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Reviews Contax ST

Hi Matthias,
I am deciding between RX & ST. Personally, I prefer the ST. I find the RX view finder very dim for indoor shooting,
1. does the ST view finder provide sufficient
brightness for low light condition. The Aria
is very bright in this aspect.
2. For ST, whenever I press the shutter to
activate the meter, there is a very
soft "click" sound, I presume it's the
electronic switch that turn-on the meter. How
durable is this type of meter system.
3. Since ST is Out of Production, how long does
Contax generally provide part after they end
the product.Nikon promise partsfor10years.when
F4 ends.
4. How many rolls of 36 Exp. can a set of AAA
battery gives. Can we use the new Lithium.

I couldn't find any infor. on the net for ST, must be the high price tag only few can own. Thanks in advance.
 
I prefer RX to ST for the following reasons.(1)viewfinder is bright enough.(2)The body is thicker than ST,this allows a steadier hold compared to ST.(3)The shutter is more quiet in RX(3)RX is cheaper.The disadvantage of RX include slower speed of flash synchrony.Joseph
 
Hello Peter,

> I am deciding between RX & ST. Personally, I prefer the ST. I find the RX view finder very dim for indoor shooting,
> 1. does the ST view finder provide sufficient brightness for low light condition. The Aria is very bright in this aspect.

Sorry, but I can't compare this. I used a Canon A1 and a 167MT before I got the ST. Also I'm using the Distagon 1.4/35 and the Planar 1.4/85. I've got no problems with focussing in dim light. Especially with the Distagon the focus really ?snaps?.

> 2. For ST, whenever I press the shutter to activate the meter, there is a very soft "click" sound, I presume it's the electronic switch that turn-on the meter. How durable is this type of meter system.

This once made me curious. I tried to shoot a butterfly. When I finished focussing and pressed the shutter for metring the ?click? made him fly away :-(
In the least nearly ten years my ST made no problems.

3. Since ST is Out of Production, how long does Contax generally provide part after they end the product.Nikon promise partsfor10years.when F4 ends.

Sorry I can't tell you about this. Maybe Dirk can help? Else try to contact Contax.

4. How many rolls of 36 Exp. can a set of AAA battery gives. Can we use the new Lithium.

Hmm. Never counted that. The manual says 50 rolls of 24 Exp. Never saw AAA Lithium cells. But you can also use rechargeable batteries or improve capacity with the P-7 Battery holder (4x AA Cells)

> I couldn't find any infor. on the net for ST, must be the high price tag only few can own.

I found somthing about it in the german section of http://www.ciao.com/ and also on http://www.cdegroot.com/photo/contax/st/
Tim Roger is comparing RX and ST on his web site: http://www.pagedepot.com/timrogersphoto/contax1/rx%26st.html

> Thanks in advance.

Hope this helps you!

Matthias
 
> Spoke to someone at Contax support and was told that they are still providing support for the first RTS produced back in the 70's. Also, was told that the RX is not in production any more. Sales are limited to current stock (store and factory warehouse) once they are gone they are gone. That will leave two cameras in the manual line--the Aria and the RTSIII, the AX having been out of production and down to inventory left in stores. B&H photo has this AX as a special order item. If your are going to buy the RX better do it quick.
 
Hi John,

at the photokina in cologne end of September Contax will present a new "RX" model. So there is no pressure to buy now one before not knowing how the new one will look like featurewise.

dirk
 
Hi Matthias,

Thanks for your information. I eventually bought a ST, the last new peice from the shop. After comparing with my Aria & RX, I rate it the best among the 3. View finder definately brighter as with Aria. I am already got use to the louder shutter, it is not that bad actually. It is very assuring to know that your ST has been serving you well for the last 10 years. Also above John.J confirmation of Contax support for their product. I also bought the handgrip P-7, the shop owner advised me against using Lithium battery cause Lithium AAA wasn't around when ST was designed. I decided to buy ST despite the arrival of new RX. I fear that the new RX might be too feature pacted and might have more plastic component or even larger size like N1/Nx, further more I'v got a great discount being the last piece.
I am currently eyeing on a 35/1.4 AEG. I am hoping that at F2.5-2.8 it would provide near optimium performance even at corners. Your advise would be greatly apprciated. I currently have the 35/2.8MM where its peak performance is at f5.6(too much Depth of Field). Thanks everyone, the wonder of Internet :)
 
> Thanks for the info on the new RX. The Tech Rep was silent about a new product replacement and Bh photo had knocked about $150.00 off their regular price. Personally, I think the RX is the best model in the line.
 
Correction for the above post:It should be Lithium AA battery.

And thanks to John J Wilman for his information.
 
Hello Peter,

> I am currently eyeing on a 35/1.4 AEG. I am hoping that at F2.5-2.8 it
> would provide near optimium performance even at corners. Your advise
> would be greatly apprciated. I currently have the 35/2.8MM where its
> peak performance is at f5.6(too much Depth of Field). Thanks everyone,
> the wonder of Internet :)

Used the Distagon 2.8/35 with my 167MT years ago. But I must say that I never compared the image quality of both 35 mm lenses. Shame on me, but Zeiss IS good.
The Distagon 1.4/35 is quite big and a bit heavy. But it's a great performer. Even full open it gives a moderate DOF compared to a 50 mm or even my Planar 1.4/85 mm.
Lots of my friends asked how to set the focal lenght ont the lens. Noone realised what this lens really is!
Hope that helps you.

Matthias
 
Hi everyone. A question from a Contax novice. Does anyone have any advice for someone contemplating the purchase of a second-hand ST and a secondhand RX. They are both about the same price and I would have the additional decision to make about putting a 50/1.4 MM or 50/ 1.7 AE lens on 'it'. I have had a T2 for a while and haven't been that please with the results; I think it may be faulty, but that's another story. I shot a roll of film on an oldish 167MT + 50/ 1.7 and loved the results.....very superior to the T2 and many other SLRs I have owned. Picture quality is the most important thing for me. I am put off many of the more modern cameras simply because I can't be bothered with all the functions. Also, I'm a bit put off auto-focus as a result of my T2 experiments, the sutter delay and ...well I think I just like focussing a camera. Hope this all makes sense and look forward to views on the ST and RX + lenses. Have to make my mind up soon.

Best wishes

Michael
 
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