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User comments btil June 2003

Kaare and Jack,

I use the Lee System with 4"X 6" grad filters on all my Contax 645, as well as 6X6 and 6X7 cameras.

Lee makes a series of adapter rings including 95mm.
There are 2 types; normal and wide angle. The wide angle versions reverse back on themselves to help avoid vignetting. The filter holder itself then clips onto these adapter rings and can be had in different configurations to hold 1,2 or more filters at a time. More than one slot is not recommended for the C-35mm. Finally, there are 2 shades for the system, regular and WA. B&H carries the entire system as well as a variety of different make filters.
 
marc and kaare:

is the right lee filter the so-called lee foundation system?

secondly, how do lee grads stack up against singh rays? i mainly shoot landscapes (sunrises). do you recommend soft or hard grads?

thanks for the advice.

jhs
 
Jack, I'm not sure about the so-called "foundation"
system, or what comes with it. The Lee system is made up of 4 basic components: 1) adapter ring (either reg., or the W/A version ( I recommend W/A for all lens sizes anyway, so you don't have to buy 2 of each size). 2 ) filter holder (can be 1 slot, 2 slot (can add more), 3) the bellows shade (I recommend getting both the reg. and W/A versions).
4) the filters, just about everything.

I do not have any experience with Singh Rays, I just noted that they were quite a bit more expensive.
The Lee ones are Resin, and have to be handled with care to avoid scratching. I think someone makes glass ones (Sinar?), but I never even seen one, let alone used one.

Whether to use soft or hard grads depends on how you tend to shoot ( wide open or stopped way down apertures), and what you want to accomplish.
All my grads are soft.
 
Hi Guys,

I am a Nikon user presently. Thinking of getting a mamiya 645 AFD or the Contax. More inclined towards Contax at the moment. I shoot mainly Landscapes and Portraits. I am not a professional.

So far I have heard Mamiya has focus problems related to film curl if you leave the film for a while especially with wide angle lenses when opened up. I am not sure is it also a problem with the Contax especially considering its vacuum back.
Apart from the battery drain are there any other problems with the contax?
Your infor are greatly appreciated
 
Jack,=20 I agree with Marc's comments, but can add the following. Singh Ray = filters have the advantage that they are quite long - long enough if you = i.e. have the horizon in the top third of the image or even higher.=20

As for the Lee holder system, try to check out www.leefilters.com You = can see how the system works, with the adapter ring, filter holder etc. = One big advantage is you need one holder for several lens sizes, and the = holder will accept more than one filter at the time. You can also turn = the holder clockwise or CCW if the image requires this.=20

The Sinar filters (the ones I have at least) are resin filters, so you = have to take care to avoid scratches. I am not aware whether they make = glass types.

Best regards

K=E5re
 
>is the right lee filter the so-called lee foundation system?

The Foundation system gives you the holder and associated bits, the professional system adds a further holder which may be attached and angled with respect to the first. You will also need the appropriate adapter to fit to the lens filter mount thread.

>do you recommend soft or hard grads?

Personally I recomend hard grads, they seem to offer a clear boundary without being too hard, the softs though are not so useful if you have a land/sky boundary instead they gently fade accross the whole frame.

>secondly, how do lee grads stack up against singh rays? i mainly shoot >landscapes (sunrises).

I cannot comment on singh rays but find quality and results from the lee filters excellent, very natural, I also use them for landscape/seascape, sunrise/set..
 
Cham, Zeiss optics, AF/Manual integration and flash pre-metering were my reasons for choosing Contax. The camera has fully realised my expectations in all these areas.

The inability to use fill-flash at shutter speeds above 1/125, and the limitations of the viewfinder for spectacle or sunglasses wearers have both been disappointments.
 
> The Singh-Ray filters are excellent. Some of the others have an exaggerated effect which identifies the fact you used a graduated filter. Others, such as the fixed, screw-in type always put the separation in the center. That doesn't always match where you want it in your composition. Soft edge vs. hard edge. Depends on the subject and your desired result. The effect will vary with your chosen f/stop. Definitely best to work with a tripod. I have not used the Lee system. Galen Rowell's book, Galen Rowell's Vision-The Art of Adventure Photography, p 82-83 has a detailed explanation of his use of Singh Ray filters. >
 
Mamiya AFD 645 (and Pentax 645) were amongst the alternatives I studied before buying my Contax.=20

The great Carl Zeiss optics were my main reason for choosing the Contax - and I enjoy thoroughly working with it. Yes it does consume batteries, but I just always carry a spare, so it is not a problem. If you can afford the COntax - you can afford the power as well!

The auto focus is perhaps not that swift, but for me it is not an issue anyway. The autoexposure lock, mirror up and auto bracketing features are great.

I have been using Nikon gear for the last twenty years or so, and have tried to take the same picture with my Contax and Nikon on the same film type/tripod. You won't beleive the difference... The Nikon images are dull, flat and lack nuance in the midtones, compared to the Contax.

Best of luck
 
I am also a Nikon user the decades. I got into the N1 two years ago and very happy with the body and the 24-85 and 70-300 zooms.

In the February 2003 issue of the Japanese Photography Journal, it tested four 645 cameras. They are the Fuji GX645AF (the Japanese version of the Hasselblad H1), Contax 645, Pentax 645 N II, and the Mamiya 645AFD. Since I can not read Japanese, I can not tell exactly what the test results are. But there are three set of pictures from each camera taken from the 80mm and 35mm lenses and I have someone to translate the captions for me. Looking at the pictures themselves, you can tell the Contax Carl Zeiss lenses are the winner, no lens flare, sharpest, saturated color, good contrast, smooth out-of-focus image area. The next one come close to it is Fuji (for those did not know, Fuji makes the 645 AF lens for the Hasse H1 system). Mamiya is pretty good except for lens flare area. Pentax suffered from lens flare the most, and the entire image is degraded by the flare.

Personal, picking the Contax 645 is a no brainer. The biggest plus is the Carl Zeiss lenses, and being able to share them with the N system.

I have owned and used the C645 for less than 3 months with the 80mm and the APO 120mm lenses, so far I am a very happy c&er. I can now retire from RB76 and Hasse systems.

My next step is to save money for the ND (even the Kodak 14n and Canon EOS 1Ds are better to a degree). I am totally hooked with the Contax even there are some short comings. But then, there is no such thing as a perfect system.
 
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