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Whatbs going up with contax

I'm with Ming Lee. I'm good with my current set-up for years to come. Why? Because looking at the 13"x19"s I get from it make me say "Nice!" rather than make me go surf the net for a better system. That's one of the reasons I hardly frequent FM forums any more - that place can suck too much time out of your life, although it was a great source of info during my initial quest. I have tried a few times to give something back, but it's hard to add anything new there
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I for one find the stop-down metering not that big a problem, merely part of "getting the job (hobby?) done", much like a large format photographer does their routine without thinking about it after a while. At first I thought it would be a real bummer, but I'm actually surprised how I've adapted to it. Again, that's probably because thankfully I'm into landscapes, not action sports. And believe me if some adapter comes out that magically provides open metering I'll grab it in a blink
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I still have the 24-70L and the 100/2 EF in case something requiring quick snapping shows up, but so far they've been on the shelf since my Zeiss / Leica adoption back in March.
 
When you really get down to it, Dirk's advice to just shoot film and wait, is probably the best way to go for non-professional shooters who haven't made the digital plunge yet.

If you get a good dedicated film scanner like the Minolta 5400, you will be fully introduced to all the digital post processing and printing disciplines anyway, so you really aren't falling behind. All your digital skills will be honed and ready for the migration to a DSLR when you are ready.

In the meantime one can secure a simple digital P&S for instant family gratification. Those cameras have made huge leaps forward in functional abilities and can be up to 8 meg in resolution (albeit a dinky sensor). But plenty good for 4X6 and 5X7 family album shots.
 
Interseting topic and I have to agree with a lot said here. Film stills has a hold on me I can't help it I grew up with it and I'll probably use it till I pass to the next life or it's no longer available. Marc is right the media hype is overwhelming, and like DJ I've been dragged into various forums where I always get the feeling I need more and more gear, I need the best!! Soemone once told me "use what you have" I need to listen
In actuality you can now pick up a Canon 1D for $1000-$1200 a pro series camera that produces awesome results up to 16x20 and beyond if you have good post processing skills. If you want to learn about digital and can live with a 1.3 crop, not bad at all and this is a fun camera.

The 5D has several things going for it most importantly for me is it's full frame my 28 is a 28 and it's portable so when I travel I can use it for serious work on a tripod or sling it over my shoulder to carry around....in the past I was carrying medium format for tripod mounted work and 35mm for a carry around.
But I feel unless you have a lot of spare cash or are making money with your gear it would be foolish to invest in such a camera, buy a p/s for family stuff that's where it shines an older 1D for serious hobby work, believe me you'll be surprised and hey use your Z and L lenses via adapter if you want.
 
Thanks everyone for your very thoughtful and helpful comments. I think that the upshot is that I shall probably stay with my current gear at present - at least until Christmas is out of the way and I have recovered from my daughter's wedding!
I shall look at the Sony perhaps as an interim buy since I could buy that and still keep what I have but I'm still not sure about an EVF, the ones I have tried so far I have hated, but there again - no dust problem and the Sony/Zeiss lens covers the range I need. I may wait and see if other manufacturers come out with a smaller rival using that APS size chip.
I have begun contributing to an online library and libraries like large uninterpolated files. I find that film scanned with my Minolta scanner provides these but it is a slow, so slow, tedious process. Still, it will be years before all my slides and negatives are scanned so it gives time for thought.
I also think that it is worthwhile waiting to see what the mergers and co-operations between companies produce before committing to such a big investment. Canon and Nikon seem strong enough on their own to be worthwhile investing in. I prefer the Nikon cameras but the Canon is full frame,albeit more expensive. I do like the light Olypus E500 and users like Graham swear by the E system but I still worry about the small sensor and there will be the crop factor with Zeiss lenses. I also am used to working wide open with stop down lenses although I can't say that it is the ideal solution.
I think that if I went for the E system, I would stick with Olympus lenses. That 50-200 does sound lovely. Maybe the MP count would be adequate for me. Hiring to find out might be an option.
All the best,
John
 
Hi John,
A word or two whispered in your ear - if you hang on for a few months, there will be a successor to the E-1. The E-500 is a great little camera , and a useful back up to the E-1 but the new beast will have the same build quality of the E-1 (metal not polycarb) and a much higher resolution. By the way, check out the 90-250 (180-500mm) f2.8!!

With Cameraquest offering an Evolt adapter for C/Y lenses you can have light and fast or Zeiss, heavy but gorgeous. I'll report back when I get my adapter from Cameraquest.

Cheers everyone,

Graham
 
Graham,
Thanks for that. I shall indeed hang on. Hey, hey! That sounds decidedly worth waiting for. It could be the answer to prayers.
John
 
Normally the bigger the sensor, the better the image quality. Olympus has an explanation on his website, why their "FF Transfer type" CCD sensor is better than the normally used "Interline Transfer Type" CCD sensor. Since they are smaller than APS size (i.e. Nikon), I wonder whether this is only marketing hype:

"The Olympus E-System features a FourThirds type Full Frame Transfer CCD. It has been specially designed for high-performance digital still image capture.
The Full Frame Transfer sensor enables images of stunning quality to be produced. Often so-called Interline Transfer CCDs are used in digital still cameras, despite the fact they were origin ally developed for film recording. Compared to this, the CCD integrated in the Olympus E-Series has a considerably higher photodiode aperture ratio (fill factor) and provides a larger transferable signal."

http://www.olympus.co.uk/consumer/dslr_6839.htm


"In contrast to an Interline Transfer CCD, the Full Frame Transfer Type uses the photodiodes themselves as part of the transfer channels. Therefore the photodiodes can be made larger in a FFT CCD.
This in turn means they provide a higher aperture and allow more light to produce a signal. A considerably higher amount of useable image data is the result. This leads to greater sensitivity as well as an extended dynamic range. It also means the signal to noise ratio is significantly enhanced."

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"This provides for less noise in dark scenes or when using high ISO values and an exceptional graduation in the bright parts of a scene."

End of Quote.

There is a nice & fast flash video that shall demonstrate the technical difference.

Does anybody has more info about this?
 
Then why doesn't the camera get high grades for low noise? Steve's Digicams review says "400 ISO is very usable", not exactly a great recommendation, and after that it gets lower and lower grade ...

I lean towards the marketing hype theory ... I also love how they weave "Full-Frame" into the description of a sensor that is quite a ways from full-frame. Score: 10 out of 10 for marketing
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I notice that the Sony is supposed to have a Zeiss 24-120 lens. It is nearly an ideal zoom for me and I think the occasional 2x digital zoom could be OK at lower ISOs. Is it really a Zeiss in anyway. Is Zeiss involved in the design or is it just licensing its name to Sony? Is Zeiss involved in the quality control? (I doubt it.) What's the scuttlebutt on the lens? Thanks
 
Since the price of the DSLR are so affordable now, why don't we have both 5D and E-System together ? 5D for the wide angle and E-System for the telephoto with the advantage of 2x factor. for ex&le if you have the 28/35/50/85/135 zeiss lens on 5D, you also can use the same lens on E-System, especially the 50/85/135, with 2x factor, it's will become 100/170/270.

Olympus E-300 with CZ Sonnar 135/2.8
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