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Contaxbs Alphabet Game

Claus:
Depending on what you want the system for, I think that would be unfortunate in the extreme. While not denying any of the legit concerns stated here, it remains a fact that there is a tremendous amount of Contax gear available, both new and used. I switched from Nikon, and if all my Contax gear evaporates in 5 years and can't be replaced for some reason, well, I'll have five more years worth of much better pictures. I think it's premature to write off Contax as some on this forum are doing, but even if you think they are right, why deny yourself the pleasure in the meantime? -- Will
 
Hmm, I'm not a Contax owner, but came to this board, because I wanted to abandon my Nikon system for a Contax. >

Zeiss Ikon stop producing cameras in 1972 because it was not profitable, and I am still using a 49-year-old Contaflex and a 32-year-old Contaflex S.

So, if Kyocera quit tomorrow, I know my T4 and G2 are working fine, for how long, I do not know, but I do not know how long anything else is going to last either. So do yourself a favor and get Contax while the getting is good. There are rebates, and if there happens to be a Contax day near you soon, all the better.

Good Luck

Gilbert
 
I would have to agree with Gilbert on this one. The original poster simply asked a rhetorical question about Contax, but Kyocera's financial problems (and it does have major ones) are simply not relevant to the question of which camera you should or shouldn't buy. It makes no sense to base your purchase on that criteria. So what if Kyocera is having difficulties? Irrelevant. As I pointed out, every mid-size company in this country is essentially insolvent, dating from the burst of the bubble 13 years ago! And many large ones as well, but that shouldn't stop us from buying quality products. They're not going to disappear tomorrow.

Buy the G2 and enjoy it. It'll give you many years of service, and it's a great camera.

Mark
 
If there is anything that I would like to see done with regards to Kyocera and the stable of camera brands, it is a mindset change. They need to listen to their customers and give them what they want. Not just some new camera with token features added at the expense of another from one model release to another (RX and RXII), or not adding features that are have almost become standard in cameras of other brands (faster flash synch 1/250 sec and mirror lock). Worse of all, adding features that almost nobody wants (the drawbridge on the TVSIII, urrgghhh!!!). Just look at what Hasselblad or Fuji has done to the Xpan, and what Leica has done to the Minilux.
 
Claus,

Many people here, including me, are wedded to Zeiss and the Contax legacy. Like any marriage, there will be grousing about the inadequacies of the dear partner. That doesn't mean it's over!

Of all the late, lamented manual-focus SLR systems (Canon FD, Minolta MD, Olympus M, Konica), the best of the bunch is Contax RTS. And as an added bonus, they're not quite dead! This means you can get fantastic 2nd-hand prices (eB*y, KEH, etc) because people are running to digital. At the same time, some bodies and most lenses are available brand new, and with a 3-year USA warranty.

Because of their mechanical nature, the lenses are serviceable and will live for a hundred years. Bodies (other than the S2) have perishable electronics: my solution here was to buy five bodies, two of them new.

I always recommend Minolta MD to SLR newbies - the quality and value is astonishing. For that life-long commitment, however, pay a little more and move up to the RTS. And, yes, you're allowed to see other cameras: I use a Canon DSLR, and Leica M.
 
>I agree with your points Rico. Contax really has a lot to offer, if the quality of your images count.

My Contax 645 can boast the fastest shutter speed of any 645 (Mamiya AFD is as fast)

It is fully modular - Pentax and Mamiya 645 AFD are not. The Pentax does not have interchangeable backs, no digital capeability, no interchangeable viewfinders. The Mamiya can go digital, but cannot change viewfinder.

The Contax has the option af a vacuum film holder, there is data imprinting, has a ttl preflash metering, that works with any flash. It can shoot both film and digital, it can......

And above all: The Contax has really first rate Zeiss optics. Tell me who makes better lenses for medium format?? I cannot really see any 645 Camera surpassing the total Contax/Zeiss package

Maybe the autofocus is faster on the Hasselblad 645 - but that is of no concern for me at least. I rarely use it anyway. And if I do, I just press my right thumb, and the camera focuses, even though autofocussing is turned "off". Smart Contax detail!

Maybe the Hasselbald is more flexible with digital back's. I do not know. I still hang on to my trusted Velvia. Compared to the Hasselblad the Contax is a bargin!

Happy shooting

KÃ¥re

P.S. By the way Nikon is having red numbers in their yearly accounts. It does not prevent people from bying Nikon, however, even in spite of Nikon's, in too many cases, middle of the road lens quality (I'm a Nikon owner as well. And frankly I'm not impressed with the lens quality!)
 
I think that we moan because we love Contax, and are watching it shrink. We've all spent a lot of money on our systems, more, in most cases, than say Minolta would cost, and we're OK with that. I know I want to see Contax take the world by storm, but they're not. I've said to friends that I feel it's a crime that Kyocera/Contax may be just pissing it away. Jeff
 
>Rico, > I fully understand what you tell me.

However there is another point: I'm living on one of those funny spots in the middle of the pacifc ocean - speak the middle of nowhere. Out of this reason the customer support of a producer/distributor/vendor is very important for me. So I have mostlikely no other chance to buy new gear. And that's why I'm a bit scared about the future of Contax. From ebay I stay generally away. KEH would be another source, but I prefer to have 3 years of warranty for a new item over 90 days (the mail from the mainland already takes 14 days) for something used.

My dream machine would have been either an AX or RX. As my legs are getting blind and my slow (or was it the other way around?) I wanted to have some kind of a focus support. And the N-series is at the moment out of my financial capabilities as I'm building up a Mamiya RB system. Focusing on the "big screen" is much easier than with those tiny 35mm viewfinders ;) . Please don't shoot me now for buying the RB. I had the choice between Hasselblad and Mamiya, but prefer the picture format of the latter, 6x6 is just too weird to me.

I totally agree with Kaare about the Nikon lens quality. However I love some of their old AIS prime lenses. The beat the newer stuff by lengths. I even use them on my F90.

I hope I didn't myself as an outsider now too much ;)
 
Jeff, you made a good point. For me, I guess I gripe because (for me) watching Kyocera is like watching a gifted child not make use of their unique and rare talents. (Unlike that Leica-kid who entices you with what might be coming and then follows through and really produces it) Kyocera CAN do things others simply can't. I'd love to see them start warming up to their loyal customers and make a good show of things. -Lynn
 
Maybe we should invite a Kyocera representative to this site for a heart to heart chat.
 
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