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Review Contax T3

The T3 is a masterpiece of design. I have had absolutely no problems with handling- no shakey images and razor sharp images. I am not influenced by the opinions of others. In fact I test a camera thoroughly before I buy it, as I did with the T3. I am not a slave to cameras, and have never gone down the "covert" me way of thinking. Cameras do what they do, some are great at some things, others at other things. It is a pity that you find the handling of this machine tricky as it is indeed a liberator of images. I have indeed forgotten about your opinion and whether it matters! And I am enjoying the T3 in the fullest sense of the word.

Greg
 
I'm somewhat curious here. Unless one is infinitely clumsy (or has a defective s&le), how can one fail at obtaining stunning images with the T3??? Yes, it's small but that's the point - portable! Let's not forget this camera is capable of 1/1200 sec shutter speed. 1/250 to 1/500 should negate any worries about instability. And if improvements in clarity and sharpness are desired, mount it on a tripod and snap away.
 
Please I need help from Contax T3 users.
My T3 has the focusing zone different from which indicated in the manual, the real zone is wider and shifted to the right. I did careful tests during last weekend and I found that the real zone is (assuming like reference and measure unit the central oval of viewfinder) from one oval left to two and a half oval right. In spot AF the zone is a little bit wider than an oval and it's almost half oval shifted to the right. This is with a subjet 10 meters far away, with a subjet at almost 1.5-2 meters the situation is a little bit worse (more to the right).
This may be considered a little imperfection, but in Italy this "little jewel" is sold at 1000 €( about !000 $), so I pretend it perfect or, however, exactly corresponding to the description of the handbook.
My T3 is still under warranty, but, before calling Contax service and sending it, I would be sure that mine is faulty and that perfect T3s do exist.
So I ask T3 users to do same test I did.
The test is really really simple: for the ten meters test it needs a l&-post in front of a uniform sky (without clouds). Moving the camera left-right and focusing (pushing the sutter-release) it's possible to detect exactly the focusing zone, because if the camera doesn't "feel" the l&-post the green led blinks, when the camera "feels" the l&-post the green led is fixed. For the 1.5 or 2 meters test you need a black pole (an umbrella) in front of a white wall and do the same.
So, please, could someone do this test and answer my question?
I need at least 4/5 answers to use like witness for the Contax service.
Thanks to the friends who will help me.
Paolo
 
Dear Paolo,

the issue of 2 different auto focus areas was explained in detail in this thread already. So please read this thread from the beginning first.

Additionally you will see in your manual on page 24 and 32 (in English) the appropriate answers.

Dirk
 
I know there are two different areas, but in my T3 they are both shifte= d to the right. What I would like to know is if somebody has got a T3 in wh= ich the two focusing areas are centered like shown in the manual. Because if = it is so that means mine is faulty and I will send it to service.
 
I hope this will not be too naive of a post..I have been using my T3 for snaps mostly..family, some scenery, just playing around with it. I have had some time on my hands lately following surgery and have been reading the manual again and using the custom functions and understanding many of the things I can do with this camera. There is one custom feature that I am trying to understand a bit better. It is when using the AFL custom function I can use this as a focus lock (the default setting) or as a focus lock/AE lock. What does the AE lock do for me..I have looked at the manual and can not find any specifics for this. I know it must mean Auto Expsosure, or atleast I assume it does, but exactly what does it do and why would I use it?

Thanks for your help.

Joel Stern
 
"What does the AE lock in CF5 do for me."

Joel,

I assume that you are talking about the costum function no. 5 on page 47 of the manual.

If you choose mode (B) in CF5, not only the AF will be locked by pressing the AFL button, also the exposure will be saved at the same time (page 32 - the very last point).

This means that the exposure, which is normally saved by pressing the shutter half-way down can be saved without this "half-way down procedure" just by locking it with the AFL button. Basically you are saving one step.

So the choice via CF5 is a) Focus lock only or b) Focus lock AND Exposure lock AT THE SAME TIME.

The benefit is to shoot more than one photo with the same exposure and focus in a short time or if you want to bracket. If you i.e. want to bracket, you can use this function and change for each shot the exposure compensation with the mode button on the left.

Hope that helps...

dirk
 
Dirk,

That is exactly what I was asking, thank you. So if I don't set the AE function the camera will perform this as I take the photo..no downside either way, just a bit quicker.. I doubt I would use the AFL very often but now that I know about it I want to experiment. I never used the programmed features of a camera before so this is a bit different for me, but I really want to play with the T3 and see what I can do with it. Thanks again for your help.

Joel
 
Joel,

If you shoot only on negative film, the AE lock is not such an important feature because negative film is very forgiving of exposure errors, and the under or over exposure can be corrected during the printing process.

However, if you shoot on slide film a lot, then it is worth learning how to use AE lock, because some scenes which are very contrasty, or are predominantly dark or light, may not be exposed correctly by a normal "point and shoot" metering method. In such cases, you can take a meter reading off a grey card, or some midtone part of the scene. The meter reading off a grey card or mid tone part of the scene needs to be locked in the camera's memory so that when you recompose for shooting, the exposure for the whole scene will be correct. BUT, the grey card or mid tone part of the scene might not be at the same distance as the subject on which you want to set the focus. That's why it's sometimes good to focus on one thing and meter off a different thing. I use a Contax AX, and it allows me to lock the focus by pressing an AF-L button with my thumb on the back of the camera, and lock the exposure separately with my forefinger on the AEL switch around the shutter release button.

I use this feature a lot, and therefore consider that you might find it useful too, if you ever shoot on slide film which is not very forgiving of under or over exposure.

Craig
 
Joel,

If you shoot only on negative film, the AE lock is not such an important feature because negative film is very forgiving of exposure errors, and the under or over exposure can be corrected to some degree during the printing process.

However, if you shoot on slide film a lot, then it is worth learning how to use AE lock, because some scenes which are very contrasty, or are predominantly dark or light, may not be exposed correctly by a normal "point and shoot" metering method. In such cases, you can take a meter reading off a grey card, or some midtone part of the scene. The meter reading off a grey card or mid tone part of the scene needs to be locked in the camera's memory so that when you recompose for shooting, the exposure for the whole scene will be correct. BUT, the grey card or mid tone part of the scene might not be at the same distance as the subject on which you want to set the focus. That's why it's sometimes good to focus on one thing and meter off a different thing. I use a Contax AX, and it allows me to lock the focus by pressing an AF-L button with my thumb on the back of the camera, and lock the exposure separately with my forefinger on the AEL switch around the shutter release button.

I use this feature a lot, and therefore consider that you might find it useful too, if you ever shoot on slide film, which is not very forgiving of under or over exposure.

Craig
 
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