Contax RXII

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I purchased a few items from www.japan-direct.com All you need to do is to go to the website and click on send a message. Or you can email randy@japan-direct.com and explain exactly what you wish to purchase. His merchants will provide him the price and avaialability very quickly. He usually gets back to the customer within a day.

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The rX II will start to sell in the UK in February says amateur photographer (http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/cgi-bin/wwwthreads/showpost.pl?Board=latestnews&Number=209&page=0&view=collapsed&sb =5)

Here is the message:

CONTAX CONFIRMS UK LAUNCH FOR RX II SLR

Contax will launch a new manual-focus 35mm SLR called the RXII in this country next year, a spokesman for Kyocera Yashica UK has confirmed to AP. Spokesman for Kyocera Yashica UK, Frazer Allen revealed that the RXII would be arriving in the UK some time during 2003, possibly around the time of the Focus trade show, which takes place in February. It is understood that the RX II will cost less than the current price of its predecessor the Contax RX. The RXII ? which carries a lower spec than the RX ? is at the moment only available on the Japanese and Asia markets. Though the RX is no longer manufactured, the camera is still available in the UK.

 

[Guest]

> If you manage to import one , could you please inform us about price and additional cost? Remember that the "old" RX seems to be still available in Germany.

 

[Guest]

I have just come back to Hong Kong from Japan and had tried RXII in some shops. It's basically a RX w/o DFI but the viewfinder is much brighter so it's easier for me to focus. The list price is (surprisingly) lower than RX (132,000 yen against 160,000yen) and those shops are selling at about100,000 yen. I had bought one for my friend to replace his broken 167mt.

 

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What's a little disappointing about the specs of the new RXII is the absence of matrix metering. I've been thinking of trading my Aria for the sturdier RX because I find the use of longer lenses problematic with the super-light Aria. But I think I'd miss the matrix metering on the Aria, even though I acknowledge that it isn't perfect.

Here's my question: why is matrix metering so hard to find in Contax bodies? And why would it be included in the Aria but not the new RX? Given that the basic technology has been around for so long, it just strikes me as odd that the metering systems used on many of Contax's very expensive cameras aren't more sophisticated. (Look at Nikon for a comparison.) Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I totally appreciate that for many if not most serious photographers who are skilled in anticipating and compensating for exposure issues, this isn't a big deal. But it surprises me nonetheless.

(Actually, I have similar issues regarding Contax's flash technology; Nikon, for ex&le, is streets ahead. The flash system used in the G line is very poor, esp. for fill flash, and the SLR options aren't that great either -- either the rather limited 280 (no swivel, no easy exposure comp, no automatic fill flash settings for simpletons like me) or the heavy and very expensive 360.)

Kirk

 

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Kirk, I find that Kyocera's straightforward centre weighted metering works just as well as the evaluative metering and if you couple that with spot for really critical moments, that's fine.
John

 

[Guest]

Well probably there is no new metering as even the Aria is pretty old. And the RXII is no new development, just a reworked RX.

There are also quite a few reports that the matrix metering offered both in more modern cameras and the Arias has it's problems as well.

To be honest I VERY rarely even use spot Metering. If you use the "default" of most Y&C bodies, the centerweighted averaging, you soon learn when to mistrust it and how/when to correct.

And to be honest, I rather have a "simple" system where its easy to understand why and how it miscalculates than learning which way the Matrix-Systems in all kinds of cameras work (and they CAN work quite different, regarding the selection criteria and the way the different segments are weighted!)

But of course I can understand the desire for a more foolproof metering ).

Mike

 

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John's post (quoted below) reminded me of something I've always wondered about. I've always felt my question would be "too stupid" to ask, but I'm going to post it anyway.

About center (or centre) weighted metering .... I tend to always rely on either spot, or matrix when it is available. I know some of the bodies are only available in center weighted though, and have stayed away from them because I wonder how difficult it is to judge your metering through the lens with only center weighted as your option. Years ago my first camera only had center-weighted metering, but that was a long time ago. How do you compensate for what your center weighted meter is telling you? Do you just shoot a bunch of test rolls to get used to how the camera will respond, jot down notes on each shot, and from there forward keep that info in mind when making corrections?

Thanks, Lynn (copy of John's post below)

> > Posted by John Strain on Wednesday, January 15, 2003 - 8:42 pm: > > Kirk, I find that Kyocera's straightforward centre weighted metering > works just as well as the evaluative metering and if you couple that > with spot for really critical moments, that's fine. > John

 

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I know some of the> bodies are only available in center weighted though, and have stayed> away from them because I wonder how difficult it is to judge your > metering through the lens with only center weighted as your option.

You've partially answered your question by suggesting that you run tests , which is good advice . I also suggest you do the following - without actually shooting any film just look through the viewfinder whilst moving the camera around . You should soon get an idea of how the meter reacts as it falls on the light and dark areas of the scene and where the most sensitive parts of the scene are located in respect of what you are seeig through the viewfinder . Further to this I always think its a good idea to "memorise" the diagram in the camera's manual that shows the "contours" of the areas of sensitivity within the rectangular viewfinder frame - that way you'll always have a pretty accurate idea of whats being metered in any particular scene and whats not....... Steve

 

[Guest]

I take the point that matrix metering isn't essential, especially when, as with the Aria, it isn't perfect. But the metering on the admittedly very expensive Nikon F5 and F100 (including color matrix metering) really is fantastic (and I assume it's good with their cheaper cameras), and I wonder why Contax doesn't offer something competitive with this.

And having recently griped about metering and poor flash options, I'll take this opportunity to wonder why CZ doesn't make any slightly more affordable wide angle lenses (aside from the $600 21mm G lens). For ex&le, a reasonably priced quality Zeiss equivalent to my trusty old Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 would be nice . . .