Contax N Digital

I thought I would put an updated review about this camera. They are hard to find now, most only available in Europe for high prices. I was able to find one practically brand new here in the states and have to say I love it. Its all about the lens Carl Zeiss optics are incredible. So far I love this camera. For those who can't figure out how to tweak the settings this might not be the body for them. But with a little patience I was able to learn the features and adjust the settings based on the composition I was working with. With all the newer cameras available today you would think this camera might be a relic however with a Carl Zeiss lens and a full frame CCD chip this camera seems to give me better results! I can't tell you how much I love the manual controls on top, it makes me feel like I'm shooting film again. If you can find one of these cameras I say grab it. I think Contax set the bar on how a digital SLR should have been made. It's a shame bad marketing and possibly an inflated price gave it such a short life.

Incredible image quality.
Acts like a film body but shoots in digital.

Not available anymore.
Hard to find

Nikon D50
Nikon D80
Nikon D2XS

No longer available

I own an N1 and the N Digital, with its 35mm sized sensor, is the natural extension into digital. The camera body is essentially the size of the N1 with the vertical grip. All manual controls are in the same place and Contax has succeeded in adding a small number of digital controls, centered around a jog shuttle control, creating a fast, intuitive interface. The most outstanding feature of the camera is the 6Mpixel 35mm sensor. Shooting in raw mode (which is supported by a photoshop RAW plugin - no need to ever touch the Contax software) delivers stunning quality pictures. Startup time is acceptable and internal buffers are large enough to shoot sequences even in RAW mode. JPEG1 mode is great for semi-serious shooting with roughly 3MB per picture (RAW is around 10MB). Camera supports the larger 2 and 4GB microdrives but check the weaknesses section below for bugs :-( Despite the bugs and customer service issues, I would buy the camera again. I am extremely happy with the image quality and the fact that dropping the N1 and picking up the N Digital - or vice versa - is completely natural as they are virtually the same camera. To me, this is the ultimate film/digital setup. Throw in an NX for quick'n'dirty stuff or when you don't want to carry any bulk, and you have the ultimate photography bag.

35mm sensor (great quality) Essentially a digital version of the N1 (controls, etc.) Excellent digital controls and configurability Zeiss lenses - enough said

POWER CONSUMPTION. This really sucks - in every sense of the word. Forget trying to do anything using the 4 supplied NiMH (or even higher capacity 2300mAh ones). Go straight to B&H and order - at a minimum - the Quantum Battery 1+. This external battery is small and leight enough to clip on your belt and allows a full day's worth of shooting. Sensor noise. Not a problem as long as you stay at ISO 160 or below. Forget ISO400 and don't even think about night shooting. Some strange software bugs. Occasionally, once a CF card or microdrive is half full, the camera will try to write to the CF (you can see the access light flash) but will end up resetting itself NOT SAVING THE PICTURE. The camera doesn't properly communicate with the 70-300AF lens and will have to eventually go back for what I think is a software problem.

Nikon D100

Well, if I ever succeed in getting hold of a breathing, talking human being, I'll let you know. Need to return the camera to get the 70-300 lens problem corrected but have been traveling and couldn't let go of the camera for a couple of weeks. Attempts to contact customer support and TALK to someone (not just send in the camera) have been futile - once you fight your way through the menu system, nobody ever picks up. Tried it 4 times about 6 weeks ago. Will start again next week.

This camera shakes the ground! I have been shying away from digital until recently because everything that I have seen before did not impress me from a quality standpoint (not counting Phase One MF back, of course). Well, all until this marvel appeared. Perhaps this is not the fastest and the most ergonomic camera in the world, but when it comes to a choise between image quality and everything else, I am voting for the former. All in all, from an operational standpoint, this camera is remarkably similar to Contax N1 with a vertical grip attached in all respects. Even though a lens lineup is not as comprehensive as for manual focus C/Y mount, Contax is working on 1.4/85 Planar and 4/400 Tele-Apotessar at the moment. Compatibility with Contax 645 lenses is lovely, but a little bit pointless. According to my experience, 24-85 lens is excellent (but a bit slow for the price) and 2.8/17-35 zoom is simply outstanding. I would not buy it for $7000 that is its MSRP in the US, but five grand sounded like a fair deal when you compare the specs to what competition offers.

Outstanding image quality thanks to the outspoken full size chip. Fast data processing - even with full size TIFF files there is no delay in continuous shot mode. Built-in controls for both horizontal and vertical shooting, no removable doors that can be lost. COnvenient to hold and relatively lightweight.

A bit slow on the uptake when turned on - it takes about four seconds before the camera is fully operational. Image preview mode is fully functional only in JPEG shooting modes. There is no preview zoom capability in TIFF mode and no preview at all in RAW mode. Shooting in RAW mode requires optional software, which is not available in the US.

Tried Olympus E20 and Canon D30. Contax N1

This is something that, gently put, need a lot of improvement. Just try to call Kyocera and manage to talk to a live person...