Contax 210 lens

[hobbsr]

Hi All,

I would like to seek advice if the Contax 645 210mm lens is a keeper for the system, I have only come across a few very old posts that seem to indicate this is a dog of a lens??

Rodney

[rainer_v]

Hi All,

I would like to seek advice if the Contax 645 210mm lens is a keeper for the system, I have only come across a few very old posts that seem to indicate this is a dog of a lens??

Rodney

the only lens in the contax system which i dont like is the 140, maybe its just my sample which isnt that good.
 the 210 is great.

[Anthony R]

the only lens in the contax system which i dont like is the 140, maybe its just my sample which isnt that good.
 the 210 is great.

Hmmm. I'm just the opposite. I don't believe that the 210 is as nice a lens as the 140. It's not spectacular, but it's certainly no dog.

[David Klepacki]

Hi Rodney,

I use the Contax 210 lens, and in my opinion it is a winner.  The lens excels at close range, such as tight portrait shots, so not to be compared with something optimized for landscape distance.  It has the closest focusing distance of any other medium format lens of this focal length.  The 210 has beautiful color rendition and smooth tonal transitions.  Autofocus is slow but accurate on the Contax 645.

I have seen a few posts indicating less than expected performance for the 210 lens.  It could be a poor sample, or a loose mount, or an uncalibrated flange distance, or even improper technique.  My copy appears sharp from corner to corner, and I could not be more happy with it.  The only "flaw" about this lens could be the lack of a tripod collar, but that is not a deal breaker.

David

[ddk]

Hi Rodney,

I use the Contax 210 lens, and in my opinion it is a winner.  The lens excels at close range, such as tight portrait shots, so not to be compared with something optimized for landscape distance.  It has the closest focusing distance of any other medium format lens of this focal length.  The 210 has beautiful color rendition and smooth tonal transitions.  Autofocus is slow but accurate on the Contax 645.

David

I agree with all the above the 210 has beautiful rendering.

[Khun_K]

Hi All,

I would like to seek advice if the Contax 645 210mm lens is a keeper for the system, I have only come across a few very old posts that seem to indicate this is a dog of a lens??

Rodney

An excellent lens, very sharp and capable to focus quite closely.  
Regards, K

[David K]

My experience with this lens is quite mixed which I attribute to sample variation.  I went through three copies of this lens before finding a good one and none of the ones that I wound up returning (bought from KEH) was a beater.   I believe that there are a lot of sub-par copies of this lens out there. If I were buying one I'd make certain that it was returnable if it's not up to snuff.