Browsing Category Metabones Adapters

Review of Metabones adapters. Metabones creates legacy lens adapters mounts for DSLRS.

Contax G 90mm with the Metabones adapter & SNAP! Gear System

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Today’s test is something I’ve been playing with for a while and that is finding a solution to pull focus with Contax G lenses.

We’ve found it with the Metabones Contax G adapter and the indiSYSTEM SNAP! Gear.

Today I’m using the Contax G 90mm f/2.8 and it is a verrry sharrrp lens!

I like to do my tests in Chinatown, Philadelphia because the community is so rich and diverse and I have a connection to the place and the people. Through the din and circling movement of people, its somehow always been a comfortable spot for me to take out my camera and just be a fly on the wall. Also, I get to compare my footage a lot easier when I’m in a familiar place. One of the great things about shooting near the Chinatown Arch in Philadelphia is that the arch and the various neighborhood shop signage are really beautiful and I can assess the detail and sharpness of the Contax G 90mm lens really well.

Even in the H.264 codec and the safe GH13 settings of the Vimeo clip, you can see the crisp detail of the Chinatown Arch and all the signs. They just pop. I’m shooting completely wide open for most of the shots and there is edge to edge sharpness. There’s only a few shots where I stopped down a stop. Everything else is really wide open. Some people may not like this look because it’s so sharp but for the right narrative film or documentary I could see these lenses working really nicely.

This test footage was shot with a GH13 (MarekV settings from DVXUser) in 1080/24P mode. No native 24p on the hack. No tripod just the indisystem indiRAILSpro mp. I also used a homemade variable ND filter created with one B&W CPL filter and one B&W Linear filter.

I need a matte box for sure! You’ll see the lens flares just off left of center in a few shots. To be able to pull focus with these lenses with the Metabones adapter and SNAP! Gear combo is really fantastic. You have more control, it’s smooth and the distance between infinity and close focus is very small. It feels like I’m literally rotating the follow focus three quarters of the way through and I’m at infinity or at close focus already and I really like that a lot. I also love the compact nature of rangefinder lenses. They work perfectly with the GH1 making the camera very light weight which allows me to have more steady control with my MP.

I’ll be doing some more testing with this combination. So stay tuned.

It’s very exciting to be able to use these beautiful lenses in a film context and I hope other indy filmmakers will try this unique combination.

Metabones Contax G adapter and indiSYSTEM SNAP! Gears

For photographers the new Metabones Contax G to m4/3 adapter has been long awaited and from what I’ve tested so far its really one of the best Contax G lens adapters I’ve tried on the m4/3 system. But since I’m a filmmaker, I wanted to take it a step further to really make these Contax G lenses sing by allowing the user to achieve critical focus with a cine gear and follow focus system.

Enter the indiSYSTEM SNAP! Gear with the Metabones Contax G adapter.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Metabones Contax G to m4/3 adapter
75mm SNAP! Gear
SNAP! Collar (I used a 66.5mm diameter- should be smaller)
Follow focus
Camera Rig (Mine is indiSYSTEMpro MP with indiFOCUS 20 follow focus)

It has been something I’ve wanted to figure out since I saw Contax G glass over a year ago on the Panasonic G1 camera to be able to use sharp Contax G Zeiss glass and a mini follow focus system with your GH1. With the new Metabones adapter and indiSYSTEM SNAP! gears we are very close to being there. I’ve been talking with Tim Ovel from indiSYSTEM about this intriguing combination and sent him my GH1 and a different Contax G mount to show the possibility of this being a really cool possibility.

One of the challenges that Tim discovered was that the tiny gearing system of Contax G lenses can go bad. He tested my 35mm lens and it would constantly bind right in the middle of rotating the lens when placed on this particular mount. I thought it was a problem with the mount but when the Contax G mount was removed, he placed a small screwdriver into the slot of the lens to rotate the ring, and discovered a slight pause when turning the lens. This little pause was magnified and caused binding in the rotation of the lens when placed on the Contax G mount. I sent the lens to Stacy Reilly from Monument Camera, one of the most outstanding lens repair guys around. He has worked on c-mounts, m42 and FD lenses and restored them and got them new again. He cleared the gears and got the lens rotating smooth and with no binding. I believe its now my smoothest lens out of the bunch. So the first key here when using Contax G lenses for filmmaking purposes is make sure you find one with a smooth gearing system and no binding issues.

Here are the steps to getting your SNAP! Gears on the Metabones Adapter:

Secure your Contax G lens on the Metabones mount. (make sure you properly follow the instructions to lock the mount you do not want this lens to roll off.)
Take your SNAP! collar and place it around the middle of the Metabones focal ring. I used a 66.5mm diameter version but it does sometimes snap out of place. I believe it would be better if the collar were a smaller diameter that way it would flex and snap around the ring more tightly. The SNAP! Collar is flexible and my 66.5mm will open up to the larger 69mm diameter of the Metabones focal ring. I’m talking with Tim to test out smaller diameter SNAP! collars and will let you know a more ideal collar size.
Take your 75mm SNAP! Gear and snap it around the collar.
Spin the gear slowly and mold a path for the gear so that it does not touch the body of the camera. Use your fingers to edge up the SNAP! collar. The SNAP! Gear will be at a slight angle but that is fine. You will still be able to pull focus.
Once in gear is in place, spin the gear back and forth quickly and firmly to make sure it’s in place and secure.
Place your camera with Contax G lens and SNAP! gear on your rig, in this case I am using the indiSYSTEMpro MP which has a built in follow focus.
If you are using the MP make sure the follow focus comes close to the gear but not too close. You’ll see what I mean, if you put the gear to close to the follow focus you will not be able to pull focus as smoothly. If you get it just right the focus will be feel light and smooth with no binding.

With the Contax G Metabones Adapter and indiSYSTEM SNAP! Gear combo this has been really jaw dropping for me to see this work so well. There were so many elements that could go wrong but they all worked together very nicely. The Metabones adapter focuses pretty smooth by hand by itself but when you place the SNAP! gear and follow focus you have absolute control. It’s amazing. There is a tiny bit of play but it is so very minor and something that I think can be figured out.

A few improvements I would like to see is if there is a way for the SNAP! Gear to be locked on the focal ring better. I think that would help make sure the gear will not move once set in place. Tim is in the process of sending me a few different collar sizes and I will make a few updates once I get the new collars. What would also help from the Metabones guys is if they could make their focal ring mount an inch to an inch ad a quater wide this would allow the SNAP! gear clearance from the GH1 body and allow the SNAP! collar to line up evenly on the focal ring.

It’s pretty exciting times. The Contax G rangefinder line of lenses are well known for their esteemed sharpness and beauty in the photography world and I hope that other indy filmmakers will discover this nice combo using the Metabones adapter and SNAP! gears to bring Contax G to the filmmaking world.

Contax G Metabones Adapter

In the 1990s the Contax G System was a high end rangefinder camera system with quality Zeiss optics that even today hold its own to the mighty Leica M lens series. With the m4/3 system and the success of the G1 and GH1, many have hoped to resurrect the Contax G line for the new m4/3 system. The problem is the Contax G lenses were created with no foresight for the future use of these lenses. They are auto focus lenses with no manual focus ring. For years the sharp and beautiful glass of Contax G lenses were meant only for the rangefinder system until now..

Over the last year or so small company’s in China, Europe, and even the US have been trying to perfect the Contax G to m4/3 lens adapter. Some of the first solutions were not so great. Early versions had a focus gear on the side of the amount which allowed you to focus the lens. It was doable but a bit rough and not as easy to focus as it looked. The newer adapters now have gears that are a little bigger some with a larger focus gear on the side of the mount and others opting to create an actual focus ring around the mount giving you the ability to use the lens with a full sized focal ring. Despite these two different designs there were still issues of smoothness and results varied depending on different focal lengths used. The whole process of trying to find the right mount for these lenses was turning out to be a crap shoot and I was just about ready to give up on the system. But a few weeks ago, I was on getdpi forum, one of the best places to find great information on new mounts for the m4/3 system. One of their members had a good experience using the Metabones Contax G to m4/3 adapter. It seemed to have a much larger focal ring around the mount which was different from the other designs. I contacted one of the sellers of the mount on ebay who has a store called lasjas. He was extremely nice and responsive and said he would send four mounts to me from Hong Kong in four days which was great because everything usually takes about 10-14 days for other mounts I’ve purchased from China in the past.

When the Metabones mounts arrived I quickly put them on my Contax G lenses for some initial testing and here are some of my initial findings:

(+)

The machining is a huge plus its very well made. It’s heavy but I see that as a plus, giving the sturdiness for real world use out in the field.
I placed the Metabones Contax G on every lens I had (90mm/45mm/35mm/28mm) and each one I was surprised to see how smooth each lens rotated from infinity to close focus. No binding on any lenses!
The larger width on the focal ring is a definite plus. The ring and mount feel like a natural extension of the lens. It’s about 3/4 of an inch wide allowing you to grip and focus manually. There is a little bit of play depending on the lens used but it’s slight and workable and much easier and smoother to focus than the other adapters I have used.
Plays very well with indiSYSTEM SNAP! Gears- Pulling focus with follow focus and gears for filmmakers is now a reality!!!

(-)

Without instructions, It took me a few hours to figure out how the locking mechanism worked. There were no instructions in the box. I later e-mailed Lasjas and he sent me instructions. Word of advice, follow the instructions or you’ll be stuck for hours!
Once you get the mount in place you must apply some pressure to turn the mount to lock it into place.You have to place a little heft to get the lens locked into place.
The Contax G system is a difficult system to mount when you start off and this is a mount that takes time to take on and off. If you have a lot of lenses it’s best to get an adapter for each lens.
28mm lens must have it’s legged chopped to use it. Chop off 5mm of the legs in order to fit the lens and mount on the GH1. I believe that this will hold true for the 21mm lens as well.

(>)

The mounts are not cheap. $129.90 for buy it now or you may be able to offer a lower price. To get one for each lens which is really a must can be a little costly.
Would be nice to get the focal ring a tiny bit wider, about an inch or ideally and an inch and a quarter that would be just right when using indiSYSTEM SNAP! Gears for those who want to use these lenses with a gear and follow focus.

Filming Environmental Art

Going Green

New Environmental Art from Taiwan

Sponsored by

Council for Cultural Affairs, Taiwan

Taipei Cultural Center of TECO, New York

Presented in Partnership by

The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education

and Asian Arts Initiative, Philadelphia

Recently, I met two very talented installation artists named Chao-chang Lee and Ping-yu Pan who both create art in environmental settings in Taiwan. These two very humble and amazing artists were invited to the U.S. to create installation works at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education for the “Going Green New Environmental Art from Taiwan” Exhibition which has works at the Schuylkill Center and also the Asian Arts Initiative in Philadelphia. I thought this would be a great opportunity to test my new Metabones Contax G SNAP! Gear setup so I volunteered to document some of the performances they were both having at their installations. Because we would be out in the woods, I decided to really be low profile so I took only my indiRAILSpro MP which has a built-in follow focus and monopod. I also brought just two lenses, my Contax G 90mm and 28mm lenses. Because I was afraid the 28mm was not going to give me the full coverage I needed I also decided to be adventurous and I attached a Raynox HD-6600PRO55 .66 wide angle adapter to the 28mm making the lens approximately an 18mm lens.

One of the great things about using Contax G glass is that they are very sharp lenses and one of the challenges is that they are also very sharp lenses.

So with the GH1 this can be a problem. The screen is just not good enough to find critical focus especially in some outdoor environments like a wooded setting. Since I started to notice that I was having trouble with critical focus, I decided to play it safe and I opened up to f/4 through f/8 in order to get more depth of field in the hopes of covering myself and getting more in focus than out of focus shots. In many cases, the documentation shows some of the challenges when you have such sharp lenses. You’ll see a few out of focus shots here and there so its always a learning process. Having said that when the exposure and focus was on these lenses really do now how to shine.

Most of the shots I’ve seen with Contax G glass have been from still photographers so seeing moving images with Contax G glass is really wonderful and very exciting. I was also just floored at how well the Raynox HD-6600PRO55 wide angle adapter did. I basically had the adapter on the 28mm lens most of the time and it was still fairly sharp with a little vignetting and softening on the corners. I’ve used the Raynox on a few different lenses and the vignetting and softness is much more pronounced on my other lenses. I’d say using the Raynox wide angle adapter on Contax G glass produces some very good usable footage. Overall, I really see a lot of potential for Contax G glass especially in narrative filmmaking where you have much more control over your shots. I still want to see if I can get more comfortable and use them in more of a documentary run and gun style setting but for the second time at using these lenses I think this was not a bad effort.

I’d like to thank Chao-chang Lee and Ping-yu Pan for the opportunity to meet them and to film their work.

Here is one of the pieces:

Chao-chang Lee’s installation, “Everything is Buddha” uses found natural materials near the grounds of the Schuylkill Center to create a large earth drawing of a seated Buddha figure.

This film captures Chao-chang Lee’s live interactive performance where visitors are invited to place their own natural objects as offerings in his installation.

For more information on the exhibition please visit:

schuylkillcenter.org

asianartsinitiative.org

Filming details:

Panasonic GH13

Contax G 28mm f/2.8

w/Raynox HD-6600PRO55 .66 wide angle adapter

Contax G 90mm f/2 lens

Metabones Contax G adapter and indiSYSTEM SNAP! Gear

Filming Environmental Art

Going Green

New Environmental Art from Taiwan