Contax T opinions

[puketronic]

I bought a Contax T from keh.com. I'm pretty excited to try it out.

This camera doesn't seem too popular. Why?

More specifically.

What is the viewfinder magnification?

Is the lens good for flare?

 

[summicron1]

most folks ask those sort of questions before buying, you can find all the answers you need at this review, but I suspect, from this, that it will be just lovely to use.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/contax/t.htm

i suspect it is not too popular because it is expensive and, from a user viewpoint, a bit limited. Many alternatives -- Olympus XA or Rollei 35 -- can both be had for a lot less.

 

[chip j]

My Leica dealer showed me prints from a Contax T & from a Leica mini of the same vintage. He said the leica optics were superior, but I thought the Contax had more "sparkle".

 

[Oren Grad]

...from a user viewpoint, a bit limited, with no rangefinder.

It does have a rangefinder. It's just not terribly common, has tended to be quite expensive compared to other compacts, and offers aperture priority AE only - no manual control of shutter speeds.

 

[puketronic]

I read about the camera and it sounded pretty good, so I bought one off of keh.com to try out. I figured that I can return it if I didn't like it. I don't expect the lens to flare and I don't mind the viewfinder magnification either. I am just curious. I received the camera last night but I haven't had a chance to fool around with it. My initial impression is that it is solid and compact. The viewfinder/rangefinder is very useable. The controls are a little fiddly but not that bad, for camera this compact.

I'm surprised that this camera isn't too popular. Most people seem to go with the T2 in the Contax compact P&S line. It's true that the XA can be had for less, but people buy T2s even though the Epic can be had for less. I don't consider the Rollei 35 to be an alternative (although the Rollei 35 is a very good camera, I have one) but I do recognize the XA as one. It doesn't really matter, because if I like it, I like it.

 

[Trask]

I've got a T, and think it's a fine camera. Much more solid than an Olympus XA, which also (in my copy) seemed to have significant corner fall-off. I don't know why someone would prefer an autofocus. I soured on autofocus after missing a number of photos during a trip to the country of Georgia (to which I knew I was unlikely to return) because the autofocus just wasn't able to achieve proper focus. At least with a manual focus camera the user can always focus when and where he/she wants.