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Contax T3

I've been using my T3 for over a year now with no mechanical problems. The "passive" AF system does bother some but I think it's fine. Only when the VF is filled with low contrast subject does the camera have a problem. For ex&le, if you point the camera to the cloudless blue sky, the AF won't register. Switching to Manual Focus and dial Infinity solves the problem. Another weak point is horizontal lines, where you need to rotate the camera 90* to focus. (This is mentioned in the User's Manual.)

If anything to complain about, I would like a stronger and more accurate built-in flash. That and manual film speed override. Hehe... maybe that's asking too much.
 
The passive AF on the T3 is one of the best I've ever used - and I've used a bunch, both passive and active. It's faster to lock on than the GR1's, which I also use. I've had no problems with missed AF as reported elsewhere. I did have to send my T3 back to Contax twice - once to repair the film door that scratched negs and once to repair the film take-up spool that broke. Both repairs were done under warranty and done very quickly. Pix at:
http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=122840
 
I have my T3 for about 5 months, very satisfied with the performance. But the AF is a bit tricky and quite easy to miss. The first few rolls did not impressed me much as I found the picture are not too sharp but then i notice that some shots are really tack sharp. Later on I check the distance shown on the LCD and notice that the figure are far from what I am supposed to focus. I will try again and again the get the correct focus. May be due to the fact that I am wearing eye-glasses, the gap between my eye and the viewfinder cause the parallax error. Now I get accustomed to the focus zone and most of the shot are very sharp.

Another thing is that I think the wide focus zone is bloody useless. Every camera user incl. novice should know we have to pre-focus by half pressing the shutter. I think that wide focus zone is also the culprit of the missed focus. But you can't preset spot focus as default. You have to use the AFL instead. It is annoying. Even Yashica T Zoom can preset spot focus as default.

Mr. Skks Kssk uses f/8 most of the time, of course you can get sharp image most of the time. Just because the dof is very deep, even it's not in focus, everything will be sharp.
 
If you can afford it, buy it.

I've had my T3 for about three months, carrying it with me everywhere and taking pictures with it daily. The quality (color, contrast, and clarity) of the lens alone is worth the purchase. The autofocus has only failed me once after dozens and dozens of rolls of film and that was probably my own fault for moving the camera during the exposure. I use all the T3's functions (particularly the exposure compensation ability and the aperture priority ability), frequently use filters, and I'm absolutely delighted. Increasingly, I find I use it in preference to my SLRs.

I pride myself on taking control of all aspects of my pictures, but the T3's automatic features (focus, aperture, and exposure) are proving increasingly handy in not missing a shot.

I scan my negs and print digitally from my computer, but even so, even my non-photo-savy wife can tell the difference between the higher quality T3 pictures and those from any of my other cameras.

James C. Miller millerjamesc@earthlink.net
 
To pile on to what's already been said, the T3 is capable of giving consistently excellent results, indistinguishable from those of any 35mm camera fitted with a 35mm lens. That's a remarkable achievement for an 8-ounce camera.

I find that custom function 2B (http://www.contaxinfo2.com/manuals/T3/FrameSet.htm)
is very helpful in getting correct focus. My problems arise when I'm shooting very close in (at or near the .3m minimum distance). It's very easy to be off an inch or two, and miss the shot. For more typical shooting situations my focus success is nearly 100%.

--Rick
 
Brad,
I bought a Contax TVS for my wife years ago and when we get our photo's back from the lab I sometimes can't tell if it came from my M6 or the TVS. Buy the T3 or the TVSIII, you can't go wrong.
I just traded my M6 and lenses for a G2 w/35-70 zoom lens. I wanted to lighten my load, get AF and still get great pictures w/ Zeiss glass.
Have Fun,
Geo
 
Yeah, good question, I think the site was down for maintenace for awhile. I tried to post a follow-up question yesterday. Here goes again. I know this may be a bit of silly speculation but I was wondering since some people have reported having T3s which have AF that doesn't drift to the right, is it possible that the Contax black (because it was released later that the titanium chrome) might be a lower risk factor than the chromes. Maybe Contax knew and fixed it. Who knows? thanks again
 
I, too, am an owner of a black T3 and have never had trouble with the focusing, and certainly no shift to the right of the focusing area.

James C. Miller
 
Well, I decided to quit worrying and I bought the darn thing. Now if I have problems, I'll be sure to let you know. If I don't, I may look into buying other Contax cameras later. This is my first Contax, I'll be checking in. Thanks for all the help.
 
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