Contax T2: makes you want to shoot more

darkosaric · Jun 17, 2018

I just got back from one week vacation, I have used Contax T2 beside my Leica M3, with 90mm Elmar-C.
I must admit that Contax was used much much more - 2 films through Leica, and 5 films through T2.
There is something about this camera that just makes you shoot more. Not sure is this a good or bad thing, I need to make contact prints and see how many keepers are there .
In Leica defense: if 50mm was mounted - I would used it more, but it seems redundant to 38mm on T2.

ReginaldSMith · Jun 17, 2018

I'm not surprised. There's a lot to be said for small high quality, easy to use cameras. I love my Yashica T3, and in the past I carried a Nikon 35Ti. Good results.

M-88 · Jun 17, 2018

Don't want to be a buzzkill, but someone has to say this:
It would be much better if prices for point & shoot cameras were anywhere near adequate value. Right now T2 goes for 700$. I understand that some cameras are more of an indicator of social status than mere machines that capture image on film, but 700$ is way too high. There are other cameras that utilize Zeiss optics and have much more features.

Just to avoid any confusion, I'm the guy that thinks Leica is overpriced and overrated, so don't mind me

ReginaldSMith · Jun 17, 2018

LOL - - -I'm afraid status is a part of the culture that infects everything. Just this morning in CBS Sunday, Mo Rocka was offered a pair of $1,000 Gucci sneakers. Yup, sneakers. I bet they sell like hotcakes.

M-88 · Jun 17, 2018

ReginaldSMith said:
LOL - - -I'm afraid status is a part of the culture that infects everything. Just this morning in CBS Sunday, Mo Rocka was offered a pair of $1,000 Gucci sneakers. Yup, sneakers. I bet they sell like hotcakes.

Sure, it's a part of all of us - competition, status, superiority etc. If this wasn't the case there would be no supercars, no luxury mansions, there would be a natural communism
But what I'm trying to say is that, for example, one can get Nikon 35Ti for 200$ less than Contax T2, it will do a bit more, has fancy "analog" (god I hate that word) dials... Aye, it's not designed by Porsche design team, but still.It's also got Japanese glass instead of glorious Zeiss optics, but if I ever decide to go Zeiss, I'd much rather have an interchangeable lens. For sake of versatility.

ReginaldSMith · Jun 17, 2018

Some of my favorite photos have been taken with Olympus Stylus Epic, Yashica T3, Nikon 35Ti, Nikon One, and Canon AF35. All of them took wonderful pictures. None of them was built as nicely as the Contax T2. BUT, how much is that better build quality worth? I never could cough up the dough for a T2, so I made do with the cheaper plastic cameras. But make no mistake, if I was rich, I would have bought the T2 because I LOVE AND ADORE well engineered, well made products (shallow, I know!).

darkosaric · Jun 17, 2018

The thing is that I paid for T2 only 15 euro! First impulse was to sell it for a high profit (as I have already Leica M3, M6, M1, IIIF, and nikon F and F3 as well)... but after using it for 2 weeks only - I decided to keep it.
Before I had Leica minilux with summarit 40mm - and the lens quality was also superb, but T2 has nicer and much much bigger viewfinder, with shutter speed, and focus confirmation inside the viewfinder.

Theo Sulphate · Jun 17, 2018

Reminds me of the Ricoh GR-1 - a fun and capable camera with good controls.

guangong · Jun 17, 2018

Don’t have a T2, but have a T3. Bought new as a combination birthday and wedding anniversary present for my wife and I. Along with camera bought a fitted hard case, lens shade and adapter to take e39 filters. I suppose that now these accessories are pretty pricey. Great little camera.
Before T3, I owned a Yashika T4, which my daughter unfortunately dunked into Mekong River. That’s our reason for the Contax T3.

GarageBoy · Jun 21, 2018

All the niche high end (and not so high end) point and shoots have become Instagram hipster fodder, and prices are a bit nuts (the t3 costs almost as much as my Leica r8/50 summicron)

RattyMouse · Jun 21, 2018

I would buy a T2 if I were certain it could last me 10 years. Given their age and lack of repair ability, I dont think there's a good chance of that today.

Huss · Jun 21, 2018

darkosaric said:
I just got back from one week vacation, I have used Contax T2 beside my Leica M3, with 90mm Elmar-C.
I must admit that Contax was used much much more - 2 films through Leica, and 5 films through T2.
There is something about this camera that just makes you shoot more. Not sure is this a good or bad thing, I need to make contact prints and see how many keepers are there .
In Leica defense: if 50mm was mounted - I would used it more, but it seems redundant to 38mm on T2.

All I got from this is u shot more with a 38mm lens than a 90mm lens. And that’s ok.

darkosaric · Jun 21, 2018

Huss said:
All I got from this is u shot more with a 38mm lens than a 90mm lens. And that’s ok.

True, but even with Leica and 50mm lens I doubt that I would shoot 5 rolls of film so fast as I did with T2.

Huss · Jun 21, 2018

darkosaric said:
True, but even with Leica and 50mm lens I doubt that I would shoot 5 rolls of film so fast as I did with T2.

Imagine if u had a 35mm lens on an M. And ur T2 somehow came with a 90mm lens.
You would have shot the M more.

I do get ur point though. Sometimes it’s just more fun to use a P&S and just point and shoot and stop being so serious!

Patrick Robert James · Jun 21, 2018

There is something about the great point and shoots. Makes photography really easy and fun. I had a Ricoh GR1. Saddest day was when it broke.... Still miss it. During the couple years I had it, I shot more with it than my Leicas. It was just so easy to use, and the results were just as good...

I'm like the others here in that I just don't think it is worth spending the money on another one. I'd love a T3, but I'd rather take a long trip.

guangong · Jun 21, 2018

GarageBoy said:
All the niche high end (and not so high end) point and shoots have become Instagram hipster fodder, and prices are a bit nuts (the t3 costs almost as much as my Leica r8/50 summicron)

guangong · Jun 21, 2018

You paid that much for a Leica R8 with 50 mm Summicron?

Theo Sulphate · Jun 21, 2018

GarageBoy said:
... prices are a bit nuts (the t3 ... ) ...

The T3 prices are insane!

darkosaric · Jun 22, 2018

Huss said:
Imagine if u had a 35mm lens on an M. And ur T2 somehow came with a 90mm lens.
You would have shot the M more.

I do get ur point though. Sometimes it’s just more fun to use a P&S and just point and shoot and stop being so serious!

True to a point . For example when I have Nikkor 105/2.5 on my F3 - I do shoot more than with any other tele lenses (Leica 90, 135, or other nikkor).
Some lenses, and/or some cameras are just going easier to shoot with, not depended from the focal length. In my case those are Nikkor 105/2,5*, Elmar 5cm/3.5 and recently T2.

*I love Nikkor 105/2.5 so much that I purchased both versions - older and newer.

macfred · Jun 22, 2018

darkosaric said:
For example when I have Nikkor 105/2.5 on my F3 - I do shoot more than with any other tele lenses...

Same here - If I have my Nikkor-P Auto 1:2.5 (Gauss-type) adapted to one of my F2 bodies, it's like fixed there ...

darkosaric · Jun 22, 2018

My usual vacation set up is 2 bodies: before T2 was always Leica and Nikon - one with 50mm (Nikkor or Elmar), other with 105/2.5 Nikkor or 90 Elmar-C. While Elmar-C is much much smaller, my heart is with 105, and extra one and a half stop is also nice to have.

blockend · Jun 22, 2018

I shoot more when focus is not intrinsic to the viewfinder. Composition and focus are two different aspects of photography, and attaining a focal point is a distraction from making a picture. It's easier to be freewheeling on compacts and rangefinders than SLRs in my experience, although it's possible to discipline yourself to see all at once with an SLR, especially with slower lenses.

bvy · Jun 22, 2018

I got a T2 with the greatest of expectations and really didn't like it.

GarageBoy · Jun 22, 2018

guangong said:
You paid that much for a Leica R8 with 50 mm Summicron?

Just checked the prices, the r8 and summicron only cost me 700usd (both were mint)... Current t series prices are nuts

darkosaric · Jun 28, 2018

When I read this:
https://www.thephoblographer.com/2018/06/27/contax-t2-price-tag-skyrocket-asgard/

I’ve gone full hipster and only shoot on film now, this was shot on film, digital is dead, except when I’m digitally transferring my film shots to digital. Film rules. Liam you’re cool too @liamhemsworth #hipster4life #contaxt2

... then I have a wish to sell my T2.

Contax T2: makes you want to shoot more

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