Contax Tvs Digital Camera

Hi. I was just wondering if any of you had opinions about the

Contax Tvs digital camera. Are the images good and sharp. I know

it is expensive, but it just recently went down in price ($629) at

b+h and tamarkin. I have read alot of mixed reviews. All the bad

reviews though seemed to be mad at the price. Has anyone used this

camera? How do the images compare to the leica digilux and the

nikon 54oo.

Please let me know.

Thanks,

Stephen

Stephen,

I was looking at the Contax Tvs originally but it diddn't have the manual mode so I passed. Surprised to hear the price went dowm. It used to either $899 or $999. I bought the Digilux 1 instead and real happy with it. It has a huge 2.5' lcd display on the back that manual focusing a lot easier. I also like the sharpness and color rendition from the Leica DC Summicron. Highly recommend it !

Considering the Contax TVS Digital is a Kyocera in a nice case, I'd skip it. Kyocera is the bitch of the electronics world, right up there with Daewoo.

The Contax TVS digital is a overpriced piece of junk. I find the Canon Powershot G3 produces far better images, and is just a superior camera in every way except looks...

 

Skip the Contax and get a G3 you will not regret it.

Contrary to opinon on this thread, the Contax TVS Digital is not junk. I have taken some very impressive photos with it. The lens is so sharp that I can take a picture of my 1 year old nephew's face and zoom in to see the tiny hairs on his cheek that are still in focus. I think what most people are having a problem with is their hand moves when taking the photo and the pictures aren't quite as sharp because they are not using the flash and the pictures turn out blurry. Happens to me all the time. On a trippod, the pictures come out sharp as nails.

At this late date I would still agree with Dennis, the Tvs is not junk. I recently picked up a used one after my Contax G2 was

stolen and I'm having fun with it until I finally decide on what DSLR to get. The focus is tack sharp, auto exposure is right on

the mark, color rendition is beautiful, and it is just very easy to use. Most people would not like the very small LCD but it does

have an optical viewfinder. It only takes JPEGs and the max file size is about 2meg. It's a great camera to carry just in case

something happens in the street, especially now that you don't have to pay so much for one.

<p>Here's an update on my Contax Tvs Digital. Last November it decided to go black on the live screen only. All other screen functions worked fine, you just couldn't see what you were shooting. What it really meant was the shutter was not open and I took several photos that were black, and of a smaller file size. After a week or so it returned to normal, but later the same problem returned, off and on, until it finally went dark for good. I asked around about having it checked and found that I would have to ship it to Japan for any repairs - even in New York there was no one who would touch it. A very nice man at the used camera counter at B&H looked at it and suggested that the shutter was stuck. I turned it on, flicked my finger against the protruding lens a few times, turned it off and then on again, and it came back to life!<br>

That made the camera usable again and I had to go through the "finger fix" solution every once in a while when the problem would pop up. Now it seems to have reached a terminal state. My "fix" no longer works, and neither does my Tvs. Too bad, I really liked the great photos it took and would seriously consider buying another used one unless there is something out there that is pocketable and just as good, or better.</p>

<p>Here's an update on my Contax Tvs Digital. Last November it decided to go black on the live screen only. All other screen functions worked fine, you just couldn't see what you were shooting. What it really meant was the shutter was not open and I took several photos that were black, and of a smaller file size. After a week or so it returned to normal, but later the same problem returned, off and on, until it finally went dark for good. I asked around about having it checked and found that I would have to ship it to Japan for any repairs - even in New York there was no one who would touch it. A very nice man at the used camera counter at B&H looked at it and suggested that the shutter was stuck. I turned it on, flicked my finger against the protruding lens a few times, turned it off and then on again, and it came back to life!<br>

That made the camera usable again and I had to go through the "finger fix" solution every once in a while when the problem would pop up. Now it seems to have reached a terminal state. My "fix" no longer works, and neither does my Tvs. Too bad, I really liked the great photos it took and would seriously consider buying another used one unless there is something out there that is pocketable and just as good, or better.</p>

<p>this problem relates to a batch of sony ccd sensors supplied to most major camera makers over 2001-2003. exacerbated by exposure to humidity. its well documented, as a google search will show.problem caused by glue sony used in assembly.<br>

kyocera responded responsibly at the time. you can identify problem by dark and/or purple and/or green artifacts on captured images. or zero(black )capture. only sure way to test is to use sd card with jpegs known to be ok on it by playing back on camera - just my suggestion. shame when it happens as it will mean a new sensor.</p>

<p>Thanks for the info Allan. In this case it was a faulty shutter which was repairable, although I could have picked up another used Tvs for the money spent. I should add that the Tvs falls down in flash situations. It really can't focus well in low light and the flash is next to useless indoors. However it is a good fill flash in most outdoor situations.</p>

<p>dont think i seek to contradict you , for the sake of it, alan,however i should say my 2 examples, are exceptionally good for indoor flash, yielding nice even coverage, in portraits an accurate and pleasing skin tone. they show off what the sonnar is capable of.<br>

the focusing in low light, needs careful assesment - finding an adequate contrast area, if available,butaiI've found it no worse than other cameras using yhis type of af detection. its a shame the excellent IR system fitted to yashicas t4 was not added to its spec. that camera and their 230af slr(both film) had good integrated flash systems too. so kyoceras track record is good in this area. one user revie won dp review had one of his tvs lose flash power under warranty.but i guess that can happen to any model camera.<br>

others have asked on this site and elsewhere, to no avail ,about the firmware upgrade - 1.05, i think, on kyoceras japanese website. has anyone used it AND seen any benefits, so they can tell us interested souls ?about?</p>

<p> </p>

<p>sorry, meant Brian, not Alan.</p>

<p>v1.05 mystery solved, see my other posting via search.</p>

<p>dont think i seek to contradict you , for the sake of it, alan,however i should say my 2 examples, are exceptionally good for indoor flash, yielding nice even coverage, in portraits an accurate and pleasing skin tone. they show off what the sonnar is capable of.<br>

the focusing in low light, needs careful assesment - finding an adequate contrast area, if available,butaiI've found it no worse than other cameras using yhis type of af detection. its a shame the excellent IR system fitted to yashicas t4 was not added to its spec. that camera and their 230af slr(both film) had good integrated flash systems too. so kyoceras track record is good in this area. one user revie won dp review had one of his tvs lose flash power under warranty.but i guess that can happen to any model camera.<br>

others have asked on this site and elsewhere, to no avail ,about the firmware upgrade - 1.05, i think, on kyoceras japanese website. has anyone used it AND seen any benefits, so they can tell us interested souls ?about?</p>

<p> </p>

<p>v1.05 mystery solved, see my other posting via search.</p>

hi contax tvs-d fans, found this on flickr:

 

search flickr for 'contax tvs digital firmware'

 

I'm sticking to 1.0 personally. my two work just fine.

Edited February 10, 2018 by allan_crook|1

<p>dont think i seek to contradict you , for the sake of it, alan,however i should say my 2 examples, are exceptionally good for indoor flash, yielding nice even coverage, in portraits an accurate and pleasing skin tone. they show off what the sonnar is capable of.<br>

the focusing in low light, needs careful assesment - finding an adequate contrast area, if available,butaiI've found it no worse than other cameras using yhis type of af detection. its a shame the excellent IR system fitted to yashicas t4 was not added to its spec. that camera and their 230af slr(both film) had good integrated flash systems too. so kyoceras track record is good in this area. one user revie won dp review had one of his tvs lose flash power under warranty.but i guess that can happen to any model camera.<br>

others have asked on this site and elsewhere, to no avail ,about the firmware upgrade - 1.05, i think, on kyoceras japanese website. has anyone used it AND seen any benefits, so they can tell us interested souls ?about?</p>

<p> </p>

<p>dont think i seek to contradict you , for the sake of it, alan,however i should say my 2 examples, are exceptionally good for indoor flash, yielding nice even coverage, in portraits an accurate and pleasing skin tone. they show off what the sonnar is capable of.<br>

the focusing in low light, needs careful assesment - finding an adequate contrast area, if available,butaiI've found it no worse than other cameras using yhis type of af detection. its a shame the excellent IR system fitted to yashicas t4 was not added to its spec. that camera and their 230af slr(both film) had good integrated flash systems too. so kyoceras track record is good in this area. one user revie won dp review had one of his tvs lose flash power under warranty.but i guess that can happen to any model camera.<br>

others have asked on this site and elsewhere, to no avail ,about the firmware upgrade - 1.05, i think, on kyoceras japanese website. has anyone used it AND seen any benefits, so they can tell us interested souls ?about?</p>

<p> </p>

<p>dont think i seek to contradict you , for the sake of it, alan,however i should say my 2 examples, are exceptionally good for indoor flash, yielding nice even coverage, in portraits an accurate and pleasing skin tone. they show off what the sonnar is capable of.<br>

the focusing in low light, needs careful assesment - finding an adequate contrast area, if available,butaiI've found it no worse than other cameras using yhis type of af detection. its a shame the excellent IR system fitted to yashicas t4 was not added to its spec. that camera and their 230af slr(both film) had good integrated flash systems too. so kyoceras track record is good in this area. one user revie won dp review had one of his tvs lose flash power under warranty.but i guess that can happen to any model camera.<br>

others have asked on this site and elsewhere, to no avail ,about the firmware upgrade - 1.05, i think, on kyoceras japanese website. has anyone used it AND seen any benefits, so they can tell us interested souls ?about?</p>

<p> </p>

weflickr has V.1.05 ! search for it, as I could not sucessfully copy link.

 

has explanation -instructions in english V 1.0 and V.1.05, so you can go back to 1.0 if 1.05 not to your liking.

Edited February 10, 2018 by allan_crook|1