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Contax 645

Mark Prins

New member
My first real SLR was a Contax RTS and I wore the paint off more than once to show the brass. That body is still working in Alaska thirty years later. Summer of 09 I worked on a movie and came in contact with a local (to me) and we became good friends. He mentioned a medium format camera in passing and said he would drop it off. Three months later he came back and dropped of a Contax 645 system with a 140, 80 and a 45 plus macro tubes, LightPhase 645 18mp? back and assorted cables. Now that my laptop has a PICMA to firewire card installed I can shoot outside. I am still in a bit of a daze but it is a whole lot of fun to shoot with. The only problem is that I am having a hard time putting the rest of my life on hold because I am obsessed with this new tool. Found a pdf of the Contax manual, my hands are starting to sort it out. Learning a new workflow with the Phase One RAW convertor is pretty cool too. My partner just called and told me to kiss the camera goodnight and come home to bed. Thanks for reading.
Mark Prins
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
My first real SLR was a Contax RTS and I wore the paint off more than once to show the brass. That body is still working in Alaska thirty years later.

That camera, I believe, adjusted focus by moving the film plate. Is that correct?

Summer of 09 I worked on a movie and came in contact with a local (to me) and we became good friends. He mentioned a medium format camera in passing and said he would drop it off.

Like the famous, "is?" . Depends what you mean by "drop it off". Was that going to be a gift? If so that's amazing luck!

Three months later he came back and dropped of a Contax 645 system with a 140, 80 and a 45 plus macro tubes, LightPhase 645 18mp? back and assorted cables. Now that my laptop has a PICMA to firewire card installed I can shoot outside. I am still in a bit of a daze but it is a whole lot of fun to shoot with. The only problem is that I am having a hard time putting the rest of my life on hold because I am obsessed with this new tool. Found a pdf of the Contax manual, my hands are starting to sort it out. Learning a new workflow with the Phase One RAW convertor is pretty cool too. My partner just called and told me to kiss the camera goodnight and come home to bed. Thanks for reading.
Mark Prins

Well Mark,

This is great news. Looks like one person's loss became your gain! Did the other person just give up on life or move to a new camera?

Asher
 

Mark Prins

New member
Hi Asher;

The Contax RTS was a 35 mm that was advanced for the time. It was one heck of a camera, spent its life on dog sleds mushing in the bush or in a ammo box canoeing on the water. I think it was rebuilt twice or three times from teen misadventures. My standard lens was a Planar 1.8 50mm. By the time I was 15 I had a bulk back and a motor drive and a nice darkroom.

As for what the camera owner is doing today, can we say Red One with all associated gear and he doesn't get much down time. I have registered the gear with my insurance and will play it by ear. He hasn't used it for three or four years but it is still his favorite gear. Like my RTS gear I gave it to a person whom would use it, this is much the same he wants to see it used.

Right now the learning curve for the Phase One Raw converter is my main stumbling point. I also now suffer from back lust and a whole new lens lust. Today I am finding the nodel points of each lens to see how med format panoramas look. Take care

Mark Prins
Inanda Images
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
As for what the camera owner is doing today, can we say Red One with all associated gear and he doesn't get much down time. I have registered the gear with my insurance and will play it by ear. He hasn't used it for three or four years but it is still his favorite gear. Like my RTS gear I gave it to a person whom would use it, this is much the same he wants to see it used.

This is a very satisfying deed for both the donor and the recipient! Kudos to both of you!

Right now the learning curve for the Phase One Raw converter is my main stumbling point. I also now suffer from back lust and a whole new lens lust. Today I am finding the nodel points of each lens to see how med format panoramas look. Take care

Mark,

Just shoot with it. For stuff more than 20 feet away, the accuracy of the nodal point is not critical with stitching software like AutoPano Pro Giga. As for new backs or lenses, don't! Just enjoy this gift as it is.

In a way, you are shooting as he did when he first opened all the boxes of the brand new gear when it first arrived! That should keep you going for at least 2 years!

The prints are going to be amazing!

Asher
 
When living in Tokyo, 1990's I was walking Chibiko, my inlaw's dog in Denenchofu when I saw a plastic bag with interesting looking stuff. It was an Apple laptop, --can't remember the model, but it had a color monitor-- and with all necessary cords and adaptors "included" in the bag. I picked it up and when home... dog to her dog house... and, to my surprice the thing did the traditional booting Macintosh sound. Anyway, I played for hours with this exotic found gadget (key bord was in hiragana/kata and kanji, the japanese alphabets).

This are good moments in the lifetime of a gadgetadict ... enjoy Mark
 

Mark Prins

New member
Printing the med format prints is stunning, simply stunning. The skin tones and textures are creamy with amazing detail. I pushed a few prints, color, b&w plus a toned print and I am stunned with the clarity. You all know this of course but it is a new experience for me. Now I am disappointed with my Nikon frames. The galerie gold with the 9880 wow, for me this is a totally new standard. Sloppy or poor technique shows up immediately. I can't wait to build some larger 6 to 10 foot prints, yes I am excited. Thanks for reading and for sharing my excitement as I embark on my journey of discovery with this gear.

Mark Prins
Inanda Images
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Mark,

It's so good to have another OPFr in film again! This is a great experience for all of us when you show what you can do and how it feels in the new medium. Having different ways of working, even if we would get a similar optical and recorded result will still yield a different picture. The jogging of the brain in a new way is important.

[Mark Prins;88552]Printing the med format prints is stunning, simply stunning. The skin tones and textures are creamy with amazing detail. [/quote]
What film are you using and how/where are they processed?


I pushed a few prints, color, b&w plus a toned print and I am stunned with the clarity.
Pushed in Wet lab or in Photoshop?

You all know this of course but it is a new experience for me. Now I am disappointed with my Nikon frames. The galerie gold with the 9880 wow, for me this is a totally new standard. Sloppy or poor technique shows up immediately. I can't wait to build some larger 6 to 10 foot prints, yes I am excited. Thanks for reading and for sharing my excitement as I embark on my journey of discovery with this gear.
I'm so excited for you. This is a new way of exploiting your own talent.

Asher
 

Mark Prins

New member
I live in the digital world, the c645 has a old LightPhase back 6 mp. I have been shooting with that and find such a difference between those frames and the Nikon frames. I start with a D3x today for a test and I might suddenly find the MF back no longer quite as desirable.

Push a print for me is printing, I push a print into the spool and it is off to the printer. No film sorry, but the camera did come with two film backs.

I have a sudden like for portraiture something I have never really enjoyed before. I enjoy night shooting so I may have to employ the film back since it seems the only back that can shoot for any length of exposure is far out of my current cash flow range.

I stitched a 45 frame 360x120 pano of my office space and the texture, sharpness and clarity of the 6 mp sensor is far different and to me, more pleasing to the eye. Native resolution of the print was 24x80 inches and the 43x13 test print gave me a rush not just because it was the first medium format stitch but how the image felt. The print matches closely to what my eye sees, much closer than the Nikon. What fun. Take care all.

Mark Prins
Inanda Images
 
I enjoy night shooting so I may have to employ the film back since it seems the only back that can shoot for any length of exposure is far out of my current cash flow range.

Hi Mark,

Film is certainly an option for long exposures, once you figure out the reciprocity characteristics (e.g. apparent loss of speed and color shifts) of the film you are using.
What's the limitation of your current digital back? Is it exposure time, hot pixels, or ISO and noise? Many of those can be controlled to a certain degree with averaging of multiple shots, but it takes a bit of postprocessing work.

Cheers,
Bart
 
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