Just to say hello

[picture]

Hello,
I just wanted to say hello to all Contax addicted ones and introduce myself a bit.
I am living in germany, using Contax / Zeiss Lenses since 1983 always being proud and happy to own and use such great equipment.
Major interests in photography were motorsports and nature (what a contrast, I know).

During the years my job consumed more and more of my "spare time", so I used my RTS III & 137MA less and less.

Recently I "discovered" all my Contax equipment which still is in very good shape, but just sitting there.

Now, dont shoot me - I dind't think about this in earlier days either - I am thinking about switching over to digital photography.
Of course I'd like to keep all the great lenses and use it on a digital body, but is there any chance at all ?

Planar 1,7/50 T*
Planar 1,4/85 T*
Sonnar 2,8/135 T*
Vario-Sonnar 3,4/35-70 T*
Vario-Sonnar 4/80-200 T*

Even a manual mode would be a good start, rather than giving away all the nice lenses.

I am wondering about your thoughts

Karl

 

[nickdando]

The easiest, if not the cheapest, way into Digital is to get a Canon Eos digital camera body and a suitable adaptor.

I am biased as I don't like the Eos 10D I have as it is unreliable (Err99 even with some of the, frankly, rather nasty plasticky Canon lenses 20-35mm and 35-70mm) and it is so big. It just doesn't have the same smoothness in the hand as the Contax bodies. I have a 137MD, an RTS II and an AX (which is big!), but all of them feel right.

You also have the problem of field of view being increased by 1.5 times for this particular series of models, so all of the lenses suddenly give the view of standard or telephoto lenses. This leads to the purchase of ever wider, more expensive lenses to cover the field of view of "normal" wide angle lenses - all of a sudden your 35-70 mm becomes a 52-105 mm. To get the equivalent of a 35 mm lens, you'll need to get hold of a 25 mm Distagon, which won't be cheap. Even wider than that is the 18 mm Distagon which gives you a 28 mm field of view.

I don't have the money to burn on the full frame sensor models such as the Eos 5D or even the very expensive Eos 1D, so I can't comment on how well the Zeiss lenses will work with them - whether the vignetting makes them unusable or not.

The other problem is that certain lenses and accessories just won't work with the Canon bodies - Makro Planar 60mm and Mutar because the aperture pins are too long and foul the mirror box (and they are that long for a good reason on the Contax bodies, so I don't want to shorten them to force them to work on the Canon); Auto Bellows as the pentaprism overhang prevents the unit from being attached to the camera in the first place. So you can't do close-up work.

I also have a couple of Leica M-series bodies and an Epson RD-1. I love digital using the Epson, even though it is seen as being out of date and "only 6 megapixels". It works very well, but not as well as the M3 or the M6. It doesn't have that feeling of quality that the Leica's have, but it is only a cheap body with expensive internals. I like the instant feedback from the LCD panel, particularly when shooting monochrome as you can see what everything looks like in black and white. But you don't have any Leica lenses, so why am I extolling the virtues of digital rangefinders to you? Just that digital, with the right kind of body can work and be enjoyable.

Digital still can't beat the wonder of that small "window on the world", the humble transparency. They are just fascinating to look at, and when projected with a good lens, the results are stunning. And negatives are still magical to work with. If you have access to a suitable scanner, then carry on with film. At least if your computer crashes and the hard disk gets corrupted, you'll still have working "software" that will last for years to come and won't be incompatible with your new computer system.

Anyway, that's my view, and I hope I haven't put you off using your splendid Contax cameras and the stunning Zeiss lenses. Hopefully others will also answer your questions with their opinions.

Nick