Zeiss contax lenses on Canon EOS mount cameras

[jljonathan]

If I am going to be using zeiss contax lenses on a canon 5d with an adapter in ae mode, is there any reason to be buying a mm version of the lens rather than a ae. The ae versions seem somewhat less expensive and in this case, not using a contax camera would I gain anything? Are there any differences between the mm and ae: 135mm 2.8 sonnar, 28mm 2.8 distagon? other than auto on a contax body?

 

[Ian Grant]

Unfortunately you have come to the wrong place to ask. This is a purely analog forum dedicated to film & film cameras. The 5D doesn't use film yet

Ian

 

[Andrew Moxom]

The only difference between MM and AE is that MM gives you program modes on the contax bodies that supported it. The only difference physically was that the MM lens had a small pin that used to engage a tiny switch when the lens was rotated on. The AE version did not. On contax bodies, the MM function could be fudged with a small piece of plastic that could be inserted to fake the camera into thinking that the MM lens was attached. At any rate, For the Canon 5D, I doubt that there would be a switch for the program functions on the lens adaptor you have. I could be wrong on that, but would not think it would be a problem.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

As Ian said, digital cameras are off topic for this forum, but before we delete the thread, does this information apply equally to EOS film bodies? If it does, we could just change the title.

Update: Sounds like this is the case, so I've edited the title.

 

[jljonathan]

So on the 5d, aside from on auto functions, no optical difference between the AE and MM?
And, I have tried to load film into the 5d without any results. Thank you.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

When using a Contax lens mount adapter, regardless of the body (film or digital) you are attaching it to, the lens will work in stop-down, aperture preferred mode or manual mode only. A Canon EOS or digital body will have no connections to the lens since the Contax lenses were purely mechanical and the EOS system is totally electronic. So the short answer is there would be no difference at all between the AE and MM lenses when used on a lensmount adapter. Contax to Canon is a good combination, because the Canons have a very shallow mirror box so most lenses will fit with a modest adapter.

 

[Andrew Moxom]

No optical differences between AE, or MM lenses as far as I am aware. They all have the T* coating and lens designs are the same. I think the MM lenses did have lighter lens bodies and construction, but the elements are all arranged the same so there should be no difference.

 

[naaldvoerder]

Beware, that not all Contax Zeiss lensses will work on the Canon 5D. For instance the mirror of the 5D will hit the rear element of the 18/4 mm Distagon. More information on this can be found on;

http://www.cameraquest.com/adaptnew.htm

Also it might be worth knowing that Zeiss Oberkochen will no longer service AE-lenses.
I just found out, by having an AE 85m Planar send back to me from Zeiss, unrepaired due to the fact that "there are no more spare parts for the AE-lenses". Since these AE versions and their MM-counterparts are virtually the same I found this hard to believe, and by telefoon I was told by the repair department, that this was more for "political" reasons then practical ones. One point down for Zeiss in my view...

Jaap Jan

P.S. Does anyone know of a reputable repair shop for Contax Zeiss lenses preferable in Europe?