Contax N Digital review

Shutter speeds run from 1/8,000th second down to 32 seconds, depending on the mode and the way you set the camera to operate. Modes are aperture and shutter priority, program or fully manual. Metering takes the form of multipattern, centre weighted average or spot. Again, like a traditional film camera, these are set via a lever, not command dial action. Used appropriately, they work well for most eventualities. Contax has included a capable five-area AF system too.

Image size measures 3,008 x 2,008 pixels, with shots saved as TIFF, JPEG or RAW files. These can be saved onto a CompactFlash card, but you can also use a Microdrive. JPEG compression ranges from 4x compression, with files sizes of about 3Mb, down to 16x compression. Uncompressed TIFFs are naturally larger, consuming about 18Mb of storage. TIFFs also take a noticeably longer time to write from buffer to card.

Potentially, the best quality comes from the 9Mb RAW files. These need to be converted using the supplied RAW Data Converter software into 18Mb TIFFs. Unfortunately, the 2in rear TFT is unable to play back RAW images for inspection, which is an annoying inconvenience.

However, with the JPEG format, you can use the LCD to view the image full frame or with 2.5x and 5x magnification. TIFF files can only be viewed full frame. If you decide to shoot RAW files, you can download images using the supplied software and 2m IEEE-1394 cable. The software, while capable, is nowhere near as advanced as that provided with some competing professional cameras. The thinking seems to be that most people at a professional level want to get images into Photoshop as quickly as possible, so there's no need for anything more.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the Contax N Digital is a remarkable camera. Image quality is superb in almost every area and we obtained some high-quality, giant-sized enlargements. There's no better digital SLR, but it comes at a price.

Author: John Clements