Elusive Contax N Digital gets Italian airing

10th May - 2002
By Ian Burley

Some would say that Contax has been doing its best to scupper the much talked about digital edition of its N-series SLR. It was announced over a year ago and several promised launch dates this year have been scrubbed at the last moment. Working N Digital samples have been very scarce, unlike non-working examples.

This has lead some authoritative figures in the digital photography press to all but declare the N Digital as stillborn.

But the latest news from Contax is that some Italian journalists have, at last, been the first members of the public to be let loose with fully working N digital cameras and a selection of the new lenses recently announced. In a press release issued today, it was stated: “Yashica Kyocera GmbH Hamburg and the Camera Lens Division of Carl Zeiss issued an invitation to attend a 2-day workshop in Oberkochen where 5 fully functioning samples of the Contax N Digital camera were tested for the very first time in the world.

In addition to a comprehensive tour of the Carl Zeiss plant, technical and scientific lectures on lens and camera technology and visits to the Carl Zeiss Innovation Center and the Optical Museum, the focus of the event was, of course, the hands-on workshop where Contax N Digital cameras and lenses from Carl Zeiss were provided for practical tests.”

The release also mentioned: “Also provided for the very first time were the new 17-35 mm Vario-Sonnar® T* f/2.8 lens and, in addition to the Contax N Digital camera, several Contax 645 medium-format cameras with the first samples of the new 45-90 mm Vario-Sonnar® T* f/4.5 zoom lens.”

But critics are likely to say, so what? The camera is still not shipping and many won’t believe it will ship until it does. At least this means Contax can, if it delivers, pleasantly surprise its cynics.

The Contax UK Web site is at: www.kyu.co.uk
 

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