bup_avlr Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Hi,i have been using contax G system for 2 years,love it but when it comes to B&W the results really makes me sad.ݠonly see metallic grays at the pics shot with G.Must i have a leica for perfect B&W results,or am i trying to make myself believe that leica myth is better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy m. Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Have you considered the processing and printing as the weak link, rather than your (excellent) camera? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilan_g Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Leica is certainly better ;-) but even with a B&W disposable camera you should be able to get clean whites and deep blacks on a print if it is correctly executed. So you need to find another excuse... But don't give up, most of the people on this forum managed to find one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love4leica Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 It is your film, processing techniques, developer, printing technique or even lens but NOT your camera body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathan_reynolds Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 It's ALL these things, but the equipment least. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. With small formats, attention to detail at every stage is essential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy m. Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 I think you can safely discount the Zeiss lenses of you camera as a culprit. They are <i>easily</i> a match for the equivalent Leica lens IMHO.<p> The modern Zeiss lenses perform stunningly.<p> You can do great B+W work with an old Pentax Spotmatic etc. <p> A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronald_moravec1 Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Zeiss lenses should be fine. Home or custom processing is a necessity. There is a long chain of correct exposure, development, and printing and all must be done exactly reguardless of film format. The drugstore won`t get it for you. They can not afford to take the time to do it properly at 29 cents a print. It is a reflection on our society demanding low cost everything. In the industrial purchasing world there is a joke. You may have good, fast or cheap. Pick any two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathan_reynolds Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Shouldn't that be 'pick any ONE'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 "you can do good B+W with a Spotmatic" Hello! I made prints often larger 6feet by 9feet with my Spotmatic and Super-Takumar lenses.They were B+W because color in the 60's and 70's was way to unsharp and grainy except for Kodachrome.It was for Exibition sites as backgrounds. If your prints are lousy, rethink your whole procedure from exposure to print. Are you doing everything from exposure,develope film to print? Use a CN-41 B+W film and use a color printer lab(of better quality,though pro-lab not reqd) and compare.True the Zeiss lenses may compare, but viewfinder is worse than SLR in cutting off around images and lacking the "beauty of seeing" of the SLR.The G camera is neither fish nor fowl.The auto focus occasionally crazy..I have used both models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy m. Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 <i>"Hello! I made prints often larger 6feet by 9feet with my Spotmatic and Super-Takumar lenses"</i><p> Hello Jason! that was my point- I love Spotmatics, the lenses are great. I have used Super-Takumar lenses myself- have an image in my gallery made with a 50mm lens that was still as sharp as anything I have used since.<p> In any case, there's no way Bup's problem is lens-related, excepting damaged or faulty gear (IMO). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socke Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Bup, which film? XP2 prints from a minilab aren't great, BW400CN is not to my liking and T400CN is gone. So I'm back to homeprocessing and results from Ilford HP5+ and Kodak Tri-X (new) are to my liking. Black blacks, white whites and MUCH between the extrems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew_hull Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 I have shot with the G system for about 4 years and any shortcomings in my negatives are due to user error. What film are you using, how are you processing? Maybe consider pciking one film and fidning your true film speed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikep Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Learn to develope correctly by using some form of Zone system, then you can use a pinhole camera for snappy B&W prints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronald_moravec1 Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 I just can`t resist putting this in. When I bought my first cameras I bought Pentax Spotmatics with 28 35 50 85 135 200 lenses. Later 21 24 105 300 were added. As hard as I tried I simply could not get really a good black and white that matched the toneality of the sample books. This went on for years with me trying every film/developer you can think of. No luck. I then purchased a 125 mm hector and used it on a roll of slides mixed with the Takumar lens shots. It was a home made adapter. The Hector pics stood out like a sore thumb. Mind you mixed on one roll. I then tried a borrowed M3 and black and white. First try I got what was missing. The Pentax was quickly sold and I have never looked back. Zeiss is very close second. Nothing else currently available in 1980 was even in the same league. I will not get in a fight with anyone over this. My experience. If you want to do the tests yourself go ahead, but I will never consider anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricks Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 troll Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew1 Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 dood, these guys is all crazy- you gotta get a Leica if you wanna make gud pictures...duh.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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