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45mm Contax G f 2.0?
  • ZazZaz

    Anyone have any experience with this lens? I'm in need of a portrait lens and want to examine some alternatives to the Oly 45mm

    this vid is beautiful:

    i believe james is a member here no?

  • 9 Replies sorted by
  • evilkenevilken

    I had one for the original G system. Extremely sharp and great colour - the best lens in that system and they are all very good. Filter thread is panasonic friendly 46mm.

  • ZazZaz

    nice. did you ever get a chance to use on on a m43? or can you compare it to the oly 45?

  • FlaaandeeersFlaaandeeers

    A friend of mine used the Contax G 45 f2 with a GH1 for a while, but focusing through adapter was not comfortable at all. He sold it, got an Oly 45 and he is extremely happy with his decision. Consider that focusing issue.

  • ZazZaz

    Quite a dilema. On one hand, i have a hunch the optics of the Zeiss are superior, and it's mechanical focus could potentially provide quite a nice rack. On the other, the Oly gains a third-of-a-stop, and fast autofocus... But it's manual focus mode is not quite usable - then again, the Contax is rather difficult to attach a follow focus to..

    DAMN!

  • bitcrusherbitcrusher

    Hey, I remember that video! Its been I while. This was shot pre-hack....

    The Contax G 45mm is a good lens but with bad ergonomics, and that was with the better metabones adapter. You need to find a sweet spot in the adapter so it will not bind up, it was a nightmare. There are some people that will re-house it with a proper helicoid but the total cost goes up to $800-900+

    I switched to Zeiss ZF lenes, the 50mm F1.4 is almost as good @ f2 but having a real focus ring more then makes up for it. Ether will out resolve anything the GH2 can do. There is also some debate if zeiss is a good portrait lens as it may be too sharp, I am in the more resolving power the better camp.

    I have been thinking a lot about switching up to the 50mm makro planar F2.

  • KeithLommelKeithLommel

    Optically, the Contax G 45/2 may very well be better, but I wouldn't buy it looking for a smooth rackable focus. The lens was designed specifically for autofocus, and doesn't have a traditional damped focus ring. Instead, focus was controlled by the Contax G1/G2 bodies through a screw in the lens mount. Most adapters I've read about implement focus control with a smallish, highly torqued knob on one side of the lens mount, which is anything but smooth (many people have trouble holding the camera still enough to see the subject while adjusting focus). So I rather doubt any follow-focus system will be easy to attach or work smoothly. In comparison, I have not had much difficulty with MF on my Oly 45/1.8, and it's nice having the convenience of fast AF just a button press away. Optically, there's nothing to complain about with the Oly... probably my most used prime for stills on m43.

    If your budget is really tight, or you really need a mechanical focus ring, you're probably better off with any of the other high quality manual 50mm lenses out there. Otherwise, if budget is not an issue, you could wait for the Voigtlander 42.5/0.95 which is said to be coming out later this year.

  • ZazZaz

    @bitcrusher that vid is the reason i switched to MFT. yes, i've been eying the zeiss planar and makro planar since foreeverrr. dont really remember why i never bought one now that i think about it... damn! could be speed boosted for the bmpcc... HNNG!! ~ c==8

    @KeithLommel have you found that focus is rackable at all on the Oly? im just concerned that it will be nearly impossible to reliably rack between multiple subjects as i will be wont to do as i move into a multi cam setup for interviews. \ thanks for reminding me of the Nokton. def something worth waiting for/ obsessing over - supposed to come out this summer - SLR magic competitor to follow?

    I want a portrait lens because im starting to take interviews more seriously - i see mastery of this scenario as a pretty marketable skill as a shooter. It may be worth it for me to simply buy the Oly now, and diversify the portrait range with several offerings later on. exciting thoughts: 35 1.4 sigma on the bmpcc, 42.5 on the gh3..... multicam bb!

  • nomadnomad

    The Zeiss Contax 45mm for RTS is still relatively cheap and has a good, conventional focusing ring. Only 2.8 though.

  • MattRobertson7MattRobertson7

    Get the contax 50mm f1.4 or the even sharper but slower brother the 50mm f1.7. Regular contax glass is extremely easy to adapt. G or N, not so much

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