Contax T

[joe fojtik]

Greetings-I am new at this forum, so if this question has been asked, forgive me. I think I need a small 35mm RF camera. I have had both Mamiyas-7II and 6, Contax G1 and several larger cameras. Still don't own a digital a I am not sure if it'll last---
I have been digging around on the net and am trying to see if I would like a XA, Petri, Cl with a 35mm lense, Rollei 35S or Minox. I think I really want the RF features though and this seems to limit it tthe XA, which of course does not have the Contax glass that I grew to love with my G1. I wasn't sure what to do til I read about the first Contax T put out in 1985, which has a range finder in it-So does anyone have any experience with this? How does it complare to the Rollei or the Olympus? Thanks Joe

 

[furcafe]

Google is your friend:

http://www.google.com/search?q="con...om&hl=en&num=10&lr=&ft=i&cr=&safe=images&tbs=

 

[sepiareverb]

The Contax T is a great camera- simple, tiny, and with one of the best lenses around. I don;t hesitate to recommend it.

 

[Neare]

It's probably the best tiny RF you can get on the market - however also carries the highest price tag compared to similar cameras. It's very nice to use, will fit in your pocket and carries a gorgeous lens on it.

 

[oktyone]

Great camera, i can highly recommend it as a i have one, it's superior to an XA in almost every aspect, except for price (relative) and the light meter reading on the viewfinder (full shutter speeds up until 1s vs only 3 shutter speeds, 500-125-30 and with a led light in between each one). The flash is much better on the T, and is attached almost exactly as the XA, the lens is superior (same lens as the T2), higher ISO (up to 1000 though, not 3200), a much brighter rangefinder patch (though still a bit dim), and the controls aren't as weird, you focus and set the aperture on the lens barrel, then click.

It feels heavy and well built like a rollei 35 but handles like a luxury minox 35, but it's easily scratched and dinged. It's not a perfect camera, but out of all the compact 35s it's the one that sacrifices the less features.

Price shouldn't be too high either, i've seen some sell on ebay for less than 150$, though 200$ should be a bit more realistic.