roland@quadsys.com

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.67 of 5,
3 votes

Price Paid:  $1000.00 from B&H Photovideo

Summary:
I moved from Minolta (Dynax 9) to Contax for two primary reasons: great Zeiss lenses and the N Digital. I had been waiting a long time for Minolta to introduce a digital SLR with a full image sensor but eventually came across on announcement for the N Digital. I investigated further and traded the Dynax 9 for the N1 and a set of Zeiss AF lenses. I love manual controls on cameras (that's why I moved from Nikon to Minolta) and although the N1 is not as solidly build as the Dynax 9 (what is?), it's a non menu driven body with dials and knobs for all settings. Feels great and overall performance is what I expected. A plus is the phantastic sound the drive makes :-) The AF system takes a bit of getting used to but the N1/Digital has a niftly little control for selecting the AF mode and sensors to use. I use this feature extensively and with great results. As other reviewers have stated, the main drawback of the AF system is that it's fairly slow but I found speed depends on the lens. With the vertical grip/battery pack mounted, the camera feels well balanced. I don't regret the move from Minolta and have now added a N Digital and NX body to the set. The ability to use the Contax Zeiss AF lenses on all three bodies makes this a superb film/digital setup.

Strengths:
Solid body with manual controls Excellent lenses Ergonomics

Weaknesses:
Slow AF (depending on lens)

Similar Products Used:
Minolta Dynax 9 Nikon F100

Customer Service:
Not used

jungoh

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5,
2 votes

Price Paid:  $650.00 from KEH

Summary:
Excellent layout New useeful diagonal AF focusing system excellent ergonomics excellent auto exposure: metering system Solid built Fine focusing ABC useful dual focus mechanism

Strengths:
Excellent metering reasonably fast focusing excellent image quality in deep color balance Sturdy and reliable body quality and ergonomics Equipped with all necessary key features

Weaknesses:
viewfinder brightness and focusing is still behind Minolta Dynax 7 Slightly slow auto focus

Similar Products Used:
Minolta Dynax 7 Leica R-E Minolta 600 Si Contax 167 MT Nikon FE2 (manual) Pentax ZX M (manual)

Customer Service:
Never contacted except focusing problem in MF/AF swiitch in 24-85mm Vario-Sonnar lens, but I can get refund from Brooklyn Camera Exchange

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5,
3 votes

Price Paid:  $600.00 from eBay

Summary:
Everything about this camera seems right. It fits into my hands perfectly and the layout is perfectly intuitive. Just a few rolls and using this camera felt completely natural. I can fous on the subject and not on making the camera perform. And then there are the lenses-perfect colors and loads of detail. I acknowledge that the autofocus isn't as fast as some other cameras, but who cares? The results are spectacular!

Strengths:
Ergonomics Build quality Lenses

Weaknesses:
Slightly slow autofocus

Similar Products Used:
Nikon 8008 Nikon F100

Customer Service:
Not needed.

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5,
4 votes

Price Paid:  $1071.00 from Jessops

Summary:
Like most Contax N users, I came from the background of using the Contax C/Y manual system for some time. It is a hard decision for me to get into the N system because I still currently own 11 Carl Zeiss manual focus lens with the Contax AX and Aria bodies. Recently both my Aria and Ax broke down at the same time and they are to be repaired. So I decided to take the plunge. I fell in love with the N1 instantly. It is a dream machine! Its control layout and handling are intuitative, remarkably similar to the AX. I bought it with the 24-85 Vario-Sonnar. The dual focusing system is excellent with smooth and well damped focusing ring. With a FX-1 micro prism, manual focusing is as easy as with the old C/Y manaul camera bodies. The AF sensors are positioned at the diagonal lines of the rule of the third divsions. I think this is better design than the Canon or Nikon counterparts in which they cluster the AF sensors mostly at the center and people's photo tend to suffer from autofocus symptoms in fast action shots (subjects in dead center in their pictures). I own the EOS-3 and I don't think its AF and control system are that great particularly if you mount a slow speed zoom lens to it. As a personal taste, I dislike the absence of aperture ring and dial/button control of the Canon EOS system. I am selling my Canon system. Many users complained about the AF speed and accuracy of N1. But I personally find the AF of N1 is very good and accurate. I don't shoot sport and wildlife so the N1 can satisfy my needs. Now I will keep my beloved Contax manual focus system and enjoy the best of both worlds.

Strengths:
Dual focusing system. Excellent handling. Solid contruction. Access to new Zeiss optics.

Weaknesses:
Expensive optics. Limited lens system not yet fully developed.

Similar Products Used:
Contax AX Contax Aria EOS 3 EOS 30E EOS 1000NF Mamiya RZ67 Pro II Bronica ETRSi

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5,
4 votes

Price Paid:  $1075.00 from Calumet

Summary:
TOPS!!!!elegant design, enough usefull features,the ability to switch from autofocus to manual in such an easy way is great, and of course the Zeiss lenses are fenomenal.

Strengths:
Design,lenses,ease of use,quality.

Weaknesses:
none so far

Similar Products Used:
nikon f100, canon eos3

Customer Service:
none yet