Alternatives To The Contax T3?

Besides the Leica CM, are there any other good alternatives to the

discontinued Contax T3?

Contax t2, olympus AX, polaroid sx-70, - nothing that small

allows you the range of an interchangeable lens system, so you

have to compromise. It'll go by your specific requirements for the

type of photos you want to take.

Not quite as small, but I like the Hexar AF.

Hexar AF: astounding little beast, fast and silent, incredible lens

I have a Contax T2 and can vouch for its quality. Some rate it as better than the T3 at least from the usability perspective - the use of a dial for programme setting and a traditional type lens mounted aperture ring for aperture settings makes it very quick and easy - much better than pushing buttons. From memory it has all the T3 has and perhaps more in only a slightly larger package. You can manually compensate the exposure (can't recall with the T3 but in the T2 once again this is achieved by turning a dial.) The image quality is first class - very sharp, very contrasty.

<p><a href="http://members.aol.com/dcolucci/point.htm">P&S recommended list</a>

Ben, I still have a mint black T3 available (previous buyer was a scammer). Contact me if interested- supperman{at}gmail{dot}com

Leica IIIC.

Ben wants an inexpensive, compact, auto-exposure, carry everywhere, no worries, quality camera, if I read it right.

 

I use an Olympus XA, or a Milolta CLE, flash optional.

I've heard many enthusistic comments about the Ricoh GR1 series. Never had or used one, but I've seen outstanding photos from those cameras. Lens is fixed at a slightly wider 28mm f/2.8. Whether that will suit your needs is another question.

 

I think Trevor Hare has at one time or another used several of the high-grade p & s cameras and produced very good photos. You should ask him as well.

The discontinued Ricoh GR21 and Nikon 28TI are both excellent cameras. I have never used a

Minolta TC-1 but I hear they are quite nice as well.

 

You might pick up a used Minilux as you can get a pretty nice deal on one. The T3 should

have many years of service if you get one and ToCad will service it well into the future.

 

Kent

Buy my silver T3. $400 shipped/america

 

guitardude2000_ca (at) yahoo (dot) ca

Thanks for the responses.

 

I need to clarify - I already have a T3 which is starting to show signs that it might fail at some point soon. I was wondering if there are currently any other high-end compacts out there in production besides the Leica CM that can compete with the T3.

Never mind the non-Leica sissy T3. Buy yourself a man's Leica, which would be the Canadian made M4-P - P standing for professional. Thank you very much.

The Hexar AF is little? News to me!

 

I'd say get an Olympus XA, if you like rangefinders and aperture priority auto. I have

personally been leaving the XA home since I got a Fuji Natura - black. It has a 24mm f/

1.9 lens, and is actually a tiny bit smaller than the XA. No manual mode, but it does have

AE lock, manual infinity focus, and exposure compensation. It's made of metal and did I

mention compact?

 

I'm not aware of any other current P&S that has a lens as fast OR any wider, and certainly

there's none with a lens as fast and as wide.

And HI FRANK (oops - I mean Richard).

Hi, Andrew! (Oops, I mean, Andy.)

There are a lot of good older rangefinders in the market, though nothing beats a Leica lens. Check out Erwin Puts' site.

I've owned the Ricoh GR1s for years, and it's a fantastic, tiny camera. I just used it last week for snapshots and am again impressed with the 28mm lens. They're not made anymore from what I understand, but they do come up from time to time on ebay. It was a clever design in that the film fits into the right hand side with a molded "grip," and once the camera door is closed the motor winds the entire roll of film on to the receiving spool. When you shoot the film canister receives the exposed film, so once you're done there is virtually no rewinding, and of course accidental door opening won't ruin your exposed frames. Because the film cansiter tucks into the grip, the body is actually thinner than a film roll along about three quarters of its length.

 

There is an exposure comp dial on the left side of the top plate and an AV dial on the right, or a P mode for fully automatic exposure. The meter on mine is very good. You can turn off the flash witha small switch on the back. That's about it for the controls. The body is made of magnesium and feels like you could drop it from an upper story window.

 

All in all, it is one of the most clever little cameras I've ever had. I've had mine for over 5 years. It's a shame Ricoh discontinued it-- there is legend that the lens is a Leica design and the body came from someone else-- maybe Rollei?-- but whatever, people who have one are quite attached to it. Do a Google search and you'll find them.

The Nikon 35Ti deserves consideration. I had one and sold it a friend. After a year and a half, he ran into financial difficulties and sold it back to me. He had only shot 2 rolls of film in the meantime.

 

Despite its obtuse computer menu settings, opaque instruction manual, and annoying flash control buttons, it is a wonderful little device.

 

The viewfinder has 3 sets of really accurate parallax-corrected brightlines for different focussed distances. I use the setup menu to turn off the panorama brightlines to reduce visual clutter. The viewfinder also shows the shutter speed -- giving a much better indication than the T3 does, as I understand it.

 

In addition to being way cool, the chronometer dials are incredibly useful and informative. You can see the selected distance and aperture, and the exposure compensation. The frame counter doubles as a 50-second timer in time-exposure mode. It's probably the most beautiful and fondleable P&S ever made. I'd love to try a Leica CM, but they are a bit steep by comparison.

 

It has also been the most capable single piece of photographic equipment I have ever used, making lots of really high-quality images with a minimum of bother. It has a program-shift function in programmed-auto mode, as well as an aperture-priority mode and the time-exposure mode.

 

I had been using my girlfriend's Olympus Stylus Epic a lot since she got a digital camera, but I don't like it. There is no tactile feedback at all for the shutter half-press, and you can easily miss the little "focussed" light in the viewfinder that is the only clue. Your eye has to be lined up just right to see it. I end up making lots of accidental exposures with the Stylus Epic. Despite the claims of many who say you can't tell the difference, I find the image quality of the Epic to be vastly inferior to that of the 35Ti -- not to mention the overall lack of control.

 

I'm thinking about offering my 35Ti for sale. It has the strap, case, manual, and eyepiece diopter adapter. I bought it from KEH in "LN-" condition, and it has suffered hardly any degradation since then. I would take $350 for it plus shipping from a domestic US buyer.

 

-- Steve

True, the Konica Hexar AF, whatever version black, Classic, Silver, etc., is

not small. It's about the same size as a Leica M with pre-Asph 35mm 'Cron. But what a lens! Throw in all the automation, lack of vibration, quiet shutter and for the price one gets a real gem.

Shut your hole Frank, and go away.

 

It's funny, every compact camera recommended is discontinued - the 35Ti, the Ricoh GR series, the T2, the Hexar AF. I was just curoius if there was anything other high-end compact besides the Leica CM still in production. Guess not.

THE FRICKIN NATURA!

Andrew,

 

Are you in the U.S.? Where did you get your Natura?

Another question concerning the Natura - I see that it uses DX coding to set the film speed. Is there a way to set the film speed manually, or does it default to a set film speed with non-DX coded film cartridges?