Contax T2 Issues - not working properly?

[sos314]

i recently got a contax t2 for a really reasonable price and was super excited, but upon further use, i'm thinking something is up with it. most of the time, when i turn the dial from off to the green AF, the meter blinks "L.T", which implies bulb mode. but it does that no matter what about 98% of the time. i could have 200 iso film in the middle of a sunny day pointed at the sky, and it still blinks L.T. on rare occasions it shows a legitimate shutter speed, but mostly just blinks L.T. and if i turn the aperture dial to f2.8, which should be program mode, the P almost never comes on and it still blinks L.T.... I'm assuming that's not how it's supposed to work? any verification i could get would be awesome. i can't decide if the camera sucks or if i'm just really dumb and missing something. thanks!

 

[peterm1]

It sounds dodgey to me. I will check my T2 when I get home from work. I cannot recall this ever happening with mine - but admittedly its been a while since I have fired it up. From my recollection when you turn to the green f2.8 then the program mode kicks in and thats it. If you have taken photos and they are way over exposed then the problem is most likely with the metering cell. If the exposure is OK but it displays the LT indicator wrongly this suggests a circuit board fault or maybe a switching fault.

 

[raid]

Check the ASA settings for the camera.It should not display LT when pointing at light.

 

[BearCatCow]

What you're describing is definitely not normal for the camera. If you point it at the sky like that the 500 should probably light up or blink.

 

[mfunnell]

Have you tried changing the battery? I can recall mine behaved weirdly once (though I can't remember the precise symptoms) but all came good with a fresh battery.

...Mike

 

[sos314]

Have you tried changing the battery? I can recall mine behaved weirdly once (though I can't remember the precise symptoms) but all came good with a fresh battery.

...Mike

new battery did the trick. i didn't think that was the case since a) i wasn't seeing the battery warning in the lcd, b) the battery came from my stylus epic that was working just fine and c) to my knowledge, it was a fairly fresh battery. but regardless, new battery seems to have sprung it back into action. so excited, thanks!

 

[mfunnell]

new battery did the trick.

Great to hear that! It is a very nice little camera and produces results I like a lot. The only "trick" I found I had to use with the camera was to use a different AF technique from that I'm used to with AF SLRs. With those I usually look for high-contrast edges, which is a big mistake with the T2 as I often ended up missing and focusing way behind my intended subject. With the T2, focus right at the centre of something you can't miss.

...Mike

 

[Ben Blacket]

Good tip with the AF technique Mike. Seems to apply to all 'Active AF' compacts I've used.

 

[chestrunz]

My Contax T2 has the same blinking LT light issue, but a fresh battery doesn't do anything.

Any suggestions?

 

[pinkarmy]

i just posted similar questions and pictures:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1618725&postcount=8

any advice would be helpful!

PS: after playing it for a while, i suspect this may be caused by the On/Off Switch bad contact