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Contax ND

Dear members,

I am currently travelling, so I have to make this message short. First, the meeting with Contax took place last friday in Hamburg. In my view it was a very productive meeting but time will tell and we alsways measure by results.

I will comment the feedback regarding some digital-technical issues next week, when I am back in Germany. We have one person now in Hamburg, who can give us answers for the technical side of The ND and TVS digital as long as it is in his "knowledge".

Roger:

"It seems to me strange that Contax would release a new DSLR without the "media build-up" over weeks and months, but I guess anything is possible in contaxland."

Of course there will be sooner or latzer another Digital Contax. As with every other manufacturer Contax lives from selling camera-bodies. And as in the last 30 years, there will be always new Contax bodies. The question is when and what.

Jakob and others:

I do not want to insult you for anything, but please are aware that some dealers are trying to do advertising for free by posting so called comments about a topic and mentioning always the dealer name. I would suggest it would be fair to name (if at all) only once the name of a dealer in a posting, but not 6 times.

This is the biggest Contax Site on the internet with over 3200 members and of course dealers like to get mentioned here.

We have nothing against advertising, as long as the dealers are paying for it and it is clearly visible for the users as advertising. This helps us to maintain the site. IMO this is fair.

Thanks for your understanding.

Dirk
 
John,

In light of Dirks request to not mention dealers' names just e-mail me direct.

Let me know what you want to use the Camera & Back for. Do you already have a Contax 645?

There are a few things to take into consideration when going with the Kodak back, so e-mail me at:

fotografz@comcast.net.

I'll fill you in.
 
I have learned from Contax USA that they provided updates for the software for the RAW developer and a firmware update for the N Digital in the past year. Can anyone tell me what version of the RAW developer and the firmware their cameras are running so I can determine if the N digital I am buying is "up to date?" Many thanks!
 
I have spoken to one of the consultants at B&H by telephone about the N Digital. All I can say was that this one consultant was very positive about the entire Contax line, but was more reserved about the N Digital, and claimed that it had not been as successful as the competition. I know that this is not specific, but I interpret it to mean that the price point was higher than the other 6 Megapixel competition (2 cameras by Canon and one by Nikon), without complaining about its technology at all.

My interest was more in the economics of the marketplace, not to say if a camera itself has a flaw. I don't believe that there is any doubt about the N Digital's excellence, just a doubt about its price point being over 3 times the street cost of the Nikon and Canon 6 Megapixel resolution digital SLR cameras.

It is widely known that B&H lowered the price from $6999 to $4999 before they stopped carrying it, and that Contax has had a running 10% discount/rebate on the camera. This suggests economic competition, not the performance of the camera.

It is true that the Canon EOS 1DS now runs $7,999 but it offers a full frame digital imaging element and 11 megapixel resolution. I believe that is why it is selling briskly and continues to be carried by dealers who no longer carry the Contax N Digital.
Best,
Larry Greenhill
 
Let's get real here.

First of all I didn't pay anywhere near $7,999 for my USA warrantied Canon 1Ds.

Comparing the $1,500 Canon 10D or $2,000. Nikon D-100 (soon to be $1,400.) to the Contax ND is comparing apples to an Orange.

The Canon and Nikon have 1.6X lens factors as their sensors are smaller than the NDs. In addition, the Canon 10D has a CMOS sensor where the NDs is a CCD, and a highly proven one at that.

Let's face it, Contax has always been a bit of the odd man out among professional photographers. Most wedding, sports, journalistic and wildlife shooters use something else. The Contax 35mm N series did nothing to capture any of those market segments. So there wasn't many built-in takers for a digital camera at this professional level price point. Without being able to make money with the ND, it becomes a heafty price to pay for most amateurs. In contrast, the Canon 1D and 1Ds had a ton of built-in pro demand just waiting to buy. And for the amateur they offer a highly capable series now represented by the all metal bodied 10D with improved focusing and better imaging ability than their previous D60...all for a doable $1,500.

IMO, Contax trapped themselves with the N series. The N-1 camera is neither fish nor fowl. It's a high end consumer camera that is neither fast enough nor tough enough to reach up into the all important pro market. There is no N camera in the class of the RTS. There are not enough N lens choices, and what lenses are available were painfully slow in coming. There is a crying need for N primes like a highly corrected 21/2.8 ASPH, a 28/2, and a 35/1.4 (a mainstay lens for most pros). If they revived the previous glory of the 50/1.2, 85/1.2, 70-200/3.5, and 135/2 Zeiss glass they might get the attention of pros who would put up with the N-1s shortcomings. But that isn't going to happen. in the end, Contax needs to produce a N in the RTS catagory, or go amateur all the way. And I don't see that happening either.

So, we should just get use to it and have fun with our gear. And pester the crap out of Contax to get included in the Adobe RAW list or get a real software solution into the hands of its' loyal customers...SOON!
 
Larry,

The most recent Contax RAW Developer is Version 2.0 and can be downloaded from http://global.kyocera.com/prdct/optical/ndigitalsoft/index.html (you may have to type the URL in your browser if it doesn't work as a link in here)
2.0 is a major improvement over the bundled 1.0 but it is still rather slow and not exactly a well designed software.

There you also find the Firmware Versions 1.07 and 1.08 while 1.08 is not an update but provides different default settings. These differences are explained there.

Hope this helps,
Christian
 
Marc,
I fully agree with you on many points you make but not with your statement that Contax trapped themselves with the N series.

If you bear in mind, that this camera system came to market in 2000/2001 and that it has a completely new lens mount, the line of entirely redesigned lenses (including the 645s!) is pretty impressive.

When I recall what happened with Canon when they changed their mount, Contax/ Zeiss appears to be delivering in lightspeed.
To my knowledge, Nikon had had plans to change their mount but never did it because they had seen what had happened to Canon. As I recall it, it also took Canon a couple of years to come up with a truly professional body for the new mount.

To some extent Contax always served a more deliberate type of photographer. The 'shooters' get themselves other types of guns...

Christian
 
Christian, I was commenting more on the marketing aspects and it's effect on a business. I am not ragging on the camera which I happen to like a lot (after I took the time to appreciate it's abilities and stopped focusing on it's shortcomings.)
 
> Larry,

The reason for the Canon 1DS (which sells for $3,000) more than the ND is selling "briskly", has more to do with the established, installed base of Canon as opposed to it "significantly" outperforming the ND. I believe that if you were to compare the sales of Canon Rebels to Contax Arias you would see that Canon probably sells 10 times more equipment than Contax. This does not make the Contax a marketplace failure, but rather a specialized peice of equipment with a loyal fan base, willing to pay premium prices for good equipment with outstanding Carl Zeiss Glass.

michael.
 
"as opposed to it (Canon 1Ds) "significantly" outperforming the ND"

All due respect Michael, but I am curious as to whether you have shot with the 1Ds?

I am a supporter of Contax both financially and creatively. The ND is not as bad as some would have you believe. But to compare it to a 1Ds on a performance basis is biased reasoning at best. Although, given the price difference, the value probably balances out more equally. You get what you pay for.
 
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