Considering the H3DII-31

[Guy Mancuso]

Anders just remember the Contax is a dead system so whatever you buy in there lineup might want to consider a extra body and a lot of batteries. There still around new and used but someday that ship will maybe dry up more. It's a nice system but just keep that in the back of your head. I personally went Phase/Mamiya all the way because it is still being made and actually expanded on with new glass and bodies. Not saying don't buy the Contax but your elbow room is limited to what is current today with no new path. So cover yourself with extra's at some point. The new back news for Phase is the new P65 so you will see more P45's hitting the market in used and demo gear. Again look around and try everything in MF and se what fits your needs and style the best. It is a heavy investment and you just want to be sure of yourself. Somedays i wish i bought the P30 plus instead of the P25 plus but I am real happy overall with my choice and it works for me. If Contax is what you want than Phase , Leaf and Sinar are the backs for it. Hassy is out of the picture than. Now you can always get a back remounted for a different body not necessarily the cheapest route unless you get a back with a warranty that has a replace the mount built into it. Value added warranty of Phase has this and Yair can give you the info for leaf since i don't know there warranty policy and such. Sinar has adapters already available to switch even that day. Leaf and Phase would have to go back to the factory to make a mount change

 

[woodyspedden]

Guy

I think if you want Hassy that the CF backs are adaptable to Contax. I know lots of people have very positive experiences with the Phase backs on the Contax so i am not advocating the Hassy CF backs, only stating their compatibility with the Contax system.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Thanks Woody . i always forget one of these babies. LOL

 

[Uaiomex]

Guy:
I'm planning on finally purchasing my first dback. I've been expecting P25 prices to come down. They had indeed, but interestingly the P45 has come down even more. Now these 2 backs are close in price in the used market, or so it seems to me.
I will match it to my 500Cm and 4 CF lenses. My usual shooting sessions are always on tripod either studio or location. I love landscape photography as my personal expression. So the P45 sounds like a dream.
Could you give me an extended explanation of your quote?
Thanks, Eduardo

Somedays i wish i bought the P30 plus instead of the P25 plus but I am real happy overall with my choice and it works for me.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

I think Lance can give you some good prices . Last recall on a refurb P45 plus with warranty was around 23 K or so. But don't quote me. I would give him a call or send a PM to him. He has all that pricing stuff right there at CI. Mine was over 21 or so , honestly I forgot immediately. My mode of operation, here is the check now don't remind me. LOL

 

[Smoothjazz]

I have recently upgraded to a Hasselblad H3DII-39 camera, which I like a lot, and have followed this thread with great interest. I have read the Flexcolor manual, and used the program, but on the recommendation of many above posts, have decided to send my images from Flexcolor to Photoshop.
On my first attempt I selected all my images, and went to the 'Save' function, and it asked me to save as normal or DNG, and I selected DNG.
Next I chose the target to save to as Photoshop Bridge, and hit the save button. The program worked for a few minutes saving all the images, but the are nowhere to be found now in either Bridge or Flexcolor!!

Any specific recommendation or pointers about how to save images from Flexcolor over to Photoshop CS3 or Photoshop bridge? Thank you very much from a new member on the forum!!

 

[fotografz]

I have recently upgraded to a Hasselblad H3DII-39 camera, which I like a lot, and have followed this thread with great interest. I have read the Flexcolor manual, and used the program, but on the recommendation of many above posts, have decided to send my images from Flexcolor to Photoshop.
On my first attempt I selected all my images, and went to the 'Save' function, and it asked me to save as normal or DNG, and I selected DNG.
Next I chose the target to save to as Photoshop Bridge, and hit the save button. The program worked for a few minutes saving all the images, but the are nowhere to be found now in either Bridge or Flexcolor!!

Any specific recommendation or pointers about how to save images from Flexcolor over to Photoshop CS3 or Photoshop bridge? Thank you very much from a new member on the forum!!

Bridge isn't a folder, it's a browser program.

Make a folder on your desktop to send the DNGs from Flexcolor.

Then open Bridge and select that folder.

 

[andershald]

Hi Everyone.

I have now had the Contax for a week with the a75s Leaf back on it. I haven't had a chance to do a proper test shoot yet, but this will happen on Sunday where I have set up a proper shoot situation with 4 kids models, this will determine if this combination is right for me.

I have acouple of questions for the Contax users out there. I have borrowed a 55mm f3.5 which is a focal length that I really like. But unlike the 80, the 35 and the 45 that I have seen, this lens has a yellow cast to it. I have seen this before in a really old Pentax 67 lens. I wonder if the 55mm f3.5 is an older type of lens, or if there are examples without this cast. It could be a coating thing. I found a Contax website: http://www.contaxcameras.co.uk/ the range of lenses does not show the 55'er. Can anyone explain this?

Also I didn't think that the external battery on the Leaf back would be an issue until I put the batterygrip on the Contax and realized the the Leaf battery renders the vertical grip unuseable...hmm, not sure yet is this is really an issue, but it does speak in favor of the Phase back that someone suggested was a perfect match for the Contax.

With regards to the Contax being a dead system, it does concern me. On the other hand, I am not a gearhead, I am a three lenses and a body, type of photographer. There is a lot of good used Contax gear around and at the price I can probably afford to buy two of the bits I use the most. I was very pleased to see that Calumet at Drummond street in London has Contax in rental. Obviously the back will be a problem, as noone rents out backs with Contax fittings. That is my main concern.

I guess I have will to make enough money with the first system I buy, to be able to afford another back in the near future

I will post my findings on the Leaf Contax combination early next week.

Best regards,
Anders

 

[fotografz]

Hi Everyone.

I have now had the Contax for a week with the a75s Leaf back on it. I haven't had a chance to do a proper test shoot yet, but this will happen on Sunday where I have set up a proper shoot situation with 4 kids models, this will determine if this combination is right for me.

I have acouple of questions for the Contax users out there. I have borrowed a 55mm f3.5 which is a focal length that I really like. But unlike the 80, the 35 and the 45 that I have seen, this lens has a yellow cast to it. I have seen this before in a really old Pentax 67 lens. I wonder if the 55mm f3.5 is an older type of lens, or if there are examples without this cast. It could be a coating thing. I found a Contax website: http://www.contaxcameras.co.uk/ the range of lenses does not show the 55'er. Can anyone explain this?

Also I didn't think that the external battery on the Leaf back would be an issue until I put the batterygrip on the Contax and realized the the Leaf battery renders the vertical grip unuseable...hmm, not sure yet is this is really an issue, but it does speak in favor of the Phase back that someone suggested was a perfect match for the Contax.

With regards to the Contax being a dead system, it does concern me. On the other hand, I am not a gearhead, I am a three lenses and a body, type of photographer. There is a lot of good used Contax gear around and at the price I can probably afford to buy two of the bits I use the most. I was very pleased to see that Calumet at Drummond street in London has Contax in rental. Obviously the back will be a problem, as noone rents out backs with Contax fittings. That is my main concern.

I guess I have will to make enough money with the first system I buy, to be able to afford another back in the near future

I will post my findings on the Leaf Contax combination early next week.

Best regards,
Anders

The Contax 55mm is the last lens in the line-up to be designed/produced. It is not an older lens. The one I had did not produce a color cast ... I recall it being the same as all my other Contax 645 AF lenses.

Are you comparing apples-to-apples? Meaning, are you shooting with the 55 and another lens side-by-side and seeing the difference? If not, then it may be the set up for the digital back that's creating the color cast, or something else in the processing chain.

 

[andershald]

Hi fotografz.

Thanks for the quick reply. I am comparing while looking through the finder. The finder is obviously less bright, as it is an f3.5 not and f2 lens, but I haven't actually compared the files, I will do that now. Sorry, maybe it was an assumtion made too quick

Anders

 

[andershald]

I am sorry.
Colourwise the two lenses are completely identical.

Anders

 

[fotografz]

I am sorry.
Colourwise the two lenses are completely identical.

Anders

:thumbs:

 

[andershald]

Anyone with any experience using the Mutar 1.4x extender on the 45, making it a 63mm? That would close the gap between the 55 and the 80.

Anders

 

[fotografz]

Anyone with any experience using the Mutar 1.4x extender on the 45, making it a 63mm? That would close the gap between the 55 and the 80.

Anders

First I'd check to make sure if the 1.4X Mutar can be used with the 45mm.
I can't remember ever doing that.

 

[andershald]

Wow, thanks for the heads up.
I assumed that the Mutar could be used with any lens, same as an extension tube. I'll see if I can find the information anywhere.

Thanks,
Anders

 

[andershald]

Okay, it would appear that the Mutar works with lenses from the 140mm and up, but possibly on the 120mm with an extension tube.

http://www.photographyreview.com/cat/lenses/medium-format/contax/PRD_84822_3113crx.aspx

Dang, I thought for a minute I was clever...



Anders

 

[andershald]

Great news for Sunday!

I have just spoken to the Phase/Hasselblad dealer and he will lend me a Mamiya III with an 80mm and a P30+ back for my test shoot on Sunday. That means that I can shoot the A75s on the Contax 80mm side by side with the P30+ and the Mamiya 80mm. This test is primarily to test the files, there will obviouly be a slight difference due to the different lenses, but it is as close as it can get to a comparison in a 'real' shoot situation.

I am really amazed at the helpfulness of these dealers they are truly quality.

They are:
www.goecker.dk for Hasselblad and Phase One, rep is Carsten
www.cav.dk for Leaf (and in my case Contax), Rep is Kenneth

I will post my findings next week.

Best regards,
Anders

 

[fotografz]

Okay, it would appear that the Mutar works with lenses from the 140mm and up, but possibly on the 120mm with an extension tube.

http://www.photographyreview.com/cat/lenses/medium-format/contax/PRD_84822_3113crx.aspx

Dang, I thought for a minute I was clever...



Anders

The 1.4X Mutar was specially formulated and optimized for the Contax 350/4 APO. This combination is spectacular. I loved that lens very much, and only recently replaced it with the 350/4FE for my Hasselblad 203FE.

I did use the 1.4X Mutar with the 140/2.8 quite often because it was a small and versatile solution. IQ was maintained quite well because the 1.4X Mutar is so good.

 

[andershald]

OK, so it is probably not for me. I never shoot the longer lenses. On the Canon the longest I ever shoot is the 85mm. I used to own a 105 for my Nikon f4 and I never used it, well virtually never, and I haven't once wished for it i the 10 years since I had it...

But it is nice to know that such a thing exists, should I ever need it. Since the system is 'dead' I might pick these pieces up along the way, just to have them.

Thanks for the info, once again.

Best regards,
Anders

 

[andershald]

I have just returned from the Hasselblad/Phase dealer and my test shoot Sunday is taking 'Reichmann-esque' proportions I now have the Leaf/Contax, the Mamiya/P30+ AND the Hasselblad H3DII-31 systems to shoot side by side. The last two only with 80mm lenses, but the comparisons will primarily be on the files, as I am really liking the Contax.

More on this early next week.

Anders