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My "new" autofocus camera...
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 3:55 pm    Post subject: My "new" autofocus camera... Reply with quote
Yes... but don't look at me that way ! Shocked Laughing

And no... I'm no renegade! I am staying with the manual lenses Wink
But I had the chance of grabbing this one technology jewel:



And considering the amount of money I invested in Contax lenses, I thought it was really a stupid move not to get one of these cameras.

Which by the way is called Contax AX and what it does, is to put into photography terms the old saying of Mahomet and the Mountain. That is, it has an internal ceramic motor that moves the film plane to focus the image.

What you do is: you mount your Zeiss Contax lens, set the focus to infinity, and let the camera do the focusing by moving the film plane back and forth as needed.

The autofocus can be single or continuous, and while it's not superfast (but I have used autofocus lenses slower than this), it is very precise. It can be single or continuous, and when single, it locks the focus and lets you recompose image without losing it.

The advantages of this camera over the other Contax cameras?
Basically two:

1- it turns all your Zeiss Contax lenses into autofocus lenses (for those longer than 100mm a bit of prefocusing is required)

2- it turns all your Zeiss Contax lenses into macro lenses! Yes, because it has a macro mode that pulls the film plane back all the way and lets you manual focus all lenses in macro mode. This of course can be very handy when you are out and with no access to your lens arsenal, and find a subject good for macro with no macro lens in the bag. No need to change lens and no need to mount extension rings. Very very handy.

I tested the camera with a first roll, which I just ended. Everything works smoothly. We'll see the samples. I grabbed this marvel for 300 Eur, which may seem a lot for a film camera, but considering the features it brings, it's a very good price. And now I know, that even when I will be old and my eyesight gone, I'll still be able to use all my manual Contax lenses. This is good relief in perspective Wink


PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 3:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
The RTSIII and the AX are the dream in contax line, for me of course.

Now, I haven't money to buy them. But if you can, ENJOY.

Good luck and pics, Rino.


PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 4:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Let me know why you need AF if you shoot almost all time with wide angle lenses? Good to own this camera , but I think nothing else good reason Wink Collector! Congrats for your new diamond!


PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 4:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Good taste, Orio.

I bought it new with Planar 55/1.2 together, was expensive!
This camera has a built-in macro exetention ring, which is a very nice feature. (I hardly used AF.)

Congratulations...Very Happy


PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 4:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Attila wrote:
Let me know why you need AF if you shoot almost all time with wide angle lenses? Good to own this camera , but I think nothing else good reason Wink Collector! Congrats for your new diamond!


Oh but I also use teles! Smile

Really, I have used my 167 MT at the last Carnival with a 50mm lens on it, and the percentage of missed focus was so much higher than with my Contax lenses on the 5D / 400D, it was really depressing. About half of more of photos were to trash Sad
The main problem is that I can not afford to shoot fast and bracket focus like I do with my Zeiss-on-EOS sets, because film is expensive.
My hope is that this camera might help me in shooting live events and reducing the number of missed focus images and the number of film rolls.


PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 4:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
In tele shoots I vote for your 400D with AF confirmation.


PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 4:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Wow, it looks in gorgeous shape, too! Cool I'll have to limp along with my RX
for awhile longer. Wink


PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 4:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
koji wrote:
Good taste, Orio.

I bought it new with Planar 55/1.2 together, was expensive!
This camera has a built-in macro exetention ring, which is a very nice feature. (I hardly used AF.)

Congratulations...Very Happy


Thanks Koji. I will not ask you what you paid for that set Shocked
I already found it expensive at 300 Eur Laughing but of course everything is proportional to each one's possibilities.

The thing I love most about this camera is it's big size! It fits my hand perfectly and I don't have to cramp my fingers around it. I don't have big/large hands, but I do have quite long fingers, and I am discomfortable holding at least 90% of all reflex cameras I ever tried (not to mention computer mice)!


PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 4:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Wow, Orio! Excellent purchase! Congratulations! What a dream cam!

Last edited by LucisPictor on Mon Sep 29, 2008 4:20 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 4:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Attila wrote:
In tele shoots I vote for your 400D with AF confirmation.


Yes, that's the reason why I ordered the 50D
(I had to sell my 400D last July to raise money for the taxes)


PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 4:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Katastrofo wrote:
Wow, it looks in gorgeous shape, too! Cool I'll have to limp along with my RX
for awhile longer. Wink


Bill, if you don't shoot fast action scenes, the focus confirmation of your RX will be more than enough! The RX has some better features than the AX, in particular the custom functions.
The macro mode of the AX however is a real benefit, which I think I will use a lot.


PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 4:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
LucisPictor wrote:
Wow, Orio! Excellent purchase! Congratulations! What a dream cam!


Yes Carsten, when I was younger, this one was REALLY only a dream! Smile
Now, with everybody selling them to get digital cameras, it's still a dream, but one that I can afford Wink


PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 4:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
congrats Orio! great cam
I have the Rts3 but I prefer to carry the 167MT who is light and small


PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 4:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
thats a very cool technology! and it sure beats the pants off of my Pentax ME-F and smc-AF 35~70mm 2.8 Surprised


PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 4:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Yes, I agree on the 167 being very light and portable. Unfortunately I don't seem to be able to focus it very well in action scenes. Sad


PostPosted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 11:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Nice bit of gear, Orio. Mr. Green Laughing


PostPosted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 12:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
A natural progression and a natural accompaniment to the rangefinder G2! As you say, you will have a lifetime camera set that will provide a LOT of versatility. I can't wait to see some image samples.

Congratulations!


PostPosted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 9:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Congratulations.

Lets see some samples. I am probably as excited as other posters to see the samples. Smile


PostPosted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 9:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I already posted some:

http://forum.mflenses.com/contax-ax-first-shots-t11254.html


PostPosted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 10:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Orio wrote:
I already posted some:

http://forum.mflenses.com/contax-ax-first-shots-t11254.html


My bad. Embarassed
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