Well it shipped today, so it's off to Canada and Conorus early next week providing all is good with it.
I guess what you save on one alt lens you spend on another alt lens
Well it arrived today in pretty much record time. Less than 48 hrs from China to Ireland, and the seller took care of P&P!
The lens itself is a lesson in solidity and cleanliness of design. A joy to behold. It is my first time being up close and personal with Zeiss glass to be honest and I must say I am impressed.
The only gripe is the lack of an indent at the 90degree mark on the tripod collar. But on the whole the lens construction just oozes quality and I am delighted that I have acquired it (brave words considering I haven't shot with it yet!).
I feel very excited at the prospect of converting a 400/4 for you. Right now I can count with only one hand all converted TAT400's in circulation, and I am looking forward to using both hands soon and hopefully toes as well in the near future. With an estimate of only about 600 ever made by Zeiss, we accordingly only machined about 60 mounts for it. (A 10% target may be overly optimistic but in the unlikely event that we ever run out we can always machine another batch of mounts.) In the end, only a limited number of photographers in the world would have the privilege to own this beauty.
Andrew, thank you for posting pix. You read my mind. How is the focus speed and noise?
I have been waiting for a while for the order lines to open so I can send this 24-85 in. However, this is the latest note on Conurus website:
"Update on 2009/06/11: we will close again from 2009/07/01 to 2009/09/15. There are still way too many lenses lining up for service and hopefully this closure will let us clear all backlog orders once and for all. Your understanding is very much appreciated."
cyberstudio wrote:
I feel very excited at the prospect of converting a 400/4 for you. Right now I can count with only one hand all converted TAT400's in circulation, and I am looking forward to using both hands soon and hopefully toes as well in the near future. With an estimate of only about 600 ever made by Zeiss, we accordingly only machined about 60 mounts for it. (A 10% target may be overly optimistic but in the unlikely event that we ever run out we can always machine another batch of mounts.) In the end, only a limited number of photographers in the world would have the privilege to own this beauty.
Your words are certainly making me look at this lens in a new light.
I'll be packing it up very well for the journey I can tell you and following your instructions to a T as regards shipping etc.
I may have a new addiction starting if all Contax lenses are built like this one, but hopefully this last lens will see an end to the madness....
Thanks for the post Bo Ming and I look forward to doing business with you.
Don't worry....only eight more fixes until you are totally hooked. Let me warn you never to put a converted 17-35N or 100N Makro on the end of your camera....they are just "too good."
I took the lens to the Redbull Races here in Windsor today, I have many more to come, here is a quick conversion right out of light room with no sharpening applied to the full crop. 1DS3 1/500 sec around F/7.1
The lens is slightly noisier than the Canons. Af performance is also slower, although I had no problems tracking the aircraft thru all phases of flight. The lens tracked through smoke/haze from the previous aircraft as well. It should be remembered that these aircraft were operating at 370km/h - BTW, I used AI Servo almost exclusively.
The Canons have arguably the best AF performance in the world, so it is unrealistic to expect the Contax to keep up, however, it is no slouch. If you had a requirement that would push the Canon to the limit, then the Contax is not the lens for you. I would say that it would easily do wildlife, human sports (track etc..), and aviation.
Not questioning the sharpness, but I am questioning your math on the weight. If I convert the weight to pounds... The Contax is at 7.9 lbs verses 4.3 lbs for the Canon 400mm f4 DO. Sharper maybe. Lighter...not even close.
My response that indicated "less than the DO" was to Anden, who asked about the price. I also own the DO and the Zeiss is heavier. It is light enough to hand hold for short periods. It is easier to shoot hand held than the 500mm because of the shorter length.
I agree the DO is unmatched for image quality/weight, but the Contax is a better lens.
This lens has been converted by Bo Ming and has arrived back. Hopefully if the weather allows I'll be able to get out and shoot a bit tomorrow. Either way expect to see more samples up within the week.
