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DCS Digital back..just bought...can't wait for Contax

  • Thread starter Thread starter Tony Rawlings
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Tony Rawlings

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Sorry Contax, can't wait any longer.

For the money, it made more sense for me to go with the DCS Pro Back 645.

I also went with the Mamiya system. Yes, Contax is just as good. I don't want to get into the Mamiya vs. Contax war. I have my own reasons and preferrence. I bought the 645 AFD.

Maybe I'll post samples when I get a chance.

Sorry Contax N Digital, I waited too long. I had high hopes.
 
Can't blame you one bit.

I'm debating over the DCS or the new Leaf back that will be out in a couple of months.

Contax seems clueless to marketing and it's consumers which has me about ready to jump ship after 20 years!
Tony Rawlings said:
Sorry Contax, can't wait any longer.

For the money, it made more sense for me to go with the DCS Pro
Back 645.

I also went with the Mamiya system. Yes, Contax is just as good.
I don't want to get into the Mamiya vs. Contax war. I have my own
reasons and preferrence. I bought the 645 AFD.

Maybe I'll post samples when I get a chance.

Sorry Contax N Digital, I waited too long. I had high hopes.
Click to expand...
 
Tony,

Yes, samples would definitely be nice of you! A bit out of my league, but I can wait to see if Contax gets their act anymore together. Or if Nikon brings out a improvement to the D1X. I have a feeling that the next 6 -12 months is going to produce a more appealing Pro DSLR. They seem to have the highend consumer covered now.

Thanks in advance!

Mel
Tony Rawlings said:
Sorry Contax, can't wait any longer.

For the money, it made more sense for me to go with the DCS Pro
Back 645.

I also went with the Mamiya system. Yes, Contax is just as good.
I don't want to get into the Mamiya vs. Contax war. I have my own
reasons and preferrence. I bought the 645 AFD.

Maybe I'll post samples when I get a chance.

Sorry Contax N Digital, I waited too long. I had high hopes.
Click to expand...
--
Mel
 
Tony,

Hurry up! I can't wait for your review. Samples would be real nice, especially full size or even compressed samples. Let us know how well it prints out poster sizes.

Sonny
Tony Rawlings said:
Sorry Contax, can't wait any longer.

For the money, it made more sense for me to go with the DCS Pro
Back 645.

I also went with the Mamiya system. Yes, Contax is just as good.
I don't want to get into the Mamiya vs. Contax war. I have my own
reasons and preferrence. I bought the 645 AFD.

Maybe I'll post samples when I get a chance.

Sorry Contax N Digital, I waited too long. I had high hopes.
Click to expand...
 
I don't blame you either - re. the N Digital. I use a Contax 645 and Sinar digital backs. The other thing is that, from a professional point of view, one can shoot both film and digitally with a medium format camera. I love the way that Mamiya hide the shutter when the backs are being changed - I've heard of rental places losing the odd Contax shutter during back changes. However, the simplicity of the focussing system and the Zeiss lenses have so far kept me loyal, along with a general excellent reliability record. In my hands the Contax always feels like a quality machine, and this in turn gives me great confidence when on a shoot. Also, I know that I will always get the best quality out of the optics. I looked at the Mamiya and the Pentax, and both are very capable machines too. I guess that once you're familiar and happy with a system - the rest is up to you. The tools are important - but the craftsman is much more important.

Cheers, Ivan
 
Congradulations Tony,

That's exactly the system I am leaning towards. I recieved some RAW files from the DCS 645/Mamiya 645AFD review(courteousy John Cowley/lonestardigital.com) and the files are terrific.

I am trying to get my hands on some H20 RAW files, but I still am leaning towards the DCS 645 due to its portabilty.
Congrats again, and looking forward to hearing your impressions of it.
BTW:

If you don't mind, where did you order the equipment from, prices, and how long does it take to receive?

All the best
Kevin
Tony Rawlings said:
Sorry Contax, can't wait any longer.

For the money, it made more sense for me to go with the DCS Pro
Back 645.

I also went with the Mamiya system. Yes, Contax is just as good.
I don't want to get into the Mamiya vs. Contax war. I have my own
reasons and preferrence. I bought the 645 AFD.

Maybe I'll post samples when I get a chance.

Sorry Contax N Digital, I waited too long. I had high hopes.
Click to expand...
--
Kevin Logan
http://kevinlogan.com
 
Hey Tony,

I heard the DCS for the Contax 645 shoots a square?

And that you need to buy a mask for the Sq that is not included, Is that true?
Also there is a light weight review in June shutterbug for what that is worth.
Can't wait to see your review!
Tony Rawlings said:
Sorry Contax, can't wait any longer.

For the money, it made more sense for me to go with the DCS Pro
Back 645.

I also went with the Mamiya system. Yes, Contax is just as good.
I don't want to get into the Mamiya vs. Contax war. I have my own
reasons and preferrence. I bought the 645 AFD.

Maybe I'll post samples when I get a chance.

Sorry Contax N Digital, I waited too long. I had high hopes.
Click to expand...
 
What is the best method to post samples?

The files are huge!!!!!!

Reduce them to jpg, image size to 600 x 600 doesn't do justice.

I haven't tested with strobes yet. In the meantime, I bought the Metz Mecablitz 54 MZ-3 for on camera flash.

Got better results setting flash at "A" as opposed to TTL. With the Metz, you have to buy an adapter to use with the Mamiya body.

Shooting with the Metz, it tends to over-expose by 1 to 1 1/2 stops.

Oh no, over exposure problem....should I return this crappy camera? Just kidding. When shooting digital, you should know to anticipate these types of issues and make adjustments. This goes to you folks who think you can just buy a digital camera, close your eyes and shoot. IT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN! Even with a high-end digital back.

I took a picture of my neighbor's baby and the results are stunning, other than the 1 stop over exposure (with flash).

The files are huge, how should I post for best examples?

zoozx,

I bought the Mamiya system. Contax is also good, sorry, great. Some argue Contax is better. I could have gone either way, but I decided with the Mamiya. Yes, the build on the Contax is much "professional" feel. Can't go wrong with the Zeiss lenses either. So you folk out there who love Contax, get it.

The key too is the digital backs. Kodak uses the same chip for both bodies. The software is a BIG PLUS. It is awesome!

Yes, both backs put out square images. I love it. But, some won't like this. It reminds me of Hassy.

The files are huge and there are so much room to work with. Cropping is not a big deal, while retaining quality images.

It's going to be hard to work with 1D and D60 files after shooting with this digital back :) I still use 1D and D60 for sports.

Speaking of which, if you guys think the D30 and D60 has focusing problems, wait until you deal with the Medium Format AF system. It makes the D30 feel like a 1D :)

More to come.
zoozx said:
I heard the DCS for the Contax 645 shoots a square?

And that you need to buy a mask for the Sq that is not included, Is
that true?
Also there is a light weight review in June shutterbug for what
that is worth.
Can't wait to see your review!
Tony Rawlings said:
Sorry Contax, can't wait any longer.

For the money, it made more sense for me to go with the DCS Pro
Back 645.

I also went with the Mamiya system. Yes, Contax is just as good.
I don't want to get into the Mamiya vs. Contax war. I have my own
reasons and preferrence. I bought the 645 AFD.

Maybe I'll post samples when I get a chance.

Sorry Contax N Digital, I waited too long. I had high hopes.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Tony, just to make sure I understand: does that mean you mind the AF good on the Mamiya?

BTW those files are big. Gonna be hard to post them full res, but if you can, I'd love to see them.

All the best
Kevin
Tony Rawlings said:
Speaking of which, if you guys think the D30 and D60 has focusing
problems, wait until you deal with the Medium Format AF system. It
makes the D30 feel like a 1D :)
Click to expand...
--
Kevin Logan
http://kevinlogan.com
 
Kevin,

Sorry for the confusion. The autofocus on the medium format is a lot slower when compared to D30, D60, 1D, D1x, etc..

Of course this is comparing apples to oranges but if you are used to shooting with the 1D and D60, it makes the Medium Format AF cameras feel like a slug....SLOW! Oh yeah, it LOUD too.

I now appreciate my D60 autofocus ;)

To be safe, I'm going to start with manual focusing until I get the hang of it. Darn, time to get my eyes checked again.

I'm sure you folks have seen this from Kodak. It's amazing:

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/products/cameras/dcsProBack645/behindScenes.jhtml
kevin logan said:
All the best
Kevin
Tony Rawlings said:
Speaking of which, if you guys think the D30 and D60 has focusing
problems, wait until you deal with the Medium Format AF system. It
makes the D30 feel like a 1D :)
Click to expand...
--
Kevin Logan
http://kevinlogan.com
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for clearing that up Tony AND for extrapolating from my poor typing (mind v. find) what my question was. I haven't ever used the Mamiya, but somehow I was expecting it to be a slow autofocus lens, compared to DSLRs out there. No mind to me though, I tend to be a slow shooter, in fact I would probably get several manual prime lenses with the system over time. No need for auto-focus with alot of what I do.

Thanks again
Kevin
Tony Rawlings said:
Sorry for the confusion. The autofocus on the medium format is a
lot slower when compared to D30, D60, 1D, D1x, etc..

Of course this is comparing apples to oranges but if you are used
to shooting with the 1D and D60, it makes the Medium Format AF
cameras feel like a slug....SLOW! Oh yeah, it LOUD too.

I now appreciate my D60 autofocus ;)

To be safe, I'm going to start with manual focusing until I get the
hang of it. Darn, time to get my eyes checked again.

I'm sure you folks have seen this from Kodak. It's amazing:

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/products/cameras/dcsProBack645/behindScenes.jhtml
kevin logan said:
All the best
Kevin
Tony Rawlings said:
Speaking of which, if you guys think the D30 and D60 has focusing
problems, wait until you deal with the Medium Format AF system. It
makes the D30 feel like a 1D :)
Click to expand...
--
Kevin Logan
http://kevinlogan.com
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
--
Kevin Logan
http://kevinlogan.com
 
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