Original post by Vincent Laforet
Should you buy Canon EF lenses or Zeiss ZE lenses for HDSLR video?
I recently tested two wide angle Zeiss ZE
SLR lenses – one that is currently available (25mm 1:2), and another
that won’t be available until May of this year (15mm 1:2.8) and thought
that this would be a good time to partially help answer this question.
First – Canon EF lenses obviously have incredibly high speed (USM) Ultrasonic
autofocus motors built in, whereas Zeiss ZE lenses are purely manual
focus lenses. For still photographers this is going to be a big factor
– needless to say, the edge goes to Canon if you need autofocus.
But with Ultrasonic autofocus comes a
significant problem for filmmakers: given that the Canon lenses use
magnets to make the connections between the lens focus ring and the
inner focusing mechanism – it is common to have the lens be far less
consistent with focusing marks.
Furthermore, if you continue to rotate the
lens past either the infinity or the macro limit on a USM Canon lens –
you will effectively lose all of your focus marks as the lens focusing
ring will turn indefinitely. This can be costly in terms of the time
you’ll lose by having to remeasure the marks on set. Zeiss lenses are
purely mechanical (no magnets) and therefore they stop at infinity, and
at the macro points. Therefore you will never loose a focus mark, nor
will one "drift" over time as Canon EF (magnetic) lenses often do. This
should be a pretty significant consideration for HDSLR filmmakers in my
opinion – I know it is for me.
Canon lenses are also designed for
autofocus use and they are not as clearly marked (in terms of distance
markings) and generally do not have as much of a rotation on the focus
ring as the Zeiss optics do either – meaning that they are harder to
focus manually. This is especially true (and an important factor) when
it comes to wide angle lenses.
Last but not least: the optics:
This is a general statement – but the
Zeiss and Canon lenses tend to be pretty even when you look at the focal
lengths from 85mm and longer. That being said, Zeiss lenses are
generally sharper amongst the wide focal lengths. You’ll notice this
pretty significantly when you look at the edges of your frame, and when
you shoot wide open (when you compare the Zeiss and Canon lenses that is
– see below for examples that illustrate this point.) As you close
down your aperture, this distinction becomes less apparent (you’ll also
notice that there is less chromatic aberration with the Zeiss lenses
when compared to the Canon EF lenses, especially with wider lenses.)
Therefore – wide angle Zeiss ZE lenses are
pretty much the way to go for HDSLR filmmaking in my opinion – notably
with anything from a 15mm through a 24mm lens.
Of course the big brothers to the Zeiss ZE lenses – the Zeiss CP.2 lenses
are BUILT for cinema and they are also at a significantly higher price
point. With CP.2 lenses, the rotation of the lens focusing barrel is
300 degrees and very clearly marked when compared to the Zeiss ZE and
Canon EF lenses, which makes focusing SIGNIFICANTLY easier by a large
factor. The aperture ring (or iris) is also fluid – whereas both the
Canon EF and Zeiss ZE lenses can only make 1/3 stop jumps which is far
too noticeable with video if you are trying to close the iris down or up
while you are shooting video.
I am very much looking forward to testing the new series of Canon Cinema Prime lenses (they have announced a 24mm f/1.5, a 50mm f/1.3, and an 85mm f/1.3) But there is one thing that is surprising: they are only being released with EF lens mounts. The Zeiss CP.2 lenses
have a kit that allows you to swap mounts – from EF to the cinema
standard PL mounts. This is a HUGE advantage – as you can use all CP.2
lenses on both Canon cameras as well as ALL CINEMA cameras in the world
regardless of brand. I use my CP.2s with the C300 for example – as
well as the RED Epic camera and other cinema cameras with the PL mounts.
Swapping the mounts takes but a few minutes per lens and can easily
be done out in the field with just a TORX screwdriver. This makes the
CP.2 lenses fantastic long-term investments.
The PL Lens mount is also significantly
more suited for cinema – the lenses don’t flex when you focus (unlike
the Canon EF mount which does flex when you focus the lens with a follow
focus or motor, given the way it is designed.) Therefore I see the
CP.2 lenses to be a clear solution in terms of a solid long term
investment. Check out the LENS section
of this blog for more information on these lenses. If you can’t make
the type of investment in the CP.2 lenses – your next best option are
the ZE lenses. The optics in the ZE and CP.2 lenses are identical for
those that are curious – although I am told the "pick of the litter" in
terms of optics are chosen for the CP.2 lenses. The ZE lenses cannot be
converted to PL mounts to be clear.
So back to the new lenses from Zeiss:
The first is the Zeiss 15mm f/2.8 ZE,
which won’t be out until May. I was fortunate to have gotten my hands
on this lens recently, and the optics are incredibly sharp – perhaps
the sharpest wide angle still 35mm SLR lens I have ever tested. Unlike
the 15mm f/2.8Canon lens (which has been discontinued in favor of the 8-15mm f/4 zoom)
– the Zeiss lens isn’t a fisheye, it is a rectilinear lens, and the
distortion is minimal, despite its 110 degree field of view. The lens
should actually be compared to the Canon 14mm f/2.8, which also uses an aspherical lens element.
Look through the pictures of my tests of these two lenses below:
Above is the Canon 14mm 2.8 - (Click on the picture for a full resolution image.)
Above is the Zeiss ZE 15mm 2.8 – you’ll notice the 1mm difference is more noticeable than one might think… (Click on the picture for a full resolution image.)
Here is a crop of the edge of the Canon 14mm 2.8. You’ll see that
the image blurs on the edges losing significant detail relative to the
Zeiss 15mm below. (Click on the picture for a full resolution image.)
With the Zeiss 15mm 2.8 crop of the wide image above – you’ll notice
that while the lens is not as wide, it is significantly sharper on the
edges, this is a huge plus for landscape and landscape photographers and
filmmakers in general. (Click on the picture for a full resolution image.)
The second lens that Zeiss is releasing, is the new Zeiss 25mm f/2 ZE, which is currently available. Like the other ZE lenses, this lens is Manual focus only – but incredibly sharp. It’s faster than it’s CP.2 counter part,
which is T2.9, but slightly slower than the Canon 24mm, which clocks in
at f/1.4. But the performance wide open is hands down better than the
Canon at either f/1.4 or f/2.0.
There are more examples after the break below.
Above is the Zeiss 25mm 2.0 full frame. (Click on the picture for a full resolution image.)
Notice how sharp the edge detail is on the top left corner. (I did
not have a Canon 24mm 1.4 version II on hand to make a comparison
unfortunately – but I can speak from experience and past tests that the
Zeiss lens is sharper on the edges hands down.) (Click on the picture for a full resolution image)
Here is an other example of the Canon 14mm 2.8 vs the Zeiss 15mm 2.8 below.
Canon 14mm 2.8 full frame (Click on the picture for a full resolution image.)
Crop of the top right of the image on the Canon 14mm 2.8 - (Click on the picture for a full resolution image.)
Zeiss ZE 15mm 2.8 full frame (Click on the picture for a full resolution image.)
Crop of the top right of the image on the Zeiss ZE 15mm 2.8 – notice how much sharperthe cables (Click on the picture for a full resolution image.)
Therefore as you can see – there is a significant different along
the edges of the frame between the Canon EF lenses and the Zeiss ZE
lenses.
My thoughts
Test your lenses, know what you need balanced with the plus and minus you get from using one system or another.
Canon have have updated various L series lenses, notably the 24-70L 2.8 reworked and updated for the DSLR.
Images and video from the mk2 lens look better out of the camera, as a result may require less editing overall.
Try the options before you buy into one.
Thanks to Vincent Laforet for his post get more over at http://blog.vincentlaforet.com
