I got my Contax T3 off some cat on dcfever.com, one of Hong Kong’s used goods sites, only in Chinese. There are quite a lot dudes on here that collect cameras or have way too many cameras for their own good, and sell them at reasonable prices. But let’s get to the Contax T3.
What is so good about this camera? First up, it’s tiny, I reckon smaller than a Sony RX100 and almost as small as a pack of cigarettes. See the photo below. I’m not big on compact cameras, I actually had the Sony RX100 and a Leica D-Lux Type 113 and to me, it just doesn’t feel right. I’m not into big either, I’d never carry around a massive DSLR that’s why the Leica’s and Fuji’s are right for me. Anyway, for some reason, the Contax T3 feels different even though it’s tiny. It’s probably all the glowing reviews about it that have biased my opinion but the Contax T3 is one of those camera’s that makes you want to go out and shoot with it. For me, the Contax T3 is the ultimate point and shoot film camera.
Set it to P and fire away. There seems to be a delay between pushing the shutter and it taking a shot, but somehow, even with moving subjects, it keeps focus. I don’t know what’s going on in order to make this happen and don’t really care. For the first roll I shot with the Contax T3 I thought everything would be out of focus because mostly I was shooting my boy, who as I’ve mentioned before, has 24/7 ants in his pants and doesn’t stop moving. When I got the roll back I was surprised because basically every shot was in focus and 99% of the shots I’ve taken with it have been in focus.
I don’t have a clue what goes into making a good lens, but apparently this is a good one, the Carl Zeiss 35mm Sonnar. Whatever they put in there it bloody well works! I think it’s the electronic buzzing sound that it makes when you take the photo, i.e. the lens going in and out that helps this make camera so likeable. If I was comparing it to a girl, it’d be Jessica Alba. If this was a guy, it’d be Tom Cruise, you know, sex in a small package. I mean not that I bat “that” way, but just saying…
The images you get out of it, even not considering the size, are excellent. When you do consider the size of this little thing, the images will blow you away. Of course it’s not the camera that really makes a photo, but just like the Leica M6 and Leica MP, occasionally you will get an image that has that look and justifies the money you lay down for buying the thing. If someone flogged my Leica MP, Nikon F3, Olympus OM4-Ti and all my Fuji digital gear and left the Contax T3 thinking it was some shit little worthless camera, I’d be more than happy shooting the Contax T3 as my only camera. I don’t think I could live without a Leica, but if I had to, the Contax T3 is a more than capable camera.
As I said before, it’s a point and shoot and I reckon you should use it as such, but you do have the ability to shoot in aperture priority mode if you really want or need to. It also has a macro mode and you can get pretty close to the subject before the little flower icon will start flashing, indicating you’re too close.
This is the take everywhere camera. If you’re popping down to the shop, going for a walk in the park, going for a quick dinner, this is what I take. I also take it traveling as backup film camera and to use if I run out of film in my Leica MP and need to keep shooting.
The only issue I’ve come across is if the things run out of battery, the lens will not retract and be stuck there until you replace the battery. You might not think this is a big deal but if you take care of your gear like I try to, you don’t really want to put this away in a bag for fear of scratching the lens or doing some other damage. Always bring a spare battery with you, the battery indicator does not show any decreasing level of battery indication, so one minute you’ll see the full battery sign, next minute you’ll be thinking it’s frozen and dead.
The Contax T3 can be found quite easily on eBay but usually only in Champagne and Silver. There’s a few camera shops here in Hong Kong that have mint ones (still in box) so if you’d like one, let me know and I might be able to help you out.
Check out some more film cameras here.
