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Contax T3

Retired at 44 - hey, you're a lucky dog! You two should go to TimeZone.com and head to the WaterCooler.
 
Now that Greg the Jerk has taken his leave, we can resume normal activities in this Contax equipment forum: discussing Contax equipment!

My reading of the MTF suggests the T3 lens has significant light fall-off when wide open. Any opinions on this matter? I have the Yashica T4 Zoom and, while it's great for a $200 P&S, the lens is slow, so it's frequently wide open. Unfortunately, it then suffers atrociously uneven illumination at 28mm FL and little better at 35mm.
 
Doug,
Alas, retired only from that career! Have to pay for my habit, so I'm in the corporate rat race now.

Rico,
I have read several reviews and comments about the light fall-off (some say it's noticeable, some not). I looked at several of the slides and prints I've made with my T3 and my weary eyes can't see any real fall-off. I'm sure there is some there, but I can't find it. Now you've got me interested in checking it out semi-scientifically. Anybody else got any info on this topic?
 
Rico,
From what I've read and heard, the T3's lens does have some minor light fall-off at wide-open aperture (on MTF graph). However, most users can't see this with the naked eyes. I've done mostly outdoors at all apertures and I can't say I see any either.
 
Hi Greg.

There was no complaint about the T3 in my post - just a question. I don't use an SLR and a bunch of lenses because I don't want to lug that weight up and down mountains in Japan with my chronic knee problems.

I only get to go to Japan once or twice year to take photos and it's a pretty expensive vacation. If I've been walking all day and discovered some remote temple where wisteria is blooming, it's pretty disappointing to get back home and find none of the pictures turned out well. So, the main reason I just bought a T3 was its exposure control and ability to use filters.

I work in the Internet industry, so I'm interested
in the ever-decreasing size of hardware. A few years ago, who would have guessed I could one day use a Palm+modem - weighing a few ounces - plugged into a public telephone to check my email and use ICQ? So I don't see why future compact cameras can't have more features, such as spot metering... if there are any non-digital compacts left in a few years time.

- craig


Greg said:

"Such a lot of fuss made over a point and shoot camera! I have a Contax T3 and I use it for what it was made for-pointing and shooting. If you want to precisely previsulise your subject and exposure, use a Hasselblad and a spotmeter as I do. Then you'll really get the pictures.No more complaining....

Greg"
 
Hi guys,

my experience is that the T3 has light fall off at open aperture, but the amount depends on the film you are using and the subject you are shooting.

The vignetting chart in the MTF documents of Zeiss shows you what you can measure with scientific instruments. How much of that you can really see in the "real life" shooting is a different issue. This is why judging a lens only by looking at graphs and numbers without beeing able to properly interprete these things is misleading.

First of all there is the question from which percentage on you can see it under which situation. If you look at the vignetting chart, I found out that I see only vignetting in real life, if the line goes south and passes the 80% and lower. But even then the light fall off is not really disturbing- depending on how steep the line falls.

Another issue is the film you are using and the subject you are shooting. This is why you get different opinions about this issue. The stronger the contrast the film is able to produce, i.e. Fuji Velvia 50 compared to Fuji Sensia 400, the stronger you can see light fall off.

If you then shoot for ex&le with the velvia only blue sky, you will see the light fall off. With the T3 I see light fall off at the 2 first stops with Fuji Velvia and a uniform colour over the whole picture (blue sky). With Fuji Sensia 100, I only can see it marginally at full aperture.

I never used til now an Iso 400 film with my T3, so I can not say anything to this. But the results will be similar to my experience with SLR-lenses. So do not expect to see there any remarkable light fall off.

Hope that helps

Dirk
 
... another point for people who are thinking about buying a T3. I used my T3 now for ca. 18 months and it delivered always great results. Because of the size you have to live with some compromises, but If you do know in advance what you EXACTLY want to do with a piece like this and these criterias are fulfilled with the T3, then you can not go wrong.

Having said this, I must say that my shooting style with the T3 or a compact camera in general changed slightly in the past 2 years. So I would put on my wish-list a T3 with a 50 or 45mm lens, since this would be better for my personal shooting style with P&S. But this is a personal thing and I can surely live also with 35mm for the time beeing.

Dirk
 
Thanks, Niki.

Actually, the shots I mentioned were taken with two cheap compacts, and I'm hoping that at twice the price the new T3 will do a bit better. But, as you say, bracketing seems to be the answer.
I couldn't do it with my old Ricoh Gr10.

Of the two test rolls I've shot so far with the T3, the metering seems to be fine.

- craig
 
> Craig,

Thank you for your original post on this matter. I appreciate your knee problem and understand why you are attempting to get more out of the camera than most of the users of this camera would do. That's what creative people do.

It is an embarassment to us all to have people like Greg participate in this forum and I will presume to speak for the rest of the list in offering you an apology for his arrogance and bad judgment.

Bill Lafferty Pittsburgh
 
Dear Rico, Niki, and Dirk,

Regarding:

> My reading of the MTF suggests the T3 lens has significant light fall-off when wide open. Any opinions on this matter? <

In my limited understanding of MTF curves, the curve plots the amount of "information" that passes through the lens, not necessarily just the "amount of light". Therefore I wouldn't take a drop in the curve away from the centre to mean "light fall-off". I take it to mean "what came out of the lens at that radius is not the same as what went in to the lens from that corresponding point in the "scene". The reduction of information caused by the lens could be due to softness, or chromatic aberration, or pincushion distortion, or barrel distortion, or light fall-off, and other optical imperfections.

I admit that my understanding of MTF curves is limited, and therefore enquire here why you concluded that the T3 has light fall-off by looking at its lens's MTF curve.

Kind Regards,

Craig Norris, Hong Kong
 
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