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Status: Long, long time Contax and Yashica user; glad to be here and hope to contribute.
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on Dec 5, 2015 3:29:54 GMT
Last Edit: Dec 5, 2015 3:29:59 GMT by biggles3
As many readers of this forum will probably know, I'm a great fan of macrophotography and the Contax Auto Bellows with either the Yashica or Zeiss 100mm Bellows lenses get quite a regular workout. I also use the Contax (and sometimes Yashica) bellows on modern digital cameras - nothing in macro photography matches the flexibility of a swing/tilt bellows; it's such a pity that Yashica didn't add the facility to the front of their two excellent bellows units.
But sometimes, 35mm is just not enough and I have been using a very strange combination of ancient and modern, photographically speaking, to offer even greater flexibility. I love using medium format cameras - every photo taken becomes an occasion - something all owners of Yashica's lovely range of TLR's know full well. I have yet to buy a Yashica MF camera but I do have a few other cameras that get plenty of use.
As a lover of Contax gear, I have always been disappointed at the collapse of the brand and the subsequent lack of development of the lens range for the 645. I also can't justify the cost (if I can even find one) of the C645 Bellows unit so I spent some time hunting around for a solution - and Zoerk came to my rescue with their little-known Mamiya 645/Contax 645 adapter. Now I can attached any M645 lens (or bellows!) to the Contax so my first job was to scour the internet for the Mamiya 645 Auto Bellows N - not to be confused with the cheaper and more widely available NC401 which has no front plate movements and is made for the M645 AF cameras. Quite hard to find and not cheap, but I found one in Yorkshire and I still have a few legacy lenses from my Mamiya days back in the 1970s - a 110mm, 55mm and the wonderful 145mm Soft Focus lens.
So now, I have a marriage made in heaven: a Contax 645 with a Mamiya Auto Bellows N and the 55mm for extreme close-up work. I've attached a piccie of the basic set up with a 110mm lens and a Hasselblad 22Mp back. It is wonderful to have swing, tilt and shift available for my Contax 645 for the first time.
My medium format kit can be seen below; the Fuji 6x8 has swing, tilt and shift available which is where I learnt to appreciate the Contax Auto Bellows for the Yashica FR and Contax system.
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on Jul 23, 2016 8:31:37 GMT
Last Edit: Jul 23, 2016 8:33:05 GMT by lenslover
Ohhh...you do own the "Mighty" Contax 645. I remember quite the day, those 1998 Medium Format Camera was being announced. And all those phantastic Zeiss lenses! Seen one on ebay for just around 1400 Bucks with lenses some years ago, but i never really could afford it, and possible never will be able to. The Contax 645 was being loved also by Wedding Photographers. Wait..you do have 3 copies of the Contax 645? cool.
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Group: Moderator
Post: 2,033 (561 liked)
Join date: April 2014
Status: Long, long time Contax and Yashica user; glad to be here and hope to contribute.
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on Jul 23, 2016 22:33:06 GMT
Posted: Jul 23, 2016 22:33:06 GMT
The Contax 645 remains expensive along with its glass; it was one article written in a US publication advocating the C645 as the best medium format camera for wedding photography that led initially to its increasing popularity, and after that lots of people got to try the system and loved it. Today, we still have to pay a high price for that special C645 pleasure.
I have to say that $1400 for a camera and a couple of lenses was a pretty good price, even though it's still a lot of money. I decided 20 years ago that I would stop going on holiday and instead, treat myself to cameras and lenses that I always wanted to use. It's not been a choice I regret. I keep one 645 exclusively for use with 220 film and the vacuum back, one with 120 film or instant film, and finally one with a digital back which is the one you can see in the photo with the Mamiya bellows. The back has been upgraded from a 132C to a 528C, giving up to 88Mb per image - not a problem for the quality of the Zeiss lenses.
If you'd like a trivia question: which is the one C/Y Yashica lens you can use full frame on a Contax 645 (assuming you can create an adapter to mount it!)?
As a complete side-bar, in the medium format kit photo, at the front is my favourite 6x4.5 rangefinder, the Fuji GA645Zi. I see Fuji have just filed patents for some Medium Format lenses for a digital camera; it's been a dream I've had for ages to have a digital version of the GA645Zi - perhaps it might finally come true....?
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on Jul 23, 2016 23:49:58 GMT
Posted: Jul 23, 2016 23:49:58 GMT
Hi Biggles, well - about your trivia question: i must pass on this, i don't know which C/Y ML lens which could cover a MF image circle. Yes, rumors are floating around about Fuji(film) is entering Medium Format someday...perhaps could be much cheaper than the new Hassie 1D... This 110mm/F2.8 lens with the bellows on your C645 looks like a old Yashica...like a Yasshinon DX M42 back from it's day...
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Group: Moderator
Post: 2,033 (561 liked)
Join date: April 2014
Status: Long, long time Contax and Yashica user; glad to be here and hope to contribute.
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on Jul 24, 2016 2:32:27 GMT
Posted: Jul 24, 2016 2:32:27 GMT
Hi, It's the 100 f4 Bellows lens - it can cover up to a 6x6 or a 6x7 but with some minor vignetting. That Hasselblad looks rather nice but the cost of a wide-angle and a portrait lens plus the body...you could buy a high-performance car and a good motorbike for that! I love Fuji gear almost as much as Contax/Yashica and still use their GX680III and GA645Zi; their lenses are superb which is probably why Hasselblad chose them to make the glass for the H-series. I'm pretty confident that the Fuji would be a little less costly than its Hassie equivalent but I still reckon I'd have to sell a couple of Zeiss f1.2 Planars to afford it...
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Status: Failed treatment for L.B.A. and G.A.S,
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on Mar 1, 2019 2:10:56 GMT
Posted: Mar 1, 2019 2:10:56 GMT
The last post in Russian is absolutely nothing but spam... Do NOT click any links.
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