Tougher than hell construction even by lowepro standards. Inner pod zips up so you don't have to use the heavy watertight zipper unless needed. Slip locs on belt and shoulder harness make accessablity more reasonable. Orem Mobile Truck Repair

None . .

solid, smooth, quiet, AA batteries

heavy, but that is understandable

This is the best 35mm SLR I've ever used. I've often read that it is a rock. I can think of no other description which better describes it. Not only is it solid, but it is also the quietest SLR I know. Awesome!

Similar Products Used:

Contax RTS, RTS II, RX,

Amazing Optics and mechanical fluid movements of the focus and the aperture ring.

None.

Just got a bunch of T* Lenses 50/1.7 & 85/2.8. awesome 'BOKEH' and quality. Have used all types of Lenses and system cameras LEICA M&R,CANON FD,MINOLTA ROKKORMD,PENTAX K,OLYMPUS ZUIKOS, but all these lack that magical glass like quality of these T* lenses. The CONTAX RTS III just for the lenses.

Customer Service

Non existant. Cannot even get an Instruction Manual.

Viewfinder, lens quality (we all knew that), very solid, rugged build, good hand-holding balance with most relatively mid-range lenses, good spot and pre-flash TTL meters. In short, most everything that's important in an SLR.

No intermediate apertures except in shutter-priority mode and intermediate stops (shutter only) in manual mode must be accessed via the exposure compesation dial which I dislike. Exposure meter difficult to read in bright or backlit situations. I'd caution that it's kind of heavy, a hinderance to some more than me (it's well-balanced which mostly atones for it in my opinion), and, well, it couldn't be much more costly, could it? Though I wouldn't give or sell it back for 4 times what I paid for it used, I give it a value rating of 4 instead of 5 acknowledging that's it's about as costly a 35mm film-based SLR as they come (Leica's of course excepted).

You know, generally from a philosophical point of view I don't believe in gear-worship which a lot of people succumb to. The emphasis should never be on equipment unless you truly simply enjoy using cameras and not photographing the world, but really belongs on the vision and point of view and message of the photographer. That said, this camera sometimes makes me lapse into a state of near-gear worship. All in all it (along with a couple of the lenses I mount on it) is definitely one of the finest pieces of photographic equipment I've ever owned, and certainly gives me the most joy to use. First and foremost, an SLR camera is essentially a light-tight box that holds film behind a lens and allows you to look through that lens to see what the film is going to record. Getting a good, clear, bright and accurate view of that is an aboslutely ESSENTIAL function of an SLR. A camera that is neither light-tight (and most of the time we can take this for granted thankfully) nor gives an excellent view through the lens is useless. This is the RTS 3's strongest aspect, hence it is a very good camera. Looking through it I can "feel" the light on the subject, the contrast range, the color, a certain 3 dimensionality (as much a function of lens design as camera design, and yes we all know Contax uses excellent Zeiss glass) that for me is a conduit to creativity. All else, though important, is secondary. As for the rest (also important), the build is as solid as a 35mm SLR comes, eclipsing even my past experience with Nikon (which is saying something). Unimportant technically but a strong personal preference of mine is the use of big, (mostly) easily manipulated and intuitively used dials and levers instead of LCDs and modal buttons and so on and so forth. I hate pushing buttons when I'm shooting, the only button I really want to push is the shutter. Ergonomically speaking, camera rates a "very good, plus" as opposed to excellent. For my work I'm very cranky about shooting on tripod, my creativity when I feel nailed to the ground takes a nosedive, so "hand-holdability" takes a certain precedence and the camera performs more than adequately in that arena. It's somewhat heavy but fortunately well-balanced with most lenses that I use most frequently (all my glass I own for this system is in the 28-85 range, mostly fast primes, though I've occasionally used others). It's got a built-in battery grip with a vertical shutter release button that, while not quite as comfortable as the oversized grips they build in or add on as accessories to many other 35mm and DSLR systems (a la Nikon and Canon) it's relatively comfortable. Most of the control and function dials are easily reachable with the notable exception of the exposure mode which is locked and must be released with the push of a button on the side of the body underneath the dial, a pain in the butt as much as it keeps you from accidently switching, but I rarely move mine out of manual so it doesn't really matter much to me. The most frequently used dials in my experience, the shutter dial and the exposure compensation dial (the only way to access intermediate stops, something I find a weakness) are easily reached. The switch from spot to center-weight metering is also easily reached and appropriately out of the way of the other primary controls; you're not likely to change meter modes accidently without noticing. Though the viewfinder image is bright and beautiful (and I strongly believe covers very slightly less than the "100%" that Contax claims) the exposure meter display is a bit dim when shooting backlit subjects, which I find an irritation, and though a traditionalist you might call me, I actually prefer the "picket fence" exposure readout of my Canon. One convenience I do enjoy is the TTL pre-flash meter lever which measures not only hotshoe flash but studio flash plugged into the PC sync as well (I use it most often to monitor changes in my ringflash exposure when either my model or I move around and change flash-to-subject distance). I hear a lot of hot air blown about the benefits of the much-touted vacuum system which keeps the film flat to the back, theoretically a big plus. I'm sure it is but I don't concern myself with it (and I don't have to fortunately, it works automatically). Let the camera designers and equipment measurebators debate its relative virtues or necessity, the end result either way is that correctly exposed images carefully focused and shot with a fast shutter with Zeiss glass and this camera are SHARP. All in all, this is a wonderful camera, a joy to work with, my first choice when picking up a 35mm unless it's a clear AF situation or I just wanna putt around with a rangefinder for purely personal work. I honestly doubt I'll ever use a better 35mm camera, ever, I don't know if it's more attached to me or I to it.

Customer Service

I bought it second-hand and it's been 100% reliable and given no problems (knocking wood as always).

Similar Products Used:

Lots of 35mm SLRs, but most relevantly for comparison Canon EOS 1v and 1n and 3, and Nikon F4.

Feels great to hold in hands. The fastness of the "blind-phase" The mirror look-up. The rock solid build.

No weakness! Only suggestions: A viewfinder that compares to the slides! Just a bid less heavy! A dioptric wheel that can be countersink A viewfinder that's Quiet!

When I held it the first time in my hands i was a bid scared ;-) about the wait! But it feels handier than my friends Nikon F4 (which is less heavy) I like to hike and photograph on holydays and since I changed making almost only Slides I really like this "Rock" :-) This camera has an incredible short "blind" phase (the time beside the exposure time you can't see anything through the viewer) The lenses are top (in my opinion as good as the best Nikon and Leica lenses) A personal critic point of view about the 100% viewfinder: 100% sounds great, I know! And in the beginning I was convinced this would be a great innovation. Today i'm not convinced anymore because I did made several architecture photographs and when I let develop them the last "lines" on the negatives are not on the picture! The same problem on slides! I would suggest the best would be somewhere around 95% as the Leica R9! (This would be the slide-size) Once I have worked with the RTS 3 I do not feel comfortable an other camera! It gives me the kind "ALL IS OK" feel!

Customer Service

No needed Only Zeiss for cleaning of a lens! And this was just great!

Similar Products Used:

Minolta Dynax 7000i (i know, it's not similar :-)) Nikon F4, Contax RX

Precision and Function.

none

A tank. This camera is simple and intuitive. The RTS 3 for me is the perfect combination of exceptional quality and functionality. It really does take sharper chromes than my 167mt. I love this camera , worth every penny.

Customer Service

A+

Similar Products Used:

EOS1V 167mt

Solid ultrasharp results

a little heavy

My best slr ever. It is rock - solid but the most important reason is , the pictures are ultra sharp. The combination of the vacuum ceramic pressure plate and the zeiss lenses is unbeatable. 1 month after I bought the RTS together with the 25/2.8 and the 50/1.4 I sold all my Nikon stuff including a F4, a F100 and almost every nikon lens from 20mm to 300 mm . The contax rts gives you the sharpest picturer ever.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon f4, f100, canon eos1nrs

rock solid build optics viewfinder clarity overall handling

what weakness

This is the best 35mm camera I've ever handled. It's rock solid and inspires confidence. Yes, it's heavy but it just feels right in the hand. All dials and swiches are logically placed for easy access. Viewfinder clarity is superb. I use it with a 100mm planar lens and the results are just top notch - second to none. Long may contax build camera of such highest quality.

Customer Service

Not needed to contact yet.

Similar Products Used:

Canon EOS-5, EOS 1, Nikon F90x

Strong body, excellent lenses, easy to use, versatile, work horse, very advanced features such as flash TTL metering, etc. wonderful.

Support/Service unavailable and even a sham.

I love my RTS III and have had it since 91. However, as others have noted, Contax support is a a joke, a sham, pathetic. My flash sync works only 70% of the time and I sent it in (NJ facility) twice, paid for it, yet it was never fixed along with a couple of other small bugs. I have never been able to reach anyone and no one has returned my efforts to contact anyone at Contax except when I was interested in their new model and a sales rep checked into my level of interest. Once I made it clear that I wouldn't purchase a new model until someone addressed my other problems I was never contacted again. Seriously, does anyone know what is going on with these people? This is likely one of the finest modern 35mm cameras available, as solid as they come in every respect. Why in the world would Contax and/or their importer allow for them to suffer to this degree? Truly ashame.

Customer Service

As stated above - as bad as can be and perhaps even worse. If I paid for my camera to be repaired twice and it wasn't fixed and the company wouldn't respond to my repeated efforts to contact them then it seems like there is something really really wrong.

Similar Products Used:

167MT

Great lenses Sturdy body (RTS III) even when dropped

Service, it sucks!

Since my first review of this great camera I have purchased a second body. Good timing since my original had a severe fall (OK drop, from a fairly long distance). I was convinced it would be a disaster when I went down the short cliff to retrieve it, but other than the filter on the lens being cracked, one of the rollers on the camera back popped free. But now the problem!! Trying to contact anyone from Contax is a JOKE! I honestly phoned these people for 3 consecutive days, trying every combination of "my parties extension" that they had to offer. NO ONE WAS HOME!!! Incredible. A possible reason why there are so few Contax dealers aroound. I went to a camera store that was a Contax dealer to see if they could help me get it repaired and they did (from an independent repair company). When I mentioned the problems that I had in trying to contact ANYONE in the Contax company, the guy laughed and stated that that was the problem they always had. Great cameras and lenses but TERRIBLE support from the company. I love my RTS III and Zeiss lenses, and I'm glad that I found an independent firm that will repair Contax, because the company itself offers '0' help.

Customer Service

ABSOLUTELY USELESS!!!!!