I've been happy with my Yashica T4 lens quality and was looking for a used Contax T2 and came across some listings for the older Contax T, the manual focus original T.

Does anyone have any experience with this camera?

I know that it is aperture priority, manual focus, manual film rewind.

As a matter of fact, the new TVS III shares the same hinged door lens cover design as this original T.

-- nhat nguyen (nhat@lowrider.com), May 31, 2000

Answers

I don't have personal experience, but was strongly warned off the original Contax T, in preference to the T2. The person furnishing the opinion was adamant that the original T was in no way comparable to the T2. Basically, the original T is more like a Minox 35, whereas the T2 was the first of the up-market P&S cameras. I absolutely love my T2 (although I've actually taken many more pics with my TVS).

-- Nik Trevallyn-Jones (nik@designer.com.au), July 10, 2001.

I handled Contax T when it first came out in 1984. It was a rangefinder camera, it has a Minox 35 style hinged door, and look very much like a Minox, the camera has a 38mm/f2,8 Sonnar lens same as T2. It didnot offer too much over my Minox 35 camera, the rangefinder base is too shot to offer enough accuracy.

-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), July 10, 2001.

Hmm. I found this comment on a Contax review site - you might find it interesting:

http://www.contaxslr.com/msgboard/_disc2/000004db.htm

-- Nik Trevallyn-Jones (nik@designer.com.au), July 10, 2001.

I have an original T, and I think it is a beautiful little camera. The lens quality is superb, and I enjoy being able to focus and set the aperture manually. It is quite hefty and seems unbreakable (and the design is by Porsche, what more can you wnat???).

I have since been using the Mu II by Olympus, which offers similar optical quality (2.8, no-zoom lens, OK not a zeiss, but this is 35mm afterall), equal ruggedness (my Mu has ben dropped countless times, spilled beer, dust, what have you and not a complaint in 3 years -- and even if it did break, it is so inexpensive to replace it...)

The newer Contaxes seem much less appealing to me -- automatic whatnot gizmo doodads, much less sturdy feeling compared to the original T. I have heard espeically bad comments about the "new style" T with the door style lens covering, but automatic lens retraction -- seems it is easy to close the door too fast and grind the mechanism because the lens retracts too slowly... BAD design....

And considering the price tag on the new contaxes I would want to be really really careful with one, which means I won't always have it with me, which is what a compact is for, after all... I see an original T on ebay right now for $150 which puts it in a price range amost comparable to the Mu -- break it, loose it, have it stolen and not really care too much.

-- Adrien Cater (adrien@boring.ch), July 22, 2001.

I was offered a Contax T many years ago at an attractive price. But I decided not to buy it. Lovely it is, but it does not offer too much over my Minox GT-E at twice the weight. I like T2 better than T as it offer autofocus which Minox 35 does not have, and also integrated flash, which is, btw, better than the one on T3.

-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), July 29, 2001.

My T never failed, in stark comparison to several Minox GT versions which died. I liked the Minox - particularly the latest with built-in IA, but they expired far, far, too soon. The T lives on.

Yes, T manually focuses (as does Minox), unlike the T2 and versions of the TVS. But, really, why focus on auto focus? And, don't worry about rangefinding. If more than 30 feet away, use infinity and forget about it. If closer, zone focus - no problem. If shooting close crowds, i.e. in a room, set the focus on 6 feet, and the aperature on 8 or 11 - guaranteed good shots. If you want wide focused snaps, use 400 or faster, set on f/.16 and shoot away. Of course this goes for all manual rangefinders from Leica to Bessa.

My only gripe is T does not accept filters. The only point and shoots capable of screw on filter adaptatation are the TVSII and the TIII. Even the Leica Minilux and Minilux Zoom have this failing.(If I have this wrong please let me know.)

-- (jam8884@cableone.net), December 01, 2001.

Interestingly, I find myself drifting slowly toward the idea of getting an original Contax T and flash.I've been using a Ricoh GR1 for a little under a year with quite good results, but notice that I've been increasingly using it's hyperfocal-based "Snap" mode, in the name of spontaneity (little to no shutter lag), and wondered about how nice it would be not to deal with the somewhat noisy film advance (I also own the original library-quiet Konica Hexar), and have access to a flash that obviated red-eye problems by logical design rather than the usual contemporary (and decidedly *non*-spontaneous) gimmicks. Just yesterday I remembered the fun I had handling a Contax T a few years back, and wondered what in Hades I was thinking by not buying it. I'll start looking for an outfit as soon as I'm working again (hopefully in a week or two - fingers crossed for a good interview), and will likely give up my GR1 - not because it's a bad camera, but because I know it'll get precious little use after I get a T.

-- Barrett Benton (bwbenton@belatlantic.net), December 05, 2001.

I have a T. The Mju-II (Stylus Epic) is in no way comparable to the Contax T. The Contax is smaller, quieter, tougher, more refined, and more controllable (given the price of the T, I would have bought the Stylus Epic had I found it in the same league). Although one person discussed seeing a T for $150 on Ebay, they typically now sell for more than $350 (used). They are tough to load (removable back with hinged pressure plate) but the optical results are worth it.

On its own merits, the T has a superb lens and exhibits no light falloff wide open (unlike its successors). The rangefinder base is more than adequate to focus it. The only real drawback is that there is no exposure lock (it is aperture priority). It is a wonderful camera for shirt-pocket use. I use it with Neopan 1600 (set for 1000).

I am informed by a friend who sold these that the last of them were bought out by Magnum photographers. He sold six of them to *one* such photographer. Henri Cartier-Bresson and Costa Manos were two enthusiasts of the T.

-- Dante Stella (dante@umich.edu), January 01, 2002.

I have an original chrome T with the flash and case in mint condition. What do you think it's worth???

-- F Dunne (fdillustration@lycos.com), June 11, 2002.