Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: Contax Lenses on Canon DSLR  (Read 5272 times)

Mystik

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2
Contax Lenses on Canon DSLR
« on: April 19, 2006, 01:14:29 am »

Hi! I have read some great reviews of the Contax 120mm f4 Apo-Makro Planar Lens from this site. I would like to know if there is a way that I can use this lens on a Canon DSLR Body (20D 1Ds M2). I am currently using a Sigma 105 2.8 Macro and would like to upgrade after reading how great this lens is from Contax users. Your comments and any information about this sort of a setup is really appriciated.
Logged

Paul2660

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4066
    • Photos of Arkansas
Contax Lenses on Canon DSLR
« Reply #1 on: April 19, 2006, 03:47:12 pm »

If the lens takes the older non AF mount then it should adapt to Canon with an adatper like the Camerquest or dslrxchange adatpers.  The newer G mount of Contax will not work.  You need to have a manual aperture ring on the lens.  

If you are mounting to a 5D, you also may an issue with the mirror as many people have found that when using non Canon glass, that the mirror wil with the adatper.  

There was a ton written about this on the Fred Miranda site, along with a listing of users who had tired various non Canon lenses on the 5D and their successes or failures.  

Remember if you move to this environment, you will lose all AF, and will only be able to use the M and shutter priority mode on the camera I believe that is the Av mode.


Paul C.
Logged
Paul Caldwell
Little Rock, Arkansas U.S.
www.photosofarkansas.com

Let Biogons be Biogons

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 172
    • http://
Contax Lenses on Canon DSLR
« Reply #2 on: April 24, 2006, 04:44:23 am »

The Contax 120mm f4 Apo-Makro Planar for the Contax 645 is a great lens, no doubt about it.  However, there are no adapters available to use it on your Canon.  Plus since the lens has fully electronic aperture control, if you had an adapter made you would need to build in some proprietary electronics to be able to use the lens stopped down (i.e., you could only use it wide open).  The same would be true of the excellent Contax N lenses.

To my knowledge, no one has, or even tried to crack both the Canon and Contax communications protocols to make something like this work.
Logged

Mystik

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2
Contax Lenses on Canon DSLR
« Reply #3 on: April 24, 2006, 07:36:37 am »

Thank you for sharing your comments with me. I guess best thing to do is stick with Canon lenses although Leica 100mm 2.8 APO lens is very tempting. I heard there is a compatible adapter for it. Thanks again!

Quote
The Contax 120mm f4 Apo-Makro Planar for the Contax 645 is a great lens, no doubt about it.  However, there are no adapters available to use it on your Canon.  Plus since the lens has fully electronic aperture control, if you had an adapter made you would need to build in some proprietary electronics to be able to use the lens stopped down (i.e., you could only use it wide open).  The same would be true of the excellent Contax N lenses.

To my knowledge, no one has, or even tried to crack both the Canon and Contax communications protocols to make something like this work.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=63535\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Logged

conurus

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 9
    • http://en.conurus.com/
Contax Lenses on Canon DSLR
« Reply #4 on: July 28, 2006, 12:18:56 am »

Quote
To my knowledge, no one has, or even tried to crack both the Canon and Contax communications protocols to make something like this work.
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Actually, this is exactly what I am doing.

[a href=\"http://en.conurus.com/]http://en.conurus.com/[/url]
« Last Edit: October 09, 2006, 12:59:53 pm by conurus »
Logged

Derrel

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2
    • http://www.pbase.com/derrel
Contax Lenses on Canon DSLR
« Reply #5 on: July 30, 2006, 08:33:12 pm »

The really quite inexpensive Nikon-to-EOS adapters sold by many vendors on eBay have allowed me to mount most of my Nikkor lenses on my EOS 20D body,with good results. Of course, the best lenses for adaptation to EOS bodies have mechanical aperture rings, which means Ai, Ai-S,AF, or AF-D, or non-G AF-S Nikkor lenses. The G-series Nikkors are almost useless on EOS cameras,since they have no aperture ring and stop down to minimum aperture....the view thru the 20D at f/22 is really QUITE dim! However, it's no big thing to shoot at f/1.4 or f/2 or f/2.8 or f/4 or even f/5.6 in good light with the lens already stopped down to shooting aperture. I know Nikkors are not Contax lenses, but there are some very useful lenses outside the EOS system and they work well on Canon digital bodies!
Logged

rljones

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 94
Contax Lenses on Canon DSLR
« Reply #6 on: August 01, 2006, 02:58:05 pm »

I believe Zork (umlat on the 'o') makes an adapter for the Zeiss 645 lenses.

A more important issue with the Canon bodies and manual focus lenses are the focusing screens.

I've used both Zeiss and Leitz glass on Canon bodies, and unless you can change the screens, the lenses are almost impossible to focus accurately. The 1-series bodies are easy to change out (I recall using Brightscreen, model p222; central microprism). I'm not sure if the 20D has that option. The 5D can be changed, but there is the potential for the mirror striking the lens/adapter.

Regards, Robert
Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up