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Contax ND

I reckon I shall have to give digital a go but it's going to be steep learning curve and there are so many options and conflicting views that it's difficult to know where to begin.There's know way I can afford one of the super models. Perhaps the new Sigma with the Foveon chip might be worth looking at, not Zeiss lenses though.
John
 
John,

I've been through that learning curve a bunch of times. One of the values of a forum like this is to share experiences. If I may, please allow me to share a few thoughts as you move into digital.

Were I you I would not start with a newly introduced camera like the Sigma and Foveon sensor.
You should look at something proven to start with.
(I should've taken my own advice concerning the ND). A Canon D30 if you can find one, or a D60 if you can afford one. The only lenses that fit on a digital camera that can compete with Zeiss glass are the Canon L lenses, and a few select Nikon primes. I learned digital with a D30 and can attest to it's performance. It is an extremely easy camera to get along with, with very intuitive controls (the D60 is the same camera with a higher meg count). It uses a CMOS sensor which consumes power very frugally. It is also small and light. The canon 35mm/1.4 L lens is the best 35mm SLR lens currently available IMO. Their long lenses with IS are unbeatable.

Another route you can take if you must have that Zeiss look is to buy a high end 35mm scanner (Canon or Nikon with 4000 dpi ability), and just keep shooting film. Use any funds saved to improve your image processing equipment ( like more memory for your computer, PhotoShop 7 and Genuine Fractals to make larger prints). Then there is the printer...latest greatest is the Epson 2200. Best out there currently IMO. These items will make more of a difference in the final result than a few extra meg in a digital camera. A 35mm neg scanned at 4000dpi produces a image file as big or bigger than the $8,000. Canon 1Ds digital camera. $8,000. buys a lot of film and processing.

Finally, even consider a higher end P&S digital to get your feet wet. The canon G2 or 3 has all the controls that my Pro SLR has, just not interchangable lenses. It's a really inexpensive way to learn digital, and you can always use the P&S for family snapshots and travel images, (go to this forums' general, all camera sister site, then click on Gallery, search fotografz, where I've posted some Las Vegas travel shots taken with a lowly Canon G3. I think you will be suprised what it can do).

Good luck with your first steps into the future of photography.
 
The Zeiss lenses a great, but the Contax N seems to have still too many problems. I came up with the idea to buy in ebay for $ 7500 a remodelled
Kodak Pro Back for the Hasselblad ELD555. There it is currently offered by Kodak with full warranty. It is still expensive but it does not seem to have the probelms. Does anyone knows a good forum for these backs with Hasselblad or Kodak or give me otherwise advice?
 
Hi Horst,

you can try at my other two sites, which are more general for all camera brandnames. But they are very new and I do not do marketing for it, so only few members yet. But somebody has to start, right?
happy.gif


For camera discussions, the German one might be more vivid. Since you are coming from Gemany, this might make sense

www.photo-forum-online.de
www.photo-forum-online.com

I found also www.photo.net sometimes helpful - as long as they do not start this Hassy-Rollei battle. Serch function there is NOT very reliable, so you have to try different approaches to find all discussion threads.

There is also a hassy-mailing list in English, but I can not say anything about quality. Search with google for "Hasselblad Users Group".


In general I am not a big fan of pure mailing lists without a forum like here, since in most cases the search for old messages/threads is a pain and difficult to read. Therefore nobody is using the past comments. As a result knowledge gets lost and every 3 months the same questions appear again.

You can also not control the amount of e-mail or the topic you are getting - either you get all or none.

Just my 2 cents

Dirk
 
Horst,

I have used the Kodak DCS ProBack on a 555ELD and Mamiya RZ Pro II for about a year now. I also have their Kodak 645C ProBack which fits, on a Contax 645. Basically they use the same 16 meg sensor, so the images are the same file size. $7,500.
is half the cost of a new ProBack Plus, and is a really good deal. Kodak service is the best I've experienced from anyone. Many initial problems can be worked out on the phone with their knowledgable tech people. There is also lots of information on their web site, and they are constantly upgrading the firmware in the backs, or publishing better software. The software is the best I've used from any digital camera.

A few of the images I've posted on this sites' Gallery were taken with the Kodak 645C ProBack using Contax gear...click: gallery on the above menu and search: fotografz.

Please feel free to E-mail me directly with any questions you may have for a user.
 
I am relatively new to digital and color at the same time. I have just learned that my UV filter will add a red tinge to color photos. What filters are you all using to protect your lenses and could lens filters be causing some of the variable results reported by users on this site? I bring this up because I have seen some strange halos in JPEG1 while using my polarizer (probably mostly at the shorter focal lengths of my 24-80 zoom, but I have not tested this). Any ideas as to why this is happening?
 
Thanks for the various helpful comments. I shall give it a go in time and I shall definately look at the Canon G3 (Thanks Mark, the pictures are great.) At the moment though I will be trying to sell use of my transparencies through agents and they are still happy to deal with film. I understand from reading an interview with the Getty agency that most photographers still prefer film. Also Contax have brought out the RX11. The news item in Amateur Photographer confirmed that it would be available in the UK next year and that Kyocera hoped that it would become a standard.
This indicates a continuing commitment to film and manual lenses.
John
 
Diane, Contax offers P filters which is colorless protective filters. They are a slightly cheaper than the UV and Skylight 1A. However, unlike the UV and IA filters, I believe it is not Multi-coated. I do not know if it really matter or not, but I always prefer MC filters just because in extreme angle, lens flare created most likely from the uncoated front filter.

I am not a ND user, but I remember someone mentioned about the magenta cast caused by wrong color profile being used. Are they related issue?
 
Diane, halos most likely are due to some residue on the filter surface, unless you have some very overexposed spots in the frame, where it happens not due to the filter, but due to a phenomenon called "pixel burnout".
 
Thanks Irakly. Actually, I should explain further...it is really a darkened vignette around the image boundaries. I never had this problem with analog cameras/lenses. In the digital photo, the vignette has a banding pattern that appears to be circular and radiates in from the edges as if it is a lens/filter issue. I will try and post a picture when I get home from work. Maybe the filter has a coating of manufacturing residue. Was I supposed to clean the filter thorougly before using?
 
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