CI Photocommunity
Register a free account now!
If you are registered, you get access to the members only section, can participate in the buy & sell second hand forum and last but not least you can reserve your preferred username before someone else takes it.
Ndigital review at bthe luminous landscapeb website
- Thread starter rfranca
- Start date
I am a regular reader of Luminous Landscape. And i have a bookmark to the "what's new" page of that site. Yesterday i was browsing between the archived reviews and i hardly could believe to my eyes: a review - a recent one - of the Contax ND. And the more is written from a person whose posts, opinions and most of all works i apreciated a lot.
Mr. Shanidze your review is very honest, very complete and it add a lot of "sorrow" to the lost of the ND. So it let me keeping asking:
"why they discontinued it???"
Really i can not understand the strategic marketing of Contax. Thei are really "the genius".
If you would like follow this link
and then this one:
If i do not go wrong they are the maker of the Contax ND ccd......
I've learned a lot of what does matter really in a digital imager!
Best regards.
Mr. Shanidze your review is very honest, very complete and it add a lot of "sorrow" to the lost of the ND. So it let me keeping asking:
"why they discontinued it???"
Really i can not understand the strategic marketing of Contax. Thei are really "the genius".
If you would like follow this link
and then this one:
If i do not go wrong they are the maker of the Contax ND ccd......
I've learned a lot of what does matter really in a digital imager!
Best regards.
"Why did they discontinue it?"
Because they could not sell any. $6,000, or $7,000. is a lot of money for a camera of narrow utilitarian use. Not good for photojournalism or sports like the Nikon D1h or 1D. Not good for weddings like the 1Dx or 1Ds. Not good for product work like a 1Ds or various MF backs. Poor RAW performance, crappy software, incredibly small buffer, and the usual Contax power issues.
But mostly because of a stupendously poor marketing effort
that chose silence as it's primary communication strategy.
As Irakly points out, the camera can deliver, and those of us that slogged through the solutions with little help from Contax, have come to make some nice images with the ND.
But I will say that NEVER has the functional aspects of a camera been such a dominating part of the process as with this camera. And that put off a lot of people.
Because they could not sell any. $6,000, or $7,000. is a lot of money for a camera of narrow utilitarian use. Not good for photojournalism or sports like the Nikon D1h or 1D. Not good for weddings like the 1Dx or 1Ds. Not good for product work like a 1Ds or various MF backs. Poor RAW performance, crappy software, incredibly small buffer, and the usual Contax power issues.
But mostly because of a stupendously poor marketing effort
that chose silence as it's primary communication strategy.
As Irakly points out, the camera can deliver, and those of us that slogged through the solutions with little help from Contax, have come to make some nice images with the ND.
But I will say that NEVER has the functional aspects of a camera been such a dominating part of the process as with this camera. And that put off a lot of people.
"As Irakly points out, the camera can deliver"
and if i am correct your are looking for a second ND body...
So again i am wandering!
In your opinion has the limited choice of N-mout lens aggravated the situation?
Off-topic: anybody know at how amount .... hmmm .... don't know the correct word .... the distance of the focal plane from the mount flange in a N body?
For what i am aware of is this value that render the avalaibility of lens adapter feasible without additional optical element in the adapter.
If i rememder in Canon is 42 mm
and C/Y manual body 46 or 46,5 mm ... not sure.
Best regards.
and if i am correct your are looking for a second ND body...
So again i am wandering!
In your opinion has the limited choice of N-mout lens aggravated the situation?
Off-topic: anybody know at how amount .... hmmm .... don't know the correct word .... the distance of the focal plane from the mount flange in a N body?
For what i am aware of is this value that render the avalaibility of lens adapter feasible without additional optical element in the adapter.
If i rememder in Canon is 42 mm
and C/Y manual body 46 or 46,5 mm ... not sure.
Best regards.
Gianluca, yes, I am still looking for a 2nd body. But, I won't buy a hot one from anyone. If, indeed the flood of them on e-bay are from that break-in I reported a couple of weeks ago. But that seems like it would be a bit obvious don't you think? BTW, I couldn't find a single ND on e-bay this morning.
Not having more lenses isn't the best situation, but there are enough. As I've said many times: IMO, it's criminal not to have a 35/1.4 N prime in the system.
Not having more lenses isn't the best situation, but there are enough. As I've said many times: IMO, it's criminal not to have a 35/1.4 N prime in the system.
jsmisc
Well-Known Member
Gianluca,
That is fascinating stuff about Spirit's pancam. Only one megapixel but ultimate (so far) quality components and a large chip but with fewer but larger sensors. I wonder if there are any lessons here for consumer cameras. It points again to why we go for Zeiss lenses to try to get the best we can. I think that the need for good lens quality is often forgotten in sales of digicams. I have even read somewhere that it does not matter because imperfections can be corrected by the processor. Maybe it's true...
John
That is fascinating stuff about Spirit's pancam. Only one megapixel but ultimate (so far) quality components and a large chip but with fewer but larger sensors. I wonder if there are any lessons here for consumer cameras. It points again to why we go for Zeiss lenses to try to get the best we can. I think that the need for good lens quality is often forgotten in sales of digicams. I have even read somewhere that it does not matter because imperfections can be corrected by the processor. Maybe it's true...
John
Good morning to all.
The fact his, Mr Strain, that this day marketing issue seem to prevail on one's from R&D department.
Look at the new Sony 828 for instance and the crop of future digicams. Lot of megapixels crapped in the tiny sensor as ever. But they had to keep printing numbers bigger and bigger ond shell of their cameras if they want to keep selling. The other day i read of a new sensor from Sharp that has 6 MP in the same 1/1.8 sensor size. Smaller fotosite than Sony 828. But the average consumer will by far prefer to buy a six megapix camera than a "good" four megapixel. All this not knowing anithing about what does really matters.
Best regards.
PS: the preview/post message recently added to this forum is really a GREAT thing; especially for people that struggle a "bit" with english. Compliments.
The fact his, Mr Strain, that this day marketing issue seem to prevail on one's from R&D department.
Look at the new Sony 828 for instance and the crop of future digicams. Lot of megapixels crapped in the tiny sensor as ever. But they had to keep printing numbers bigger and bigger ond shell of their cameras if they want to keep selling. The other day i read of a new sensor from Sharp that has 6 MP in the same 1/1.8 sensor size. Smaller fotosite than Sony 828. But the average consumer will by far prefer to buy a six megapix camera than a "good" four megapixel. All this not knowing anithing about what does really matters.
Best regards.
PS: the preview/post message recently added to this forum is really a GREAT thing; especially for people that struggle a "bit" with english. Compliments.
the LL review shows that it's not megapixels that count, but the quality of the pixels 
After reading the review I looked if the ND was still available, and yes.. but _still_ €9000 for a kit..
sigh.. but it's just brilliant in dynamics.......
too bad the average customer only sees "mp", just as the usual company only sees "$$"...
After reading the review I looked if the ND was still available, and yes.. but _still_ €9000 for a kit..
sigh.. but it's just brilliant in dynamics.......
too bad the average customer only sees "mp", just as the usual company only sees "$$"...
Hooray!!!
I just got my 2nd ND body. This insures that my lens set will have a digital solution into the future, even if one goes down.
Also, it probably assures that everyone here will have a new digital N soon... because every time I get a back-up, the manufacturer launches a new one shortly afterwards. : -)
All the tech issues aside, the camera still produces unique images compared to everything else out there, (I know, I own, or have shot with just about every digital camera made).
If Contax had used a couple of the images from a few of us here in their advertising, many people would have been more forgiving of the flaws in their hunger to get such results, (especially some of the work I've seen recently from Irakely).
Irakly, did you post the 2 shots in the Contax Gallery that you showed me the other day? You must do it ! Stunning !
BTW, I got the mint ND complete in box with CDs for $2,100, and it included a second split focus screen and extra batteries. It was from a local private seller whom I personally know who got it from a private seller also. People don't have the patience to learn the NDs secrets and give up for the ease of other cameras.
Hope the RAW developer for Mac becomes available soon.
I just got my 2nd ND body. This insures that my lens set will have a digital solution into the future, even if one goes down.
Also, it probably assures that everyone here will have a new digital N soon... because every time I get a back-up, the manufacturer launches a new one shortly afterwards. : -)
All the tech issues aside, the camera still produces unique images compared to everything else out there, (I know, I own, or have shot with just about every digital camera made).
If Contax had used a couple of the images from a few of us here in their advertising, many people would have been more forgiving of the flaws in their hunger to get such results, (especially some of the work I've seen recently from Irakely).
Irakly, did you post the 2 shots in the Contax Gallery that you showed me the other day? You must do it ! Stunning !
BTW, I got the mint ND complete in box with CDs for $2,100, and it included a second split focus screen and extra batteries. It was from a local private seller whom I personally know who got it from a private seller also. People don't have the patience to learn the NDs secrets and give up for the ease of other cameras.
Hope the RAW developer for Mac becomes available soon.
D
djg
Congrats, Marc! I'm still waiting for two extra battery holders I ordered from Contax NJ three weeks ago. I hope they still have them ...
DJ
DJ
