mathomas
Active member
If anyone out there is entertaining the idea of buying a film SLR with some automation, the Contax RX is "just right", IMO. In one of those CWF (childhood wish fulfillment) moments, I bought one on eBay from Popflash (I had lusted for an RTS in the 70s). I just got the RX a few days ago, and after putting a roll through it I'm very glad I got it.
It is auto-advance, and Av/Tv/P-mode auto-exposure (plus manual, of course). It is not auto-focus. It has center-weighted and spot metering, shutter speeds to 1/8000, and an amazing line of Zeiss lenses from which to choose. Unfortunately, the lenses aren't cheap, but they're cheaper than used Leitz lenses, in general. I'm currently using a middle-of-the-road 50mm f/1.7.
The handling is like butter. Controls are placed nicely, if you get past the shutter speed on the left thing. Everything is placed for easy finger reach. The thing sounds like a precision machine when fired, except for a bit of "sproing" or ringing after the winding completes, when you're close to it. I noticed this when dry firing it. I didn't notice it when shooting with film loaded, but I was concentrating on framing and shooting, not the sound of the winder. It's pretty darn quiet for an auto-wind SLR. Louder than my M8, though.
It also offers an interesting feature: digital focus confirmation. It seems to work well, if a little slowly (too slowly for quick shots, for sure, but I may need more practice). Coming from autofocus DSLRs and rangefinders, surprisingly, I must admit I found it a little slower for me to focus than my Leicas (yes, I've read that rangefinders are quicker to focus, but didn't quite believe it). I assumed that seeing the whole image come into focus would work to my advantage, but that hasn't been the case. I missed focus on a lot of shots in lower light on Christmas Eve.
I'll post some pix once I'm done scanning. They won't be great for peeping, since it's Tri-X pushed to 1250 :-\, indoor low-light shots.
It is auto-advance, and Av/Tv/P-mode auto-exposure (plus manual, of course). It is not auto-focus. It has center-weighted and spot metering, shutter speeds to 1/8000, and an amazing line of Zeiss lenses from which to choose. Unfortunately, the lenses aren't cheap, but they're cheaper than used Leitz lenses, in general. I'm currently using a middle-of-the-road 50mm f/1.7.
The handling is like butter. Controls are placed nicely, if you get past the shutter speed on the left thing. Everything is placed for easy finger reach. The thing sounds like a precision machine when fired, except for a bit of "sproing" or ringing after the winding completes, when you're close to it. I noticed this when dry firing it. I didn't notice it when shooting with film loaded, but I was concentrating on framing and shooting, not the sound of the winder. It's pretty darn quiet for an auto-wind SLR. Louder than my M8, though.
It also offers an interesting feature: digital focus confirmation. It seems to work well, if a little slowly (too slowly for quick shots, for sure, but I may need more practice). Coming from autofocus DSLRs and rangefinders, surprisingly, I must admit I found it a little slower for me to focus than my Leicas (yes, I've read that rangefinders are quicker to focus, but didn't quite believe it). I assumed that seeing the whole image come into focus would work to my advantage, but that hasn't been the case. I missed focus on a lot of shots in lower light on Christmas Eve.
I'll post some pix once I'm done scanning. They won't be great for peeping, since it's Tri-X pushed to 1250 :-\, indoor low-light shots.