william_carter1

I recently purchased the master control unit for the Rollei 6008

integral. Unfortunately, it did not come with instructions

(they are being forwarded to me, but will not arrive before I leave

for a trip). The problem is that the MCU is currently displaying data

in German. Does anyone know how to change the display to English?

To clarify: money is of course a concern. I won't be going hungry if I keep the Rollei, but I also definitely won't be able to afford any more lenses for it unless I sell the contax.

Here's the situation I'd like your thoughts on. I've searched

the archives but haven't come across anyone directly addressing the

issue. I've had a contax 645 for about a year and love it. However, I

recently came across a Rollei 6008i at a great price and...well, you

know the rest. The Rollei is an ingenious camera - I really like it

as well. In fact, equally as much as the contax. So I now have 2

medium format cameras, which most people would probably think is a

waste. I'd like your comments: if you were only going to keep one of

these, which would it be? Keep the contax system and just use the

Rollei w. only the 80mm lens as an alternative/backup? Or sell the

contax system (w. 45, 80 & 140mm lenses) and buy a couple of schneider

lenses? Note: I use autofocus on the contax about 80% of the time

(not as a necessity, mostly as a convenience), but it's quite nice for

unobtrusive street photography with the waist-level finder (if you

want to take horizontal pictures!). Any comments on using the rollei

for street photography would also be appreciated.

 

A couple of obvious concerns that don't need to be addressed:

 

I don't really care about the square format v. 6x4.5 issue. I

generally shoot rectangular, but maybe 30% of my prints are cropped

square. I have not noticed an appreciable difference in image quality

from reasonably sized (up to 16x20) prints made from 6x6 negs or

cropped square from 6x4.5 (I know there's some difference, just not a

decisive one).

 

Both cameras have advanced (for medium format) metering systems, so

that's not too much of a concern, either (although the rollei wins a

bit here because it has average and spot metering built in to the

body, while the contax has only spot).

 

Thanks. Sorry such a long message.

I know this thread is old, but I have the 140mm and am considering switching to the 120mm, given how much everyone raves about it. My only concern is that it may be too short for portraits. The 140mm is roughly equivalent to 85 in 35mm, right? Which is at the short end of what is generally considered an acceptable length for portraits becuase of perspective problems (enlongated nose). Does anyone (1) know what 120mm is equivalent to in 35mm format and (2) have any experience with portraits with the 120 lens? Thanks for you help.

Do you happen to know the conversion rate for lira to U.S. dollars?

If you search elsewhere in this forum, you'll see that the idea that AF lenses are inferior to MF lenses is generally untrue. My own results bear this out-I've noticed no difference in quality.

 

I have owned the mamiya 645 pro TL, the Mamiya 645 AF and currently own the Contax 645 AF. Without reservation, I recommend the Contax. The Mamiya AF lenses feel and look cheap and it does not have interchangeable viewfinders. Also, the integration of AF and MF on the contax is the best I've seen. The contax also has TTL pre-flash metering that works with any equipment, icluding studio strobes. I sold the Mamiya 645 AF after owning it for less than 4 months! I am MUCH happier with the Contax.