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Contarex Planar 2/50 first images
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 13, 2010 11:17 pm    Post subject: Contarex Planar 2/50 first images Reply with quote
Well, it seems that either the times on my Contarex are a bit slow, or the minilab did screw the process a bit (not so unlikely), or I am a bad sunny 16 meter. Whatever the reason, most of my Sunday shots were overexposed Sad

But from those shots that I could at least partially salvage, I am very happy about the lens performance. Lots of detail, very good performance in the borders, really enjoyable. This is spite of the film used (Kodak Color Plus 200), which has lots of grain and colours that are both funky (over-cyanized) and weak. I did try to correct for what I could.

Most of the shots were taken outside the castle of Agazzano (13th century). I also met the grand-daughter of the owner, a Gonzaga young lady who was there with two very snobby dogs (those tall slender dogs with very pointy face and nose, don't know the name of the race).





















PostPosted: Mon Sep 13, 2010 11:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Oh yes, it is definitely a keeper, both camera and lens. You can see the
Zeiss DNA in all of these! Wink

Really like the castle views!


PostPosted: Mon Sep 13, 2010 11:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Katastrofo wrote:
Oh yes, it is definitely a keeper, both camera and lens. You can see the
Zeiss DNA in all of these! Wink

Really like the castle views!


Thanks Bill. Have you noticed the IQ in the corners?
This is what strike me the most about these first images. Also in the wide aperture shots (the first two), the edges seem to keep up with the same IQ as the centre.
This I rarely saw happening even in my Contax lenses.


PostPosted: Mon Sep 13, 2010 11:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
color & definition are top-notch, great results


PostPosted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 12:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Orio wrote:


Thanks Bill. Have you noticed the IQ in the corners?
This is what strike me the most about these first images. Also in the wide aperture shots (the first two), the edges seem to keep up with the same IQ as the centre.
This I rarely saw happening even in my Contax lenses.


I wasn't paying close attention to the corners, but yes, this is definitely
a superb lens! Shocked Does it have any bokeh when close-focusing? Hard
to imagine the first two were at f2, but like the detail in the foreground chair
in the second.


PostPosted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 12:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Katastrofo wrote:
Hard
to imagine the first two were at f2, but like the detail in the foreground chair
in the second.


The first one was not WO, but it was still wide (at or around 2.8 ) compared to the full outdoor shots which I had to take at f/8 due to the very bright light and the fast (iso200) film.
And yes the detail in the chair in the second image is the reason I published the shot, you look at the tight fine lines, they are not messed at all, very clearly defined, which testifies of a high resolvance even wide open.


PostPosted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 12:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Impressive results. Nice series.


PostPosted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 4:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Negative film is endurable material. Overexposing only add to saturation and somehow increases contrast also smoothing grain. Sorry for my intellective report Very Happy
My opinion is that they made bad work at lab. (Although there are some limits within emulsion.)

Kodak color is sufficient for such samples that are more than interesting. Some of them even captivates. And looks nice and sharp glass.


PostPosted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 10:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Kodak has come out with a new Portra 400 to replace both VC and NC, can't
wait to try it (available in 35, 120, and 4x5). This will replace the VC and NC
in 400 ISO, November 2010.

I still think these are very decent results, Orio.


PostPosted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 10:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I had to work hard on the lab scans to make them like this, Bill.
When I have time I'll try to scan myself and see to what extent the overexposure is real or bad lab scan management.


PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 8:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Great shots..

Every time I see castles, winding streets and the like I get very home-sick for Europe, what with living in strip-mall hell here in Oregon!

here 1975 is 'old' and 1900 'ancient'

Hmm

Doug


PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 10:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Hi Bill, I did some close focus shooting today with this lens. though the first one was
at around F8 (I cannot tell exactly) by holding the lens on D700 ala Trifox style. Very close less than 0.3m.
(The lens at infinity position on Nikon D700, farthest position was mere 1m or little more.)
The second one was old, at F2 (wide open) about two meter away to japanese yew in focus, film was Fuji Reala.




The lens has very nice bokeh, maybe because of less astigmatism as Orio says.

Last edited by koji on Wed Sep 15, 2010 10:29 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 10:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
@ Doug:
when I was young, I did not care much about these things, because like with the typical attitude of the young, I gave them for granted, like "they're always here, won't move, will always have time for them".
But then, as I grew older, I realize that these things too can decay quickly if man does not care for them, and that there is always some speculator that is more than ready to replace old beautiful buildings with new ugly malls.
And mostly, I realized that I don't have at my hands all the time that I thought I had.
So I can understand how you feel, and whenever I have some time, I go visiting these small burgs and villages that will probably never end up in the tourist guides for foreigners, but which offer to me some precious medicine for the soul, with their silence, quiet, and beautiful dignity.

@ Koji: very nice samples, I recognize the fingerprint in the bokeh of the flowers, the landscape bokeh instead seems busier than what I get from my lens, but probably the subject and the fact that I could never really use the lens wide open, play a decisive part.


PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 10:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Koji-san, both shots are excellent, the Reala one, though, is spellbinding! Shocked Marvelous 3D in that pic, and those Reala colors are
my fave in 100 print film. Yes, nice bokeh, wonderful lens indeed! Cool


PostPosted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 12:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Yep,

I took the castle at Colchester, the narrow streets, Old Harwich, York, Castle Headingham for granted.. now all I have is a bloody great mountain (Mt Hood) some very overcast beaches, and endless burger bars, party stores and other mall trash. If I see one interesting building a month I count myself lucky! Very few interesting photo opportunities unless, like Larry, you can hike a few miles into the forst!

Street photography here (because of the enormous volume of many Americans) would very often require a full frame DSLR for the wide angle capability... Smile lol

Doug

Orio wrote:
@ Doug:
when I was young, I did not care much about these things, because like with the typical attitude of the young, I gave them for granted, like "they're always here, won't move, will always have time for them".
But then, as I grew older, I realize that these things too can decay quickly if man does not care for them, and that there is always some speculator that is more than ready to replace old beautiful buildings with new ugly malls.
And mostly, I realized that I don't have at my hands all the time that I thought I had.
So I can understand how you feel, and whenever I have some time, I go visiting these small burgs and villages that will probably never end up in the tourist guides for foreigners, but which offer to me some precious medicine for the soul, with their silence, quiet, and beautiful dignity.

@ Koji: very nice samples, I recognize the fingerprint in the bokeh of the flowers, the landscape bokeh instead seems busier than what I get from my lens, but probably the subject and the fact that I could never really use the lens wide open, play a decisive part.


PostPosted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 2:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Orio, I think you have a keeper. I hope you find the negs scan perfectly for you.


PostPosted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 9:08 am    Post subject: Re: Contarex Planar 2/50 first images Reply with quote
Orio wrote:
Well, it seems that either the times on my Contarex are a bit slow, or the minilab did screw the process a bit (not so unlikely), or I am a bad sunny 16 meter. Whatever the reason, most of my Sunday shots were overexposed Sad


Well, that's what you can expect. Quoting "Servicing A Zeiss Contarex Body" (http://www.zeisscamera.com/services_overhaul-contarex.shtml):

"The first and foremost of the Contarex bad ideas was the body aperture control. The body aperture control is too complex and introduces too much play and uncertainty into the control of the lens aperture. If you want to use a Contarex and you want perfectly exposed pictures, the aperture control is something you are going to have to learn and adjust to. There's no way to make it anything other than what it is with its built-in +/- 0.5 f stop uncertainty."

"If you want to use a Contarex successfully you are going to have to test it with film carefully, note its individual peculiarities and take them into account when you use it to take pictures. The Contarex is not a camera that can be used casually as we have become accustomed to doing today with modern cameras. There are two main reasons for this. The first is that it is highly likely the camera body you are going to use is about 40 years old and has not been properly overhauled since it was made. There is no such thing as a piece of such complex precision equipment that keeps its calibration for forty years.The second is that the factory specifications for shutter performance of the bullseye Contarex are +/- 0.5 f stop. Even at its best, the Contarex mechanical shutter can only provide accuracy within one half f stop."

Veijo


PostPosted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 11:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks Veijo. I more or less came to the same conclusions myself: make a test roll, then keep in mind the values and compensate.


PostPosted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 2:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
can i try your contarex?
Laughing


PostPosted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 3:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Katastrofo wrote:
Koji-san, both shots are excellent, the Reala one, though, is spellbinding! Shocked Marvelous 3D in that pic, and those Reala colors are
my fave in 100 print film. Yes, nice bokeh, wonderful lens indeed! Cool



+1 for the shot with Reala....IMO Reala can't handle reds well, but there is always someone to prove me wrong Laughing


PostPosted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 3:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Well Orio in my book you can make as many mistakes as you like, it's just nice to see more people using film.


PostPosted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 4:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
i was not joking
Very Happy


PostPosted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 1:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
metallaro1980 wrote:
can i try your contarex?
Laughing


Yes, if we go out to photograph somewhere sometimes
you can load a roll and shoot it.

I don't borrow my stuff otherwise - I used to do it, but people took
advantage of my generosity more than once. Result? Some things
never came back to me, some things came back broken or damaged,
or after months or even more than one year, when the agreement
was of a few days only.
So I'm tired to be the idiot of the bunch, and I'm tired of false promises and dishonesty
of other people - I prefer to be the evil of the bunch, that everyone says "bad guy,
doesn't borrow", but have my expensive stuff always under my wings.
I used to be the good guy "go to Orio he will borrow it to you" and take the
yin-yang over and over again.

I'm sorry because for the bad incivility of some, others have to pay,
but I said stop to that and it's permanent.
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