Which one is better, Hassy 120mm f4 or Contax 120mm f4 ?

[joseph_wang3]

As you all know, Zeiss make lenses for these camera companies. Hasselblad 120mm f4

Makro-Planar CFE and Contax 120mm f4 Apo-Makro-Planar are manual focus lenses for

SLRs. In paper, these lenses are different in optics.

 

Has anyone used both lenses and know about their difference ?

[gary_ferguson1]

Joseph, I've owned both. In the close range, say with a magnification of 1:5 or greater, there's little practical difference between them. However, in the far range out to infinity, the Contax 120mm macro has significantly higher resolution and contrast than the Hasselblad 120mm macro. Most people who have experience of the Contax system agree that the 120mm macro is the jewel in the Contax 645 crown.

[Ed_Ingold]

Buying a camera to match a lens? I think of that TV ad where the customer wants a house designed to fit the bathroom fixtures.

[joseph_wang3]

Thank Gary for the constructive answer. I will go for Contax 645 specially for this difference.

 

There are at least two more reasons to go for Contax instead of Hassy. All the Hassy lenses

could be used in Contax via an adapter but not the other way round.

 

I like the 2 second mirror lock in Contax. Does Hassy have mirror lock ?

[Aoresteen]

How easy is it to get a Contax 645 serviced today? It seems to me Hasselblad service is better than Contax. There have been some issues with Contax service and there are not that many independant shops that service Contac 645.

[gary_ferguson1]

Joseph, Hasselblads do have a mirror lock. And yes, you can use Hasselblad lenses on the Contax with an adapter. I used this adapter, but the results were good rather than great.

 

There are some Hasselblad lenses that I preferred to their Contax equivalents, the 250mm sa, the 180mm, the 100mm, and the latest 40mm IF. However, none of these lenses delivered quite as good quality on a Contax body compared with using them directly on a Hasselblad body. I guess the adapter was to blame.

[joseph_wang3]

I understand that servicing the C645 will be a problem.

 

120mm is a very nice focal length, it is like 75mm in 35mm format. As I am basically a

Contax fan, I will definitely get C645 and Contax 120. Perhaps I will get Hassy body as well,

in order to get over the adapter problem.

[evan_dong1]

Gary,

 

You mentioned that you had the Hasselblad lenses to Contax 645 adapter (is it the original

OEM item). Exactly what did you find lacking or just Godd when compared to using the

same optics on your Hasselblad AND also for the Contax lenses on the Contax 645 body?

 

Is there a sharpness issue or a contrast issue? Can you explain further?

 

Also which lneses do you use that are the original COntax optics on your Contax 645?

 

Evan

[gary_ferguson1]

Evan, I used a Contax 645 outfit alongside a Hasselblad V outfit for about two years before I switched from the Contax to a Hasselblad H. I used the Contax with all the Contax fixed focal length lenses including the 350mm. I also used Hasselblad V lenses with the OEM adapter, but there was a small defect with the adapter that seemed to introduce more corner softness than I was seeing with the same lenses on a Hasselblad body.

 

No system is perfect, and overall I enjoyed my time with the Contax 645. But eventually I sold it because I didn't like the auto focusing and I wasn't happy with the sharpness of the longer lenses apart from the 120mm macro.

[tarashnat]

Hasselblads have a mirror prefire in the manual bodies, not a mirror lock up. The mirror

returns on cocking the camera.

 

Defect in the adapter? Did it have glass? Did it vignette? Did bits of it protrude into the

light path? If not, then I can not see how it could be at fault, unless it did not let the lens

sit at the correct angle to the film plane... If that was the case, I'd demand my money back

for the adapter.

 

The lens is the primary part of the camera that determines how the image will be formed.

Other parts modify it to a lesser degree. So picking the camera based on the lens is a

sensible strategy, especially since the camera is basically just a box that holds the lens

and the film apart...

 

Taras