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I just looked Robert Frank up on the computer. He was born in Switzerland in 1924 and came to the USA in 1947. He moved to Nova Scotia in 1969 and travels back and forth between Canada and Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village, New York City, USA in these past years. So I guess this makes him a citizen of the world. It still comes down to what he feels he is.

What did Robert Frank consider himself? If he was born in Switzerland and came here with his parents at the age of 12 then he could be considered an American. However, if he established himself as a photographer in his country of birth and then moved to the USA he might consider himself Swiss. I have seen listings that claimed Igor Stravinski was an American composer but to me he was clearly Russian.

I own and use the Contax S2. I have heard that it was made in the Cosina factory but I couldn't say for sure. It is a splended camera and it exhudes quality. Whether it is better than the Nikon FM2 or fm3a remains to be seen. It certainly is more solid than the Yashica FX3 Super 2000 or the Oly OM2000 or the Nikon FM10. By the way the film advance on my S2 broke and I had to send it to TOCAD for repair. They fixed it but did a rather sloppy job, and it took 2 and a half months to get it back. I just thought someone might want to know.

An excellant source of Contax c/y mount information is CDeGroot.com

It depends on the situation as to which focal length is better. I prefer the 35 in most cases. It takes in more and if necessary later I can crop. I've even done street portraits with the 35 and I like the results very much. I find when I'm at a street event like a festival or parade (I'm talking about the side streets not the parade itself) the 35 is prefered when you can't get back far enough to take in as much as you want to. On occasion I've even used my 85mm for head shots, especially if I feel that the background will be too busy. The 50 I use for low light situations since this is my fastest lens. But over all I prefer the 35.

Federica, I own the the Samyang 500 mirror lens. I think it is a plastic piece of junk. I paid $147.00 (which includes tax and shipping) some years ago to Cametta Cameras. Mine is a C/Y mount. Enjoy your visit to Florida. Perhaps you could rent a long telephoto rather than get stuck with something you won't have an easy time getting rid of.

Victor, KEH has the manual for the 280 on sale for $8.00

"My understanding is that Zeiss has been working hard to get the line continued and I have a feeling that they will be successful in that task."

 

Lotus 50-- this is great news, where did you hear about this? Also, is there any possibility that Zeiss would want to work to continue the C/Y mount system?

Look, why take a chance? At least that's the way I feel about it. Take it to a reputable repair shop in your town and get an estimate.

God bless the Lincoln Brigade!

How about Lenz, or better yet Lentz?

I suspect that the main concern is not "security" but the fact that someone with an SLR who doesn't look like a tourist may be making money from shots of the trains or transit system. I have been in places where I was told that I could not photograph without permission when a few feet away people were snapping away with their camera phones.

Lets see, I Use my Contax RX, Aria, S2 and 139Q. I also use my Yashica FX3 Super 2000 and on occasion my Yashica 109 MP. I almost never use my Olympus P&S anymore nor did I ever get the hang of the Olympus digital P&S that I bought used from a friend and just sits in my closet. I also have an old Kodak Brownie from the 1950's that also sits in the closet. So I have the 6 SLRs that I use and another 3 cameras that I just have around the house. I think, however that I can get along just fine with the Contaxs.

Giuseppe, Try KEH.com Look at their used department. Click on Contax and then lenses. You will see a listing for Zeiss lenses there. Click on "Non manufacturers lenses" and look for the Yashica lenses. KEH is reliable and in many cases cheaper than EBAy. From what I hear their bargain stuff is as good as other stores excellent stuff.

I do both. I roam the streets observing as much as I can. Sometimes I go to a spot and remain fairly stationary and wait for something to happen. I also go to events such as some colorful ethinic parade. I generally don't shoot the parade itself but I go into the sidestreets where the people are preparing to march. It is here that one can get some interesting photographs. Some of the smaller parades/events end up around 23rd street and Madison Ave. (in NYC) -- here a festival is held and you can roam back and forth looking for intersting situations and asking people if you can photograph them.

A number of years ago I was in East Harlem and someone was selling a baby Rollie on a blanket for $3.00. It had an uncoated Zeiss lens. I bought it and found a few rolls of 127 film at Hersch Photo. The images were among the sharpest, most vibrant I ever shot. But since 127 film was scarce I ended up selling the Baby Rollie for $125.00 at the old 14th Street armory Camera trade show.

I love the feel of my Contax cameras, especially the RX.

I'm not a professional photographer, I do what I do for the pleasure of it and since I am not technically savy I get pleasure from keeping things (for me) as simple as possible.

I'm not about to give up my Zeiss lenses for any other brand.

I use the Contax RX, Aria, S2 and 139Q along with a couple of Yashica bodies. These cameras are very sturdy and the RX, Aria and S2 will be able to be serviced by Tocad for about another ten years or so. THe S2, since it is completely mechanical should be usable so long as there is film to go with it. By the time these cameras and film itself ceases to exist I will be too old to care whether Contax reappears or not. I just want to enjoy using some of the most magnificent cameras ever made now.

Bill, Unless this farmer's coop is not really a farmers coop but a cover for some top secret CIA weapons system I would not worry in the least that someone will be miffed. If they ever do see your photographs (and I tend to think they never will) they would be more apt to ask you for a copy to stick on their wall.

Dear Red Jenny, I had a similar experience last fall as I was in midtown on Madison between 46 & 47 Street. I was on the East side of the street trying to photograph the reflections in the glass building accross the street when a security person came over to me and stated "This is Bear Sterns' Street- you cannot photograph here." He kept on repeating that like a mantra and I kept on asking to see the metal plack that states that the sidewalk is privately owned. He became threatening so I went home and called 311 and was told that since I wasn't using a tripod I could photograph all I wanted especially since there was no indication that this sidewalk was private property. This 311 person stated that even if there was a plack I could likely take photographs. My feeling, aside from anger, is that these security guards are likely being watched by their superiors who are so fearful for their jobs they will hassel anyone who they think might be frowned upon by the "Big Bossman".

Another observation:I have never been hasseled by any New York City policeman, in fact at the many rallys I have attended they have always been professional. On the other hand, the only times that I have been hasseled was by private security working for private companies.

#5 has that dream quality -- there is a sense of unease almost danger. What is that dog doing on the highway? Will he get hurt? It has to my eye an abstract quality. Also the one with the shiny new car parked next to the corroded pillar has a dream like quality.

Jonathan, Congratulations! I just now looked at your web site and some of the photographs are mighty fine. I especially like the one of the heavy set couple at the beach, just to name one. Keep up the fine work.

Pran, On the three Zeiss lenses that you have, the last F stop ("22" on the 28 & 85 and "16" on the 50) will be either white in color or green. If they are in green that means they are MM which stands for "multi mode". This means, as was stated above, they can be used to take advantage of the full funtionality of the later Contax bodies. If the last F stop is white it means they are AE lenses and still can be used with all Contax and Yashica C/Y mount cameras but with the later Contaxes you just don't have use of the "P" and "av" modes which does every thing for you. Three of my lenses are ae the rest are MM both are equally great and sharp.

Pran, Check out Ebay or KEH photo. I find the FX 3 (either the FX3, FX3 Super or FX3 Super 2000) to be excellent basic cameras that will accomodate your very fine Zeiss lenses. I also own the 85 2.8 and the 50 1.7 and they are too great to let go of. Also, if you want an excellent Contax camera that also takes your lenses try the Contax 139Q. The 139Q is lightweight, easy to use, sturdy and can be gotten fairly cheaply on either Ebay or KEH. Good luck.

The magnificent Contax cameras as we know them (RX,Aria,S2 etc) are no longer being produced and neither are the C/Y mount lenses for these machines. Tocad America will handel distribution and repair for Cameras introduced after 1989, support will continue for ten years. These are wonderful cameras and I expect them to last a good long time. So while they are no longer being produced, they are still very much alive as far as I'm concerned.