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Contax RTS/RTS I

G

Guest

Hi
I have just obtained a broken RTS for my display cabinet. It cost me a pitance, and I couldn't bare the thought of it hitting the dump.

I put a new battery in it and to my supprise it works, some of the time ;)

Some times the shutter trips, other times it doesn't (ie its no longer Real Time ;) Everything else works perfectly. Any body else seen this?

I'm going to take it to my friendly repair man at Precision Camera Repairs and see what he thinks.

Brian
 
Any other experiences with an RTS I? I want a useable camera. I think that the RTS II is great, but not sure I can afford one at the moment. Found an RTS I in great shape, and I am considering it.

Thanks for any advice in advance...
 
> [Be very careful! I bought a used rts1 about a year ago, from a dealer offering 3 months warantee. After that period I noticed a delay between pressing shutter release and firing - hence no more Real Time System. The problem was I didn't use the camera very intensively during the warantee period, so i didn't notice in time. After that it got worse. It's difficult to get repairs done on this model now because of parts availability. No-one wants to fix mine! So if you do buy, my advice is shoot a lot of film as soon as you get it, under different conditions. Insist on a written money-back guarantee if you're not satisfied with the results/camera condition. That said, it's a classic. I still enjoy using mine with mirror lock up - no shutter delay. Good luck!] >
 
FYI

I scanned the RTS I broshure and uploaded it in the Scan/Download section on this site.

I hope that is helping some of you who are in a
buying decision for a 2nd hand camera.

Enjoy it

Dirk
 
Hi Dirk,

I have 159MM brochures and user manual, AX user manual. 139, 137 and RTS II integral brochures. All are in English.

1. Which parts you want ?
2. What format you want, JPG.? resolution?

Francis.
 
Hi Francis,

thank you for your help! Scanning is a lot of work, so the best thing probably would be to send the manuals with your post-mail to me. I can send them then later on back to you.

I am above all interested in all kind of old broshures (English only; before 1996), so 159MM and RTS II would be great.

I have all manual of Contax cameras except for accessories.

I will be on vacation from this saturday on for 2 weeks (finally) and back on September 22nd. I can not access my e-amil during this time very often (every 2-3 days maximum).

Thanks again

Dirk
 
Srange behaviour of RTS I metering system.

Hello folks,
I wonder wether some experianced users may be able to advise me:
on my used RTS I body the metering system shows a strange behaviour - when I stop the aperture up or down one stop, the corresponding change in shutter speed in the viewfinder is two stops (!!!). Never seen something like this.
The lenses I use are all orig. Zeiss juwels!
I am waiting for the first test-shot results. I can still give the camera back, if it is defect...
But I cannot imagine, what sort of defect could create such a crazy behaviour!
Somebody there, who can help with this?

Herbert Boerger
 
Hello, Herbert:
My RTS has bee doing the same thing for years. It was an inconsistent problem: some days it would do it, some days it would not. Most of the time I was able to get rid of it fiddling with the ASA setting AND the exposure compensation. For instance, the camera would do it when set at ASA 100. If I set the ASA as 400 and then exposure compensation at 2x (which ends up giving the same exposure as if the ASA had remained 100 all along), things would work fine again. And maybe after a few hours of working like that, if I tested the ASA 100, it was working fine again.
I bought this camera in 1978 when I lived in Spain. I think it started doing it in the early eighties, and after I bougt a 167MT I have not used the RTS much any more. When I have used it, the problem has been there, on and off.
I asked Contax USA recently about this, and they sent me a standard email saying that I could send the camera for an estimate.
If you can still give the camera back, don't keep it. I love my old RTS, but I would prefer it would not do this. Some days the changes in the settings would not work and the thing would be unusable.
 
Herbet,
A possible cause could be a broken pawl which transfers the amount iris closure from the lens to the body. I'd had an FR I with this lever (an L shaped st&ing with the short end of the L pointing to the center of the lens opening) bent by a poorly fitting sigma as I mounted the lens. When the st&ing completely failed, lenses would exhibit the doubling in shutter speed change along with loss of automatin operation of the lenses. The viewfinder image dimmed as the lenses were stopped down.
Best regards and good luck,
Joe W
 
hello,
how much do you think is a contax rts I with a 50 /1.7 worth. its used, but in good condition and seems to be working fine.
thanks for your help.
arun
 
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