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Something is going on with Zeiss

I also agree with Dermot ... up to a point. Racing is about skill, reflexes, experience, guts and consistency. But limit the driver to a Kia and they'd be hard pressed to win any races.

Once the craft and talent of a photographer is honed to a razor's edge, then finer equipment can be made use of in their hands.

Mike, have you considered a Canon EOS body (film or digital) and an adapter to use your Zeiss glass?

BTW, if you DO decide to sell your Contax manual lenses let me know. I want to adapt a few to my Canon 1DsMKII.
 
Marc,

I'm a little lost here - what are you trying to say? (when you bring racing point). But I'd think that the driver will be able to win the race in Kia when the rules are set by Kia. "Welcome to Kia racing track, no Mustangs allowed"
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As far as Canon goes - which adapter did you have in mind? But the Canon cameras are a problem - I don't like them. Just don't like the cameras at all. They're way overloaded in my opinion. I like the camera where I have four basic things - exposure meter, nice "analog" controls (dials, not a myriad of buttons) and good viewfinder that I can actually see (I wear glasses). Size is also an issue - I don't like really big cameras (one of the reasons why I owned Contax N1 for less than a year).

So, after in-store handling of EOS-1V, I wasn't really happy about it. One of the things I really liked about Contax system is their cameras - they're very intuitive/easy to operate.

And since I have only one Contax camera, it obviously concerns me that Kyocera dumped the line. Three years from now there may be a problem getting camera repaired and that would leave me with bunch of lenses that few people would want (and the price would probably drop significantly too).

What lenses are you interested in? I have the following lenses right now (all are MM versions):

1. Distagon 28mm f/2.8
2. Distagon 35mm f/2.8
3. Distagon 35mm f/1.4
4. Planar 50mm f/1.4
5. Planar 85mm f/1.4
6. Sonnar 135mm f/2.8

I also have Mutar III. I haven't decided whether I want to sell them or not, but let me know which ones you might be interested in.
 
What I'm saying is that photographers who have the talent, experience and skill, CAN make use of better equipment like Zeiss or Leica makes. The raciing analogy means if you give that same photographer a camera with a $100. lens, the images will still be distorted or lack resolution even in their hands.

Mike, it sounds to me that if you don't like a camera that's as fast, accurate and tough as an EOS1V, you'd be better off hunting down a couple of Contax bodies and putting them in storage. The good thing about mechanical cameras is that there always seems to be some repair people who have parts and can fix them. Look at the range of experts that can fix Leicas, and often do a better job than the factory authorized centers can.
I think you'd be safe keeping the stuff you already love and use.
 
Marc,

That's a weird analogy actually. Cartier-Bresson and many other famous photographers didn't have the latest and greatest lenses and equipment and yet they made many great photos. And they made them very often handheld.

It's always better to have the equipment you can "grow" with obviously. It makes little sense to buy anything that wouldn't last you many years. With zeiss and leica any photographer gets this assurance - "no matter how good or bad you're as a photographer, our lenses will perform great". With many other manufacturers (that don't even perform real tests on lenses leaving their assembly line), you get no assurances whatsoever. That is essentially all the difference there is.

Now, about Contax bodies - you're right. In fact I have been looking for Contax S2 for that precise reason for a very long time now. I'm thinking of maybe getting one of the last manufactured Arias as well. But I'm still thinking, so we will see.

By the way, I realized I made a silly mistake. I don't have Distagon 35mm f/2.8. What I have is Sonnar 85mm f/2.8 (I guess I somehow copy-pasted and modified one line without realizing it).

So, the full list is:

1. Distagon 28mm f/2.8
2. Distagon 35mm f/1.4
3. Planar 50mm f/1.4
4. Sonnar 85mm f/2.8
5. Planar 85mm f/1.4
6. Sonnar 135mm f/2.8
and Mutar III.

All lenses except Planar 50mm are in "excellent plus" condition using KEH grading as a guideline. Is't a subjective description anyway, but I think it's fairly accurate. Some may be "excellent". Planar 50mm is probably "excellent", it has seen a lot of use (glass is clean and aperture works, but there are dings on the barrel, mount shows signs of use, etc). Sonnar 135mm was bought about a year and a half ago brand new, so it's in like new condition because haven't used it much and it comes with a box. Planar 85mm and Distagon 35mm f/1.4 have boxes as well. All lenses have pouches and both caps obviously.

Since I haven't decided yet if I want to sell anything, make me an offer first, that way I will be able to see if it makes any sense to me
happy.gif


Thanks.
 
Mike, not to be argumentative, but Bresson WAS using the latest greatest at that time. The advent of the small Leica 35mm helped re-invent photography and allowed the notion of the "decisive moment" to be realized more fully. No doubt that if you gave any great photographer a Holga, you'd get excellent stuff, but it would be limited to what a Holga was capable of. If their vision was greater than the abilities of the Holga, then they would need a better piece of gear. Likewise, give a formula one driver a Kia, and they'll get more out of it than we could, but the other drivers in formula one cars will win the race. Most photography we are exposed to everyday is professional commercial work. It is the equivalent of a "formula one" race for most shooters. 85% of which is now AF & more digital than not.

On a related note, I just ordered a Contax 35-70/3.5 mm Zoom and an adapter to try on the Canon 1DsMKII. This focal length fills a gap for wedding work that I now have after selling my Canon 24-70/2.8L (which I hated). Will report on the results after shooting with it a bit.

So, Mike, you may want to keep your manual Contax stuff and get a Canon body to try before dumping everything. I'd wager that the 28/2.8, 35/1.4, and 85/1.4 will produce astounding results ... and you will only need a few Canon lenses for AF work.
 
Most of the discussion has not centered around Holgas or Lomos..difficult to use by any standard. The real meat of my arguement is give me a K1000 and a 35mm/85mm combo and I'll produce work as good as a similar Contax/Leica R/M combo..I know it because I've done it. Let me tell you a story about Zeiss...when I shot weddings many moons ago I used a Bronica because I could not afford a Hassey...than god as the work was awful, lots to learn. Years later I bought myself that Hassey I was very proud I made some great images but to my amazement they did'nt sell any better than my P645 image's...in fact I explained to one of my AD's recently about how i've carried on numerous trips to Europe and else where 67/66/645 outfits so I could bring back quality image for publication. Her eyes glazed over she relplied just give me the same as last time whatever that was..it has to go to 22"x28".
HCB as you say used what was considered the best of his day but he'd of done pretty amazing work with anything.
 
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