Contax TVS III reliability?

[paniolo]

Hello Photographers,
whats your opinion about the Contax TVS III especialy regarding it's reliability as a go-everywhere camera. I just put my hands on a TVS I and I am somehow impressed and still can not believe how I could ignore this little gem all the years.
Too sad everyone is saying that the TVS I is faulty and will die for sure as soon the fragile flex cable is broken. (will it break for sure or is just a myth?)

Is the TVS III sporting the same faults or are there other quirks that will turn it into a nice brick without function?

 

[Carey M]

I can't comment on the reliability, but after shooting a couple of rolls with both TVS and TVS III I can say that the original TVS (and probably the TVS II) felt safer to use because of TVS III's "drawbridge" portruding the way it does. The drawbridge mechanism itself felt sturdy enough though. TVS was faster to use as well, with its manual zoom and aperture ring. But... In my opinion TVS III has the better lens. Really nice.

 

[Archlich]

I had all three of them.

The TVS II was the most straightforward one as it's basically an improved TVS (eaiser to turn on, no cap needed, brighter finder, etc. ); it even fixed some ergonomic issues on the original T2 (like the shape of the shutter release button). Yet I had it died on me the very night I received it, as the cable OP mentioned was broken (similar to the E02 problem on the Minilux).

So it will break on both the I and II, as the designs are similar. Luckily I had some bold guy fixed it during my time in China (they are willing to work on anything there).

As for the TVS III, the cover bridge is said to be problematic but I haven't experienced any trouble with it. The power zoom is indeed slow and far from being intuitive to use. The lens is longer and slower. The rubberized grip gets sticky. Yet the camera actually feels pretty nice (once you cleared the rubber up with alcohol)...an unsung feature is its gigantic viewfinder - with 0.42x~0.76x magnification & 83% field of view, it's noticeably larger and brighter than any other real image zoom finder I've ever used. And I've used quite a lot of them. It's definitely larger than the TVS II's...which itself is already good enough and roughly the same size as the one on the G2. Simply amazing!

Different beasts they are, the T2-derived T cameras and the later ones. I have owned every single one of them (except the Tix) and would say, as a conclusion, that although they are nicely put together with quality materials, none is known for absolute "reliability". The T2 maybe a little tougher than others, but still. So just get the one that you like most, and enjoy.

 

[paniolo]

Thank you so far. I realy love the zoom on my TVS cause I have used primes only the last ~10 years. And I realy love the sharpe edged viewfinder, much much more than a brightline finder.
But what realy sucks is that yellowish viewfinder tint on the TVS, as some of you know, I am no fan of any kind of tint. 😉
The repair problem is a real problem for me cause I live in Germany without any connection to a Contax Service. Someone know where to get them fixed if not in far east`?
If the TVS III is colour neutral and brighter, this would be the reason I would go for one. Otherwise the TVS I is fine.

btw:
http://brunerdog.tripod.com/contaxtvs.html
On paper the TVS III is the one with the highest magnification, but TVS I is just short behind it with 0,4x at 28mm while TVS III is stated with 0,42x at 30mm and of course a bit higher mag at the longer end of 60mm. So, I would asume that they are both the same on magnification.

btw2:
It looks like I realy love the ~35mm side of the TVS, would a Contax G1green/2 + 35mm the better camera at the end of the day? Its faster, has a sharp edged finder and maybe better reliability?
Actualy I'm not a big fan of bulky cameras, while the TVS is just the right size and weight to not beeing to big a G1/2 with its Leica like size would maybe sitting at home like all my M's I had. :/