The Carl Zeiss T* Sonnar 140mm f/2.8 lens is remarkably affordable, and produces the same look, the same soft bokeh, the same shallow depth of field – just at a focal length that is equivalent to a classic 85mm portrait lens. The other lenses in the Contax Zeiss range are just as good. The result is that the 80mm lens has become one of the most expensive film-era lenses you can buy. Nowadays, _everyone_ who has a Contax 645 body feels they must have the famous 80mm lens. Back in the day, the 80mm lens was not considered the ‘must have’ lens of the range. However, the price of the Contax’s Carl Zeiss Planar T* 80mm f/2.8 lens –- the one Jose Villa uses -– has become astronomical. These days, most of the lenses in the Contax 645 range are surprisingly reasonably priced – approximately the same prices as the Pentax 645NII lenses. Perhaps the higher cost of Contax’s Zeiss lenses put off buyers (a Contax 645 with kit lens cost the same as a Pentax 645NII with kit lens, but if you wanted to add more lenses, the Contax system became more expensive). Perhaps Pentax was simply the better-known brand. When both the Contax 645 and Pentax 645NII were in production – and priced the same – more photographers chose to spend their money on the Pentax.
#RENT CONTAX 645 CAMERA SERIES#
The Pentax 645 series had been produced in greater numbers than the Contax 645. As an alternative, a wedding photographer tells me that Kodak Portra 800 will produce a slightly similar look if over-exposed (but apparently Portra 160 and 400 will not).
#RENT CONTAX 645 CAMERA PRO#
Unfortunately, as I was writing this review, Fujifilm announced that it was discontinuing Fujifilm Pro 400H film. Demand exceeded the limited supply of Contax 645s, so prices rocketed.īy the way, Jose Villa wrote a book called Fine Art Wedding Photography that I recommend even if you are not into wedding photography – Jose’s techniques for creating dreamy images could equally be applied to fashion photography, portrait photography and other genres. It seems as though half the wedding photographers on the planet bought a Contax 645 based on Jose Villa’s recommendation. That combination of extremely shallow depth of field and high-key tonality became the standard for wedding photos that continues to this day. Jose’s recipe for achieving his signature look was simple but precise: a Contax 645 camera with 80mm lens set at f2, using Fujifilm Pro 400H film over-exposed by one stop.
Photographer Jose Villa caused a sensation among wedding photographers with his dreamy, romantic images. It was remarkable in that it was caused by one person: Jose Villa. Second, The Jose Villa EffectĪlmost a decade later came ‘The Villa Effect’, which caused the value of the Contax 645 to rise even more rapidly than before. The Pentax 645NII could not take digital backs, since it did not have a removable film back. There were at least seven digital backs available for the Contax 645, which I believe was more than for any other film camera at that time. However, after it ceased production at the end of 2005, two main events caused the Contax 645 to rise in value: First, a digital swansongĪround the time Kyocera (owners of the Contax brand) announced the Contax camera business would be closed down by the end of 2005, demand for the Contax 645 rose among pro photographers due to its ability to take digital backs. Interestingly, the Contax 645 was not hugely expensive when new – it was about the same price as the Pentax 645NII, which came in at around US$2,400, or US$3,500 in 2021 money. If you are not familiar with the Contax 645, look up the price of it on eBay and frighten yourself.
The Contax 645 is famous, and just like famous people, most people have never seen one in real life. Yes, even more so than its smaller cousins, the Contax T2 and its sibling the Contax T3, which I wrote about here EMULSIVE a while back in a huge compact 35mm camera mega test.
If ever the term ‘hype’ could be applied to a camera, the Contax 645 is that camera. You have probably heard about the Contax 645.
0 kommentar(er)
