Contax name returns to Zeiss soon

[grumpoid]

Hi,

Not sure where to post this, so thought this was as good as anywhere!

According to a thread on photo.net the Contax name reverts to Zeiss this year..

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00KtiN&unified_p=1

Now surely if the Sony & Zeiss parnership REALLY had their heads screwed on and this news is correct then the really clever thing to do would be to re-brand the forthcoming Sony full frame DSLR as a 'Contax' and really play the marketing game..

cheers Steve.M.

 

[djg]

Unfortunately coughing up a competitive FF digital SLR is not something that happens in a month or two, or even in a year. I wouldn't hold my breath ... unless they've been working on it for a while.

 

[djg]

OK, I just caught the "forthcomong Sony FF SLR" part - I'm slow today

. That's the first I've heard about one. Any info links on this, or is this pure speculative rumor? Even so, a FF SLR to compete with the EOS 1Ds II/III or even the 5D is not a small feat, and I'm not sure a company with mostly consumer appliance and a bit of pro-sumer camera experience at best, even Sony, can pull it off, but who knows? Competition is always good for the market.

 

[scheberies]

Some internet gossip

Pocket Lint has a first impression review of the Sony Alpha A100 and writes - 'Sony has already confirmed that it intends to introduce new models and lenses within the next year or two, it has also intriguingly said that the new lenses being made are able to cover a "full frame", hinting at a pro-end model with a full frame (in 35mm terms) D-SLR in the near future. When the camera becomes available to test in the next few weeks, we’ll be able to see just how well it can perform and in coming months, to see if Sony has the might to take on Canon and Nikon. It has to be said, it would seem they’ve made a very aggressive start.'

Digit reviews the Sony Alpha A100 and writes - 'We choose to interpret these hints as Sony seriously considering a coming full frame format DSLR. Or, perhaps they just want to keep potential customers from buying other systems because the Alpha system does not offer a full frame camera at the moment. It is most unusual for high ranked representatives to formulate a statement this way. The statement was not altered, nor denied by Sony officials later, when this topic was raised during an interview. Vice President of Sony Europe, Takashi Kondo, said that their main goal is to concentrate on the consumer market, but also that the “consumer market�? covers a wide range of users, with all kinds of needs. He also underlined that their ambitions are very high and they will use all their power to get competitive in the DSLR market and to stay there as a major supplier in a long foreseeable future. '

 

[fotografz]

Hi DJ, it's been awhile.

Sony supplies Nikon with sensors, so there is an interesting synergy there as Nikon needs to solve the full frame issue ... lots of rumors concerning this as of late. In addition, Sony now has all the Minolta stuff, and who knows what they were working on.

But you are right, the Canon juggernaught just keeps on rolling along.

I sold all my Contax stuff, but still use Zeiss glass on a Hasselblad H3D/39 as well as the Film cameras.

 

[djg]

Hi Marc - indeed! Been following some of your posts on other threads of no direct interest to me

.

I've got some cash stashed aside for a 1Ds III or whatever ... been getting some gorgeous 17x24" prints from the 1Ds II on a Canon iPF5000, but the thought of a 1D Mk III with a 22+MP sensor is making me drool.

I actually just bought (again - this is getting annoying!) a new 70-300 N-mount and sent it to Conurus in Vancouver to convert to EOS mount, with full coupling including AF. Let's see how that turns out.

Got any gigs in the NYC area coming up?

 

[fotografz]

DJ, I have some ads in testing that'll most likely be shot in NYC if they test well. I'll e-mail you if they are a go.

I ordered up a Canon 1DMKIII which is suppose to be available next month. Canons are still my main wedding cameras as "I have the need, the need for speed". The C/Y adapted glass was just to slow and harder to nail critical focus, so I sold it all.

I'm now using some Leica R glass on the Canons using the focus confirmation adapters that became available ... but they're still stop down metering. Also using a Leica M8 at weddings.

The one auto-coupled adapted Zeiss Contax N lens I would like for my Canons is the N 24-85/3.5. Do you have that one converted for your Canons? I'd kill for a couple of those converted lenses. How do I go about securing 2 of them?

I'm printing on an Epson 3800 Pro with Colorburst RIP for 17X22 prints. Big prints using a RIP have been a revelation ... but I have been disappointed in comparing digital printing this large compared to film scans I've done with the Imacon 949. The film shots have more of a sense of depth to them compared to the digital images .... which are technically excellent and detail rich, but seem to lack the realness of the film shots. This is very apparent when comparing H2D/39 shots using Zeiss glass verses film shots using the same lens ... or B&W shots from a EOS 1V verses the 5D.

 

[roberto1]

It's great news, though. Zeiss/Sony/Minolta/with Contax brand on it (and hope contax styling too), they have a winning recipe. Even though it's just a dream and analog photography is dead (well and truly dead if it weren't for voigtländer/Cosina/Zeiss Ikon yearly news), but it would be nice to see an analog SLR, purely mechanical, a back to the sources stuff. It can be done with minimal effort. The bessafelx dies are out there. It would be just a question of changing the lens mount (no effort, as Cosina also manufactured the Yashica FX.3 and the Contax S2 was a rev&ed FX3). I would certainly buy it. I'm waiting for my S2 to come back from Germany, ready for another 13 years of use. At the moment I am using a Nikon FM3a. It's smoother, viwfinder is brighter, but.. it does not have the feel Contax cameras do have.

Sorry for having changed the subject. But Contax brand revival is a very, very good new. Regards, Robert

 

[djg]

There are a couple 24-85 Ns on eBay, one new, but the prices are high. I am waiting for a LN-condition I ordered from KEH - they still have a couple in EX at good prices. However, I'm in love with the CY 35-70, and wonder how they'll compare. Obviously the autofocus on the 24-85 (and the range) will be convenient, but image quality will usually win for me as a mostly landscape kind of guy.

I got one of those focus-confirm adapters for the Leica 100mm APO, but never really look at the light what with my slow subjects .

Also wonder how the 24-85 will compare with the Leica 21-35, which I also love. I've been getting excellent corner sharpness even at the 21 end since I stop down a lot, extremely low flare when backlit, and the occasional small CA on the corners is easily fixed in the RAW developer.

I'm glad I'm easily pleased by the digital stuff I've been getting - I must be getting lazy!