Sorry, but wrong - check the Zeiss site before posting assumptions.
Assumptions...of Vincent Laforet, Zeiss lover/tester.
http://blog.vincentlaforet.com/2010...s-are-coming-to-join-the-hddslr-party-part-i/
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Today Zeiss showed the very first “Compact Prime 2″ Cine Lenses that will mount on HDDSLRs. In fact these are quite versatile in that they come ready to accept both and EL (Canon mount) and PL (Cinema standard) that can be switched on the field w a Tor-X screwdrivers. (Although Zeiss recommends you have them do this.)
I’ve had chance to get my hands on this series and I immediately fell for them - I have also been promised a chance to test them out soon -I’ll be sure to share the test with you on this blog within the next few weeks.
The optical quality is excellent. More empirical test coming on that soon. But the main reason pros and advanced filmmakers will flock to this series relate to the ergonomics and practicaliy of using this lens on a just about any production. You will find that the optics have been re organized in this lens – but that it will perform very similarly to your ZE set. The main difference is that only the very best optics are chosen for this series vs the ZE lenses. The second key point is that the aperture blades comprise of 14 blades vs the ZE series with 9 – therefore you can expect a much more beautiful focus falloff..
At this point they are releasing a set of 8 Compact Primes at NAB 2010 and making them available for sale in May. A set of 6 will retail for less than $20,000. You can of course buy lenses independently at a higher price. Zeiss will be making the announcement as to which specific series of lenses they are releasing.
So what’s the big deal? Well for once this is the first series of PL lenses that Zeiss has produced in history that covers the full 24mX36mm sensor – EVER…"
Zeiss CP is the optics of the 20-year old Zeiss 36x24mm stills line (Distagon etc) supposedly selected for quality. So the rest of distagons are crap? Or do we tell marketspeak when we see it...They are rehoused in sturdy cinematic casings and apertures are changed into 14 leaf and de-clicked for cinema. The focus throw is suited for focus pulling. Cine ergonomics for cine-economics. 6 pieces for 20k or +3k a piece. What a deal....
At least in PL mount they can hang off safely, m43 as on GH2 will not only look ridiculous but be plain unsafe.
Now if you could link those Zeiss MTFs proving the optical superiority of the CP line over the ZF line.
I found only this sales pitch at Zeiss.com/cine:
"Q: What is the difference between the Compact Prime CP.2 lenses and the ZEISS ZF still lenses?
A: The Compact Prime CP.2 lenses are based on the ZF optical design. However, the lens housing and internal mechanics are completely new and the manufacturing process is a cine style process, similar to the process used for the other ZEISS cine style lenses.
When you hold a Compact Prime CP.2 and a ZF lens in your hand, you can immediately feel the difference. The Compact Prime CP.2 housing is rugged and robust to withstand the rigors of life on the set. Its solid design also helps when using lens motors. Fast and easy lens changes are ensured since all Compact Prime CP.2 lenses have the same dimensions, and all have focus and iris gears in the same position.
Operating the Compact Prime CP.2 lenses is also vastly different from working with ZF lenses. For starters, the focus ring turns in the direction all other cine lenses turn – cine style rotating angle. Their purposefully chosen larger diameter provides a larger rotating angle for more precise focusing. The calibrated scales serve the same purpose.
Optically, the Compact Prime CP.2 lenses have tighter mechanical and optical tolerances, a more precise optical adjustment during manufacturing and tighter quality control. Their unique 14 blade iris (not found in the ZF lenses) ensures precisely repeatable iris settings and organic, perfectly circular out of focus highlights and a pleasing bokeh. "