Camera Geekery: Contax 645
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 ก.ย. 2024
- The Contax 645 is referred to as a 'legendary' camera, but is it really? Let's find out.
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Best camera indeed. Till today, number one for portrait...plastic,...shadows,...colors,...simply unique. If you can add a digital back, than you have a perfect camera for life...
Man, CONTAX were really killing it at the end of 90's / early 2000's!
so good at killing they killed themselves
Lusted after this system when it came out but I was shooting with the Pentax 645N at the time. The contax 645 was not the first AF 645 system, the Pentax 645N has that edge in 1997.
i am using this camera since 2011 and just love it, got a phase one P45+ quickly, then a IQ180, then sold the IQ180 because is switched to fujis gfx system(biggest mistake ever) and currently i am a happy owner of a P65+ and the EXTREMELY rare Achromatic+, never gonna part with the system.....ever.
still trying to reacquire an IQ180 again
oh and btw. best sponsor message ever!
That is a gorgeous example of a gorgeous camera. I also enjoy how you matched your shirt to the plum blossom scenery. Everything about this video is great.
Thank you so much!
Great video and totally worthy of legendary status, just not for reliability. Absolutely loved that gorgeous lens when I had it for a few years. Sadly, the body is just not reliable and parts are hard to come by these days (the wedding photo industry bought them up and greatly abused them). Went through two bad rollers on the inserts, which created an unintentional tilt shift effect and a blown shutter. In humidity, it would sometimes stick and not fire.
I just bought this camera this previous week! It’s really really something. I’ve wanted it for a few years and I really think I’ve got something special with the Contax (although I’m a little bit of a fanboy, considering this will be my 5th contax)
Worth noting perhaps that the vacuum back is only effective with 220 film. I used to have one of these (plus 5 lenses) until it was all lost in a burglary. I replaced it with a Hassy 503CW which I much prefer, both for ergonomics and format.
@Tron Life on the Grid OK. I only shoot film so the digital back option is not a consideration for me. I only discovered my preference for square after using the Hasselblad.
2:33 “it isn’t really zeiss glass …” Would’ve loved to hear the story. When do you fancy opening that box of spiders?
One day, though it is a bit of a mess.
@@japancamerahunter well the lenses were made by cosina in japan, but the calculations were done by zeiss, actually hardly any lenses are made by zeiss in germany, cosina has been a partner of zeiss for a very very long time already
THANKOU, for none of that squarespace crap!!, and just getting on with why we are watching 🙂
Love these camera geekery videos! Was this shot in the Hanegi Park Plum Garden?
It was!
Thank you for this, and this is why I have Mamiya, Price, Great Glass, Price and it can get repaired when things go sideways did I mention price... 😉
Kioto Ceramics FTW!!! I still have my Contax N1 :D
Used one briefly professionally. Great ergonomics. It was a bit bulky and heavy, which was why I didn’t keep it.
Thanks for sharing
had both this camera and the hasselblad H2 for a while and kept the Hassy. If you're relying on shutter speeds above 1000th and absolutely need that F2.0 lens for the twisty bokeh shots (which the look of that would be worth an entire video as I for one really dont like that look other than on large format) then yes this is a beautiful piece of kit. But for people looking for a good alternative the Hasselblad H-System is amazing, and the supposed Zeiss lenses are not really sharper than the Hasseblad branded Fuji Glass, plus the H Filmbacks have their Darkslide built into the Back, which means you can surely never loose it. ;)
What do you feel about the h system electronic reliability?
@@teamhestia6994 I never had trouble with it other than the Lithium rechargable batteries drain quite fast in very cold environments, but for that there's also a grip that works with regular batteries. The H2 that I have gotten handed down from a reputable photog friend has 200.000 actuations and works every time I pull it out the bag.
Stopped down i guess most MF lenses are very very close in sharpness, i shot the 80F2 Planar in studio, together with the IQ180 and at F8 the detail was mind blowing, when focused on the eye, you could see the blood vains in the models eye so crisp....just insane
@@Anonymous-iw4hx of course, stopped down any MF lens goes crazy compared to 35mm, I shoot mostly at F8 and it's still very shallow DOF. But thats also why I dont really need a F2.8 lens, hence me saying that the "Zeiss Specialty" is just a thing for people shooting at those wide open apertures with natural light.
Surprised to see so many reviews on a discontinued camera. It feels as if it is still in production. How do the optics compare with the Pentax 67?
you are also forgetting the Hasselblad H series, and the Rolleiflex (leaf and sinar) HY-6, which simmilar to the Hasselblad H1 allowed film AND digital backs on the one platform, and finally the new ( as of 2014-2017) the Phase One XF system camera; all of the aforementioned have the same slr/dslr form factor, so have the same ergonimics.
I'm curious, with this camera did you find the internal meter to be fairly accurate, or did you prefer to meter externally?
I have a phase one digital back on mine. A great camera any way you play it.
Would be great if you compare optics quality from this Contax vs, for example the Mamiya 645 or other cameras on that 6x45 format. Thanks !
Great video! Been waiting for this one. Best-looking MF camera imo.
Agreed!
The CONTAX 645 is a beautiful camera. I recently was introduced to the CONTAX N1, part of their N line of cameras before the brand was retired. There is very little info out there about the system and absolutely no info out there about the lenses. I was wondering if you had any knowledge of camera and the quality of the lenses .
£6-7000 on eBay . I would be scared to take it out of the house , happy to stick with my 500 cm and lush contax 139 ( unless I win the lottery)
How sad Contax went out of business when it couldn’t cross successfully the bridge to the digital world
Everyone always forgets about Hasseblad H series, which is IMHO a better camera.
Still repairable, wonderful lenses, beautifully made and tanks to work with.
Hi Bellamy, do you prefer new Leica MP in black paint or silver chrome?
beauty camera. Portrait Monster
Pentax had autofocus with the 645N in 1997 !
Wasn't the pentax 645n autofocus and out before this?
I wonder if anyone could make a digital back for this camera, just like the one Hasselblad uses.
It does exist. Just sell one of your kidneys or half of your liver and you'll get one.
I used this camera with a Hasselblad Digitalback, if im not wrong, there are also some from Phase One.
@@salviator333 Cool.😉
Is the Contax 645 leaf or focal plane shutter ?
Focal plane
It is a lovely camera but once broken, always broken. I would not want to buy one ever.
I would get a lens though and mod it if possible.
i have been using a repaired C645 since 2011, not a single issue since
Definitely overpriced nowadays
8:03 Ewww, creepy man in park taking pictures of young girls. . .
PLS fix your mic sound =(
Wearing a mask to the park is crazy imho
This is japan where people know how to follow protocols, it's also cherry blossom season and some of them are allergic you bread
Yup, peak hay fever season far many here,
@@japancamerahunter ohh i see, it just sucks because you cant take a good candid picture of somebody with a mask on
@@twit3471 yeah but you cant take a good candid of somebody with a mask on