Mamiya 645 AFD or Contax 645

3bayjunkie · Sep 7, 2012

Ive held a couple hasslehoffs and just dont appeal to me, however the contax seems like the best quality, though id like to hear from more people who has used both contax and mamiya.

3bayjunkie · Sep 8, 2012

Well that decides it. After some more thinking. Im going to get the mamiya 645 afd with the 80mm f/1.9. If i dont like it, ill try the contax and 80mm f/2.

3bayjunkie · Sep 8, 2012

Actually im getting the Mamiya Pro TL because it has the 80mm f/1.9 and as far as i can tell it isnt available for the AFD mount.

3bayjunkie · Oct 9, 2012

I just purchased a nice Mamiya 645 Pro. Now i just have to find a 80mm f/1.9 in good shape.

Im helping a local photographer at a wedding at the end of the month so hopefully she'll let me take some photos soon.

Sw1tchFX · Oct 17, 2012

So I owned a Mamiya 645 AFD in the past, and currently shoot with a Contax.

As cool as the 80 1.9 is, it's not the Zeiss. The Contax has a look that you can pinpoint without reading a word of the discription. The AF knocks the socks off an AFD, it can take any phase digital back, the lenses are generally brighter, you can put a chimney finder in it, you can buy a split-prism for it. It might be a dead system, but I dare you to find one that's more flexible.

Selling my Mamiya and getting the Contax was one of the best camera purchase i've ever made.

3bayjunkie · Nov 19, 2012

Sw1tchFX said:
So I owned a Mamiya 645 AFD in the past, and currently shoot with a Contax.

As cool as the 80 1.9 is, it's not the Zeiss. The Contax has a look that you can pinpoint without reading a word of the discription. The AF knocks the socks off an AFD, it can take any phase digital back, the lenses are generally brighter, you can put a chimney finder in it, you can buy a split-prism for it. It might be a dead system, but I dare you to find one that's more flexible.

Selling my Mamiya and getting the Contax was one of the best camera purchase i've ever made.

I plan on doing that. I have the mamiya 645 pro with the 80mm f/1.9 but am going to upgrade to the contax for zeiss glass. Just bought it for now since i am buying lots of gear at the moment. I like the camera so far.

unpopular · Nov 19, 2012

If it's teh Zeiss glass alone that you're interested in, you may want to look into the Hasselblad H-mount. It's more modern, and isn't going anywhere.

panblue · Nov 19, 2012

I'd go with the system predominate on ebay etc, in terms of lenses at a reasonable price. That said, it seems much MF gear (high-end amateur) is overpriced IMO, while LF (obsolete 'pro' and vintage/antique) is comparatively inexpensive.

3bayjunkie · Nov 20, 2012

unpopular said:
If it's teh Zeiss glass alone that you're interested in, you may want to look into the Hasselblad H-mount. It's more modern, and isn't going anywhere.

I manual focus everything soo auto focus is not important but i like the contax both for its glass and because i want the 1/2000 sec shutter speed.
Also it needs to be an 80mm f/2 does hass have that?

Mike_E · Nov 20, 2012

unpopular said:
If it's teh Zeiss glass alone that you're interested in, you may want to look into the Hasselblad H-mount. It's more modern, and isn't going anywhere.

The H series is made by Fuji. Still a great camera though.

Sw1tchFX · Nov 20, 2012

unpopular said:
If it's teh Zeiss glass alone that you're interested in, you may want to look into the Hasselblad H-mount. It's more modern, and isn't going anywhere.

The only thing Hassy makes in the H-Mount is the mirror box. Fuji makes the body, prism, and lenses. Imacon has historically made the backs. Good system overall, but the lenses lack character, the 100mm f/2.2 is the closest it gets to something unique.

unpopular · Nov 21, 2012

I did not realize that. I'm kind of surprised that Hasselblad left Zeiss for the H series. Either way, I do like Fuji as well.

3bayjunkie · Nov 21, 2012

Tell me again why i should buy a hasselblad instead of the contax.

Sw1tchFX · Nov 27, 2012

If you intend on shooting film, you shouldn't.

If you want a camera from a company that currently exists and has current support for equipment, than shoot Hassy or Mamiya. Contax is a dead company. If something breaks, you have to replace it with used equipment. There's nothing new on the market anymore and if it breaks, nobody can fix it.

I wouldn't consider Pentax 645 either, awful awful camera designs. The camera sounds like tearing velcro on each exposure.

3bayjunkie · Dec 9, 2012

Sw1tchFX said:
If you intend on shooting film, you shouldn't.

If you want a camera from a company that currently exists and has current support for equipment, than shoot Hassy or Mamiya. Contax is a dead company. If something breaks, you have to replace it with used equipment. There's nothing new on the market anymore and if it breaks, nobody can fix it.

I wouldn't consider Pentax 645 either, awful awful camera designs. The camera sounds like tearing velcro on each exposure.

Again the only problem is the glass. Mamiya and contax are the only two with an 80mm f2.0 or better lens. Since the contax has better glass and shoots a faster frame rate than my mamiya then it makes sense but also i don't buy new camera gear. If something breaks ill just buy it used again.