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New Contax ND

Call me late on the uptake, but I've only just noticed exactly how sparse the selection of N prime lenses is! FOUR lenses, of which two are specialist (400mm f/4 and 100mm macro) leaving only the 85 and 50. When Marc was bemoaning the lack of a 35/1.4, I just assumed that they produced only a 35/2 or 2.8, not that there was NO prime at that focal length whatsoever! Meanwhile they produce five different zooms. Huh?

Edward, I wouldn't spend much energy regretting your small commitment to Canon. The N-series wasn't exactly launched yesterday and if this is Kyocera's idea of providing a "system" then I'll stick to Canon EOS, thanks boys. OTOH I sincerely hope that they don't do an Olympus but continue to support the C/Y line, as that is still the best SLR system in the world IMO and I'll almost always pick up the RTS in preference to the EOS if I know I won't need AF.

If only Kyocera would produce a C/Y digital body, they'd corner a niche that they could milk for years on the back of existing investments in lens design and tooling costs. C'mon, if you're reading this, how about it???

-= mike =-
 
Mike, I second that emotion.

Mmmm, mmmm, mmm. I'd hunt down a couple of my favorite old Zeiss wonders 55/1.2, 85/1.2, 100/2, 135/2
and add on a couple of those wides mentioned.

Hey, when you plop on the adapter to use Zeiss C/Y glass,
does the Canon AF bodies then offer focus confirmation like with a RX? I know when I put a Hasselblad F or V lens on the N cameras or the 645, the camera still retains focus confirmation ( a blessing with the F-110/2 up close).
I'm going to order a Hasselblad to EOS adapter to use the F-110/2 on both my 1v and 1Ds. Can't wait.

Edward, I hear your frustration. I haven't used the 300D, but have a 10D back-up for my 1Ds, and have found it to be a great little camera IMO.

I checked the 10D focus immediately after buying it and it was dead on the money. Have you set your 300D on a tripod using a cable release, and put it through a focus test? Use your 50/14 at 1.4 and shoot a ruler on a 45 degree angle to and away from the lens, and focus on the 6" point. It'll reveal exactly what's going on in minutes (you can see whether it's AF is on, or back or front focusing because of the ruler markings. BTW, use the center sensor in the viewfinder.
 
Thanks Mike for your comments. I fully agree that the N system is very poorly supported, and hope that Kyocera people do read these forums.

Cheers,
Edward
 
Marc,

there will be very likely also another adapater available for Contax MM lenses to Canon EOS. We are currently in discussion with a well known German manufacturer regarding this. But it has to be tested first with the most important C/Y lenses and after that we might be able to arrange a special deal for Contaxinfo.com members.

I can not predict how long that testing (by this manufacturer) will last. I hope not longer than a couple of weeks.

We have setup a newsletter for special deals by the way. If we can negotiate a good deal, we will publish it over this newsletter.

https://camera-info.com/nlc/html/lists/?p=subscribe
 
Thanks Dirk. I joined the newsletter.

Edward, after you do the test, then you can determine next steps. If the camera is actually focusing on the midpoint of the ruler, but the image still looks soft at that specific yet is the sharpest area,Does the 300D allow setting preferences in the camera (like sharpness and or contrast)?

Also, have you visited the Canon web site recently to see if there is new firmware to load into your camera. I did for my 10D yesterday, and there was an upgrade.

(My apologies to fellow Contax users for discussing Canon here).
 
Whilst we're on the subject of using Contax lenses on other cameras, is anyone aware of an adaptor to fit such lenses to a Pentax K-mount camera - in particular, I'm thinking of the Pentax ist DSLR.

Thanks, Saras
 
Hi Dirk,

Do you mean that the MM adapter will provide the auto-diaphragm?? Or just that it will be a cheaper way to get MM/AE lenses onto an EOS body? Interesting in either case.

Marc,

Do you have the 85/1.2 and 50/1.2 lenses? If so, how would you feel about posting a couple of s&le scans comparing those two lenses against the f/1.4 counterparts? I'm really interested to see what the performance difference is at f/1.4 and f/2.

Cheers,

-= mike =-
 
Sorry Mike, if you are referring to the Contax C/V mount 55/1.2 and 85/1.2 no I do not have them. I had the 85/1.2 for years, which I used on an RX & AX. And while huge and built like a tank, it was one of the finest 35mm SLR optics I have ever used. A professional friend of mine in NYC still shoots with both the 55 and 85. The other legendary manual Zeiss lens is the Zeiss Contax 70-210/3.5... perhaps the best long zoom ever produced. Still goes for $2,500 when you can find one.
 
Wow, this has turned out to be an incredibly interesting thread with lots of extremely good tips and information.

Mike - thank you, thank you, thank you, for mentioning the C/Y to EOS adaptor. I have been agonising over whether I should (finally) sell my 2 pet Zeiss lenses - the 85mm/1.4 and 28mm/2.0 (both are German MM lenses) as I am seriously thinking of getting the Canon 10D, as waiting for a new Contax dSLR is more agonising than pulling teeth.

It's so great to know that I can use my Zeiss lenses on a Canon body. Canon's CMOS sensor and Digic processor are in a class act, and this is my biggest reason for buying a Canon camera.

Bobby
 
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