Contax?

<p>I don't know where to post this question... but<br>

Are contax cameras amazing?? I looked a Contax G2 range finder up on ebay and without a lens they were like 200 bucks. And the Contax 645 were like over 1000 in most cases. Plus Hedi Slimane allegedly uses one. So I was just wandering, are they really good? </p>

<p>My contax gear, 2 G2's, a 21mm, 28mm, 45mm, 90mm where the sharpest and best lenses I have owned. I have owned a lot of cameras and lenses, and they are worth every penny. </p>

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<p>I don't know where to post this question</p>

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<p>Try the Leica/Rangefinder forum or Modern Film Camera Forum.<br /> They are very good cameras with outstanding optics. Your chances of getting a really clean one for $200 are pretty slim. Expect to pay closer to $400-600 Depending on condition, original accessories, box and docs. More for black.</p>

<p>There are many, many "Contaxes" - Those made by Zeiss Ikon before WWII, Russian-made "Kievs", and several series of post-war productions in West Germany - and then the name was shipped off to Japan where it died on the vine.<br>

I think for what you're asking the best place is probably the Leica/Rangefinder forum or you could look at a hagiography of the camera at (<a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/contax/g2.htm">link</a>, 'he whose name shall not be mentioned').</p>

<p>I just saw an elephant walk across the table.</p>

<p>Please use the classified dept. on Photo.net to sell your items directly. Photo.net is not a good place to pull the innocent act giving us those baby blues when, in reality, this is a spam attempt to draw buyers to your item on eBay. I used to use this ploy on the web when the internet opened up and, sad to say, so many spammers copied it without even a tip of the hat. But your technique, sloppy. I would be more impressed if I heard Patti Lupone used one.</p>

<p>Er Tom.... Are you talking to me with that response? I don't even have an Ebay account, cuz I'm still seventeen and I don't even have a credit card. You sir, are out of line. I'm not trying to sell anything, in fact, I'm actually interested in buying you silly person. As I am only seventeen I don't know much about brands like Contax. I hadn't even heard of it till I googled to see what camera Hedi Slimane uses. And I'm only interested in one cuz Hedi Slimane's pictures look like really good quality. <br>

So I was actually trying to find out if they are actually are of such quality that matches the price or if they were some sort of popular type of brand that was just expensive because people liked them. <br>

People like you make finding information a pain in the behind. </p>

<p>Iona, you are about the 40 millionth person to make a similar post to your first one in the last decade and change, and those people were trying to sell something in forums where it wasn't allowed. There are quite a few here every week as well. Sorry if you were mistaken for a spammer.</p>

 

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<p>you silly person</p>

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<p>"Go, or I will taunt you again."<br>

You can always tell who has seen <em>Monty Python and the Holy Grail</em> :o</p>

<p>.</p>

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<p>Expect to pay closer to $400-600 Depending on condition, original accessories, box and docs</p>

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<p>Since your'e new with this brand I should add that price was for the body only. Expect to pay $200-$1200 for the fabulous Zeiss lenses for it. The G1 and G2 are made of titanium and are/were among the elite of rangefinder cameras. JDM's link to Ken Rockwell's evaluation is a good one and will give you a decent overview. A few years ago you could pick up a G1, some what less expensive than a G2, and a few lenses for a song but now that they can adapt those lenses to digital cameras, the prices have taken off. I have a G1, and three lenses and just love the quality they produce.</p>

<p>The reason to buy a Contax body is access to the excellent Contax/Zeiss glass. You mention the G-mount rangefinder and 645 medium format but in between there are also the Contax/Yashica mount Kyocera-made SLRs, as well as the relatively short-lived Contax-N AF 35mm SLRs.</p>

<p>Whether they are worth the price is a personal question--some will pay even more for Leica because they can't imagine using less. Some will admire the Contax but buy Voightlander and have some money left over for film processing and beer.</p>

<p>And if you haven't figured it out already, only <em><strong>completed</strong></em> auction prices are useful for determining value. There are plenty of items that are listed well below the value they will close at (or below reserve) and plenty that are listed beyond what most sane people would pay that will (usually) not sell.</p>

<p>So basically you guys are saying it's the lenses that are good, not so much the camera? Do lenses really make so much difference? I've heard that Zeiss lenses are good, of course, but never used one. </p>

<p>You may have read elsewhere that the camera body's main function is to be a lightproof box to hold the lens and film in the right place. That's a bit of an oversimplification because reliability and ergonomics can be a factor in actual ownership and use, plus there may be features like focusing aids and built-in metering that can help the photographer but there's still some truth to it--when it comes to actual imaging, it's the lens and the film (+processing/scanning/printing later).</p>

<p>Like a lot of things, decreasing returns for additional investment. A lens that costs twice as much isn't necessarily measurably twice as good. It's easy to get caught up in gear fetishism but you may find that old, dirt cheap, somewhat out-of-fashion gear will take nearly the same pictures as costly Contax or Leica gear.</p>

<p>A 'good' photographer, someone who spends a lot of time with their camera may buy a spendier camera, and probably does so based on some preferences he/she has developed with experience but chances are good that the same photographer could take very similar pictures with something much cheaper.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>"...I've heard that Zeiss lenses are good, of course, but never used one..."</p>

<p>I am not a lens designer and make no pretense towards that, but the G-series 45mm f/2 Zeiss Planar is, I am told, is viftually the same as an older Schneider 50mm F/1.9 Xenon that I had on an Instamatic SLR. Both of mine are/were stellar performers, giving sharp, snappy-crisp images. When it comes to the Contax-G series, there really isn't a dog in the bunch, either.</p>

<p>More about the Contax G2 <strong><a href="http://toyotadesigner.wordpress.com/category/photography/contax-g2-system/">here</a></strong></p>

<p>No, I'm not going to sell it. Yes, I know that I can use the classifieds if I want.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I don't have the bucks for the real Contax stuff but the Yashica bayonet mount accepts Contax lenses. There are many good ones around so you could get a Yashica body and invest most of the investment in those great lenses.</p>

<p>In your life, there will at least one time that you forget yourself forsomeone, asking for no result, no company, no ownership nor love. Justask for meeting you in my most beautiful years.</p>

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<p>OK, now <em>this</em> time, it's spam. I'm at least 90% sure it's spam.</p>

<p>Argh, now what's spam? <br>

Seriously, over this. I get it, Contax is good, Zeiss lenses are good. Not trying to sell anything. If I had a Contax I wouldnt sell the damn thing anyway. <br>

Assuming "Ok, now this time, it's spam" was in reference to me. <br>

If I was selling something I'd post a link, I wouldn't mention some vague thing and hope that by chance someone buys my product. That's pretty stupid. <br>

Have you nothing better to do with your time than speculate whether an innocent question about a camera I know zilch about is spam or not? *facepalm*</p>