutely love it! :-)

this is incredible. Exactly what I was looking for. Subbed and looking forward to your next stuff! btw which camera was used?

Great video! Of the lenses mentioned, I am only having FD lenses. Regarding Leica, I am vested in M-mount lenses which were not covered here because they likely don't adapt to the RED camera for videos where you need SLR-type lenses.

awesome video man

54:15 FD looks amazing!

Very eye opening. I'm trying to put together a set for a low budget feature and I think I might go with a combination, as certain ones are definitely stronger at different focals (the 50mm contax blew me away). They seem very able to be matched together for the most part

This will be a resource for me

you are the best and the cutest man I have watched review from. God bless you

I just found a 35-105 FD for $45 bucks at a local antique market! No haze, no fungus. I'm freaking out! I also have way too many vintage lenses. I use them on my corporate taking head work and the client loves it more than I do. For any youths reading this wanting a 2k+ modern autofocus lens, think again and put that money towards lighting.

I have been very much enjoying your videos since I found your channel. I appreciate your vibe and vision, and the way you share your process with the viewer in this interesting first person fov. Would you mind sharing some of the thing you are doing in post to get your video footage to match the look and feel of the film shots? The bloom and halation effects look really good.

Thank you for the great video. Do you know of anywhere in the UK selling DIY Canon FD to EF conversion kits?

Αwesome documentary guys...

So hard to choose one over the other... they all have their stregths and weaknesses !

Just found you. Smashing channel! Liked and subscribed.

@Ben and Jack Studio Thank you so much for this video! I always get back to it and learn new things. I was wondering, if there a particular focus rings of good quality that you recommend for the canon FDs. Looking at many options, but would love to get your insight on this!

My Tamron 135 f3.8 Adaptall ( mid 70s? ) has 'ninja-star' blades, unlike earlier Tamrons with 8 smooth blades. An amazing and informative video! I have a huge number of 50-58mm primes, and my Cannon 55mm f1.4 S.S.C. is incredible, close to the Tomioka made 55mm f1.4, which looks like an even sharper Zeiss Planar- but as yousay, much warmer in colour temp.

Awesome video!

The sarcasm alone made this video worth the watch lol

... dammit I was happy with my contax zeiss set. But deer god and his majestic antlers, I... I think I might need a set of Canon FD's. All gorgeous, gorgeous lenses, but for the price I'm pretty much sold. Thank you for doing such an in depth test! You've earned a subscription from me sirs.

Lovely, thank you. Any idea why Konica is always kept out of the scope for content like this?

Brilliant! Well thought out, immensely informative with a dash of humour too. You’ve made the obsession worse. Great to see Canon FD’s holding their own almost unique in their flare. Thank you 🎥 🌅

Great intro