Contax N Digital Comparison Review

The Contax N Digital is a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera that was officially introduced in February 2002 and is equipped with a full frame sensor. It offers a resolution of 6.1 megapixel.

Is the Contax N Digital a good camera? The N Digital has a Camera Elo of 1062. This rating puts the N Digital below average of all digital single lens reflex cameras. In terms of its sensor size category (full frame cameras), the N Digital also ranks below average. – Well, the Contax N Digital is more than 19 years old, and there have been many other good digital cameras released since 2002.

Read on to find out more about the camera's size, sensor, features, reception by expert reviewers, and how it compares to other digital cameras.

Body comparison with a credit card

The physical dimensions of the Contax N Digital relative to a credit card are illustrated in the side-by-side display below. Three successive views from the front, the top, and the rear are shown. All size dimensions are rounded to the nearest millimeter.

The table below summarizes the key physical specs of the Contax N Digital alongside a set of similar cameras. If you want to review a particular camera pair side-by-side, just move across to the CAM-parator tool and choose from the broad selection of possible comparisons there.

Body Specifications

		Camera Model	Camera Width	Camera Height	Camera Depth	Camera Weight	Battery Life	Weather Sealing	Camera Launch	Launch Price (USD)	Street Price
1.		Contax N Digital	152 mm	138 mm	80 mm	990 g	100	n	Feb 2002	7,399
2.		Canon 10D	150 mm	107 mm	75 mm	850 g	500	n	Feb 2003	1,999
3.		Canon Rebel	142 mm	99 mm	72 mm	649 g	400	n	Aug 2003	899
4.		Canon 1Ds	156 mm	158 mm	80 mm	1265 g	600	Y	Sep 2002	8,999
5.		Canon D60	150 mm	107 mm	75 mm	855 g	620	n	Feb 2002	2,999
6.		Leica M10-P	139 mm	80 mm	39 mm	660 g	210	Y	Aug 2018	7,995
7.		Leica M10	139 mm	80 mm	39 mm	660 g	210	Y	Jan 2017	6,595
8.		Leica SL	147 mm	104 mm	39 mm	847 g	400	Y	Oct 2015	7,450
9.		Leica M9	139 mm	80 mm	37 mm	585 g	..	n	Sep 2009	7,999
10.		Nikon D100	144 mm	116 mm	81 mm	780 g	370	n	Feb 2002	1,999
11.		Nikon D1X	157 mm	153 mm	85 mm	1100 g	1200	Y	Feb 2001	5,999
Notes: Measurements and pricing do not include easily detachable parts, such as add-on or interchangeable lenses or optional viewfinders.
Convert to Imperial

The listed prices provide an indication of the market segment that the manufacturer of the cameras have been targeting. The Contax N Digital was launched in the US market at a price of $7,399. Usually, retail prices stay at first close to the launch price, but after several months, discounts become available. Later in the product cycle and, in particular, when the replacement model is about to appear, further discounting and stock clearance sales often push the camera price considerably down. Then, after the new model is out, very good deals can frequently be found on the pre-owned market.

Sensor comparison with a 35mm slide

The size of the sensor inside a digital camera is one of the key determinants of image quality. A large sensor will generally have larger individual pixels that offer better low-light sensitivity, provide wider dynamic range, and have richer color-depth than smaller pixels in a sensor of the same technological generation. Furthermore, a large sensor camera will give the photographer more possibilities to use shallow depth-of-field in order to isolate a subject from the background. On the downside, larger sensors tend to be associated with larger, more expensive camera bodies and lenses.

The Contax N Digital features a full frame sensor and has a format factor (sometimes also referred to as "crop factor") of 1.0. Within the spectrum of camera sensors, this places the Contax N Digital among the large-sensor cameras that aim for top notch image quality.

Consistent information on actual sensor performance is available from DXO Mark for most cameras. This service is based on lab testing and assigns an overall score to each camera sensor, as well as ratings for dynamic range ("DXO Landscape"), color depth ("DXO Portrait"), and low-light sensitivity ("DXO Sports"). The table below summarizes the physical sensor characteristics and sensor quality findings and compares them across a set of similar cameras.

Sensor Characteristics

		Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
1.		Contax N Digital	Full Frame	6.1	3040	2008	none	..	..	..	..
2.		Canon 10D	APS-C	6.3	3072	2048	none	21.1	10.9	571	57
3.		Canon Rebel	APS-C	6.3	3072	2048	none	21.0	10.8	544	55
4.		Canon 1Ds	Full Frame	11.0	4064	2704	none	21.8	11.0	954	63
5.		Canon D60	APS-C	6.3	3072	2048	none	..	..	..	..
6.		Leica M10-P	Full Frame	23.8	5952	3992	none	..	..	..	..
7.		Leica M10	Full Frame	23.8	5952	3992	none	24.4	13.2	2133	86
8.		Leica SL	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	4K/30p	25.0	13.4	1821	88
9.		Leica M9	Full Frame	18.1	5212	3472	none	22.5	11.7	884	69
10.		Nikon D100	APS-C	6.0	3008	2000	none	..	..	..	..
11.		Nikon D1X	APS-C	5.9	3008	1960	none	..	..	..	..

It should be noted that unlike many modern cameras, the N Digital does not provide the possibility to capture videos.

Feature comparison

Beyond body and sensor, cameras can and do differ across a range of features. For example, the N Digital has an optical viewfinder that provides a field of view of 95% and a magnification of 0.73x. The tables below summarize some of the other core capabilities of the Contax N Digital in connection with corresponding information for a sample of similar cameras.

Core Features

		Camera Model	Viewfinder (Type or 000 dots)	Control Panel (yes/no)	LCD Specifications (inch/000 dots)	LCD Attach- ment	Touch Screen (yes/no)	Mech Shutter Speed	Shutter Flaps (1/sec)	Built-in Flash (yes/no)	Built-in Image Stab
1.		Contax N Digital	optical	Y	2.0 / 200	fixed	n	1/8000s	4.0	n	n
2.		Canon 10D	optical	Y	1.8 / 118	fixed	n	1/4000s	3.0	Y	n
3.		Canon Rebel	optical	n	1.8 / 118	fixed	n	1/4000s	2.5	Y	n
4.		Canon 1Ds	optical	Y	2.0 / 120	fixed	n	1/8000s	3.0	n	n
5.		Canon D60	optical	Y	1.8 / 114	fixed	n	1/4000s	3.0	Y	n
6.		Leica M10-P	optical	n	3.0 / 1037	fixed	Y	1/4000s	5.0	n	n
7.		Leica M10	optical	n	3.0 / 1037	fixed	n	1/4000s	5.0	n	n
8.		Leica SL	4400	Y	3.0 / 1040	fixed	Y	1/8000s	11.0	n	n
9.		Leica M9	optical	n	2.5 / 230	fixed	n	1/4000s	2.0	n	n
10.		Nikon D100	optical	Y	1.8 / 118	fixed	n	1/4000s	3.0	Y	n
11.		Nikon D1X	optical	Y	2.0 / 120	fixed	n	1/16000s	3.0	n	n

One useful feature of the N Digital is a presence of a top-level LCD. While being, of course, smaller than the rear screen, the control panel conveys some of the essential shooting information and can be convenient for quick and easy settings verification.

Connection comparison

For some imaging applications, the extent to which a camera can communicate with its environment can be an important aspect in the camera decision process. The table below provides an overview of the connectivity of the Contax N Digital and, in particular, the interfaces the cameras (and selected comparators) provide for accessory control and data transfer.

Input-Output Connections

		Camera Model	Hotshoe Port	Internal Mic / Speaker	Microphone Port	Headphone Port	HDMI Port	USB Port	WiFi Support	NFC Support	Bluetooth Support
1.		Contax N Digital	Y	- / -	-	-	-	FW	-	-	-
2.		Canon 10D	Y	- / -	-	-	-	1.1	-	-	-
3.		Canon Rebel	Y	- / -	-	-	-	1.1	-	-	-
4.		Canon 1Ds	Y	- / -	-	-	-	FW	-	-	-
5.		Canon D60	Y	- / -	-	-	-	1.1	-	-	-
6.		Leica M10-P	Y	- / -	-	-	-	-	Y	-	-
7.		Leica M10	Y	- / -	-	-	-	-	Y	-	-
8.		Leica SL	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	full	3.0	Y	-	-
9.		Leica M9	Y	- / -	-	-	-	2.0	-	-	-
10.		Nikon D100	Y	- / -	-	-	-	1.1	-	-	-
11.		Nikon D1X	Y	- / -	-	-	-	FW	-	-	-

Expert reviews

While the specs-based evaluation of cameras is instructive in revealing their potential as photographic tools, it remains incomplete and does no justice, for example, to the way the N Digital handle or perform in practice. At times, user reviews, such as those published at amazon, address these issues in a useful manner, but such feedback is on many occasions incomplete, inconsistent, and unreliable. This is why expert reviews are important. The table below summarizes the assessments of some of the best known camera review sites (amateurphotographer [AP], cameralabs [CL], digitalcameraworld [DCW], dpreview [DPR], ephotozine [EPZ], photographyblog [PB]).

Review Scores

		Camera   Model	AP   score	CL   score	DCW   score	DPR   score	EPZ   score	PB   score	Camera Launch	Launch Price (USD)	Street Price
1.		Contax N Digital	..	..	..	..	..	..	Feb 2002	7,399
2.		Canon 10D	..	..	..	+ +	..	..	Feb 2003	1,999
3.		Canon Rebel	..	..	..	+ +	..	..	Aug 2003	899
4.		Canon 1Ds	..	..	..	+ +	..	..	Sep 2002	8,999
5.		Canon D60	..	..	..	+ +	o	..	Feb 2002	2,999
6.		Leica M10-P	..	..	3/5	..	..	4/5	Aug 2018	7,995
7.		Leica M10	4.5/5	..	..	..	4/5	4.5/5	Jan 2017	6,595
8.		Leica SL	4/5	..	4/5	84/100	4.5/5	4/5	Oct 2015	7,450
9.		Leica M9	..	..	..	..	4.5/5	..	Sep 2009	7,999
10.		Nikon D100	..	..	..	+ +	o	..	Feb 2002	1,999
11.		Nikon D1X	..	..	..	+ +	..	..	Feb 2001	5,999
Notes: (+ +) highly recommended; (+) recommended; (o) reviewed; (..) not available.

The review scores listed above should be treated with care, though. The assessments were made in relation to similar cameras of the same technological generation. Thus, a score needs to be put into the context of the launch date and the launch price of the camera, and rating-comparisons among cameras that span long time periods or concern very differently equipped models make little sense. Also, please note that some of the review sites have changed their methodology and reporting over time.

Camera to camera comparisons

If you would like to see a side-by-side review of this and another camera, just make your choice using the following search menu. An an alternative, you can also directly jump to any one of the listed comparisons that were previously generated by the CAM-parator tool.

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