Converting The Zeiss CP.2 85mm to EF Mount From PL. Or Buy The Rokinon
Carl Zeiss EF-mount, Interchangeable Mount Set EF2 for CP.2 50/T2.1 or CP.2 85/T2.1
I’m going through my gear trying to adapt to the C100 and C300 with the equipment that I already have and one big piece of kit I own is PL lenses. I need to figure out how I can get some use out of them with the C300. Unfortunately I dont see a solution for one of the three PL lenses I own. The Red 17-50 just wont work. No adapter for PL to EF and the mount cant be converted so I can’t use the Red 17-50. Bummer. Adapters just aren’t available yet to date to get a PL mount on an EF camera without issues so I sold the Red 17-50. It just didn’t make sense to keep it if I dont have a camera that it will work with.
I decided to look into swapping out the mount on my 85mm Zeiss CP.2 to the EF mount. I’ve seen a few videos on this and it seems like a pretty straight forward modification but the price to do this has me thinking.
Zeiss CP.2 Torque Screw Driver
The kit cost $390 and the torque screwdriver pictured above is another $173. This comes to a total of $563.That’s a lot of cash for a mount swap! I talked to a lens specialist and he said don’t worry about the torque screw driver. Tighten the screws enough to secure them in a criss-cross pattern, but don’t tighten them so much that it strips the screw. Sounds good. This is probably Zeiss making sure you don’t strip the screws or damage the mount by over tightening for warranty purposes.
Wiha T6 Torx screwdriver. Super cheap compared to the torque driver at $5.
This is the driver I decided to buy. It cost $7 on Amazon. Doesn’t have the torque feature. It’s just a T6 screwdriver made by the same company Wiha that makes the torque version.
Rokinon 85mm T1.5 Cine Lens for Canon EF
I got to thinking. The Rokinon 85mm cost $350.00 and it’s an EF version with no adapter, full manual declicked iris with gears, and the reviews are outstanding! I decided to go ahead and buy the Rokinon 85mm. I’m in the process of comparing the Rokinon to the Zeiss CP.2 85mm. Click on the link to see how it compares.
I like the Zeiss Cp.2 a lot but for $213.00 less than the mod I get a new lens. Tell me I’m crazy but the mod just doesn’t make sense! Well I guess it doesn’t matter if it makes sense or not since I did buy the Rokinon anyway. I seriously need to reconsider if owning PL lenses is worth it at this point. I was considering a Red camera this year and as it looks for now I don’t see getting one so is it worth holding on to these PL lenses? I guess for now I need to think this through but this new Rokinon wast to good to pass up. lets move forward to swapping out the PL mount to an EF
Zeiss CP.2 85mm PL next to the EF Mount Set
The EF mount kit arrived and my next step is to install it. Hopefully I can get this done without issues and not have to change the shims. We shall see…..
This video from Zeiss shows how to do the mount swap the right way. It looks pretty easy so lets get it done!
Zeiss CP.2 and EF mount kit ready to go.
The kit comes with everything you need to get the job done. Shims,screws and the EF mount that has two pieces.
Unscrewed the PL mount and off it came.
The PL mount is only one piece so taking it off was simple. I tested the how tight the screws where so I can make sure to get the same tightness later when it was time to install the new EF mount. As you can see one shim is in place. I left it in and moved to the next step.
EF mount collar with lens support
Since the EF mount comes with a collar that has a lens support bracket this has to go on first. This mount is the main support for the lens. Notice the grove in the mount that is on the left side under the collar? This is for lining up the mount to the lens in the next step.
The pin on the base lines up with the slot in the collar.
Its kind of hard to see but on the base of the lens there is a pin The collar’s grove lines up with it.
Screwing the mount on.
Okay. The moment of truth has arrived. No big deal. I put all the screws in first then tightened them in, but not all the way. After I got all the screws into the mount I then tightened them in a crisscross pattern making sure to not over tighten. Very simple and had no issues at all.
The EF mount is now ready
The EF mount has only four screws to tighten down.
All done!
Thats it! All done.
Fits like a glove!
I’ve been wanting to see this for a while now! Looks great! Now I need to check the focus.
Spot on!
I printed out a focus chart and mounted it to the wall. I did two different measurements. One from 4′ and another from 6′. The focus was perfect! No need to change or add shims. All in all this was very easy to do and now I can use my Zeiss CP.2 85mm with both the C100 and C300 cameras or any EF mount camera.
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Filed in: 35mm Lens • C100 • C300 • Camera News • Canon • Lens Talk • New Release • PL Lens
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Dibs on the Duclos 11-16 and Zeiss 85!
Erik,
The Tokina 11-16mm can be used on the C300/100 – I have used it several instances. Doesn’t Duclos offer an EF version of their modified Tokina 11-16mm? Or do you already have the Duclos 11-16mm in PL mount?
Let me know if you decide to sell your Zeiss CP.2’s 😉
– Donald
I have the Duclos 11-16 with PL mount. I should see how much it cost to swap out the mount to an EF. I’m guessing it wouldn’t be inexpensive since a cine mod runs $250 for gears and declicking iris.
I have the Red 17-50 and wouldn’t that be cool if I had it modified to a EF mount? It’s probably to heavy for one but that would be a great lens on the C300 and C100.
I can’t say enough.
I own a 85mm T1.5 and a 35mm T1.5 and I’ll be completing my Rokinon/Samyang/Walimex VDSLR collection until the end of this year (the 50mm is coming…). What I can say – and I’ve used theses lenses on the AF100, GH2, GH3, FS100 and FS700 – is that they are the best for the price tag. You simply cannot find better cost/benefit cine-like glass for that amount. They are not CP.2 lenses but for the price of a single CP.2 you can buy a set of DSLR primes and still save some money. To be honest there are some differences of build quality and overall IQ (and the 35mm is more of a 38mm lens), however, this just begs the question: are the Rokinon too cheap or are the CP.2 too expensive? After using both I can safely say that although the CP.2 are better glass they are not worth eight times more.
You’ll not be disappointed with the Rokinon. 🙂
Thanks Mario.
If the 50mm was available I would buy it today. I hope it’ll be a fast T1.5 like the 35mm is. I’m considering buying the 85mm since it’s the cheapest of the three and I could compare it to the Zeiss CP.2 85mm I already own.
You’re welcome.
Go for it! Buy the 85mm to check out the image and build quality and its usability. You can then extrapolate the differences between a CP.2 and a Rokinon/Samyang/Walimex VDSLR lens.
And yes, a 50mm T1.5 would be just amazing. Let’s see if they do it. It appears that they are making it. They didn’t produced yet because the VDSLR’s are basically a cine-mod of their DSLR lenses and since they don’t actually have a 50mm still lens the release of a VDSLR 50mm is taking more time…
I’ve been watching the buzz & very basic reviews on the Rokinon cine lenses for a few weeks now. Like you, I’m considering getting the 85mm f1.5 but was hoping to see a little more thorough testing/review than I’ve seen so far before actually buying. They are definitely inexpensive for what they are but I’m a little worried that the some reported sketchy QC and focus breathing issues might mean it’s less than useful for my purposes. I may just buy it on ebay through ‘bill me later’ and then resell before the 6 months if it doesn’t work out. Did you order one yet?
Keith
I haven’t purchased the Rokinon 85mm yet. Still on the fence whether to swap out the PL mount on the CP.2. I think it would be a good review to do comparing the Zeiss and the Rokinon side by side. If I did I would have to use the AF-100 or a GH3 since both can use the PL adapter. One thing I like a lot About MFT cameras. Very easy to use with so many lenses.
i am looking to buy PL mounts for my cp.2 lenses. i have an 18,28,35,50. i would love to swap with someone, or buy a used PL mount for any of these lenses. please contact me through my website. thanks!
Thanks for this, I did the exact same thing today, your recommendation on the Torx driver was spot on… I appreciate your effort documenting this