Contax T2 v's Nikon 35Ti
Dickon Le Marchant
can anyone shed light on which of these 2 is better, particularly from a
lens point of view. I'm looking for a top notch 35mm lens compact, which
allows me to adjust the aperture, and focus if possible. Any help would be
much appreciated esp. on the 35Ti (as it is particulrly hard to get info
it).
Many thanks,
Dickon
es...@my-deja.com
posing as a wonderful professional caliber pocket camera. After
reading all the glowing reviews in Popular Photography, I purchased the
Nikon35 Ti. It broke down on me in a year ago on a trip to Alaska. I
sent the piece of junk back to Nikon. I went to China last fall and
guess what- it broke down again. Again, I sent it back to Nikon and now
it is working. I would not take the piece of garbage anywhere where I
wanted reliability. In fact, I am giving it away. Last week I went to
my local camera store, and they said that viturally every Nikon Ti35
they sold was defective. What a piece of junk.
I now own the Contax TVSII which is a pleasure and functions properly.
The lens is very, very good and it has a zoom. I have been a Nikon fan
for years. This camera should have been recalled, red flagged, as they
do with cars. If there was a frequency of repair record, as they have
with computers, the Nikon Ti35 would have broken the curve and been off
the charts!
>
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
Godfrey DiGiorgi
and Leica Minilux. I owned it until summer of 1996 and took many rolls of
film using it. Many excellent pictures.
Good points:
- excellent lens: low flare, even illumination across the field, very
sharp with very nice image qualities.
- superb exposure system: the 3D Matrix Metering and centerweighted
metering modes never failed to give me a proper exposure. I only
rarely ever had to use the EV compensation.
All told, the features of the camera lived up to expectations along with
the lens.
Bad points:
- very fiddly controls: without the owners manual, you will not figure
out half the settings and options. And even then the controls are
fussy and difficult to manipulate easily.
- relatively slow operation: lag time from shutter press to actual
exposure was large and irritating.
- poor focusing: For general purpose use, the AF was accurate but when
working with complex subjects and up close it was off more often than
correct. I think the problem is that the hotspot for the focus is not
so accurately placed. I ended up shooting all close-ups using scale
focus settings.
- used rather more batteries than I would have expected.
- jammed in use: I've only rarely had cameras fail in use so this
was notable to me, but one jam in a little over two years of a lot of
travelling and banging around really isn't so terrible.
Over time, I found the slow operation, fiddly controls and focus oddities
to be more and more irritating. I eventually traded it for a Rollei 35
Classic Platinum while I was in London when I became exasperated with it
once too often. (The Rollei 35 cameras remain my favorite of all compact
35s, followed by the Minox 35GT-E and the Ricoh GR1.)
Confronted with the same choice today, I would pick the Contax T2. I owned
a TVS for a while and it was a delight functionally but I found the zoom
lens too slow for what I wanted. The T2 model, with the Sonnar 35/2.8
lens, would have been more nearly what I wanted when I bought the Nikon.
Even though it has a couple fewer features, I feel it's a more usable
camera with the right features, and much better controls. I don't recall
why I chose the Nikon when I did; I think I managed to turn an exceptional
deal with the camera shop for it and I was ambivalent between the two
cameras otherwise at that time.
Godfrey
LissOnLyne
no malfunction whatsoever. Your post implies that ALL 35ti's are defective.
Sorry, that kind of generalization is not only unfair, it's inaccurate as well.
I recommend the original poster take a close look at both cameras and not
believe everything he/she reads in this ng.
.
Manny Bhuta
I have made 16x20 enlargements from it and there is no doubt about
the lens performance. Superb camera in a small package.
Manny Bhuta
Randolph, NJ USA
________
Godfrey DiGiorgi <rama...@bayarea.net> wrote in message
news:Pine.NEB.4.05.99060...@baygate.bayarea.net...
Ben Evers
N90s system and a Leica R4 system but my travel camera is a Contax T2. I
have the titanium body model and copuld not be happier with a camera.
Incredibly sharp lens, easy to use, great metering. Any time I'm out of
town the camera is on my belt within reach. I have been to England twice
during the past 4 years and have taken several hundred rolls.
Outstanding!
Donald D. Davis, Jr.
compared to the 35Ti. The 35Ti does have more flash modes, however,
including slow-synch, which the T2 does not have.
best of luck, Don
"Dickon Le Marchant" <dic...@lemarchant.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
>Hi there,
>can anyone shed light on which of these 2 is better, particularly from a
>lens point of view. I'm looking for a top notch 35mm lens compact, which
>allows me to adjust the aperture, and focus if possible. Any help would be
>much appreciated esp. on the 35Ti (as it is particulrly hard to get info
>it).
>
>Many thanks,
>Dickon
>
>
es...@my-deja.com
we affectionately refer to as "Good Will Hunting," would concur with
your assessment of my analysis. My generalization is not based on a
random and fair sample and , objectively, I am forced agree with your
opinion. My intellectual employment does not take me to the statistics
arena.
However, when you are burned twice on trips with complete breakdown
on the Nikon Ti35 and the camera store dealer adovcates not getting
that camera based on a huge defect problem, there is something quite
valid to be said about that blip in the radar screen. It is sort or
like cancer- an abstraction until you or someone you care about gets
it. My opinion is based on my own terrible experiences and the shots I
lost. So to accuratley state my singular opinion- "the Nikon Ti35 is a
peice of junk in my individual judgement". Thank you for the
correction.
Ray
Paid $549 back when they offered a $100 rebate which helped influence my
descision. Flash mode ON is not modal; you must enable it with each exposure.
Changing metering modes from center weighted to matrix requires the manual and
toggling thru the custom function array. Sturdily built, accurate metering and
af and I have brought and used it more than the big gun A2e - but I guess most
p&s's could satisfy that requirement. I would not recommend it overwhelmingly
over the T2 (in which I have not even touched myself).
I'm almost tempted to try the Yashica T4 Super just for curiosity's sake, if it
would cost me $150.
Mike NO UCE S.
From a prior posting, just before selling my T2 in favor of the 35Ti I
still use after 5 years:
Article 92810 of rec.photo:
Newsgroups: rec.photo
Subject: Re: Nikon 35Ti - Info & purchase wanted
Date: 1 Sep 1994 20:58:27 -0400
Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC
I bought a 35Ti a couple of weeks ago, which I am still testing out.
Unfortunately it's all been done with print film so far ('cause I can get
them developed quickly...heh). Exposures are accurate, sometimes slightly
(half stop) over. Very sharp, accurate focus .. I looked at the negs with
a loupe and they're sharp edge to edge, with little discernable falloff at
the corners. I bought mine in person at Adorama, a good mail order house,
for $839. B&H was back-ordered. The T2 usually runs $100 or so less,
depending on finish.
I also own a Contax T2, whose "fill flash" was beginning to annoy me. I'm
gonna sell it real soon, if anyone is interested, and keep the 35Ti. The
T2 is an elegant, high-performance camera but does not equal the 35Ti in
exposure control or metering. Both are built very sturdily, but the Nikon
has a big glass window on top for the analog readout which probably would
not survive a head-on fall. Having so many little mechanical parts also
makes you wonder about long-term reliability. On the Contax there is very
little exposed that could break, and the viewfinder window is made of
scratchproof ruby glass.
My feature-for-feature comparison, so far, is as follows:
Things the 35Ti has which the T2 does not:
1. Closer minimum focus - 1.3 feet
2. The Autofocus "hot zone" does not change with distance on the 35Ti.
On the T2 it moves to the left (indicated by a dotted extension to the
focusing circle in the viewfinder) and I'm always forgetting to look
there at close range. The result is that something just to the left of
a close-up subject is actually in focus. The autofocus apparatus on the
35Ti is centered around the finder axis, so no compensation is needed at
close range.
3. Two sets of parallax correction marks which are activated by the CPU
at the appropriate focal distance (not one fixed set like the T2).
4. AP and programmed modes are separate entities on the 35Ti. On the
Contax you get program mode by setting the aperture to F2.8; thus you
will be shooting wide open a lot.
5. Manual override in program mode - you can choose from a limited range of
alternative aperture/shutter combinations within the same exposure value
for instance, to slightly improve depth of field or handling of motion.
6. Automatic flash with fast sync (1/30 or above) as well as the slow-sync
(to 1/4 sec) "on demand" fill-flash that the T2 has.
7. 6-segment matrix metering =or= standard center-weight like the T2.
8. Lens assumes focal position BEFORE you trip the shutter. I haven't
timed it, but I think this might somewhat improve the latency that
people complain about with autofocus P&S models. On the T2, the
lens mechanism does not engage at all until you commit to taking the
shot.
Things the T2 has which the 35Ti does not:
1. Infrared assist =during= manual focus. To accomplish this on the 35Ti
you first have to engage autofocus, see what distance is displayed,
and then switch to manual while transferring that figure to the manual
dial.
2. Auto-load when you close the back door. On the 35Ti you must, after
loading the film, turn the power on and fully depress the shutter
button in order to wind to the first frame. I'm not sure which method,
if either, is necessarily better.
3. I'll have to go through the 35Ti manual again some time ... but on my first
2 readings I was unable to find any reference to the concept of
"exposure lock" - i.e. the process by which you can lock the AE meter
on a given object, and then manually focus on a subject which may have
different lighting characteristics. This is possible, if tedious, to do
on the T2. The Nikon manual simply does not go into the issue of when,
exactly, the exposure and focus point are frozen. But it sure seems to
me that the focus is locked when you half-trip the shutter, but the
meter stays active all the time until the shutter is fired. So no
"lock".
Godfrey DiGiorgi
> 35Ti: Flash mode ON is not modal; you must enable it with each exposure.
A custom function will set the default to On or Off. The override
buttons on the front of the camera will force it on or off at your discretion.
>35Ti:
> I'll have to go through the 35Ti manual again some time ... but on my first
> 2 readings I was unable to find any reference to the concept of
> "exposure lock"
The 35Ti does not provide exposure lock. Nikon relies upon the 3D Matrix
metering to accomodate most situations and provides EV compensation for
when it doesn't.
Kevin
to
have the camera repaired MULTIPLE TIMES! The Camera takes great pictures,
but the build quality is just not there. Dont buy the Nikon 35TI
Dickon Le Marchant wrote in message <7jlc06$c22$1...@news5.svr.pol.co.uk>...
Stan Parry
little bulky but super quiety and good functionality. A lot of people swear by
it. T2 is great camera as is the old Contax T.
Stan Parry
Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote:
Michael K. Stenstrom
first
after thinking for a long time about the various models. Pop Photo had a
comparison
of the 35Ti, Hexar and T2. They picked the 35Ti, based in part on lens
quality. It is a pretty camera, and although
I have no experience with it, I have a friend who loves his. He retired
his
SLR after a few rolls of film in his 35Ti.
The Hexar is a very different camera. It is bulky and I don't think the
lens
is a good as the Minilux, but it has the advantage of being 1/2 stop
faster than the Minilux (1 stop faster than the 35Ti or T2), and a lot
more flexibility. I
do find the ways of setting the options on the Hexar a bit obtuse.
Controls
do different things at different times, depending on other settings.
It's
pretty confusing. The flash is separate which is also cumbersome.
A very quiet camera however.
I find all these high-end point and shoots disappointing when compared
to my
SLR. I just don't compose as well. This might go away if I only used the
point
and shoot. I carry one in the big bag when I travel, so I don't miss
photo opportunities.
If you only carry the point and shoot, then the Hexar is probably a
better
choice. If you carry the point and shoot as a back up, or infrequently
by
itself, then maybe the Minilux/T2/35Ti is a better choice. I think the
difference
among these three are preference differences, as opposed to real quality
differences.
Finally, if you want a nifty backup camera, consider a Stylus Epic
35/F2.8.
Only about $100, very smart and reliable.
mk stenstrom
--
Michael K. Stenstrom, Ph.D., P.E.
Professor
Civil and Environmental Engineering Department
UCLA
4173 Engr. I.
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1593
sten...@seas.ucla.edu
310-825-1408 voice
310-206-5476 fax
DBaker9128
<< I think the difference among these three are preference differences, as
opposed to real quality differences. >>
35Ti, and Minilux (btw, I own a 35Ti and like it very much, using it in a
vacation and family snap shot role, augmenting my Nikon F3/T and Hasselblad
501CM). They are all fine cameras and offer us some nice alternatives to
consider.
<< Finally, if you want a nifty backup camera, consider a Stylus Epic 35/F2.8.
Only about $100, very smart and reliable. >>
$150.
Doug