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Contax N-Digital - the ultimate Contax Fan-Test....

>=20 >=20 >=20 > So avoid using the flash. My approach is to use ND where it is simply the= best > =AD optical quality and full frame CCD and 6.3 million pixel. And condider= to > change the charger, I used to be able to shot 50 pictures of jpeg 1 with = a > fresh set of rechargeable 1700mAh AA cells and with a Sony charger now I = can > do up to 300 shots. I have that experience about 3 weeks ago taking abou= t 700 > jpeg1 picture in one day using only 2 sets of rechargeable 1700mAh AA cel= ls. > Brgds/Kaisern >=20 >=20 >=20
 
Well, you pays your money and you takes your chances. My $6,800 Contax 6.1 meg ND, with shakey flash capability and terrible power source engineering, verses the $3,800. 14 meg, full frame, well engineered power source, Nikon DX flash coupled, magnesium clad Kodak I just ordered. Not to mention Kodak softwear that actually works, camera firmware that can be updated as better features become available, and the option to double the camera memory to 512 meg thus doubling the buffer and download speed.

I do hope Contax is working on a ND compatable flash and contained rechargable battery with quick charger like that available from everyone else. Fiddling around with that toy of a battery holder to change AAs every 1/2 hour is pure horsecrap. I tried ordering spare batteries and heard NOTHING from Contax.

I have been a faithful customer of Contax for decades. But this is the last Contax product I will ever buy.
 
Marc,

Let me help remove some of the arrows from your back! I'm surprised at your downbeat post. Throughout this thread, you've been very enthusiastic regarding the ND. The question regarding all digital cameras is to ask whether it is a computer (short half-life) or a camera. The computer side of the family will always quickly become obsolete, I fear. The camera side, lenses and so on, will retain their value. We all need to get used to the new world of immediate obsolesence.

Chip
 
Just to note that I have had my ND retrofitted with the upgrade and have had a significant increase in the number of pictures per battery charge.
 
terry what were the upgrade and also what is the rom version on your nd. mine is 1.07
 
Chip, I am quite use to obsolence in the digital world , but not such a massive dose of it even before the shipping box has been discarded. Be that as it may, what I will never get use to is a company that seems disinterested in its' loyal customer base. My enthusastic response for the camera was based on initial use. The images are fine with some work in PhotoShop, and I have said as much in previous posts. Yet, I've discovered that the imaging chroma capability of the ND is inconsistant in lower contrast and lower light situations, which a dedicated post program could be helpful in dealing with. Companies like Kodak, Nikon and Canon immediately post program upgrades that can be downloaded to solve glitches. Contax is silent.

In addition, discovering the flash problem was disappointing, as well as being unable to secure additional battery carriages so I can use this camera in my fast paced wedding work. It all has translated into a tool that I cannot trust to consistantly deliver what was promised by the camera's makers. A $7,000 camera is not an amateur toy. The Contax
ND maker should be all over these issues and communicating with its customers., not stone-walling them.

I'm curious as to the proceedure to correct the power problem. How did those of you that had it done go about it?
 
if you can look @ the info in the jpeg file, one of the fields is software, mince use to say 1.04 after the upgrade 1.07. but i did not see that much diff in the battery performance. i have also been using external batteries. it also seems that the camera is sensitive as to how the battery was charged. it like slow rating charges as opposed to fast ones.
 
Marc, I share your frustration with the ND. I was going to buy one, but after reading all the postings, I have purchased the Fuji S2 instead. It take great saturated photos (w/ nikon lenses), and 4-AA batteries will last several hundred photos and the flash and external flashes work right from the start. I still love my Contax lenses, but will wait for a better digital camera from Contax. I wish I could somehow mount the N1 lenses onto the Fuji.
 
> I still don't get the frustration with the ND. I think that anybody who is frustrated simpy has not used the camera It is a remarkable > camera! Yes, the price is high, but that price will drop. My ND takes a reasonable number of shots with a set of batteries (50 to 80), and > it just takes a few seconds to replace those batteries. The handling is superb and the results remarkable. Will there be better cameras? > Yes, in the future. Are there any better 35mm digital cameras curently offered which can match the features? Not in production today.

My recommendation, if you can afford the ND, go ahead and get one. If not, then get an N1 and start building your lens collection, and when the ND drops in price (or the ND-2) is announced, then buy one. Otherwise, get a Contax 645 and start to build your CZ lens collection, and again wait for a price drop in backs. Either way, the majority of photographers can not go wrong building a system around Contax.

Michael.



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