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Which Contax System suits best to your needs

4) And some day I hope it never comes when you try to buy film and the salesperson asks ,what is film? you can move to digital which I have no interest at this time

I'm with you there Rick..I switched Back from Digital to film.. digital was too easy, too disposable.. I find that with film I take my time trying to compose a shot moreso than with digitals.
 
I´m interestet in active fotografie since 1980. Now I´m 43. In this time I learned am lot, at least about myself.
Some years soon after the beginning I tried to keep my stuff holding time with the technical development. Later I realized, that the steady change and the "modern" equipment (nikon AF 801 S, AF Nikkore) did not give me the fun and satisfaction I hoped for and that I feeled in the beginning. I learned a lot about fototechnical things, but then there was no real development in my pictures.
I found out, that fine landscape-, nature-, portraitslides, optical history, technical basics, nice looks, nice metal/manual fellings, easy handling and reliability were my interests. So I bought a Rollei 35 and sold the nikon stuff for CONTAX SLR equipment (RTS I, later S2).
I´m still happy, my pictures improved, technical/optical quality is ways up high enough (no improvement nessesary, if it were possible).
Even if some lenses might not be the latest state of the art any longer, it´s a pleasure, to use a Zeiss milestone in optical history like Planar, Tele Tessar, Sonnar,... Ít´s of no interest to own the last longest, widest, fastest zoom,...

And in one aspect the old CONTAX/Zeiss stuff improves with every year: when I bought it, it was big and heavy in comparison with Olympus OM,... Today it´s going to be the smalest and lightest quality SLR equipment in the market.

So, find out, what´s YOUR Interest. If you are the fotographer type, you will have to take many pictures. If you are the owner type, it´s more akademic at your desk. Probably you have to go through same changes. Spend this money, it´s wearth. CONTAX/Zeiss is a fine beginning, chances are high, you will come back.

A tip: when I actually take pictures, many akademic questions (which lens is best for me, 28, or 25mm?) lose their importance.

have fun, Stefan Irmler
 
Thanks to Rick Sokoloff. A year ago my choice was F100 vs N1. I decided on Contax. Since then I've added 70-300 and TLA360 to N1 and 24-85. Happy to be with you Contaxians. Can any one advise using TLA360 on my FM3a and Voigtlander Bessa 2? Will it damage electronics on camera if used in auto/manual mode? Can I use Metz 45 CT1 on N1 in auto/manual. Will it perform better than TLA360 in same mode? JC
 
I've been reading this thread for the past halfhour, and its been very interesting, as i'm learning quite a bit - I'm a canon fd system user, and am going to build a new system. I am thinking of either of Nikon F100 or Contax N1 - i travel (no sports or wildlife), and thus don't need the fastest AF, but for me two important issues are consistent quality results and rugged design. What are the differences between the F100 and N1 bodies interms of design, and then, for instance, differences in optical quality and results from the 24-85 lenses?

thanks,
Marc
 
Marc:

you will probably find that both bodies are excellent with minor pro's and con's. You will also find that Nikon F100 with AF-S lenses generally have faster AF speed. Then you will finally find out that the Zeiss 24-85 is the best of all 24-85's, and then you decide....
 
Marc , I have used the N1 for almost two years now and I love every bit of it. I don't like to compare cameras by brand ever since I read "Bad photographers compare Nikon and Canon. Good photographers compare tripod legs and heads". :) However, I do want to share my point of view.
The N1 is built like a tank. It feel so good and look so good which just keep you from stop shootings. It handles very well with the 24-85 and 70-300 zooms. The USM is very fast and quiet for this two lens I owned. You can manually focus without switching any button. These two lenses feel solid and heavy, but very well balance with the N1 body.
All the necessary control are on top of the camera with traditional dials. Unlike the F100, you can change your camera setting very quickly, clearly without going through the LCD panel. However, the N1 allows changing a lot of its setting view command dial. So, your eye and fingers don't need to leave the viewfinder. The some what small LCD displays all the necessary information which make any camera with larger LCD looks like toy.
One of the reason I picked the N1 is the ability to use the Contax 645 lenses. These lenses are one of the best money can offer. Up to now with the Hasselblad H1 systems, there is no other AF lenses offer such quality. I finally purchase the C645 recently. What a great camera! I can't wait to test the C645 lenses with my N1.
With the N1, you can share lenses with the N Digital. Until recently, ND is the only true full frame D SLR. The game has changed now. There are more option with the EOS1d and Kodak 14meg body. Let's see what Contax is going to do about it.
The AF is less impressive even comparing to some of my old and cheap Nikons. I learn to live with that. In fact, I set my camera in M mode. pushing the AF focus button as an AF assistance. It works very well for me and save a lot of battery power.
For the 24-85 lens you mentioned. I don't think Nikon offer this range for their higher end lenses, such as the AF-S. The only thing I feel comparable is the Nikkor 28-70 AFS. I love this AFS lens but the Carl Zeiss 24-85 has better range, sharper, and also has a very fast and quiet AF USM. Canon's 24-70 L is also a very very good lens. I personally prefer the look and feel of the massive Carl Zeiss lens. I wish the N 24-85mm has f2.8 aperture with this size and price. The Nikon and Canon offer more comprehensive system. The sharpness, contrast, and color rendition is what I love about the Carl Zeiss lenses.
 
There seems to be differing opinions on the AF accuracy and response in the N system; but the majority opinion is that you shouldn't rely on it for action shots.
Should you wait another year to buy the next generation N1 for improvements? It seems like you should have it all for the price of this system.
 
> I say buy now!!! Start building your collection of lenses. The N1 is a great body, and if you "have to" get the next generation because you are at all disappointed in the AF, then you will still have a great 2nd > body! But I think you will go ... hmmm. this N1 is great!

michael.

>
 
John:

this is the eternal problem - should I wait for improvements, and miss out on lots of opportunities, and then buy and find out later that there will be more improvements the next year? Same goes for computers. At some point you have to say to yourself whether you want to start taking pictures or not. If not, you can always wait. The N1 is terrific, the AF is quite good and I rely on it 99% of the time without tweaking. You want to take excellent pictures, the N1 will let you do that. Then again, I come from an AF background and many Contax users are disguised manual focus users who switched to a newer system, which is the future of Contax, and which happens to have AF. No system, be it Canon, Nikon or Contax has it all, not even for their price (check out the pricing of top of the line Canon's, Nikon's, and their "L" and "AFS" lens lines and you'll find that Contax can hold its own).
 
I have been thinking about buying an autofocus 35mm and was leaning towards the N1. After doing some research, I am a little worried about the out of focus problems I have been reading so much about. The main reason I want an AF is that as my eyes get older, it takes me longer and longer to focus. I am not so concerned with the speed of the auto focus. Therefore, I wonder, since I would be happy with a focus assist, would I be better of with an RX? Are the N1 focusing troubles as severe as many seem to think? How about the AX? Is that an alternative? My main reason for buying a Contax is that I prefer the control layout compared to what is offered by Canon and Nikon. I am not a big fan of being dependent on LCD screens.(Bad eyes!!) I currently use a Rollei 6003 Pro and an Olympus OM-4 . Thanks for any help you can give.

Gary
 
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