Is the Contax N just a big screw up

[bobbl46]

Michael - we may have found the answer to Kyocera's Marketing problems ...... It's you! .... You don't work there!

Loved your side note! I was wondering how you got such a big hit rate from 10,000 scans

And Lotus M50 .... we prefer those holes to be called apertures

May I add my weight to the "certainly not by all" category .... Oh! and make sure it's also removed from the "widely considered" category too!

Cheers, Kyocera Kid.

 

[bobbl46]

Oops .... just to make it clear (I know what you lot are like) .... what I meant is .... it would be good if Michael was one of the Kyocera Marketing team!

His message is more ..... "half full" ..... than "half empty".

I like that

Cheers, Kyocera Kid.

 

[coyot]

Ok,

I took a quick look at the new Olympus System. They have four lenses. After equivlancy factor, ranging from 28 to 600. Two are zooms. The fastest is f2.

The ND/N1 has 9 leneses (not counting access to the 645 medium format leness via the NAM-1 adapter. Five of the Nine are zooms, and their fastest lens is 1.4.

I am a little wary of checking the monster ... Canon. They will probably beat the heck the ND lens lineup ... but on the other hand, you can't use their medium format lenses on the their 35mm bodies because they don't have a medium format system!

And your assertion regarding the impression that the Contax DSLR is widely held to be a failure doesn't fly with me or some other users ... because the camera works!

Michael.

 

[coyot]

Hey Kyocera Kid,

In backing up and looking at the whole picture you just have to admire Contax for their integration of systems ... medium, 35, digital. Yes, there are frustrations, when you pay alot, you want things perfect. But, unfortunately, this can be a direct conflict with how things work in the technical world. Version 1.0 is always expensive, and does not work w/o some problems!!! But, the original PC was on a clock speed of 8mhz and had what ... about 16 megs of memory! Wow, would any of us put up with that pc now??? But back then, we thought, WOW, we can do wordprocessing!

One of the problems with the digital percepetion for Contax has simply been many of the users of the older cameras LOVE their stuff. So, they expected alot more from the N system right from the starting gate. Everybody has that "one" CY/MM mount lens that they just have to have in the new N'system lens line up. Give it time. Personally, I was excited to get on board with a full frame digital CCCD, that had a film backup, and integration with a medium format system. I can use the same flash on all 3 systems, all the dials are similar, and even the battery drain is conistant! (ha!)

Yes, thank you, my 1 percent hit rate for the "best of" series made me proud!

Michael.

 

[lotusm50_is_Jensen]

Hmm. Let's see. The new Olymous system has been out a few months. The N-system has been out a few YEARS. Give Olmypus a little time to catch up. Even the N "system" only started out with 2 lenses -- and promised 3 more that seemed to take forever to arrive. So let's try to be fair.

You may not beleive the ND to be a failure -- I said "certainly not by all" which would include you -- but the market as a whole, the shops, the press, and the camera buying pros and public (including MANY Contax devotees) do consider it a failure. That is REGARDLESS of whether it works to any useful degree or not. Further, Contax would not have discontinued it if it were a success. By the way and just so you know, I would buy an ND if the opportunity arose. I do think it "works" (it could, however, work "better" in a number of areas).

 

[bobbl46]

Michael ..... I agree with your overview of the system. Yes, Kyocera/Contax can be slow, well actually, OFTEN! Yes, they don't always get it right! But they do have one hell of a fan base ....and there has to be many good reasons why ....and it ain't just because of Zeiss or we would be the Rollei/Contax Forum

I can see what you mean reC's etc. The G2 was always going to be better than the G1 (in some areas) .... otherwise why have a G2! I take it you never owned a "Sir Clive Sinclair" ZX80 or ZX81 ..... the add-on luxury RAM pack was 16K ...now was it bits or Bytes

I thought ... Wow! I can program games to play on the TV ....and I did! My version of Space Invaders was entertaining if nothing else ..... and it was nothing else!

Your description of how the 3 systems work - in a consistent and integrated manner ..... is reminiscent of the way I view the progression of the C/Y mount series .... from the RTS right up to the RTS III or even the AX ....there is beauty in the simplicity (and consistency) of the controls. I have had many people say to me .... "My God! I don't need to even read the manual to see how to use it! Try that with my Nikon* XXX! I still don't know what all the dials and buttons do, and I've had it two years" (* ... insert other make instead of Nikon, if this seems unfair to you!)

This could be one of, if not "the", reason that us old(!) C/Y mount fans are so stubborn, and demanding. Like you, I have faith that the N lenses will appear in time.

Cheers, Kyocera Kid.

 

[fotografz]

Guess where mighty Canon is weak in terms of lens line up?

Wide primes. The EOS system has been around forever and there still isn't a 18 or 20mm L quality lens. Just zooms. Their 24/1.4L is okay and the 35/1.4L is damned good, but that's it... nothing else until 14mm. That irritates me more than Contax not having a 18 or 20mm. BTW, Nikon has a really good 18mm ASPH and a pretty decent 20mm prime.

I still believe the Zeiss 17-35/2.8 is under-rated here. I'd much rather have a N 35/1.4 ASPH in the line-up than a 20mm. A fast 35mm is a much more versatile prime for people shooting like environmental portraits or candid work.

As far as medium tele, for those with a C-645 the 140/2.8 on the N cameras is quite nice.

 

[ras]

I admit it, I am one of those poor bastards who is actually happy with the miserable N1 because I have the two zooms I want: 24-85 and 70-200, and I really don't care whether they have 9, 90 or 900 more lenses in their system. I have always wondered why some people say the lens lineup is pathetic when they don't exceed a certain arbitrary number, considering few people (on average) probably have more than 2-3 lenses in their bag, and zooms are the way the "people" want it to be.

If you don't consider the N1 a pro-camera but a prosumer camera, which I think it is, and you look at the average need of the intended user, a range from 17-400 is pretty damn good. Of course, for some individuals there will always be a particular lens missing, so I guess that then dooms the system as a failure? To me the N1 and all its lenses which I will never buy or use, is an outstanding success because the two lenses I own are competetively priced and of outstanding quality. Could I ask for more?

I apologize for not slamming the N1 and calling it a massive failure. I'll do better next time.

 

[rbudding]

I have trouble thinking of the N mount as a failure - particularly when I look at the images that I've captured with my N1. Great lenses, fantastic body. And eventually an ND II. Kyocera may be slow, but they generally design exceptional products.