bstanke@xxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
> I suspect that you are right about AF. It's sad that 20+ years of the
> camera industry's R&D have not yielded better results. I would be
> interested in George's experience with his Contax N1, since it should be
> the "state of the art" in AF.
>
Hi Bill,
I'm very happy with the N1. I had a Contax G2 for several years and was just
amazed by the results given by the Zeiss lenses. My shooting style had me
wanting less lens changes than with the primes of the G series.
The first thing you notice about the N1 after using the delightfully small
OMs is the SIZE and weight. Your first reaction may be: "YIKES!" ( or even-
"Holy Cr*p!") After a bit, you get more used to it and think of the heft as
'reliability'. The OM lensmount being approx. I think, 4.5 cm (inside)
diameter, the N1 is almost 5.5cm. In a 'normal' range zoom for our OMs we're
used to 49 to 55mm filters, maybe 62mm for a Vivitar; the N1's 24-85 Zeiss
zoom takes 82mm filters!
I feel Contax got the camera design right. Modern technology and familiar (to
me) control layout. A lot more like a 'camera' than a 'computer'.
The 'standard' lens I use is a 24-85, a really useful range. I've only used
the 70-300 a few times.
Again, my subjects that I shoot, (mostly sports and my kids) make AF a
necessity for me. There's no way I'd be able to get the same shots with
manual focus.
One aside- with all this recent talk about OM and Zuiko useful life and
reliability, I must add that after about 6 months I took my 24-85 lens out of
the bag, mounted it to the camera, and it did not autofocus. it was dead. The
longer zoom worked fine on the same body. I sent the lens to Kyocera USA just
down the road right here in New Jersey. I received a package back within two
weeks with a nice letter with no further explanation about what was wrong,
but it said they had to replace my lens with a new one and I should note the
new serial number for my records. I had sent the lens well wrapped with just
the lens caps and they sent me a new, boxed lens with caps, hood, and padded
lens case- :) Thank God for warranties! (in this case- 3 years).
Best,
George S.
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