picture quality, fast accurate AF, good AE performance, won't break your shoulder

The back opening latch is a little stiff

How can you justify a $700 point-n-shoot camera with a fixed focal length lens to a causal consumer? You can't. But the Contax T3 was not designed to compete with consumer 28-140mm point-n-shoot zooms from the beginning. I won't mention the photo quality with those point-n-shoot zooms since I don't use any of those. But I can attest to the quality of the pictures taken by the T3. They are sharp, distortion-free, colors are vibrant and contrasty. They are as good as that taken by a decent 35mm prime lens on a SLR. Think of the $700 T3 as a 35mm/f2.8 Carl Zeiss T* AF prime lens plus a pocketable, titanium body and a built-in flash, suddenly the $700 asking price does not seem so steep anymore. Speaking of the built-in flash, yes it does produce quite a bit of redeye if you don't use the redeye-reduction mode, but due to the fast lens the background is not dark and the subjects washed out, rather everything looks very balanced. I was only using 160NC so ISO400 should produce more pleasing flash photos. The AF assist lamp is useful and all my pictures had been spot on both in terms of AF and AE. There are custom functions which allow you to customize your camera, including setting the default flash mode. There are also optional accessories where you can add external flash and filters. And then there is of course aperture-priority exposure mode and manual focus. What more can you ask for in a point-n-shoot camera?

Customer Service

none needed.

Similar Products Used:

various Canon point-n-shoots.

None that I know of.

It totally sucks.

The T3 is everything it claims to be - super lens, compact, precision, and cool looking. The only problem is it is good for about 2-3 rolls before it goes back for repair. First T3 - froze up, battery indicator on low after one roll, flash didn't work after two rolls. Contax (NJ) "fixed it", then it had the same problems so I sent it back again. This time they replaced it. New camera had the same circuit board problems, so they fixed it again and absolutely guaranteed I wouldn't have problems again (they had it for 3 weeks). Two rolls later and it freezes up again, flash doesn't work. I am about to send it back again. They won't refund money so I either take what they have to offer or it becomes a $700 piece of junk. This is a continuing saga. I have no faith in their product or their service department. The odds of two new cameras having the same problems (and acknowledged by Contax) must be high unless there's a recall issue that they are avoiding. Anyway, if you want dependability get a disposable, if you want a great looking camera as a paperweight, this is it.

Customer Service

They try to please, but what can I say about dealing with a company that sends me lousy repairs and replacement cameras.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 28Ti, Hexar.

i splurged on t3and im glad i did. talk about razor-sharp photos. the only thing i changed was the wrist strap stinks and i attached neckstrap.it was out of stock and i had to wait 4 weeks. i initially wanted the contax tIII but i am very happy with the t3.

Only the lens and metering system!Easy pocketable...no delay, fast autofocus, Improve of electronic, but the rest down-grade?

Handling, ergonomic,false ruggedness,longterm durability questionable?Bad fitting of sunshade adapter: easy to loose, plastic and metal bad fitting and bad matching,,ect....

Performance of the Lens is excellent and focusing speed! the only positiv thing if you compare with CONTAX T2!!! The smalls wonder are species in danger of disappear...because the digital madness...the QUALITY is going....

Customer Service

Not use, but if it is going out of the market, wath will happend???

Similar Products Used:

Contax T2, Yashica T4, Rollei 35 classik, Olympus epic 35mm,Contax T the first model Leica M6,Canon elph....

Beautiful look. Compact size. Sharp lens.

Black body easily to scratch. Expensive accessories.

This is a beautiful camera. Very stylish and compact. AF is very very accurate. The lens is very sharp and contrasty - comparable to most SLRs. The colour is very good. Distortion control is average only so not very suitable for shooting buildings and straight lines. I think it will be good for shooting negative films. However, if you are a slides shooter, there are 2 things to note:- (1) the camera tends to overexpose by at least half stop, and (2) it is easy to lose highlight details completely. With other cameras, you may still get some highlight details if you overexpose slightly. With this camera, highlight details can be washed out quite easy so it is not good for handling strong contrasty scene e.g. bright day light shots.

Customer Service

Not required.

Similar Products Used:

Contax T-2 Minolta TC-1 Rollei AFM 35

Great pictures Small size Easy to use

none that can't be fixed in NJ

Awsome camera. I agree that the flimsy take-up spool is the Achilles Heel of this camera. My T3 spent some time in NJ for the above problem, however they have told me that the new part is much stronger...

Customer Service

Friendly. Will take the time to explain the work (spool and adjustments in my case).

Similar Products Used:

Leica Minulux

High optical quality, photographic versatality and portability.

The flimsy take-up spool is the Achilles Heel of this camera. It has only one plastic nub/sprocket top engage the film. So far, I've had 2 take-up spool failures in my camera after shooting about 25 rolls of film prior to each failure. I've had the camera for about 2 years and have shot about 50 rolls of film with 2 failures.

I love this camera.

Customer Service

Slow but, thus far, Kyocera has honored their warranty.

Similar Products Used:

Leica Minilux, Yashica T5

Lens,Size,Workmanship

I found the bayonet type filter adapter to be a bit flimsy.

Overall very respectable for a point and shoot camera. I modified the custom function so the lens focuses when shutter button is pressed halfway to reduce lag time.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 140 Zoom point and shoot

Size does matter! Who can beat the lens? It just is so intellegent, and the picture looks natural.

A little too expensive, but I bought it when it was new in the market. Indoor shooting may not be as easy, because of the relatively week flash.

I've had my T3 for a while now, probably more than two years. It is just a nice and tiny camera to carry with. Overall, the picture quality has been really nice. You can shoot a nice picture with acceptable quality as easy as you can imagine. It is tiny, yet very solid, with the Titanium Body. It looks cool too. A very nice outdoor camera, afterall. You'll especially like it when you are travelling. With that, do I ever need a digital camera?

Customer Service

Not bad, it wouldn't load film after about 20 rolls, then they got it fixed in about two weeks. Hard to find somebody who can fix it in America though. The Ritz guys had no clue...

Similar Products Used:

Ricoh GR-1s, Leica Minilux, Canon, Minolta, and Pentax.

Beautiful, bright real glass viewfinder, nice AFL mode, great programmable/custom options and AE/manual modes. And of course, the optics are phenominal, and produce visibly better pictures. The workmanship and feel of this camera are top-notch. Great control over exposures. Takes lens hood and filters. Pretty good little flash for a P&S.

It's a little too easy to accidentally trip the shutter when you're just metering/focusing, until you get a feel for the camera. Wouldn't mind more detailed info in the viewfinder.

I'm a user of both film and digital cameras, and know the benefits of each. When I decided I wanted a P&S film camera with a prime lens, my experiences with amazing Zeiss optics led me to look at the Yashica and Contax offerings, but I also investigated Ricoh GR-1 and Olympus Stylus Epic. This camera feels like a little titanium brick, and has a good interface and can definitely be used by the beginner as well as the person who likes to "shift their own gears". It's very compact, very sleek looking, and has an optional lens hood and filter adapter. The 35mm focal length is useful for people and scenery. The camera optionally allows the user to exert a lot of control over the exposure, and the autofocus is quite quick and accurate. And then there's the lens... wow.

Customer Service

none needed.

Similar Products Used:

Canon elph S200 digital, Canon S40 digital, Minolta zoom P&S, Fuji wide/tele P&S