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It seems as though half the wedding photographers on the planet bought a Contax 645 based on Jose Villa’s recommendation. That combination of extremely shallow depth of field and high-key tonality became the standard for wedding photos that continues to this day.
#Contax 645 35mm pro#
Jose’s recipe for achieving his signature look was simple but precise: a Contax 645 camera with 80mm lens set at f2, using Fujifilm Pro 400H film over-exposed by one stop. Photographer Jose Villa caused a sensation among wedding photographers with his dreamy, romantic images. It was remarkable in that it was caused by one person: Jose Villa. Second, The Jose Villa EffectĪlmost a decade later came ‘The Villa Effect’, which caused the value of the Contax 645 to rise even more rapidly than before. The Pentax 645NII could not take digital backs, since it did not have a removable film back. There were at least seven digital backs available for the Contax 645, which I believe was more than for any other film camera at that time.
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However, after it ceased production at the end of 2005, two main events caused the Contax 645 to rise in value: First, a digital swansongĪround the time Kyocera (owners of the Contax brand) announced the Contax camera business would be closed down by the end of 2005, demand for the Contax 645 rose among pro photographers due to its ability to take digital backs. Interestingly, the Contax 645 was not hugely expensive when new – it was about the same price as the Pentax 645NII, which came in at around US$2,400, or US$3,500 in 2021 money. If you are not familiar with the Contax 645, look up the price of it on eBay and frighten yourself. The Contax 645 is famous, and just like famous people, most people have never seen one in real life. Yes, even more so than its smaller cousins, the Contax T2 and its sibling the Contax T3, which I wrote about here EMULSIVE a while back in a huge compact 35mm camera mega test. If ever the term ‘hype’ could be applied to a camera, the Contax 645 is that camera. You have probably heard about the Contax 645. 16.2 Photographs made with the Pentax 645NII.16.1 Photographs made with the Contax 645.8 Current affairs: It’s all about power.5 The world’s best autofocus medium format film camera?.3 What about that medium format film magic?.2 Comparing Pentax and Carl Zeiss lenses.Medium format film camera showdown: Contax 645 vs Pentax 645NII - EMULSIVE Close Search for: