| Alex1994 |
| (addict) |
| 11/01/2007 20:44 |
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Contax RTS
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Hi,
I'm posting this to kick some life into this forum for 2007!
I can remember when the original Contax RTS was released. I read an article about it in the American magazine Modern Photography, and there was an ad for it that made it look incredibly desirable. I wrote to Photax UK, who were then the importers of Yashica, for more information. They said they had no details as the camera was so new, but would send me something when available.
True to their word, a few weeks later I received two glossy brochures - one on the Contax RTS itself, the other on Carl Zeiss lenses for the system. The lens brochure addressed the issue of whether resolution or contrast was more important - it was the view of Zeiss than contrast is more important. As I recall, they showed two extreme enlargements from negatives taken with both a Zeiss lens and a non-Zeiss lens. The grain was clearer and sharper on the non-Zeiss lens, which had really high resolution. However, when you looked at both photographs at 'normal' size, the Zeiss one looked better - more contrast and, as a result, sharper overall!
A few weeks after this, I took out a loan for £500 to buy and RTS with 50/f1.4 lens. I wish I had kept it ... I also wish I'd have kept the brochures!
| Roger_Provins |
| (Made-it Man) |
| 11/01/2007 21:23 |
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Re: Contax RTS
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Although I've had quite a few Contaxes over the years for some reason I never did get a RTS, don't really know why just didn't happen. I'm down to my last two Kyocera/Contaxes at the moment, a 159mm and a MA, and a few lenses. I do have some much older ones though (see avatar.) Over Easter I shall be visiting an old friend and hope to persuade him to sell me his AX (fairly sure he will - hope
). Have you read "On the Trail of the Contax" and "Only Zeiss"? I'm always poring over them and dreaming Roger
| Alex_M |
| (member) |
| 11/01/2007 21:26 |
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Re: Contax RTS
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Quote:
I took out a loan for £500 to buy and RTS with 50/f1.4 lens. I wish I had kept it ... I also wish I'd have kept the brochures!
My first Contax was an RTS, and it was only about six years ago. I'd lusted after one since I was barely out of short trousers (the good old days, when we got sunshine on our knees), but could not afford one, even after I started working for a living. Instead, I went through a series of cheaper SLRs, and made one effort to get into the C/Y system by buying a Yashica FX-3 in 1980. Even so, the price of T* lenses was just so high, and I turned to other, mainstream marques like Olympus and Nikon. One day, a few years ago, I was passing a local dealer's window and saw an RTS there, with a 50/1.4 Planar. I went in to have a look, just intending to have a handle but not to buy. I looked through the viewfinder and focussed; the image came into focus so sharply that you could almost hear a 'snap'. I pressed the Real Time shutter release -- big mistake. The chap behind the counter looked at me, and said, simply, "It's the business, isn't it?" I was sunk, and I walked out of the shop with the RTS, case, autowinder, lens, and a Contax RTS system book thrown in as a manual. But not only did it feel 'right' in my hands, the first roll of film through it was a revelation, quite literally. The image quality was superb, I'd no idea 35mm could produce that. Later, I sat down and as an exercise, calculated approximately what I'd spent in cheap lenses and cameras over the years, and I'd spent more than would have kitted me out with an RTS & 50mm Planar. True, I had lots of photographs to show from the cheaper kit, but if I'd eschewed trying to get a range of wide/tele/zooms and assorted knick-knacks, I could have had one simple but superb system. Of course, the same general principle is true for any quality high-end system from the Big Five (or however many they are now), not just Contax. But my Contaxes (got four bodies now) are the best-handling cameras I've ever had.
Alex
| Iloca |
| (Unregistered at user's request) |
| 11/01/2007 21:32 |
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Re: Contax RTS
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I remember seeing Contax SLR's in a 'What Camera' type mag about 15 years ago. At that time I was using various OM's but the Contax really stood out from all the other SLR's. It took untill about 3-4 months ago before I actually saw/handled one. I don't know what model it was apart from it being an Auto-Focus SLR, the way the auto-focus worked surprised me, I quite liked it and it felt really well made even though it was fairly heavy. If you know any good links maybe you could post them, I'd be interested to learn a bit about them.
Richard
| Benchista |
| (Wich Tyler) |
| 11/01/2007 21:37 |
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Re: Contax RTS
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I've got an RTS, 139 Quartz, 137 MA, 167 MT and an RX (which needs a service - as does the RTS). The sexiest SLRs ever made in my opinion - they feel right, and use superlative lenses. I love 'em.
| Alex1994 |
| (addict) |
| 12/01/2007 18:58 |
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Re: Contax RTS
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Quote:
Have you read "On the Trail of the Contax" and "Only Zeiss"? I'm always poring over them and dreaming
Roger
Unfortunately not, but I'll look out for them.
I also had a 137MD, but sold them both, quite a while ago. A friend has still got (I think, it's been a while since I asked him) a 139.
So far as the lenses are concerned, I suspect that they may even be better than Leica's SLR lenses - I think the cameras are better than Leica SLRs (I used a Leica R8 for a short time). I also remember the original RTS review in the British Journal of Photography followed, in subsequent weeks, by reviews of both the Carl Zeiss and Yashica lenses.
According to the BJP the Yashica lenses were surprisingly good and a worthy alternative to the Zeiss ones.
I do check eBay now and then to find an RTS in reasonable condition (i.e. with the covering still intact!).
Alex.
| Alex_M |
| (member) |
| 13/01/2007 12:21 |
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Re: Contax RTS
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Quote:
According to the BJP the Yashica lenses were surprisingly good and a worthy alternative to the Zeiss ones.
Shush. Do you want everybody and his dog to find out? We've enough problems with good film lenses being pushed up on Ebay without this kind of irresponsible talk.
My first Yashica camera (the still-going-strong FX-3) came with a Yashica DSB lens, which was pretty mediocre. It took me a long while before I learned that the ML series lenses were significantly better, with some approaching Zeiss quality. I've now got most of the MLs in the 21mm to 300mm range, including most of the zooms. The 28-85 is very good indeed, and I have some shots where it was only my photo notebook which told me which were taken with the Yashica 28-85 lens and which were the 50mm Planar used on the same outing. The 50/1.4ML is an excellent performer, though strangely enough, I've seen the 50/1.7 Planar go for less, and the P50 is definitely the best 50mm lens I have ever used. The 75-210ML is also a good lightweight zoom. The pair of these zooms make a good go-everywhere pair.
Alex
| Alex1994 |
| (addict) |
| 19/01/2007 19:28 |
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Re: Contax RTS
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You may already know this, but the legendary Photography in Malaysia site has a whole section on the RTS:
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/contax/index.htm