Contax T2/T3 prices

I bought my wife a T3 back in the day when they were about £400 new (from Hong Kong grey market dealers and when the £:$ exchange rate was more favourable😀). I also had a black (well, dark grey) one around that time. It's a fine little camera but my wife hasn't used her's for at least ten years and it sits in a drawer somewhere (she's also got a Yashica T5 somewhere). Maybe I'll dig it out and run a roll of film through it (it wouldn't surprise me if it still has a roll in it).
 
From my records, I bought my silver T3 in 2004. B&H list was $650, then reduced by 10% due to "Contax Days", then a further $100 mail-in rebate for a final price of $485. Kyocera handled the rebate directly in timely fashion. I should have bought two more for backup, or even a full pallet. 🙂

I do have backup for my Contax T and expect lifelong use of this model due to a simpler design (no motors).
 
Got a mint black Contax T3 (double teeth) incl. filterset and 2 cases for 900€ from Germany a few weeks ago. Was also looking for alternatives but there are simply none, T2, Fuji Klasse and others are just a liitle bit too big for my purpose as always in my shirt/short pocket camera with AF and top lens and higher shutter speed (1/1200) then usually 1/500 like in most pocket cams. Tritec in Germany can stiil repair them in many cases, incl. most of the electronics if its not really Contax specifc. In worst case I buy a cheap heavily used silver T3 for spare parts 😀 The onyl thing I miss currently is a diopter correction, if anybody knows a solution besides wearing glasses...btw, the viewfinder was the biggest surprise for me, really large and bright image, didn't expect this based on the size and previous exepriences with other pocket cams from this time.

A lot of money, for sure, missed several in last summer for around 600€ because of other investments, the massive increase in the last 6 month is quite strange, especially on the Asian market, maybe they watch to many Anders Petersen videos 😀

Because it was mentioned here a little bit earlier, and I saw the video from Eric Kim (obviously before reading the manual) where he complains that the flash is always on when turning the camera on/off, nearly all settings can be stored permanently, so the camera starts always with your last configuration, means also always flash off if needed. In combination with fix focus and (if needed) AF via AFL-button the camera operates extremly fast. Regarding the missing manual override of the ISO, I use the exposure compensation(-+2stops) for push/pull, no issue in my case, I never use exposure compensation with older film cameras like my F3 or M7 before, in opposite to DSLR these days with the wheel on the back, mostly its much faster to read the light from a different point and then recompose and focus, this is also possible with the T3 (focus over AFL or fix and light metering via half press of the shutter button).

Yogi
 
Any exact clue about how to reckon a "double teeth" Vs. a single one?
A picture maybe?

I just got a mint, boxed sample for 250€ two weeks ago and looking forward to understand what sub-type is it.

For sure, pictures coming out of it are outstanding even wide open and AF is amazingly fast.
 
Thank you Yogy.
So, as far as I can understand, the presence of the teeth on the take up spool qualifies it as a "double teeth" sub-model?
In this case, mine falls under such qualification.
It was the "double" word to take me off rail, as I only see one serie of teeth on my take-up spool.
 
Contax T2

Contax T2

I absolutely confirm this. I live in Hong Kong and visit Tokyo regularly. In 2013, a mint Cntax T2 was selling in Hong Kong for 3000HKD and 25000 yen in Tokyo (around 350USD). Now is selling for 5500HKD up. In Tokyo camera stores are paying 45000yen for the T2 and reselling for 80000 or more.
The T3 used to sell between 4500HKD to 5000HKD mint and is now up to 9000HKD. I Had 4 contax T2 and sold 2 of them. One of the guys that purchase one of the cameras (Chinese) mentioned the Koran star.
There are other cameras whose price went up a lot. Minolta TC-1 and Fuji klasse S/W, for example.
Cameras that stayed within the same price are the Nikon 35ti, 28ti, Leica Minilux (+/-), contax G1, Nikon F3, Minolta CLE and Leicas (M2 to M6). These cameras are now much better buys the the T2/T3 (even though I love the T2). I don't keep track of all prices, there might be more. I hope this helps! Cheers!

My contax T2 album:
https://flic.kr/s/aHskd5dVVW
My flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/126103765@N05/
 
Time for contax to put out a reissue?

I'd love to see this; but Kyocera has been out of the camera game some time now.

I absolutely confirm this. ...
Cameras that stayed within the same price are the Nikon 35ti, 28ti, Leica Minilux (+/-), contax G1, Nikon F3, Minolta CLE and Leicas (M2 to M6). These cameras are now much better buys the the T2/T3 (even though I love the T2). I don't keep track of all prices, there might be more. I hope this helps! Cheers!

...


I've been following p&s prices and that's my impression too. My T3 was nicked in the tube after eight years of solid use. 🙁 With T3 prices being stratospheric, I finally decided to replace it with a Minilux. Their prices are stable because everyone is scared of the EO2 death sentence.

.
 
Time for contax to put out a reissue?
Or someone else filling a similar role. Should we start up a venture and do a Kickstarter? 😉

Last friday I was at an event catered to Wedding Photography and Carmencita lab was there, great to chat with them and talk about film plus trying out a SP3000 in person.

During the casual talk, the founder said that a camera store here had Contax 645 kits for 600€ circa 2010, here, Barcelona Spain.
Soon they knew that the best was to sell them to the US, where people paid 3000€ for a kit. The rest, history.
 
I recently went to ebay to check the current T3 prices and was flabbergasted: mint models from Japan going for 1500+ euros, one model with lens blades not closing all the way was sold from the UK for 700 euro.

I'm wondering if I should sell mine now, I'm not using it that much anymore—switched almost completely to digital due to processing/scanning running costs. Besides, it might be the best ROI I have ever had so far (except for those bitcoins I bought for 50 euros 😀).
 
Every film related blog and Instagram user touts these as the "best" and it's become a status symbol in that sense. A g1 and 45 costs less... I use a rebel and a 40 stm as my t2 alternative
 
My T2 has a problem with the manual focus wheel. When turning it the lens sometimes retracts. Anyway, I'm going to send it to Japan to have it fixed (I don't know of anyone in the UK who will touch these). In case anyone else needs work, these people seem pretty solid in my contacts with them so far:

http://www.repairservice-suwa.com/ripeasabisu_zou_fang/ripeasabisu_zou_fangnogo_an_nei.html

I used Google Translate on the web site and in my communications with them. I'll update this thread once I actually send it to them (and get it back).

-Tom
 
All of these were great in the 90s, but are a bit long in the tooth these days. However, nobody has made anything like these for film in at least 10 years, so you have no choice. I guess the Fuji Natura or Klausse series is the last I can remember regarding a serious film P&S with AF.
 
Am I the only one who thinks that prices for Contax T2 and T3 are outrageous at the moment?

$500 upwards for a T2
$900 upwards for a T3

I seem to recall prices then for each camera were a couple of hundred bucks lower and I wouldn't bite then.

Heck, for the price of a T3 I could use the money to buy a Leica M2 and CV 35/2.5 color skopar!

Buy digital.

:angel:
 
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