But what’s “better” really comes down to personal preferences. Did it give me images with that 80mm f/2 Zeiss and Kodak film look? No, no it didn’t. Did it give me technically better, sharper, less grainy pictures? Yes, yes indeed. This year I took an Olympus OM-D EM5 with me. This also marked the last time I took such a big bulky camera to the beach and the last time took such a camera so close to the water. It was a great camera/lens combo and I do miss it! Still, the lens I think provided a distinctive look and good exposure. The Sun was shining down brightly and while I normally aim for a fast aperture for shallow depth of field in portraits, I think I stopped down the 80mm f/2 Planar to maybe f/2.8 or f/3.5 and still got the top shutter speed of 1/4000 on the Contax 645 in AV mode. I realize these will be my kids’ memory of summers past when they are grown, so I always bring some kind of camera with me, even if my iPhone will do most of the time. The kids enjoy the beach, the pool, and the boardwalk. While I wouldn’t consider it very exciting for singles looking for a hookup, the Jersey Shore makes a quiet and relaxing getaway. The beaches are generally clean and the towns are usually family friendly.

In my Contax 645 review I stated that I would be uploading pics from the camera if I found them, so here’s one from 2012 when I still had the camera.Īs with most American families, we typically start our summers on Memorial Day Weekend, which is considered the unofficial start of the summer season here.įor a quick getaway, we travel a few hours to the Jersey Shore. Contax 645, 80mm f/2 Zeiss Planar, Kodak Portra 400. Baby Z playing in the water off the beach in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey.

Jas contax 645