Contax T review

It took me a while to discover the Contax T. Being a big fan of those high end P&S film cameras since 20 years, it may sound quite surprising.

My story with small cameras started in 1997 with the Fuji DL Supermini, until I switched to the Ricoh GR1 in 2003. Then I discovered the Contax lineup, with the Contax G1 and G2 — which don’t qualify as a small camera but ended up selling me further Zeiss glass : I purchased a second hand Contax T2, in 2009. I should never have resold that one, because 10 years later the T2’s have doubled in value. But I figured out I could get the same Sonnar 38mm lens for a third of the price, as long as I could give up on autofocus and flash.

The Contax T is all about manual controls. Manual focusing (a true rangefinder !), manual aperture control, manual winding, manual rewinding. No flash and no motors mean a significant smaller body than the T2, and a near silent operation. The front cover flap is not to everyone’s taste (I personally don’t like it) but the rest of the ergonomics are hard to criticize : great job by Porsche design.

Being tiny and silent, the camera is truly unobtrusive. The viewfinder is bright and clean, framing your shot is a real pleasure. Zone focus (with hyperfocal marks engraved at f/8) helps a lot for street photography, and for landscape nothing can really go wrong. Compared to T2 and TVS (another lovely Contax), reliability issues are limited due to leaner electronics.

Image rendition is typically Zeiss, with superb colors and contrast, very nice bokeh and that legendary 3D look. The 38mm focal length makes the Contax T a serious candidate for trips where you want to travel light, focus on your story while retaining some flexibility on the shooting conditions. Being able to fit this lightweight all-rounder in your jeans pocket is quite rewarding.

The second reward comes when you get the roll from the lab and realize the number of keepers you get out of it. Film is expensive, and this camera helps you stay in the budget.

Alternatives : Nikon 35 Ti (noisier), Contax T2 (pricier), Contax TVS (slower).

Photo samples :

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