Film or Digital revisited

[tbrouwer]

So, I am a 62 year-old semi-retired pro photographer who has had a love affair with a Contax G2 and all it's lenses but was forced to use DSLR's to compete since the beginning of the digital revolution. Don't get me wrong, I loved and enjoyed the journey but as I aged I longed for that easy to carry and fast to use simplicity of the auto-focus rangefinder as well as the fantastic Zeiss optics. I also had a Hasselblad XPan with two lenses at the same time as the Contax so I could carry both systems in a satchel bag made by Domke. I traveled the World in those days visiting and working in some 50 countries on every continent except Antarctica.

A few years ago I reluctantly sold the XPan and it's lenses. It was a great system and I still miss it but at the time, I needed to focus myself on digital in order to keep my work going.

Recently I invested in a Fujifilm xpro-1 and the three lenses that were available for it. I can again carry the whole system in the same Domke satchel bag that I carried the two other systems in and I am learning how this new system compares to what I remember about the Contax. After using 4x5 view cameras, medium format cameras and 35mm film systems the Contax had a learning curve but I got lots of acceptable images from it and during the learning and I would have to say that some were even stunning and/or impossible with any other system. It was really quick and discreet to use.

So far I was initially disappointed with the xpro-1 as the controls were not very intuitive but despite the fact that it had a longer learning curve than what I remember from the Contax, I like it in a similar way. It is fast to use and also quiet and discreet. But I am wondering if it ever will be as fast to use as the Contax was. Maybe it is just because it is still new to me but it seems with all the choices in the menu system that it takes too long to get ready for a shot in comparison. Maybe in another few months I will have the system ingrained in my brain and I will no longer question it's usefulness but for now I still question it. Meanwhile I am sure enough that I am selling off my Canon system bit by bit while it is still worth something. Also, I am enjoying being a former pro as the pressure of daily performance is off and I can concentrate on what I like instead of what the client demands...

 

[RallyFan]

As a disclaimer, I've never made photos for professional purposes, only as a hobby. I started at the age of 13 with a 'Sears' branded SLR in 1986. In the 90's I moved on to a Nikon FM2n. In the 2000's I bought a Nikon dSLR and used that till last year. I got tired of lugging it around so I picked up a Sony NEX. With the NEX, I found that I could easily adapt all sorts of cool, small and/or vintage lenses (mainly a Voigtlander 35 and a Leica 50 Elmar), and the image quality is great.

However, a funny thing happened while using those lenses: I wanted to shoot film again. So, now I have a Leica IIIf added to my collection as well. It's a vicious circle, and I'd hate to have to pick just digital or just film, but fortunately there's plenty of room in my Domke for both so I just let my mood decide.

I've never used a Contax G2 so I'm not familiar with it, but I have used a X-Pro before. The JPEG's straight out of the camera are fantastic, but I found the auto-focus to be a little disappointing. A minor gripe as I shoot manual most of the time anyway. It's image quality, retro design and optical/electronic viewfinder were strong influences for me, but alas it was far out of my budget at the time and thus I ended up with the NEX.

 

[willie_901]

Interesting post.

I was wondering if you would share the menu items you change regularly.

I use my XP1 in manual mode (exposure and AF) and only change the ISO using the Q button.

I would use the XP1 instead of my Nikon DSLRs but my clients want their clients to be impressed with a large camera and lens. I do use the XP1 and X100 for almost everything else. I use the DSLR for action photography.

 

[Mcary]

It is fast to use and also quiet and discreet. But I am wondering if it ever will be as fast to use as the Contax was. Maybe it is just because it is still new to me but it seems with all the choices in the menu system that it takes too long to get ready for a shot in comparison.

What controls/choices are you using the get ready for a shot? The reason I'm asking is sometimes the best choice is to simply ignore the choice. Personally when I'm setting up a shot its aperture and shutter speed, plus maybe ISO, that its. The menu might as well not be there as far as I'm concerned 🙂

 

[j j]

Welcome to RFF.

Interesting post for me, too, as the G2 is my favourite camera to use and I desire a Fuji mostly due to its similarity to the Contax but like RallyFan I ended up with a cheaper option (in my case a Samsung).

My advice is similar to that of others: set up your menus and then leave them alone as much as possible. You have a exposure compensation dial. If you use auto white balance and auto ISO you might not need to use the menus at all.

 

[hepcat]

I'm 57 and a semi-retired pro as well. I shot both rangefinders and SLRs during my film days, but when I went digital, I had to go DSLR as well to stay competitive. Last spring, I discovered the X-Pro1 not long after it was released and, like you, thought it would be a really good way to rediscover that form factor.

There were many things I really liked about my X-Pro1. The image quality was wonderful but, again like you, I had a problem trying to get the camera to do what I wanted it to do rather than what it was programmed to do. Having to stop my shooting to try to remember which control turned this or that off became tedious. Using the Q button is fine, but you have to take your eye from the viewfinder to look at the LCD. I particularly had issues with the autofocus. I absolutely detest EVFs and you can't manually focus the X-Pro1 using the OVF. I had an inordinate number of images with a perfectly focused background and a gorgeously soft main subject with autofocus. I found I was switching to EVF to focus regularly which, for me, defeated the purpose of an optical bright-line viewfinder camera. What I realized was that I wasn't experiencing the joy shooting the X-Pro1 that I'd hoped for. As a matter of fact, it was becoming even more tedious to shoot than my DSLR was, and that was what I was trying to get away from. I knew I could master the camera, but I really didn't care to any more.

After six months and several thousand frames, I finally just gave up and a member here, Cosmonaut, now has my XPro1.

I shot Leica film bodies for nearly forty years off and on, and now I'm back to Leica digital bodies. I can't tell you how refreshing it is to have a body that only does what I tell it to do rather than what it's programmed to do. I rediscovered that joy I was searching for. It just took me a long time to figure it out.