Contax 645

Of all of the camera’s I’ve had, I regret letting this one go the most.  You heard that right, even more than my 4x5.  

Take one look at it - it felt as good in the hand as it does to the eye.  The Zeiss lenses were stunning and, given the older auto-focus system, still gave a great feel when focused manually (no focus by wire here).

This is perhaps the only photograph of me using the Contax.  In many ways it’s sad because minutes later I picked up my Fujifilm X100 and hand-held the same shot I was making below.  That was the kiss of death for the Contax.  The quality of digital had finally surpassed film and I quickly moved over to the X100 as my primary camera.

If I’d been smart I’d have kept the Contax.  Though selling it did help pay for Ann and my upgrade to Fuji X-T1s.  

I had quite the collection of Contax gear, having undertaken an e-bay frenzy for about a year assembling a decent kit for as cheaply (not cheap, but cheaply) as possible.

Those three lenses, the amazingly sharp 120mm Macro, the famous Zeiss 80mm Planar, and the 55mm Distagon were all I needed to cover 90 percent of the images I tend to make.  

I had multiple backs so I could shoot different types of film (oh how I wanted a digital Phase One P 45+ back with a Contax mount).  Looking back at it now, I did a disservice trying to shoot color negative film and having it scanned.  The images produced with color slide film by this camera were simply stunning.

And the camera felt so good in the hand . . . .  I can’t say it enough, I loved holding this camera.  Despite its weight.

Sad thing is, the value of these has skyrocketed, so it’s not like I can readily replace it.  It’s a camera favored by wedding photographers who shoot film (one bought mine).  To replace the system I had (see above) would cost me more than twice what I paid for (and got for) it.  In other words, Enough to buy a digital medium format camera and a couple of lenses.  

I doubt they would feel as good in the hand as the Contax did.  Though folks say that the Hasselblad X1D II has a special feel to it . . . .

Yeah, this is the one camera I truly regret selling.