Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/02/06

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Leica: Contax 645 Offtopic
From: Lucian Chis <chis@ece.orst.edu>
Date: Sat, 6 Feb 1999 20:23:14 -0800 (PST)

I am sure you meant Zeiss as the manufacturer of lenses, as Leitz is
officially dead!

Lucian

On Sat, 6 Feb 1999, Mark Rabiner wrote:

> The Contax 645 came to Portland Oregon and I went downtown to check it
> out. A beautiful camera with impressive mirror dampening and autofocus
> backed up by a full set Leitz made in Japan Optics which I'm sure would
> be hard to beat except:
> they looked like cheap Vivitar Lenses of the '70s. This made the price
> feel to be a decimal point on the high side. 
> I had gotten the impression that they might be priced 1/3 to 1/2
> comparable Hasselblad or Rollei/Zeiss but the rep read me off a list
> which sounded like the same. All the same they would have to be in the
> hundreds not thousands of dollars as no matter how pristine the glass if
> the whole package looks like junk I don't want any part if it. It is
> inexcusable. Am I a vain guy?
> A bummer experience, I'm ready to check out a comparable Pentex or the
> Fuji Texas autofocus Leica.
> I think autofocus is perfect for MF film and could get me shooting more
> of it. Especially 645 (vest pocket size).
> Mark Rabiner
>