Last week Anthony and I had this idea to buy a Contax 645 medium format camera (film based). Well, you see, we slowly built up to the idea, and this is how we ended with 16lbs. of pure gold. Anthony has the Mamiya M645 (which is 30 years my Contax) and he uses it to document his time in Afghanistan...and build up a portfolio to decide whether I want to hire him as my assistant when he returns ;) But that's beside the point! Alright, so Anthony has a film camera. Check. Now, we're talking last week and he's asking me if I too would be interested in owning some type of medium format camera. Perhaps a newer Mamiya or Pentax. But not the Contax 645. No! No! No! That was out of our league. (In case you're unfamiliar with the significance of the Contax - it's basically the cream of the crop in terms of professional medium format cameras*) Then just for fun Anthony does an ebay search for a Contax 645. He comes across one, runs the numbers for what we're getting, concludes it's a pretty good deal, and tells me, "well, if we're going to do this, we might as well go all the way..." And that's how we ended up with our newest member. So without further ado, let me introduce you to her.
Look at this monster compared to my Nikon. Dayyyum! I'll be doing a more thorough
entry about the technicalities of the Contax in a later entry.
She's equipped with the best glass!!! Zeiss 80mm f/2 lens. Oh man guys, this glass
captures some the best, if not, the best images out there!
So now you're probably wondering why film? Well, why not...? No but really, my style has been evolving to emulate the film feel. While it's no "fine art" approach (and far from being considered "fine art") I think I should at least try it out. And that's where my, "why not" thought comes in. I purchased my first set of film yesterday, so I'm ready to load her up, really think about my composition, and develop the film. That's another thing about film - compared to digital, I just can't run around and snap shots like a madman. I am only limited to 16 exposures per roll. It will force me to take my time and compose an image beautifully. While my main purpose for the Contax will ultimately be for detail shots and portraits, I'm still excited to see what I'll be able to create. It's no fun imitating someone else's style. You have to create your own. Be you!
*Medium format film is easily twice as large as 35mm film, which means, typically, that an old medium format camera can capture more detail than even the best Nikon or Canon digital cameras.
