Contax T – The OG one The Kardashians should’ve had

The Contax T, the one that started off which is now a cult like series of high end electronic Compact Cameras. I had hitherto owned and photographed with the other T series cameras, bar the Contax T3, which I’ve never had the pleasure of handling, but neither had I shot the Contax T. This was the one I was very eager to try, and Hamish kindly lent me his, which I shot three rolls of film with before I ran away with and lied that I’d lost it. Joke. Returned it and waited ages for the slides to come back before I wrote this post.

I shot a roll of film with which I screwed up loading, then another (Agfaphoto APX 100) which I buggered up the fixing which had expired. In disgust I threw the negatives in the bin then retrieved and salvaged half a dozen or so (shown here) with fixing again. Then another roll which wasn’t satisfactory (Kodak Double X). Followed by a roll of Velvia 50 shot in a very hot bright day in The West End of London – I was expecting very contrasty shots and I got exactly what I wanted. Live and learn man!

If you’re not familiar with the a Contax T it’s a diminutive compact Rangefinder with a bright finder. Released in 1984, It’s probably the coolest looking camera on Earth – It was styled by Porsche Design (as were the RTS I and II) and made by Yashica / Kyocera all electronic but with a manual wind on and Ruby leaf shutter, which is steplessly quartz-controlled,

Just open the camera by unlocking and taking off the back, load the Film then attach the back, pull open the lens cover and snap away.
The lens is a very tack sharp Sonnar f2.8 with easy to set markers for shooting it as a scale focus camera.

As you can see below, it’s about the same size as The Balda CA 35 which is the same size as a Minox.

Using as a Scale Focus Camera

I used the Contax T as a scale focus camera almost exclusively as I find fiddling with RF dots a pain in the arse, regardless of the camera, SLR’s or fully automatic cameras are so much easier.

so this was used as a zone focus camera with the RF useful for when I wanted to perhaps shoot a closer up subject wide open. Just set the lens as marked in Green to 3m f8 and you’re all set.

I found it a pleasure to use, simple to open lift and shoot with a quiet click. The big bright finder made compositions easy. It’s tiny enough to Chuck into an inside pocket and cool enough to carry around attacking the right sort of attention.

There are loads of reviews of this on the net and anyone reading this would I guess just want to know about my experience with it.

I’d say it’s the most satisfying T series Contax I’ve ever used. I had more enjoyment and satisfaction with this than any of the Contax TVS I, II, III and T2 I’ve had and used. It’s smaller, cooler looking, and the VF is as big and bright as the T2’s. It was the manual aspect which made it more enjoyable to use.

It is very quick to shoot with when the lens distance is set. As quick as any other manual wind on zone focus camera and quicker than a bulkier one. The 38mm is great, sure I prefer a 40mm to 45mm but the difference is minor. It’s almost what you see – plus some room around the edges so if you see a ‘picture’ just lift keep it level and shoot.

Downsides

But it doesn’t come without its downsides. Which are minor quibbles.

It has the same take up spool as the Contax RTS II which isn’t very good – it takes practise and patience to insert the leader, in the right slit the right way to wind it on ensuring it doesn’t pop out or slip. The inner film cover flap helps in closing to ensure the film is flush and secure.

The Viewfinder though bright and large has four LEDs which show Shutter Speed, unfortunately these have a tendency to vanish if you move the camera.
Apart from the take up spool there’s no way to attach filters. The shutter is quite sensitive and too quiet for me.

Conclusion

Would I buy a Contax T for keeps? Damn straight !!

Whoever hasn’t handled one of these, should. The Contax T is much better value than a T2 and more satisfying to use. It’s also smaller and better looking, so if you want to be hip and tell The Kardashians that your camera is better than theirs, get hold of one.

Hamish has the all black in gloss, he thinks it’s an after market paint job – I disagree as I have seen glossy black ones before. In looks it’s stealthy and looks very expensive – walking down the streets of London with it attracted looks from every camera wielding person who saw me.

Here you’ll find a selection of (not very good) photos – unfortunately in hindsight I should’ve kept it for longer and had a go at some portraits or given it some worthy stuff to photograph – but I think I used it for long enough to work out that it’s an all round winner. The cherry on the cake is that the metering with slide film is as expected – consistently good in the harshest of conditions which I intentionally subjected it to. It was such a breeze to shoot with, as I said earlier, just see, point, shoot. No messing, no one cared as it’s such a small yet cool looking thing. Looks DO matter.

I shot a long expired roll of Velvia 50, Agfaphoto APX 100 and Kodak 5222 Double X (developed in Bellini Duo Step Diafine). The Agfa as usual was superb, the Kodak not so. Unfortunately I lost most of the Agfa as explained above.

The Velvia came out almost (as it was expired the colours were way off) as I wanted. I wanted crazy typical slide film contrast and heat with little regard for what was in the scene – as long as the form was pleasing enough. Done while shopping so limited. This was a test to see how it performs with slide film in harsh sunlight – it performed as expected when pointing and shooting. The metering was as with any other good metering system when subjected to lighting way beyond the film latitude, with exposure compensation, or using the Backlight button on the top it would’ve performed as the manufacturer intended!

Alas my new old scanner is busted – the film holder with the last strip of Velvia is firmly stuck inside so I’m lacking about 4 (I managed to scan 2 of the 6 before it failed).

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