This is too good to be true. I've been shooting with Zeiss Milvus super speeds for the past 2 years and tonight randomly I thought I'd chuck a Carl Zeiss Jena DDR 50mm f2.8 Tessar zebra (circa 1972) lens I've had lying around for about 10 years onto my P4K. At 2.8 it looks almost identical to the Milvus 50mm! I think I paid £20 for it. Colour is rich and pops, flares are lovely (artificial light - I'll see how they cope in daylight), constrast is just like you'd expect from a modern zeiss and the sharpness is the same between the two. Bokeh is smooth as (yes, there's som fringing on the bokeh balls but it looks really nice). JUST CRAZY! Yes, there's focus breathing and the focus ring is stiff as, but man, it's time to invest in some of these - even the cheap slower ones. Beautiful!
I wouldn't even overlook this 50mm f2.8. Yes, it's slower, but it's also tiny. When the BMD Mini 4K G2 is available I'm getting one to rig up as a tiny cine cam, this lens would be a great pairing with that to get stunning images from a very compact package. These lenses must've been so next level when they came out.
@@BlaineWestropp1 if you pull the trigger on the TK rehousing let me know what you think of them.. Been thinking about having some of my contax rehoused !
Great work, got the 20mm 2.8 (£265), 35mm 2.4 (£90), 50mm 1.8 (£95) and the 135mm (£35). Now I'm looking for something in the 80mm range to complete the set.
@@BlaineWestropp1 Yeah but I bought them a year ago, now the 20 is over £600. All are M42 mount. Once I get a 80, I want to de-click them and add Simmod gear's. Are your Jenna's converted to PL mount or are they PL adapter's? Would love to convert mine to PL soon. Hopefully will test them against a friend's Leica set in the new year.
@@damiendehorn6350 Cool! Mine are all converted to PL. the 20 is in much nicer condition that the 35, but I really love the 35, it just stops down to f4 when I go to close focus.
@@BlaineWestropp1 The 20 is one of my favourites of the set, had the 35mm 2.8 but gifted it to a friend once I got the 2.4. All are now "red" MC, and near mint. I'm sure you'll love the 2.4 it fits in to the set better than the 2.8. Where did you get yours PL converted? Trying to find a decent place that does M42 to PL hard conversions.
@@damiendehorn6350 sounds like you have a good set! I will jump on the 2.4 when I see it. I look often. I purchased all of them already converted to PL. from Poland. Can’t remember where the 35 came from but the 20, 50, and 80 were all from the same person. I believe he does the conversions.
After using "modern" lenses that are clinically sharp, I'm finding myself attracted to lenses with more character. Which PL to E mount adapter are you using?
100% agree. I also love that you can get them for great prices. A set of 7 sigma cine primes is over 30k. You can get a whole heap of vintage lenses that have a unique look for a small fraction of that. Love sigma, use their lenses all the time, and they are easy to rent, but it’s fun to scoop up classics on eBay. I am using the SLRmagic PL to E.
FYI you are NOT finding a Flek 35 for $150 in any sort of good condition, and that 20 he has in his hand is SEVEN HUNDRED dollars, so that "under 2k" is complete cap, at least in 2024
I've picked up a whole cine modded set with pelican case on eBay for a bit less than 1000$ and for 85mm focal length I use a Jupiter which is a copy of Zeiss Biotar which I've modded myself. I normally stop to T5,6 or thereabouts with most of them, the 135mm Jena is the one that's the sharpest wide open but it might just be my copy. I had issues with these lenses, when declicked the AUTO switch absolutely needs to be gaffer taped, otherwise it messes with the aperture mechanism and lens has to be taken apart to set it back. I took mine to repair and have gaffer tape on all of them where the switch is. Other than that they are great vintage lenses! 🙂
The 20mm 2.8 multi coat is so hard to find. Just grabbed a pl mount but there’s only been two in the last few months in PL. Almost 1k but the color renditions are nuanced but they do transport the viewer beyond what a grade can do. It’s like a dreamy mode on an ultra sharp sensor it’s a new age combo. My 50mm MC is the f4… my 35is 2.4…80 and 120 are all 2.8… so 50 is the odd one out but I might just use my 35 2.4 in apsc mode… so rendering it around 55 (so I’ll use it as my 35 and 55). Thoughts on that strategy vs replacing the 50/4? As an fyi my sensor does full 4k in apsc mode.
I love the 20 2.8. Great lens. For the 50 I’d try and snag that 1.4, depending on what price you can get for it. I still see Jena prices rising. Especially after the announcement of the ironglass rehousing, and no one has them yet, so the second something big is shot on the jenas the price will rise again.
I purchased a copy a few months back. Ive done a few shoots with this lens on my Mini and im wondering if my copy is really soft at 2.8 WTFO? Is it just me or did you notice this with yours as well? Maybe I am just missing focus since the shoots have been mostly fashion, and a music video job. I will make it a point to shoot some more 5.6-8 to get a feel for how crispy this nugget can get but wanted to get your opinion on your experience?
hi sorry for the delay! I felt mine was sharp at 2.8. for sure it will be softer at 5.6, but I did not notice any upsetting softness. which focal length are you referring to?
@@BlaineWestropp1Referring to the 20mm. I feel my copy at 2.8 has a hard time to hit focus. The edges, even on a super 35 sensor are also a bit fuzzy. I felt like i expected it to be sharper and there is quite a noticeable difference between my 35mm and 20mm in terms of sharpness
@@alexandercole3460 The 20mm is notorious for optical decentering issues mainly caused by people who open them up to perform CLA, etc and in the process they throw off the optical alignment ever so slightly. Long story short the Flek 20mm 2.8 is a delicate lens to open up and work on so you have to really be careful. I've bought and returned five different copies that all suffered from it. When I finally managed to get my hands on a good copy it was night and day - shooting wide open was actually sharp and had none of the fuzziness that I thought was just a part of this len's "character". It could be "mint" condition (as all of mine were) but until you actually test it you won't really know the full story. Worn out helicoid key is another issue which causes significant image shifting during focus. I think it usually goes hand in hand with those decentered copies from my experience. Fortunately it's really only just the 20mm that is particularly sensitive to issues.
Great video 🎉 I love the look of the jenas, I’m curios what you recommend for the PL conversion ? What’s the most reliable and affordable process? Thank you 🙏
What did you pay for the 20mm 2.8 Flektogon and when. It is currently selling in Thailand for around 7-800 US dollars. Which is a huge jump in what I paid for it a few years back. It has risen more than any other of my lense. Nice demonstration, even if torch flickers. Thanks, Larry
Re flares, in my experience, you'll get the best sun flares when the sun is less bright (ie. golden hour) and there's more low light contrast for the flares to show up against. The 50mm f2.8 has beautiful flares too °¬)
Curious what adapters you are using for PL to EF and PL to E-mount. I have not had good experiences with some lenses on PL adapters. There are definitely size limitations with some lenses (CP.2s for example). But maybe the Jenas aren't a problem.
I am only using PL to E on the Sony. Not using a PL to EF on anything. It is an SLRmagic PL to E. The zeiss lenses I have are very light so it’s fine, but there is some play on the E side of the mount. I imagine this play will be there with all PL to E mounts unless the mount gets bolted on the camera somehow.
Yo Blaine! Another question for ya haha what if I get the Jenas with a M24 to Sony E mount, instead of PL to Sony E? Is there a catch if I do that or should I be fine? Only reason I ask is because it’s harder to find PL versions of these lenses rn.
Yo! I personally will only buy PL lenses unless the lens I want does not come in PL, or the lens I want is not currently available in PL. for the jenas, since they are light weight, you’ll be fine with any mount. It’s just nice to be able to mount them on PL cameras, but you can always adapt them later.
I don't want to be that guy but I did an eBay DEEP dive because of this video 😅😅 and walked away with a 50mm and 80mm. Although I've found some claim that the Jena line was built in Soviet controlled East Germany and were never officially Zeiss lenses 🤷♂
Love it! Glad you got some. I believe there are 2 spots where they were manufactured and one of them was by zeiss. Also, I thought that claim was for contax lenses.
ps: they are not made by zeiss. Carl zeiss Jena a.k.a eastern germany zeiss were a completely different brand. they kept the name (zeis jena) after the allies and the soviets split the company in the 50s. West Germany kept name Zeiss. Soviet had their company, Zeiss Jena and West Germnay kept the Zeiss.
@@BlaineWestropp1 My daughter fell asleep when I was getting gas, so I’ve been sitting on RU-vid for the last twenty minutes. Saw the notification as soon as it uploaded. Haha!
@@BlaineWestropp1 I'm in Texas until December, then I head home to Portland for the holidays, the back to Texas. Going to look for work in Oklahoma. Probably end up out there by spring.
I see, as long as you aren’t moving forward and back extreme distances, and using a wider lens, you will be fine with a manual lens. Especially if you are at f4 or 5.6, you’ll stay in focus.
@@BlaineWestropp1 it’s funny you say that, I really didn’t like seeing myself on 20mm, though we have a similar build and i wonder if it’s just a confidence thing
