dirk
CI-Founder
There have been some articles in the German press about the N1 and NX, which lead to some confusion to prospective buyers of these two models. I am talking about articles of Color Foto and FotoMagazin. I think it would make sense to reflect these articles and comment on them, hence there were misleading conclusions afterwards.
First of all, I am using the N1 now a couple of months already in real life situations and shot around 60 rolls of film (36e) with it. I am using the N1 with the 24-85 zoom in 80-90% of the cases, the rest with the 100 Makro-Sonnar and the 70-300 zoom. So I would say I used the N1 long and intensive enough to build up my mind on my own.
I am not a professional photographer, nor I am working for Contax or Zeiss. So this is just my 2 cent opinion as a private person, having enjoyed the new N-system so much, that I am getting sick to hear or read things, which can not stay like this unspoken in the public.
The German articles are concentrating mainly on autofocus. So I will try to address on this issues with my personal view on this. This will be not a complete review of the N1, which I made already in a different thread.
The autofocus of the N1
There are two different possibilities to look at the autofocus-speed of a camera. The first one is the technical side in a laboratory, the second one is the experience in real life situations. The tests, which I am referring to, made different approaches to measure the speed of the autofocus in the lab. If you look just at these numbers, then you have to agree, that the autofocus of the N1 is slower, then the competition. But this is just half of the story.
Exkurs: I do not want to discuss here, whether this is the right approach. In this matter, I have to defend the photo-journals. They do not have the choice. They have to use these strange test-systems in the lab, because they have to defend themselves. The press has an enormous power and if they write something bad about a certain product, this product will have a hard time to become a bestseller, to say the least. So every producer would try to sue the journal after a bad review. The only way to get out of this is to use certain kinds of tests, which are so easy to prove and repeat, that nobody can say it would have been something subjective in it.
The results are more or less meaningless tests in laboratories, which do not reflect at all what you can see in reality, if you use these products. If you look at all the body tests in the industry, you will not find many, which end in real subjective value added comments. Always descriptions of the features, some MTF graphs, which nobody is really able to interpret (at least neither the journalists nor the readers of the journal).
This is why the internet in this regard is so beneficial. For the first time everybody has the possibility to read private and personal opinions of real users of certain products. Although, you should not always believe everything, what people write in their reviews, this is a big step forward for the consumer interests. That is why we try it here with this web-page.
Anyway, coming back to the autofocus debate of the N1, it is necessary to speak up and show that the N1 is totally fine with its speed of autofocus. It is a fact, that the autofocus is slower than the one of a Nikon F100 or Canon etc. I agree on this. But this does not matter at all. The important question is, whether the autofocus is fast and accurate enough for your own needs ! If you think what you are doing with your camera, you will realize, that it is not an Olympic Game of the fastest autofocus, measured in milliseconds in a laboratory. What I try here is to show others, what is not allowed to the photo-journals out there. I give you my pure personal opinion on what is good or not by using it in real life situations. Germans love testing things. Germans love testing things more seriously than others - sometimes to much scientifically, but that is how we are in most cases
So they look at charts of milliseconds and conclude, that they can not use a camera, which is x milliseconds slower than others. Strange that exact the same people 10 years ago focused still manually within seconds, not milliseconds ! And the pictures have been nevertheless wonderful sharp and caught at the right moment. So lets get down to earth and be honest to yourself: what kind of af-speed do you really need?
The answer to this question depends obviously on the subjects you want to take pictures of. To make it not to complicated, I would divide the photo-community into two different groups.
1. The Professional Sport Photographer
The first one is the group who needs always the top speed. In most cases, these are professional photographers, who are shooting sport events. I must admit, that I do not know, how they shot before autofocus was invented, but I understand, that this makes life easier to sell the picture and so they really need the fastest available autofocus with the appropriate lenses. This is in my opinion also the reason, why Canon took over the professional market of Nikon, at least in this segment. How is the Contax N1 in this segment? In my personal opinion, I do not believe that the N1 would be the right camera for you, although I never tried to shoot spport events with the N1. Maybe I will try that sometime..
I think in this case you should go for a Canon or Nikon. If you think seriously about it, you will realize, that at the moment, Contax has neither the right lenses for you, nor the appropriate top speed. There are just zooms out there which are not the fastest and lightest.. There is currently neither fast telezoom (aperture of 2.8) for the N-system, nor fast fixed focal lenses. And do not forget, this group of people shoot often with iso 400 and 800, so why should they spend a hell of money for zeiss quality, if you can not use in these situations the better lens-design. The film is not able to reproduce everything as the zeiss lens could be, and at the end of the day it is printed in inferior technique on normal newspaper. So why all this panic?
This gives me the impression, that Contax was not targeting the pro-sport-photographer with the N1/NX. Maybe there will come later on a pro-model similar to the RTS III, but with autofocus and also some appropriate lenses for this target group. But this is not at present the case. If you look at it from this point of view, everything makes sense and we are at the second group of the photo-community.
2. The Rest of the World
Here we are, I assume you and me. This group likes autofocus, if it makes your life easier. You are not planning to catch Michael Schumacher in the corner of the last round of his race or shoot the winner goal in the next world ch&ion game. If you agree to that, relax, sit down and think where you can buy the N-system for you. It will be your camera. The autofocus is fast enough for your needs, although it is not among the fastest in the industry.
In most case you do not just press the shutter, you also look first, what will be on the picture, compose, focus and shoot. Trust me, the speed is not an issue (at least it is not for me). Go to you local dealer and try it yourself with different lenses. You will be surprised how good it is...
3. un-logical test-reviews
There was a funny comment in Color Foto/Fotomagazin, That it would take more than 1 second for pressing the shutter until you get the picture. I wonder how that is possible, if you can shoot with the N1 up to 3.5 pictures in one second. So this does not sound logical. I had never these problems. Also in the same test, they used the 50 Planar and the 100 Makro-Sonnar. I do not have yet the Planar, but I can comment on the Makro-Sonnar. It is surely slower than my two zooms. But this is because it has not a build in ultrasonic motor as the two zooms. Therefore it is a lot louder and slower.
But you have to be fair and realistic. The Makro-Sonnar was meant as an Makro-lens, not as a normal portrait lens, as it will be the soon expected 85/1.4. My two zooms are very (!) quiet, fast, and accurate. If you are not familiar with the Contax autofocus, be careful to give judgements. The best results you will have, if you choose the central sensor. It willl focus slightly faster and above all it will not hesitate, because of moving objects at the border of the picture. This is with all brands the same issue, you have to concentrate, where the computer is focussing, otherwise you will not have your target sharp.
Regarding the different AF markings (sensors) in the viewfinder. They react in a different way. The outer ones (4) seem to be situated in an angle of 45 degrees. So they react differently then the central sensor (they are also slower). Sometimes a slight twist of the camera body helps. Additionally only the central sensor gets help from the AF assist beam, the outer ones not.
I had at the beginning problems to autofocus on moving flowers in a field. This is because the 4 outer AF always catches the movement of a different flower and so the AF goes back and forth. Just use the central AF and the problem is gone. Use the optional Split screen to make sure that the AF is doing what you want it to do (FX1). This makes also MF easier. Do not forget to program the individual function for this screen – see the manual.
So do not believe always what was written somewhere, go out and look yourself, whether you like it or not. It is also you, who is using it later on, not the test-author.
For a general review of the Contax N1 and NX, please look in the specific Folder.
First of all, I am using the N1 now a couple of months already in real life situations and shot around 60 rolls of film (36e) with it. I am using the N1 with the 24-85 zoom in 80-90% of the cases, the rest with the 100 Makro-Sonnar and the 70-300 zoom. So I would say I used the N1 long and intensive enough to build up my mind on my own.
I am not a professional photographer, nor I am working for Contax or Zeiss. So this is just my 2 cent opinion as a private person, having enjoyed the new N-system so much, that I am getting sick to hear or read things, which can not stay like this unspoken in the public.
The German articles are concentrating mainly on autofocus. So I will try to address on this issues with my personal view on this. This will be not a complete review of the N1, which I made already in a different thread.
The autofocus of the N1
There are two different possibilities to look at the autofocus-speed of a camera. The first one is the technical side in a laboratory, the second one is the experience in real life situations. The tests, which I am referring to, made different approaches to measure the speed of the autofocus in the lab. If you look just at these numbers, then you have to agree, that the autofocus of the N1 is slower, then the competition. But this is just half of the story.
Exkurs: I do not want to discuss here, whether this is the right approach. In this matter, I have to defend the photo-journals. They do not have the choice. They have to use these strange test-systems in the lab, because they have to defend themselves. The press has an enormous power and if they write something bad about a certain product, this product will have a hard time to become a bestseller, to say the least. So every producer would try to sue the journal after a bad review. The only way to get out of this is to use certain kinds of tests, which are so easy to prove and repeat, that nobody can say it would have been something subjective in it.
The results are more or less meaningless tests in laboratories, which do not reflect at all what you can see in reality, if you use these products. If you look at all the body tests in the industry, you will not find many, which end in real subjective value added comments. Always descriptions of the features, some MTF graphs, which nobody is really able to interpret (at least neither the journalists nor the readers of the journal).
This is why the internet in this regard is so beneficial. For the first time everybody has the possibility to read private and personal opinions of real users of certain products. Although, you should not always believe everything, what people write in their reviews, this is a big step forward for the consumer interests. That is why we try it here with this web-page.
Anyway, coming back to the autofocus debate of the N1, it is necessary to speak up and show that the N1 is totally fine with its speed of autofocus. It is a fact, that the autofocus is slower than the one of a Nikon F100 or Canon etc. I agree on this. But this does not matter at all. The important question is, whether the autofocus is fast and accurate enough for your own needs ! If you think what you are doing with your camera, you will realize, that it is not an Olympic Game of the fastest autofocus, measured in milliseconds in a laboratory. What I try here is to show others, what is not allowed to the photo-journals out there. I give you my pure personal opinion on what is good or not by using it in real life situations. Germans love testing things. Germans love testing things more seriously than others - sometimes to much scientifically, but that is how we are in most cases
So they look at charts of milliseconds and conclude, that they can not use a camera, which is x milliseconds slower than others. Strange that exact the same people 10 years ago focused still manually within seconds, not milliseconds ! And the pictures have been nevertheless wonderful sharp and caught at the right moment. So lets get down to earth and be honest to yourself: what kind of af-speed do you really need?
The answer to this question depends obviously on the subjects you want to take pictures of. To make it not to complicated, I would divide the photo-community into two different groups.
1. The Professional Sport Photographer
The first one is the group who needs always the top speed. In most cases, these are professional photographers, who are shooting sport events. I must admit, that I do not know, how they shot before autofocus was invented, but I understand, that this makes life easier to sell the picture and so they really need the fastest available autofocus with the appropriate lenses. This is in my opinion also the reason, why Canon took over the professional market of Nikon, at least in this segment. How is the Contax N1 in this segment? In my personal opinion, I do not believe that the N1 would be the right camera for you, although I never tried to shoot spport events with the N1. Maybe I will try that sometime..
I think in this case you should go for a Canon or Nikon. If you think seriously about it, you will realize, that at the moment, Contax has neither the right lenses for you, nor the appropriate top speed. There are just zooms out there which are not the fastest and lightest.. There is currently neither fast telezoom (aperture of 2.8) for the N-system, nor fast fixed focal lenses. And do not forget, this group of people shoot often with iso 400 and 800, so why should they spend a hell of money for zeiss quality, if you can not use in these situations the better lens-design. The film is not able to reproduce everything as the zeiss lens could be, and at the end of the day it is printed in inferior technique on normal newspaper. So why all this panic?
This gives me the impression, that Contax was not targeting the pro-sport-photographer with the N1/NX. Maybe there will come later on a pro-model similar to the RTS III, but with autofocus and also some appropriate lenses for this target group. But this is not at present the case. If you look at it from this point of view, everything makes sense and we are at the second group of the photo-community.
2. The Rest of the World
Here we are, I assume you and me. This group likes autofocus, if it makes your life easier. You are not planning to catch Michael Schumacher in the corner of the last round of his race or shoot the winner goal in the next world ch&ion game. If you agree to that, relax, sit down and think where you can buy the N-system for you. It will be your camera. The autofocus is fast enough for your needs, although it is not among the fastest in the industry.
In most case you do not just press the shutter, you also look first, what will be on the picture, compose, focus and shoot. Trust me, the speed is not an issue (at least it is not for me). Go to you local dealer and try it yourself with different lenses. You will be surprised how good it is...
3. un-logical test-reviews
There was a funny comment in Color Foto/Fotomagazin, That it would take more than 1 second for pressing the shutter until you get the picture. I wonder how that is possible, if you can shoot with the N1 up to 3.5 pictures in one second. So this does not sound logical. I had never these problems. Also in the same test, they used the 50 Planar and the 100 Makro-Sonnar. I do not have yet the Planar, but I can comment on the Makro-Sonnar. It is surely slower than my two zooms. But this is because it has not a build in ultrasonic motor as the two zooms. Therefore it is a lot louder and slower.
But you have to be fair and realistic. The Makro-Sonnar was meant as an Makro-lens, not as a normal portrait lens, as it will be the soon expected 85/1.4. My two zooms are very (!) quiet, fast, and accurate. If you are not familiar with the Contax autofocus, be careful to give judgements. The best results you will have, if you choose the central sensor. It willl focus slightly faster and above all it will not hesitate, because of moving objects at the border of the picture. This is with all brands the same issue, you have to concentrate, where the computer is focussing, otherwise you will not have your target sharp.
Regarding the different AF markings (sensors) in the viewfinder. They react in a different way. The outer ones (4) seem to be situated in an angle of 45 degrees. So they react differently then the central sensor (they are also slower). Sometimes a slight twist of the camera body helps. Additionally only the central sensor gets help from the AF assist beam, the outer ones not.
I had at the beginning problems to autofocus on moving flowers in a field. This is because the 4 outer AF always catches the movement of a different flower and so the AF goes back and forth. Just use the central AF and the problem is gone. Use the optional Split screen to make sure that the AF is doing what you want it to do (FX1). This makes also MF easier. Do not forget to program the individual function for this screen – see the manual.
So do not believe always what was written somewhere, go out and look yourself, whether you like it or not. It is also you, who is using it later on, not the test-author.
For a general review of the Contax N1 and NX, please look in the specific Folder.