What's new
DPR Forum

Welcome to the Friendly Aisles!
DPRF is a spin-off of dpreview. We are a photography forum with people from all over the world freely sharing their knowledge and love of photography. Everybody is welcome, from beginners to the experienced professional. From smartphone to Medium Format.

DPRF is a community for everybody, every brand and every sensor format. Digital and film.
Enjoy this modern, easy to use software. Look also at our Reviews & Gallery!

Contax T3

>I'm new to the forum and to Contax (thank you, Santa.) Over the past few weeks there have been several discussions concerning the limitations and merits of various Contax systems -- RF vs SLR vs (now) P&S. One point of view seems to suggest that to be a serious photographer one absolutely must have the most flexible, most technologically capable equipment. This is balderdash.

There's nothing wrong with demanding pounds/kilos and pounds/kilos of maximum state of the art gear with zooms and matrix metering and focal lengths from 1 to 10,000 mm if thaat's your choice. But the fact is, SLR gear is limited too, and there is another POV that I find more fullfillng.

I deliberately bought a G2 with the three basic FFs because of its RF limitations. I find it liberating to say I'll create the best images I can within its more circumscribed sphere. For some reason, the G2's RF limitations enable me to get outside the camera and into the scene more easily -- more fully -- than with an SLR. For me the method of composition is significantl;y different, more satisfying and thus the act of shooting is more pleasurable with an RF. I could easily see this happening with a P&S, as well. (Although, I just happen to inexplicably love RFs and have always regretted selling an M3 system years ago.)

The G2 has all the engineering bells and whistles I require, and where it doesn't I find it fun to dream up workarounds. So, hey, you have fun your way, I'll have fun mine. Because, after all, for this amateur at least, the superior system is the one that delivers the most fun, aka it's a personal choice.
 
Re: max watson on Sunday, February 23, 2003 wrote:
"after all, for this amateur at least, the superior system is the one that delivers the most fun, aka it's a personal choice."

Well said, Max. For the vast majority of us, photography is a hobby and it's supposed to be fun, so cool your jets, guys.

- John McCormack
 
Craig,

I was referring to the "vignetting chart", which is an additional chart that accompanies the 2 MTF charts and the distortion chart in the official Zeiss papers provided with each lens.

Vignetting is nothing else then light fall off. I just called the whole package "MTF-documents", since everybody knows then where to look at. You can see them by the way also on this site in the scan section.

Also the comparison between the T2 lens and T3 lens - MTF, vignetting and distortion.

Dirk
 
Dear Craig N,

You are quite correct about the role of the MTF graph -- pardon the sloppy use of terminology. Umm, Dirk is sloppy, too!

CZ, unique in consumer optics, kindly provides a usable MTF for each lens, along with a graph for linear distortion and for relative illuminance (light fall-off). It was the latter that gave rise to my concern about serious lack of corner illumination that does not improve when stopped down. What's that about? The MTF itself shows good performance of the new Sonnar wide open (stopped-down info not given).

I definately need a shirt pocket camera. Another route is a digicam like the Minolta Dimage Xi. Not the ultimate optics, but insanely small!
 
Dear Dirk and Rico,

Thanks for the clarification. Much appreciated.

I looked at the Relative Illuminance (RI) charts that you mentioned and notice that at maximum aperture, almost all the CZ lenses have a similar RI curve. The T3 is different in that the stopped down RI curve doesn't improve as much as the C/Y and G 35mm lenses do. I suppose that might be something to do with the fact that the extreme compactness of the T3 requires the lens to be made as small as possible, and therefore the image circle might only just be reaching the corners of the frame.

Even when stopped down, the C/Y and G lenses still show a significant drop in RI at the corners (50%), but I've never heard any complaint from the field.

Anyway, as mentioned a few times earlier in this thread, the pictures from the T3 are gorgeous, so in practice, there doesn't seem to be any objectionable vignetting by its lens.

Kind regards,

Craig
 
Thanks Dirk for your clarification of light fall-off issue. It explains why some of us are seeing fall-off while others don't.
 
Dear Bill,

It seems like a lot of folks come to compacts after using SLRs, whereas I've never owned one and have worked my way up from cheapo P&S cameras. I'll be happy if the T3 just gives me a significant improvement over what I have now.

Regarding the problem of reflected light off flowers and other objects, I guess I was hoping someone would tell me there's a polarizing filter for the T3, and that with a bit of trial and error for exposure settings it can be used effectively. Ah, well...

- craig
 
Dear All,

Since I couldn't find it anywhere else on the net, for the record here is what the Contax leaflet says about its five filters.

- craig

To ensure the superb imaging performance of the Zeiss T* lenses designed specifically for use with the Contax camera, all Contax filters, excepting the P-filter, are multi-layer coated.

FOR COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY

1A MC (light pink, filter factor 1X):

Haze-cut filter for general color photography. Absorbs ultraviolet ray, eliminates bluish tinge and assures natural color balance. Can be kept
over the lens at all times for protection of the lens surface.

A2 (81B) MC (light brown, filter factor 1.3X):

Eliminates bluish tone when photographing under overcast or in rainy weather and assures natural color balance.

B2 (82A) MC (light blue, filter factor 1.2X):

Effective for eliminating yellowish red tone and assuring natural color balance when photographing in early morning or late afternoon hours.

FOR B&W PHOTOGRAPHY

L39 (UV) MC (transparent, filter factor 1X):

Absorbs ultraviolet ray and assures clear and crisp images. Ideal for photography of landscape, beach scene, etc. Can be kept over the lens at
all times for protection of the lens surface.

FOR COLOR AND B&W PHOTOGRAPHY

P (Protection) (transparent, filter factor 1X):

The P-Filter is a colorless optical filter specifically designed to protect the lens from damage, dust and other harmful particles. Flat
spectral characteristics have been employed to allow the lens to perform normally without affecting its color reproduction properties. Cleaning is comparatively simple, as both surfaces of the filter are covered with a
single-layer coating. To clean, wipe gently with a piece of soft cloth.


Compensation through resetting of exposure compensation setting:

Filter with 1X factor: 0
Filter with 1.2X or 1.3X factor: +0.3
 
I purchased a 35mm Kenko circular polarizing filter on eBay which I use all the time with my T3 and its filter adapter. Because I'm not that experienced in photography, I bracket my polarized shots with the T3's exposure compensation feature. The T3 does NOT meter through the lens, so I have to peer directly through the filter to see the effect, note the resulting position of little dots of fingernail polish I put on the filter's ring, and then put it on the T3 and turn the filter to the noted position. Using bracketing, I've gotten some good shots where the filter made clouds pop out in the sky this way. The real problem with polarizing filters is that they only work when you shoot at 90 degree angles to the sun.

Jim Miller millerjamesc@earthlink.net
 
Craig,

30.5mm linear/circular polarizers are available at B&H. Using one will be tricky since you can't see the polarization through the VF. You have to adjust it using your eyes and attaching it onto the filter/adaptor to the same position. These steps really slow you down.

On a side note, Zeiss coating does an awesome job at minimizing glare, reflections, etc. Using a polarizer on a clear sunny day in southern Cal will render the sky too deep a blue. Using a polarizer 10,000 ft up in the California Sierra will definitely render the sky INK blue. Just overkill. So my polarizer only comes out to play when I'm shooting near the water... lake, ocean, etc.

Niki

"Regarding the problem of reflected light off flowers and other objects, I guess I was hoping someone would tell me there's a polarizing filter for the T3, and that with a bit of trial and error for exposure settings it can be used effectively. Ah, well..."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top