Contax Zeiss 50mm f1.4 CINEMOD (Canon EF)

Descripción

Carl Zeiss Planar is one of the oldest optical designs in the company’s lineup, first invented by Dr. Paul Rudolph 1896. The original Planar had a simple (by modern standards) symmetrical Double-Gauss design, and while the design saw some tweaks over the years, the overall concept remained pretty much the same. And why not? Simple is often beatiful and the popularity of Planars over the years has proven this case. The 50mm Planars were continuously manufactured by Carl Zeiss in various camera mounts since early 1900s. The Contax/Yashica version of the lens, which is reviewed here, has been manufactured from 1974, when Carl Zeiss officially announced partnership with Yashica of Japan to manufacture its new RTS system, to 2005 when Kyocera (which acquired Yashica in 80s) exited the camera business. Unfortunately for Carl Zeiss, at the moment of its exit from camera market, Kyocera still held a licensing on Contax brand. Unfortunately because this has put restrictions on Carl Zeiss being able to use this legendary brand name with its new products. But good things come to those who wait – the licensing agreement with Kyocera expired in 2008, so we can probably expect Contax branded products appearing on the market pretty soon.

Back to the Planar T* 50mm f/1.4. Like its slower f/1.7 cousin, Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f/1.4 for Contax/Yashica mount was manufactured in AE and MM formats. Both variants are pretty common on the used markets these days, with good quality copies fetching ~US$250. Carl Zeiss recently resurrecrted the 50mm Planar by introducing this lens in 4 new mounts – Nikon F (ZF), M42 universal screw (ZS), Pentax K (ZK) and even Canon EF (ZE). The new version of the lens sells anywhere from ~US$550 to ~US$65, depending on the mount.

The lens is a classical manual focus prime and sports dedicated aperture and focus rings. The build quality of the lens is superb, with a metal barrel and fully rubberized focus/aperture rings. The focusing ring is pretty smooth to operate and the aperture is snappy, snapping into positions with a satisfying click. The optical construction of the lens consists of 7 elements in 6 groups – a pretty timeless design. The lens is pretty compact, measuring only 6.3 x 4.1cm (2.4 x 1.6in), although the barrel of the lens extends slightly during focusing towards the closeup. The lens weighs a mere 275g (9.7oz). The minimum focusing distance is 45cm (1.5ft) and the minimum supported aperture is f/16 (the aperture ring moves in one full f-stop increments). The lens accepts 55mm screw-in filters.

Fuente: http://slrlensreview.com/web/reviews/carl-zeiss-lenses-swhorizontalmenu-172/zeiss-standard/376-carl-zeiss-planar-t-50mm-f14-cy-lens-review