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Archive 2008 · Contax N17-35/2.8

Paul Yi
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p.1 #1 · Contax N17-35/2.8

I was offered $1450 for about 95% condition of this lens.
I thought it was a reasonable price.
With conversion cost, it will fall around $2300.

Is this lens that Good?
Wil it be better than Nikon 14-24/2.8?
I need a superwide lens, and I'm considering this lens.

Edited by Paul Yi on Jul 23, 2008 at 05:49 PM GMT

Edited on Jul 23, 2008 at 10:49 PM

Jul 16, 2008 at 05:00 PM

jrn813
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p.1 #2 · Contax N17-35/2.8

Do You Mean The N 17-35 ?
And Yes It's That Good... Does The Price Include All Accessories?
Both OEM Caps, Pouch, Hood?
The Reviews Say The 14-24 Is As Good Or Better, But You Do Not
Have That Zeissness, That I And Many Love....

Price Depends On Condition, 98% You Said, And Accessories ...
$1,400 - $1,800 - Hoods Are Tough To Find And Expensive... $250-$450
For Those Willimng To Pay That Much...

I Was Lucky, Bought Mine With Hood, et All. Paid Alot, But Never Looked Back.

Jul 16, 2008 at 05:14 PM

Paul Yi
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p.1 #3 · Contax N17-35/2.8

I'm sorry.
That was my typo error. It is N 17-35/2.8
It comes with the hood and the uv filter.

is it a good deal?

Jul 16, 2008 at 05:38 PM

jrn813
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p.1 #4 · Contax N17-35/2.8

Let Me Understand, Are You Buying Or Selling?
Your OP Is Not Clear. If You Are Buying And It's 98%
Jump On It... NOW!!!!

John R

Jul 16, 2008 at 05:41 PM

jrn813
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p.1 #5 · Contax N17-35/2.8

Or Let Me!!! lol...

Jul 16, 2008 at 05:42 PM

cyberstudio
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p.1 #6 · Contax N17-35/2.8

$1,450 for lens+hood+UV is an excellent deal. The lens alone is usually sold at around $1,800

conurus

Jul 16, 2008 at 05:42 PM

Paul Yi
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p.1 #7 · Contax N17-35/2.8

I'm the buyer.
So, this is an excellent deal.....
I may even be able to pull it down to a little bit lower price....

Jul 16, 2008 at 06:06 PM

cogitech
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p.1 #8 · Contax N17-35/2.8

Compared to this deal http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/667043

I think your deal is pretty good.

BTW, Bo-Ming, is it really $900 to convert this lens, or is that guy as full of shit as he seems?

Edited on Jul 16, 2008 at 06:18 PM

Jul 16, 2008 at 06:17 PM

Paul Yi
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p.1 #9 · Contax N17-35/2.8

I just asked him basically the same question.

BTW, is this THE best wide zoom ever made?

Jul 16, 2008 at 06:29 PM

cogitech
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p.1 #10 · Contax N17-35/2.8

Paul Yi wrote:
I just asked him basically the same question.

BTW, is this THE best wide zoom ever made?

The Nikkor 14-24 certainly gives it a run for the money, but it doesn't have auto-everything.

Jul 16, 2008 at 06:32 PM

Paul Yi
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p.1 #11 · Contax N17-35/2.8

if Contax N 17-35/2.8 matches leica 28/2.8 late version at 28mm, I'd be a happy buyer.
i can't find the link to the test done by Hubsand on the lens comaparison with the Nikon 14-24...

Jul 16, 2008 at 06:39 PM

jrn813
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p.1 #12 · Contax N17-35/2.8

With Full AE & AF On A Canon Camera, Nothing Comes Close, IMO
No Direct Comparison Of The 14-24mm & The 17-35mm Has Been Made At 16-9.com
That I Know Of, Todate...

I Had Not Seen The B&S Listing... It Is Too High By A Large Amount, In My Opinion.
I Paid A Premium, As One Of The First Conversions, But Even Then More Than 30%
Less ....

Jul 16, 2008 at 06:56 PM

pascal03
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p.1 #13 · Contax N17-35/2.8

cogitech wrote:
Compared to this deal http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/667043

I think your deal is pretty good.

BTW, Bo-Ming, is it really $900 to convert this lens, or is that guy as full of shit as he seems?

Hmmm... so who's as full of shit as he seems... not sure if you mean Paul Yi or Conurus or Bo Ming

If you look at the conurus website, it does add up to almost that much - don't forget shipping with insurance to canada and back to add to cost of conversion.

To the OP - that's not a bad deal if you got it with the hood and a decent UV filter.

I was lucky to find my 17-35N brand new in box from an Authorized dealer. Got my 70-300N, 70-200N, 2x 24-85N, and a 50mm f1.4 N from the same guy - pretty much wiped out his last remaining inventory of Contax N (as well as Contax G bodies and lenses) except for the two 28-80mm f3.5-5.6 N lenses he had. The dealer was surprised I was buying all this old film gear which no one seemed to be interested in

Edited by pascal03 on Jul 16, 2008 at 07:03 PM GMT

Edited on Jul 16, 2008 at 07:03 PM

Jul 16, 2008 at 06:59 PM

cogitech
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p.1 #14 · Contax N17-35/2.8

pascal03 wrote:
cogitech wrote:
Compared to this deal http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/667043

I think your deal is pretty good.

BTW, Bo-Ming, is it really $900 to convert this lens, or is that guy as full of shit as he seems?

Hmmm... so who's as full of shit as he seems... not sure

The guy selling one of these for $4000 and claiming the conversion costs $900.

Jul 16, 2008 at 07:01 PM

pascal03
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p.1 #15 · Contax N17-35/2.8

Saw the link now. Got it.

Interesting the for sale ad has a 24-85N with a bird on it... no picture of the lens for sale

That's gotta be one very expensive 24-85N for $999 and $3000 for the bird

Edited on Jul 16, 2008 at 07:06 PM

Jul 16, 2008 at 07:05 PM

Paul Yi
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p.1 #16 · Contax N17-35/2.8

jrn813 wrote:
With Full AE & AF On A Canon Camera, Nothing Comes Close, IMO
No Direct Comparison Of The 14-24mm & The 17-35mm Has Been Made At 16-9.com
That I Know Of, Todate...

I Had Not Seen The B&S Listing... It Is Too High By A Large Amount, In My Opinion.
I Paid A Premium, As One Of The First Conversions, But Even Then More Than 30%
Less ....

Can you share some sample shots?
or can you give me some links to the pictures taken with the lens?

BTW, if manual focus, is there any other lens, besides nikon, that competes with this lens?

Jul 16, 2008 at 07:07 PM

jrn813
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p.1 #17 · Contax N17-35/2.8

The Conversion Is $799 At Present, Plus $40 Shipping & Insurance. (Roughly What I Paid For Shipping)
I Don't Know About Full Of, But Price Is Way Off In My Opinion...
But He Can Always Hope, Because New Conversions Are Awhile Off... Time Is Worth Something...
There Was A Converted Lens Listed On eBay For $3,200 Recently.

JOhn R

Jul 16, 2008 at 07:13 PM

cogitech
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p.1 #18 · Contax N17-35/2.8

pascal03 wrote:
Saw the link now. Got it.

Interesting the for sale ad has a 24-85N with a bird on it... no picture of the lens for sale

That's gotta be one very expensive 24-85N for $999 and $3000 for the bird

It's Bo-Ming's photo. I'd be pissed if I was Bo-Ming.

Jul 16, 2008 at 07:14 PM

jrn813
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p.1 #19 · Contax N17-35/2.8

If MF & Stopped Down Meter Is Okay, 14-24 & Hubsand's Adapter Appears Very Good.
But At The Price You Have Quoted, It Is An Easy Decision For Me.... 17-35mm

This image is copyrighted by the owner

Edited on Jul 16, 2008 at 07:26 PM

Jul 16, 2008 at 07:24 PM

jrn813
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p.1 #20 · Contax N17-35/2.8

Sorry, These Were All Taken With A 1Ds MkI

John R

Jul 16, 2008 at 07:27 PM

jrn813
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p.1 #21 · Contax N17-35/2.8

Comparison... In A Wide Zoom, Other Than Nikon..
By Word Of Mouth Only, I Have Never Tried Either...

21-35mm Leica
16-35mm MkII Canon

Remember This Was Written Before The 14-24mm Was Released....

Quote From 16-9.com

What's the best wide angle zoom?

Short Answer:
1. Contax N 17-35mm f2.8
2. Nikon 17-35mm f2.8 AFS
3. Leica 21-35mm f3.5-4 / Canon 16-35mm L f2.8
4. Sigma 15-30mm
5. Sigma 12-24mm
6. Tamron 17-35mm

Long Answer:
It depends. If you can focus properly without AF in the 17-24mm range (the difficulty of which is not to be underestimated), the Contax, Nikon and Leica zooms all offer something more than the Canon L can deliver.

If we consider resolution, the Nikon is better than the Canon from f5.6 to f16, but the Canon L is better from f2.8 to f4. All require stopping down to f8 for critically sharp corners. The Nikon is sharper than the Canon from 17-25mm; the Canon is at least as good from 26-35mm. The Leica is sharper than the Canon and the Nikon from 24mm to 35mm, but not from 21-23mm. The Sigma 15-30mm is amazingly sharp centre frame at almost all apertures, but can't render a sharp corner at any of them. The Tamron has better corners, but isn't as crisp centre frame.

If we consider distortion, the Sigma 12-24mm is impeccable throughout. The Leica is well controlled: neutral in the 21-24mm range and pincushion from 24mm up. The Nikon has fairly strong barrel distortion in the 17-19mm range, is dead neutral from 20-22mm, and pincushion from 23mm up. The Canon and Sigma 15-30mm are similar. The Tamron is spoilt by extreme waveform distortion at a wide range of focal lengths.

If we look at chromatic aberration, the Sigma 12-24mm and Contax excel. The Canon, Nikon and Sigma zooms all suffer to a similar degree at all apertures. The Tamron is very poor in this regard.

Heading into more subjective realms, the Nikon renders blues particularly attractively, with a neutral colour balance and fine microcontrast. The Contax has a vivid drawing style with all the typical Zeiss virtues of 'believable' 3D rendering and punchy, saturated colours. The Leica is also typically on-brand, with open shadows, true colouring and high resolution in the 24mm-35mm range. The Canon also handles colour well, without obvious cast, but the images don't have the intangible magic and sparkle of the more 'exotic' glass. Both Sigmas are what one might might politely call 'warm' (ie, yellow) – the 15-30mm is marginally worse than the 12-24mm.

Jul 16, 2008 at 07:35 PM

DocsPics
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p.1 #22 · Contax N17-35/2.8

I too paid a lot for the lens, conversion and hood.

Yep, it's worth it. (Even bought a Heliopan Cir Pol Filter to go with it....another $350).

Conurus does a great job. (He has about a lot of people waiting for his next batch of conversion parts to arrive.....including me)

Doc

Jul 16, 2008 at 08:14 PM

Paul Yi
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p.1 #23 · Contax N17-35/2.8

The pictures look great...and I'm very temped.
But the conversion process is a killer.
Who knows how long it'll take....

Jul 16, 2008 at 08:15 PM

Paul Yi
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p.1 #24 · Contax N17-35/2.8

Just curious...
can this be used without conversion (manual focus)?
Like...using an adapter?

I've just found out that it can't...
Please ignore this post.

Edited on Jul 16, 2008 at 08:42 PM

Jul 16, 2008 at 08:23 PM

Paul Yi
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p.1 #25 · Contax N17-35/2.8

DocsPics wrote:
I too paid a lot for the lens, conversion and hood.

Yep, it's worth it. (Even bought a Heliopan Cir Pol Filter to go with it....another $350).

Conurus does a great job. (He has about a lot of people waiting for his next batch of conversion parts to arrive.....including me)

Doc

I'm still holding my purchase of this lens...
Does anyone have any clue how long it'll take Conurus to restock the mount?
I've e-mailed him, but no reply as yet....

Jul 23, 2008 at 10:48 PM


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