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Yes, it all worked out. I'm now the owner of a Contax RTS III. And now come the follow-up costs: new lenses, new tripod, new gadgets and gizmos ...

Theo Jansen develops walking machines

Theo Jansen develops walking machines that, driven by wind gusts, live on the beach and are supposed to evolve further evolutionarily. There are some very beautiful pictures of his artworks there. [found via Industrial Technology & Witchcraft]

Found at Industrial Technology & Witchcraft.

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First Impressions of the RTS III

So, first comments on the RTS III: what immediately appeals to me about the camera is its good haptics. Awkward word, but it simply feels good in the hand. Despite its weight and size. What I also really like is the very spontaneous reaction of the camera - no long hesitation, the camera fires up immediately and is ready again right away. The fast motor makes a big difference there. Speaking of the motor: the motor is surprisingly quiet, as is the mirror slap. I was really surprised how quiet the RTS III is, I had expected a much more aggressive noise. The fact that the motor has a very deep tone compared to other camera motors probably contributes to that, which doesn't get on your nerves as much. In direct comparison with a Minolta XG-M with external motor, it's definitely much quieter. Also great is that the camera can be used with standard AA cells, so you always have access to power, standard AA cells are basically available everywhere, even if you only have a gas station convenience store available.

What I don't like so much: the data back is rather embarrassing for a camera from the early 1990s - cameras could do much more back then. Besides, both aperture and shutter speed are already displayed in the viewfinder, so the data could also be exposed electronically - Contax could have realized the few lines needed to transmit the data to the data back, after all the vacuum back is also controlled this way.

Another point (rather minor, but noticeable) is the somewhat awkward mirror lock-up mechanism: the lever has to be pulled forward and works apparently mechanically. Of course that's good for power consumption, but it means you can't use it in hand, but really only from a tripod. The R8 found a much better solution there.

Another point is that the AE lock function is only available on the lever around the power switch - a half press on the shutter release would actually be more practical. But that's an old criticism of Contax cameras, only newer models have found a better solution there (the N1, for example).

Also not so happy with the display of exposure compensation in the viewfinder, where only a + or a - is shown. Since the RTS III has a light scale in the viewfinder for the preflash function, in my opinion this should have also been used for displaying the exposure compensation.

But these points are rather minor, the normal operation of the camera is very logical and the fact that the manual is rather poor is not very bothersome, since you find almost all functions right away.

What's important now are the results. I've already exposed one film in Hamburg, started a second one and it will be full in the next few days. Let's see what comes out, I hope the camera lives up to what it promises.

What I also still need are new lenses - not all functions are usable with the AE lenses, precisely because they lack aperture control. That's not critical since I usually work with shutter priority anyway, but the RTS III has such a really nice aperture priority mode with safety shift that I'd like to use.

What happens with the aperture priority mode is this: you set a shutter speed and a maximum aperture value that the automation is allowed to set (normally the smallest aperture marked in green, but here you can also restrict the camera to wider apertures). If the camera can now correctly set the exposure with the aperture without any problems, it does that. But as soon as the aperture adjustment isn't sufficient, the shutter speed is automatically adjusted accordingly. This allows you to use the RTS III with simple programmed controls, even if it only has aperture priority.

For my style of photography that's ideal: I usually set a shutter speed that corresponds to the focal length and control the exposure with aperture values in the range of open aperture + 2 stops (I like to have as shallow a depth of field as possible for my images). With the aperture priority with safety shift I get exactly what I want this way, normally the shutter speed will be where I need it, only in an emergency is it adjusted.

Another highlight is the flash metering technology of the RTS III: you can couple any flashes with the camera, even multiple ones in the studio, for example. These flashes can be set to their power values normally manually. You then take a preflash with a special lever on the camera, all flashes are triggered, the exposure is measured and locked. The deviation from correct exposure is displayed in the viewfinder on a light scale. You can correct the exposure over the aperture to the optimal value, when you release the set shutter speed and aperture are used, the image is correctly exposed. Great technology.

Another nice detail is the AE lock function: it stores the EV value, not the shutter speed. After the lock you can adjust the other value via the aperture or shutter speed setting, so you have a shift at metered value storage.

Just posted! Canon PowerShot G3 review

Just posted! Canon PowerShot G3 review - I don't know, high noise and stronger artifacts than the competition, I don't think that sounds like a hit. But of course it will probably get hyped anyway, because it's a Canon digicam and those have to be good.

Interestingly, everything about the Digilux 1 got scathing reviews precisely because of problems that aren't entirely unlike those of the G3 (ok, instead of chromatic aberration the Digilux 1 has the nice impressionism filter in out-of-focus areas, but the noise is high in both) has gotten devastating reviews.

Found at Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com).

Magic with Light

Magic with Light. The trick is simple, the effect astounding: you photograph or film a scene. Then you project the image or film back onto the original scene from exactly the same location. Now comes the trick: if you hold an object in front of it, it appears transparent. Academically this is called "optical camouflage" and at the... . Hey - you always learn new tricks. Thanks to Industrial Technology & Witchcraft for this link. Found at Industrial Technology & Witchcraft.

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If all goes well, I'll soon be the owner of a Contax RTS III. By all goes well, I mean that the camera matches the description on eBay when it arrives, and I've already won the auction. Wow. A Contax RTS III - one of the cameras that can rightfully claim to occupy the top of the evolution of manually focused 35mm cameras. I still can't quite believe it...

Comparison of Rollei 6008 and Hasselblad System

Since I recently saw someone search for "Rollei and Hasselblad comparison" coming to this site, I got to thinking about why I actually have a Rollei 6008 and no Hasselblad. With the M6, the Hasselblad would fit much better - both mechanical. The Rollei, on the other hand, is a high-tech monster. Ok, one reason was that the Rollei was sitting in the window and the price was good, sure. But I could have left it there and waited for a Hasselblad. So why Rollei?

For me, the Rollei is the crown of the development of cameras with manual focus in many respects. I couldn't imagine what else you could put into it. The Rollei has a whole range of special features compared to many other MF cameras. Top of the list is the light metering even with the light shaft. But it's not just that alone, but also the way the exposure is measured and controlled. That's exactly how I always imagined it: a free choice of metering mode, arbitrarily combinable with aperture priority, shutter speed priority, or manual follow-up metering. Ok, it also has a program auto mode for hectic use. Just set the settings to automatic for what should be automatic - if both aperture and shutter speed are set to automatic, it's a program auto. No silly mode dial.

Then there are of course the other Rollei features that convinced me: built-in motor (it's not fast, but it's built-in and therefore compact). The roller blind on the magazines is also a great thing, which means no more lost sliders. The long film path in the magazines helps against the annoying film flatness problem of classic Hasselblad and Zeiss magazines. The electronic transmission of film speed from the magazine to the camera makes magazine changes with different speeds practical and quick.

And then the Rollei of course has the "fine points": the 1/1000th second with the PQS lenses, for example. The purely electronic signal transmission, which required no change to the bayonet even with the new AF lenses. The absolutely excellent Zeiss calculations that produce really fine lenses - even though I only have a single lens (the 2.8/80 PQS). And the whole thing also has a robust housing.

My conclusion: of course, one of the large Hasselblad models with integrated exposure metering and an additional winder would have many of the Rollei's features, but definitely not all of them. And not in this very pleasant to operate form. And certainly not at the used price I paid for it.

Hmm. I really need to go out with the Rollei again soon.

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Fred Miranda tests the EOS-1Ds - another test report from a practitioner. Again, an advocate of the digital faction. Of course, it would be interesting to see a test of the 1Ds from an analog enthusiast, but somehow I haven't found much of that yet.

Found at Imaging Resource News Page.

Photo album of the world's oldest photo club online

Photo album of the world's oldest photo club online - interesting not just for historians. The "Pencils of Light" are the images of the Edinburgh Calotype Club.

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Michael Reichmann from "Luminous Landscape" writes about the Contax N-Digital test that never was and draws his conclusions. And as much as it pains me, I have to agree with him on this.

3GB Compact Flash

3GB Compact Flash - ok, still quite expensive, but it seems CF is moving forward. For today's digital cameras with huge megapixel counts, exactly the right thing when it reaches affordable price ranges. For my 1.5 megapixel camera, rather total overkill.

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Here's an example of what comes out of my new scanner and Photoshop 7. The original is a Velvia slide from the Rollei 6008. I mainly post-processed the colors, as after brightening it (to bring out the detail in the tree on the right) the sky had become very washed out. In the original, it's really as vibrant as it appears in this image. I also had to do quite a bit of spot removal, since this is my test slide that has accumulated quite a bit of dust over time. Still, the result turned out pretty nice.

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Jutta is currently creating a list of various Contax cameras with descriptions and details on http://www.contax-users.de/kameras.xml (to the extent she can based on brochures or manuals). If you have a Contax camera, you can contribute material there.

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German bugfix for Photoshop 7 ready - could have happened faster. After all, the English fix has been out for several weeks ...

Found at heise online news.

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Today I received my new scanner, a Minolta Scan Multi II. Not the absolute latest model, but I got it relatively cheaply through a clearance sale. Finally I can scan medium format film properly, with all the comfort you'd expect from a high-end film scanner. And it's a true multi-format scanner—it can even scan 16mm film, for example. Now I just need to find out whether the film masks for the Multi Pro also fit in the Multi II, then I'll be able to scan my Minox films without major issues :-)

I'm curious to see how it performs in practice. Initial tests are already quite usable, though the scanner is in my opinion somewhat slower than my Scan Elite (though in that one medium format film only fits if I fold it beforehand). It doesn't have ICE like the Elite, but it does have GEM and ROC. Well, with 35mm film I can choose which one I want to use.

Another thing that stands out is the different technology for the film holders—much more stable and better designed for fixing. It's also nice that the 35mm film holder can position the entire strip, so you can scan 5 or 6 frames directly in one go from the strip. Saves a lot of manual handling, even if it then takes quite a while.

The serviceability of the device also seems to be better—for example, the lamp can be replaced without much fuss. With the Elite you have to take the device apart for that.

I'm looking forward to the first real-world uses of the device. I think I'll have to take the Rollei out more often in the coming time ...

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On photo.net is an (English) review of the Hasselblad H1 by Michael Reichmann (operator of Luminous Landscape). Michael's tests are always quite refreshing because, unlike many other reviewers, he doesn't focus on features and specifications, but instead engages more with proper photography. Real user reports, basically.

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Further websites on the topic of photography by me can be found here:

• My photography blog at f-2.org
• B&W gallery with images from the Leica M6 and the Contax-T
• all kinds of images, digipics, Rollei, Polaroid (no longer available)
• Images with the Contax RTS III

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On F-2 - photography with open eyes there is an article about my small tool for focal length conversion. Practical for comparing focal lengths between different formats.

Found at F-2 - photography with open eyes.

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On Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com) there is a review of the Minolta DImage 7Hi. I find this camera very interesting because it displays SLR-typical speed. Nothing is more annoying than cameras that take longer to process an image than the photographer ...

Found at Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com).