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WTB: Contax 645 IQ180/280 digital back

Pemihan

Well-known member
no need to pm me, i haven't done the switch by myself, it was done by pemihan, he had an iq180 i wanted to buy and he still had a free swap for that. so check if the back you gonna buy still has value added warranty and if the one free swap is still available.

he sent it in to phase, luckily for him he doesn't live to far away from the P1 HQ, so it was done quickly.

before, so has it the rumors, phase didn't actually swapped the mount of the back but gave you a new/or used back in the mount that you want. in my case it seems they actually physically switched the mount. as we know. contax mount backs are pretty rare.

if you have anymore questions, just fire away
Yes, it was a pretty easy process, I just dropped the back off at my dealer end got it back less that 10 days after. But as drevil says I live in Denmark where P1 HQ is located. But in these days shipping all over the world with FedEx og UPS only take 2-3 days depending on you location. Of course there can be issues with customs but if you go through a dealer they can probably take care of that with no issues.

But yes the cheapest thing would be to find an IQ180 or 280 (same sensor) with remaining value added warranty where the free mount change haven't been used.

Peter
 

nikesteam

Member
Hey everyone,

Still looking. I've also decided that I would consider the P65 model as well. Everyone that I've approached who has a 180 says that changing the mount to Contax would be a process that would take a lot of time.

Throwing this out there to see if you guys know anything.

Sincerely,

Alan
 

tcdeveau

Well-known member
Keep at it, one is bound to pop up at some point. There was a Contax mount IQ260 that popped up on eBay US last month.
 

nikesteam

Member
Keep at it, one is bound to pop up at some point. There was a Contax mount IQ260 that popped up on eBay US last month.
Interesting. I'm going to take a look into what those photos look like. I don't want to get into a heated debate here, but I really do like CCD sensors, and prefer their rendering. If I'm not mistaken, the 2-- series sensors are CMOS, correct? Anyways, thank you for the heads up, and I'll keep my eyes peeled.
 

tcdeveau

Well-known member
Interesting. I'm going to take a look into what those photos look like. I don't want to get into a heated debate here, but I really do like CCD sensors, and prefer their rendering. If I'm not mistaken, the 2-- series sensors are CMOS, correct? Anyways, thank you for the heads up, and I'll keep my eyes peeled.
No need for a CMOS v. CCD debate. The 2-series and 3-series come in both CMOS and CCD variants.

The IQ backs with CCD sensors come in 40, 60, and 80mp variants. The IQ140 is 33x44mm in size, whereas the 60 and 80mp backs have 40x54mm sensors.(approx). The IQ CCD backs are as follows:

IQ140, IQ160, IQ180, IQ260, IQ260 Achromatic, IQ280, IQ360, IQ380.

The CMOS IQ backs come in 50 (33x44mm), 100 (40x54mm), and 150mp (40x54mm) flavors and are as follows:

IQ150, IQ1 100, IQ250, IQ350, IQ3 100, IQ3 100 Trichromatic, IQ3 100 Achromatic, IQ4 100, IQ4 150mp, and IQ4 150 Achromatic.

There are differences between the 1, 2, and 3 series, but the differences are unrelated to CCD or CMOS.
 

nikesteam

Member
Thank you for this. I was more so speaking on the way CCD sensors render images, but this is quite helpful. Does anyone by chance know which models Phase One phased (pun intended) the Contax mounts out of the system? Was the 260 the last one?
 

nikesteam

Member
Hey guys,

Just dipping my toe in the pond again to see if anyone has any updates. I apparently missed one on eBay a couple of weeks ago!!! Let me know if you guys have heard anything or are looking to part with your own.

Cheers
 

DougDolde

Well-known member
Phase obviously dropped the Contax 645 mount to bolster sales of their own XF body.
I owned an XF and really thought it was over-featured.

The Contax 645 had simple features but enough and also is smaller and lighter.
 

vicgarast

Member
I talked to a P1 representative in Paris Thursday, he told me changing mounts costs 3000 excluding tax and they basically swap your back with a refurbished one: they don't change mounts.

I have a V mount IQ180 looking very good (as new) with about 323.000 triggers.

Let me know!.
Victor

in
Have been searching for a few months now. Is anyone looking to get rid of their c mount Phase One IQ180, or know of a place where I can find one?

Thank you!
 

plastic

Member
A word of advice:
Definitely check with your Phase One representative before arranging a mount swap. I recently attempted to complete a mount swap for a IQ3100 from P1 mount to Hasselblad H, and was told that it could only be completed when they received a refurbished back from a client trade-in. I was given no ETA/time frame for the swap, it is simply a waiting game, and could take over a year. I was also told that the Contax backs are nonexistent, and they have customers who have been waiting years for their mount swaps to go through.
This is disappointing from a company that serves the professional market.
 

PSon

Active member
A word of advice:
Definitely check with your Phase One representative before arranging a mount swap. I recently attempted to complete a mount swap for a IQ3100 from P1 mount to Hasselblad H, and was told that it could only be completed when they received a refurbished back from a client trade-in. I was given no ETA/time frame for the swap, it is simply a waiting game, and could take over a year. I was also told that the Contax backs are nonexistent, and they have customers who have been waiting years for their mount swaps to go through.
This is disappointing from a company that serves the professional market.
Great information to share. I was very lucky to swap out the IQ3 100MP-M645 mount to H mount. I did have to wait for at least 3 months for mine. Also my P1 M645 mount was still under warranty so I am not sure if that also help over digital back that has no warranty left.
 

Steve Hendrix

Well-known member
We've had an open purchase order on Phase One's desk for the past several years for any Contax mount digital back that comes into Phase One inventory, and not a peep.

They're rare birds now.

I have had one IQ180 Contax that came in trade about 15 months ago and was sold to a very happy client who shoots weddings. Shoots it spcifically with the 80/2.0 and loves it. And wants a backup. So, I'm still looking too!

Regarding "phasing" out of certain camera mounts. Despite what someone noted, it's not as simple as - Hey, let's just stop offering these mounts to bolster our camera sales. Digital back sales for Contax (and Hasselblad V, and to a lesser degree Hasselblad H) had been falling for years. There is a cost to continuing to support legacy solutions, and at some point it's a factor of dimishing returns. That plays a role as well, and it's not fair to portray it as simply to boost sales of the XF system. The numbers were getting so low on Contax mount orders that deciding to no longer offer the mount was not at all a significant factor toward increasing XF sales. The XF platform had already been dominating camera platform sales ever since launch.

Also, the mount swap cost has always been $3,000 USD, never $1,000. At least as far back as I am aware - and this goes back over 12-14 years. Phase One is far from perfect, but please criticize where it fits, not where it doesn't.

Phase One always swapped a completely different digital back when you ordered a mount swap. The Leaf digital backs on the other hand, did actually swap the mount. This is nothing new. And yes, as per above, it can take a very long time to receive a mount swap for a Contax, or even a Hasselblad V. This has nothing to do with a lack of performance on the part of Phase One. The owners of those digital backs would need to trade them in to Phase One, and they either chose to stay put and keep what they have, or they upgraded several generations back, and those units have already gone back out into the market, where apparently those owners are happily holding onto them.


Steve Hendrix/CI
 

nikesteam

Member
Thank you guys for the responses! I think like a lot of people are saying, it might be best to get one with a Contax mount, instead of trying to get the mount replaced (I contacted multiple people last year to see if they would do that, and most were not willing). Please keep me updated, and thank you again!
 

iceinspire

New member
We've had an open purchase order on Phase One's desk for the past several years for any Contax mount digital back that comes into Phase One inventory, and not a peep.

They're rare birds now.

I have had one IQ180 Contax that came in trade about 15 months ago and was sold to a very happy client who shoots weddings. Shoots it spcifically with the 80/2.0 and loves it. And wants a backup. So, I'm still looking too!

Regarding "phasing" out of certain camera mounts. Despite what someone noted, it's not as simple as - Hey, let's just stop offering these mounts to bolster our camera sales. Digital back sales for Contax (and Hasselblad V, and to a lesser degree Hasselblad H) had been falling for years. There is a cost to continuing to support legacy solutions, and at some point it's a factor of dimishing returns. That plays a role as well, and it's not fair to portray it as simply to boost sales of the XF system. The numbers were getting so low on Contax mount orders that deciding to no longer offer the mount was not at all a significant factor toward increasing XF sales. The XF platform had already been dominating camera platform sales ever since launch.

Also, the mount swap cost has always been $3,000 USD, never $1,000. At least as far back as I am aware - and this goes back over 12-14 years. Phase One is far from perfect, but please criticize where it fits, not where it doesn't.

Phase One always swapped a completely different digital back when you ordered a mount swap. The Leaf digital backs on the other hand, did actually swap the mount. This is nothing new. And yes, as per above, it can take a very long time to receive a mount swap for a Contax, or even a Hasselblad V. This has nothing to do with a lack of performance on the part of Phase One. The owners of those digital backs would need to trade them in to Phase One, and they either chose to stay put and keep what they have, or they upgraded several generations back, and those units have already gone back out into the market, where apparently those owners are happily holding onto them.


Steve Hendrix/CI
do they need to put in any new firmware?
I have a contex mount P25+. Is it possible to hood up on a P65 (V/H mount) by myself?
 

B L

Well-known member
I saw OP's post on day one and since than I have been looking for one to help him.So far no chance. The day I see anyone with it, I am gonna ask him/her to contact OP immidiately or else....
But seriously its a challenge for Phase one. Its not impossible to put one together and not at skyhigh cost either.
Mr Hendrix,hats off to your team's interaction whenever your input is expected.Phase One sold Contax mount back in the past so they have the knowledge and resources.
 

f1point0

Member
I purchased a nearly mint P45+ many years ago that still had a year of value added warranty on it so a swap was possible and included. I also learned from the dealer (Digital Transitions) that when you request a swap, they DO NOT actually swap the mount, but they try to locate the same DB in the mount that you are wanting to switch to. Back then it was still fairly easy and Phase One was able to locate a Contax mount P45+ which I had in my hands within a few weeks.

The P45+ is now my back up DB because a few years ago I located an IQ260 from Capture Integration in Contax mount and jumped on it. They are incredibly rare, and I had also been searching for at least a year. I also prefer the CCD look.

Good luck and keep looking. It is well worth it! I think with the Fuji GFX taking a decent chunk of the market share away from P1, and getting some photogs to switch, it might unearth a few more Contax mount DB's here and there.

Nothing renders like a full frame CCD P1 DB on a Contax with the 80mm f2 lens. The GFX is a cropped sensor (closer to a CCD P20, P40, IQ140, IQ240 or the CMOS IQ150, IQ250) so it significantly alters the look of the 80mm f2 when it is used on the GFX via the Fringer mount.
 
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