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If you are getting into vintage lenses and want to build an affordable set that will be usable in every shooting environment, this guide is for you. I’ve been teasing about my “$1000 Zeiss Mini-Cine Set” on social networks a lot, but it’s finally the time to take an in-depth look at what has gone into creating this set.
At the core of my set are 5 Carl Zeiss Jena M42 full frame lenses, which can be adapted to most mounts including EF, Sony E & MFT. They are great for full frame cameras and S35 cameras, especially when combined with a focal reducer. So Let’s take a closer look at each lens.
Flektogon 20mm F2.8 – the widest lens in the set. For some of you it might not sound wide, but on full frame or S35 with a focal reducer, it’s wide enough for most needs. It’s a very respected lens in vintage lens community. It has excellent optical quality as you can see in my “Vintage 20mm Shootout”. Like most vintage lenses it’s not perfect. While it’s pretty sharp in the middle of the frame even wide open, you need to step down to F4-5.6 for good edge sharpness. Even though it’s the most expensive lens in this set, it definitely worth its price, especially because there is no 28mm in my set. While a Carl Zeiss Jena 29mm does exist, I believe it was it’s a rebranded Pantcon lens which itself is based on a Mayer Optic 29mm F2.8 and while it’s not a bad lens, I don’t feel that it’s optical performance matches the rest of the set, especially wide open, but if you really need this focal length, it might be a good option to consider.
Specs:
- Closest Focusing Distance: 0.19m
- Focus Throw: Approx. 280°
- Aperture Range: F2.8 – F22
- Filter Thread Size: 67mm
- Weight (without mods): 310g
- Price Range: $250-450
Flektogon 35mm F2.4 – Not much needs to be said about this lens. It’s well known for its excellent performance and I will much rather use this lens than the 29mm I mentioned above. It’s half a stop faster too, which is a nice little bonus. Possibly my favourite lens in this set!
Specs:
- Closest Focusing Distance: 0.20m
- Focus Throw: Approx. 260°
- Aperture Range: F2.4 – F22
- Filter Thread Size: 49mm
- Weight (without mods): 230g
- Price Range: $150-250
Pancolar 50mm F1.8 – No set can is complete without a nice 50mm and as it’s often the case, this 50mm is the fastest lens in the set, making it a great choice for low light and bokelisios shots. Funnily enough it’s also one of the cheapest lenses in this set, but if budget is really tight and you don’t care about that extra stop of light, the Tessar 50mm F2.8 is also an excellent choice (my review).
Specs:
- Closest Focusing Distance: 0.35m
- Focus Throw: Approx. 320°
- Aperture Range: F1.8 – F22
- Filter Thread Size: 49mm
- Weight (without mods): 210g
- Price Range: $100-200
Biometar 80mm F2.8 – Now this lens is a bit of a dark horse of this set. It’s the only lens here that isn’t natively an M42 lens. While it might look exactly like all the others, it’s actually a medium format lens with a P6 mount, but thankfully can put an M42 adapter on top of it, or you can even go straight to EF mount if you wish to. The main reason why I decided to include this lens instead of a Pancolar 80mm F1.8 is the price. This lens can be bought for under $100 while Pancolar 80mm would cost anywhere between $600 and $800 completely destroying the budget for this set, but if you budget can stretch, Pancolar 80mm is an excellent lens; otherwise Biometar 80mm that I have is also an amazing lens for the money.
Specs:
- Closest Focusing Distance: 1m
- Focus Throw: Approx. 320°
- Aperture Range: F2.8 – F22
- Filter Thread Size: 58mm
- Weight (without mods): 300g
- Price Range: $90-180
Sonnar 135mm F3.5 – Slowest and cheapest lens in this set, so it’s a bit of a bonus for these occasions when you need something tighter. While it might not sound impressive on paper, it’s an excellent optical performer and definitely work considering, but if you’d rather keep all your set at F2.8 or faster and you have some extra cash to spend, then you can always go for Biometar 120mm F2.8, which is same as Biometar 80mm is a medium format lens that will match the rest of the set very well!
Specs:
- Price: $75-150
- Closest Focusing Distance: 1m
- Focus Throw: Approx. 300°
- Aperture Range: F3.5 – F22
- Filter Thread Size: 49mm
- Weight (without mods): 360g
- Price Range: $60-120
So here is our final $1000 “Mini-Cine” set: (ebay links below)
There are of course a few lenses you can want to swap out or add to this set, from 29mm F2.8 which I’ve mentioned to in the video, to Tessar 50mm F2.8, which is literally the cheapest Zeiss lens out there, so if you’re on a tight budget, it’s a good option too. If your budget though has no limits, then Pancolar 80mm F1.8 would be a star of this set, but as mentioned in the video, it’s pretty expensive. If you want to keep your set at F2.8 or under, then you can swap out the Sonnar 135mm F3.5 for the slightly more expensive Biometar 120mm F2.8, which is a medium format lens, same as the 80mm F2.8 I’ve chosen for my set. Lastly, if you want something with even more reach, then Sonnar 180mm F2.8 and Sonnar 300mm F4 lenses will give you exactly that at a very reasonable price tag. You can find all the relevant ebay links below.
- Jena 29mm F2.8
- Tessar 50mm F2.8
- Pancolar 80mm F1.8
- Biometar 120mm F2.8
- Sonnar 180mm F2.8
- Sonnar 300mm F4
Now let’s move on to the mods. There are some many things you can do and so many products you can buy, but here are the parts I’ve used for my lenses.
- Caps from ShootVintage
- 77mm Step Up Rings
- Cool-Lux Follow Focus Gears (my review here)
- Adjustable M42 to EF adapters
As mentioned in my video, I’ve done my de-clicking with EKOECamera in London, but if you are in US I highly recommend Duclos Lenses, well known for their top quality service and for my Canadian friends, SimmodLens will provide amazing service at really affordable prices.
Conclusion: I truly believe that it would be very difficult to find a nicer, more versatile set of lenses for $1000, so I highly recommend that you check these beauties out while they’re still cheap. I hope you found this guide useful and I’m looking forward to seeing your own mini-cine sets 🙂
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It’s been a while but nice to see another interesting video on vintage lenses. How would the Helios 44-2 58mm f2 compare to the Pancolar 50mm f1.8 at the same aperture? I would assume that the Helios, also being based on a Zeiss design would have similar sharpness but perhaps have more character than the Pancolar? Could you also add the number of aperture blades to the specs?
Hi Pascal. While Helios is in a way similar, it has very different coating resulting in a very different look and of course much more character than Pancolar, which is great for the 44-2, but not that great for matching with this set. I believe most of these Jena primes have 6 aperture blades.
Great guide! If you’re shooting with PL mount, there is an eBay seller in Poland that is machining the back halves of these lenses for permanent PL mount (not an adapter). We’ve been shooting with his lenses on Super 35mm film! Look up Canonikonos — Cheers! @FireTrialFilms
Great tips, thank you!
While they are all from the former Eastern Block, the lenses from Carl Zeiss Jena generally had better coatings than the Russian ones. I would not expect the Helios (which I own and like) to match very well color-wise.
And you’ll need patience and honest sellers – some of these lenses show up in horrible condition!
Agreed.
[…] has been a while, but I’m really excited to announce a new giveaway! If you’ve seen my 1000$ Zeiss “Mini-Cine” Buyers Guide, then you will be well aware of how useful varios little mods like can be and this time you have an […]
How would you compare the lenses here to the older “zebra” version? Specifically the 20mm?
are these all the same thread size?
[…] my previous buyer’s guide I’ve shown you how to build a Zeiss Jena “Mini-Cine” set for $1000, but if you have a bit more money to spend then Contax Zeiss is the way […]
Dear, what is the adapter that I should use for a Sony A7S ii. regards
would you recommend this setup for a micro four thirds camera? I currently use a GH3 but I’m going to buy the BMPCC4k once it comes out. Thanks for the advise in advance!
Well, even the 20mm is not really wide on MFT. It will be difficult to find vintage glass on the wide end that covers the sensor plus is really wide (like 10 to 15mm).
that’s true but I’m considering buying a metabones later on. I’m not too worry about wide angle really. As I have improved my filming, I have come to appreciate more the telephotos. When you use wide angles you tend to show everything, which in the end means showing nothing special, but I do find them useful for establishing shots, and for that I use a Lumix 12-35mm 2.8 Mark I which I won’t be selling 🙂
Thanks so much for this post. So, so help full.
Is there a link to your recommended adaptor? M42 – Sony a7s (FE)
Hi man thanks for the videv and article, I assume the lenses focus breath?
Hi man I want buy this set lens where I can buy it ?? You have link or website? Is it shipping ?
I would like to use this set on an EF mount APS-C camera. Is there a focal reducer for me out there?
There is no focal reducer for M42 (or anything like it) to EF, since there is not enough space.
Focal reducers can only work with very short mounts, like MFT or E-mount.
How about using on APSC like the Sony Fs5 ? I was thinking of using M42 to Contax/Yashica adapter and then going through a Metabones C/Y to Sony Nex Speedbooster to maintain the right focal length and gain some extra speed. Do you think that will work ? i need some wide angle so straight to APSC leaves all these lenses too long.
While there are versions of the Speedbooster from C/Y to NEX, you can combine any pair that is not increasing the flange distance beyond that of the original lens. It all depends on the kind of lenses you have most of.
But since any adapter has minor tolerances, you will be adding these up and may get into small deviations from the correct alignments, in particular affecting wide lenses.
If you want perfection with the excellent Zeiss C/Y lenses, rather get a straight solution.
Hi, i have a straight solution for C/Y lenses straight to full frame (Novoflex C/Y to Nex) and also to APSC (Metabones C/Y to Nex). But it’s the M42 mount for these Jena’s and getting them to be full frame equivalent on APSC. Like i say the fotodiox M42 to C/Y mount adapter plus Metabones C/Y to Nex is the way i’m thinking right now. I need the wide angles to remain wide on the Sony Fs5. Do you think this would work ?
I’m building out a set of C/Y for mainstream filming but am also trying to build a set of more vintage lenses for artistic purposes.
It should work, but some M42 lenses might dive so deep into the adapter that they touch the Speedbooster.
my flektogon 20mm is not working on bmpcc 6k(ef mount).. at the infinity, it just focus on 30cm how can i fix it?
Probably your adapter is too thick, wides are most critical in this respect.
Hey thanks for the review.
Is there any disadvantage in using the Praktica PB Lenses instead of the M42 ones?
Just wondering about the decision to use a Biometar 80mm medium format lens – sure this isn’t the same as using the Pancolar 80mm (FF/35mm) 1.8 due to the crop factor? Unless you’re using specific speedboosters – surely the Biometar crops to a 50mm equivalent on FF?
An 80mm will always be an 80mm. Crop factor is not in the lens, but caused by the size of the sensor.
The medium format lens has a larger image circle, that’s all. It is heavier and slower compared to a lens for 35mm photographic FF, that’s all.
Buying the Zeiss Zena (PRAKTICA) version 135mm f2.8… dont know if this is the same~nearly same etc.. all help appreciated
These are from the same line, yes. But it’s Zeiss “Jena” (the name of the city).
Hi there, and thanks for putting this post together. I’m currently building this set, and just wondering if you could share the diameters for the cool lux gear? I’m still waiting for a couple to arrive butt be great to order the gear ASAP. Thanks so much.
hawmach 105/ 85/ 50/ 35/ 25/ 17/ focus and apichar manuals use lens ok
If you give us link of full set to buy, it will be more convenient.
cheers for your wonderful column
I’ve been enjoying these lenses during my first steps in cinematography as a student in film
I was looking for a few focal lengths to add to my kit and was wondering if you knew if the Biotar 75mm as well as the 58mm would match the other CZJ?
have a lovely day