Group: Member
Post: 272 (39 liked)
Join date: July 2014
Status:
|
|
on Sept 27, 2021 15:35:18 GMT
Last Edit: Sept 27, 2021 15:36:22 GMT by bp_reid
Just for nostalgia I've just bought 5 rolls of Kodak Advantix film to use in a Contax T ix. I don't think there is much information on the site about this little Contax. I used to have one of these lovely little cameras and shot quite a few rolls with it back around 2000. The 28mm lens gives a roughly 35mm equivalent field of view on the camera's native APS-H film format, thanks to the 1.3x crop factor. The hood can screw on in a reversed position for storage and therefore disappears when the lens retracts which is handy as the metal is thin and feels like it would be easy to damage but hard to replace. The program mode / aperture selector is round the lens which is more like the T & T2 and better than the top plate control of the T3, which I never quite gelled with. The little Contax is also ideal to shoot expired APS film as it's one of the very few compacts which remembers your chosen exposure compensation settings as well as your flash mode, even when switched off, as you can see from the shot of the back, along with the frame count of 23. This is the first roll, hope to get some more shots off on the weekend and when I get scans back would like to post them on this thread. Some images of the camera; Contax T ix by bp reid, on Flickr Contax T ix by bp reid, on Flickr Contax T ix by bp reid, on Flickr
|
|
Group: Member
Post: 272 (39 liked)
Join date: July 2014
Status:
|
|
on Sept 27, 2021 15:38:34 GMT
Last Edit: Sept 27, 2021 15:44:37 GMT by bp_reid
Blurb from the Contax UK website:
The new compact Contax T ix is here, and boy is it small.
The Contax T ix weighs in at only 7 3/4 ounces and is about the size of a small bar of soap. The T ix, however is a great performer, due to its Carl Zeiss T* lens and titanium construction. It is a Contax by any standard, and that means there is nothing better.
The T ix uses a sophisticated passive autofocus system that hones in on the subject precisely. Multi-AF and Spot AF are both available. This system allows the Carl Zeiss T* lens to perform at a very high optical level. Contax chose the Carl Zeiss T* Sonnar 28mm f2.8 lens for the T ix because of its high performance characteristics with regard to distortion, color rendition, resolution and contrast.
There's only one camera that could possibly set a new standard for Advanced Photo System Photography. Presenting the revolutionary Contax T ix with Carl Zeiss T* optics-the smallest Contax camera ever created.
This remarkable new camera has everything you've come to appreciate about Contax combined with a newly designed Carl Zeiss T* 28mm f2.8 lens. This partnership delivers razor sharp photos and exquisite color reproduction. A rugged yet luxurious camera body wraps around an Advanced Passive Auto Focus system usually found only on the most expensive AF SLR's. Now combine all this with the latest technology available from the new Advanced Photo System camera.
The Contax T ix utilises the most extensive level of magnetic information exchange technology in the world. So your pictures will come back exactly the way you remember taking them. Plus, the Advanced Photo System offers you the advantage of selecting three different print sizes, drop-in loading and composite index prints.
Specification:
Type: Automatic Compact AF Camera
Film Type: Advanced Photo System Film
Negative Size: 16.7 x 30.2mm, Selectable Print Sizes (C-Classic, H-HDTV, P-Panorama Aspect Ratio)
Carl Zeiss Lens: Carl Zeiss T* Sonnar 28mm f2.8, 6 Elements in 4 Groups
Aperture: f2.8 to f16
Focusing Distance: 0.35mm (1.1 feet) to Infinity
Shutter Speed: 15 Seconds to 1/1000 Second (maximum 1/500 at f2.8)
Metering Range (ISO 100): External SPD, EV0 to EV18
Exposure Compensation: Single Frame Compensation: +1.5 EV Continuous Compensation: +/-2 EV (In 1/3 EV Steps)
Focus Adjustment: External Passive, Switchable Between Multi-AF and Spot AF Modes (With Focus Lock)
Viewfinder: Reverse Galilean, Externally Illuminated Bright-frame Viewfinder With Automatic LED Illumination Under Low-Light Conditions Viewfinder Magnification: 0.5X, 85% Viewfinder Information: Focusing Frame; Close-up Parallax Correction Frame; Picture Area Frame, (Switchable in Accordance With Selected C, H, P Aspect Ratio); Focus Indicator, Exposure Compensation Indicator; Flash Indicator, Program Display
Display Panel: Flash Mode Indicator, (Auto-flash Mode, Red-eye Reduction Auto-flash Mode, Flash On, Flash Off Landscape Mode); Exposure Data Recording Indicator; Title Recording Indicator; "Spot" AF Indicator; Exposure Compensation Value; Title Number; Language Number; Date; Shutter Speed; Data Indicator; Battery Warning Indicator; Exposure Counter; Cartridge Indicator
Flash: Internal Fixed Flash With Flashmatic and Guide Number Control; Recycle Time: Approximately 3.0 Seconds (At Room Temperature, With New Batteries, In Accordance With Contax Testing Standards) ISO 100: 0.35m ~ 2.1m ISO 200: 0.35m ~ 3.0m ISO 400: 0.35m ~ 4.3m Flash Range (ISO 100)
Automatic Sensing (ISO 25 to 10,000), in 1/3 EV Steps)
Magnetic Data Recording: Basic Information: Date; Time; CHP Print Aspect Ratio PQI Information: Exposure Information: f stop; Shutter Speed; Exposure Compensation Value Title Recording: Selectable From Total of 54 Titles (9 Title Items in 6 Languages) Data Printing Functions Dual-side Printing of Date; Time; Data Rear-side Printing of Exposure Data or Selected Title
Film Loading: Drop In Loading Film Winding: Automatic Winding, Auto-return; Auto-stop Film Rewinding: Manual Mid-roll Rewind Capability
Power Requirement: 3V Lithium Battery (CR-2), 1 Each Battery Capacity: About twenty 25 Exposure Rolls, With 50% Flash Usage (At Room Temperatures With New Batteries, in Accordance with Contax Testing Standards)
Dimensions: 100.5 (W) x 60.5 (H) x 33 (D)mm, Weight: 225 Grams
Dimensions: 3.96 (W) x 2.38 (H) x 1.30 (D) inches Weight: 7.94 Ounces
|
|
Group: Moderator
Post: 2,033 (561 liked)
Join date: April 2014
Status: Long, long time Contax and Yashica user; glad to be here and hope to contribute.
|
|
on Sept 27, 2021 18:22:28 GMT
Last Edit: Sept 27, 2021 18:23:16 GMT by biggles3
Hi bp_reidIt was always one of my favourite cameras: very discreet, very portable and very elegant. Sadly, the moment I saw what was happening to APS film, I sold mine. The lens is a stunner and the Tix was a street photographer's dream. You have the rarer version in black which looks beautiful - such a clean design. Thank you for sharing this with us; I am really looking forward to seeing the results from the expired film.
|
|
Group: Member
Post: 435 (15 liked)
Join date: July 2016
Status:
|
|
on Dec 28, 2021 12:48:28 GMT
Last Edit: Dec 28, 2021 13:11:33 GMT by lenslover
I'd have bought the Contax Tix back into the day, *if* only it would have been "Fullframe", ordinary 36x24mm Film Format, but APS Film was too small for me, and also, we do all know..that image format from 1996 flopped simply, and nowdays....it's a collectors item.
[edit] To quote Wikipedia, about the Advanced Photo System Format (1996) "The film is 24 mm wide, and has three image formats:
H for "High Definition" (30.2 × 16.7 mm; aspect ratio 16:9; 4×7" print) (1.25 crop compared to 36x24mm full frame) C for "Classic" (25.1 × 16.7 mm; aspect ratio 3:2; 4×6" print) (1.44 crop compared to 36x24mm full frame) P for "Panoramic" (30.2 × 9.5 mm; aspect ratio 3:1; 4×11" print) (1.36 crop compared to 36x24mm full frame)
The "C" and "P" formats are formed by cropping the 30.2 × 16.7 mm "High Definition" image. The full image is recorded on the film, and an image recorded in one aspect ratio can be reprinted in another. The "C" format has an equivalent aspect ratio to a 135 film image. Most APS cameras (with the exception of some disposable cameras) can record all three formats; the format selection is indicated on the film by a series of exposed squares alongside the image area or recorded on the magnetic coating depending on the camera. In the absence of an operator-specified format, the machine printing an APS roll will use these indicators to determine the output format of each print.[2] "
I remember well, when APS came to market, and thought to myself - who does need a smaller Format than 35mm? Pretty useless...well... it was a format for entry level and especially compact point & shoot camera users, but not received well, and relative slowly becoming useless shortly afterwards.
So the Contax Tix does use more the Classic or HD definition, and does have either way x1.44 or x1.25 cropfactor, not x1.3 exactly. Unlike the Tix, the prices for the T3 are ridiculous expensive, i've seen the black one going for as high as 2600 EUR from Japan, which is simply, but truly just i n s a n e for a small compact p&s camera, even with quality sonnar 35/2.8, but i can buy a decent digital M Series Leica Fullframe for that asking price.
In short, the Contax Tix in black especially is a fine collectors item, to show into a glass showcase, or into a camera shelf. enjoy!
|
|