Review Contax RTS III

[Guest]

I would be very cautious of buying big ticket items frm Auction sites, especially if you live far from the item.

Ive been burnt many many times (ouch), buying from internet Auction Houses and the Auctions Houses provide litle or no help or insurance when the seller dosent send. Also be careful of the postal system, they also tend to treat products carelessly , and try every exuse not to pay out the insurance if any was taken out.


I tend to buy locally or from reputable dealers, I know, old and used products are sometimes thin on the ground at your local dealer.

Buyer beware.
They is only so much I can right Off on Tax

 

[Guest]

I have a question concerning RTS III diopter adjustment.
It is difficult to understand whether the diopter knob is accidentally in a wrong position because the eye instinctively compensates the diopter displacement.
When I rotate the contax rts3 diopter knob, I can perceive 11 steps to the touch, but I don't know which step corresponds to each of the +1 –3 diopters declared on the manual.
Particularly, I want to know which intermediate (clockwise) step corresponds to the neutral diopter correction.
Thank you in advance.

Stefano

 

[Guest]

Regarding Diopter Adjustment.
Remove lens and point camera at a light source, raise and rotate adjuster knob back and forth till you can see the grain in the screen. push adjuster down.
This is just in case you were trying to do it with a lens on.
Phil.

 

[Guest]

Hello Stefano,

that's a question for an optician like me

You can adjust a range of 4 diopters. So each step is approximatly 0.35 diopter. (Four divided by eleven) The blurred viewfinder image belongs to the +1 setting, the rasor-sharp one to the -3 setting.

I found two different explanations how to set the adjustable ocular:

Without a lens mounted. Adjust diopter knop from the blurred image until viewfinder controls are first time clearly sharp to see.

With a tele-lens mounted and set to infinity. The rest is the same as above.

I often misadjusted the setting on my ST when putting it in the camera bag. Now I fixed the knop with a piece of tape. As far as I know the knop on the RTSIII must be pulled out for adjustment and can't be misadjusted when pushed back.

Matthias

 

[dirk]

FYI

I scanned the RTS III 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, especially now at the photokina.

Enjoy it

Dirk

 

[Guest]

For reasons of weight, I'm using a 2CR5. However, 5 FPS requires 6 AA cells. Has anyone used the Energizer 1.5V lithium AA in their RTS III? This cell is far lighter than NiCd or alkaline, but I don't want the excess &s to fry the camera.

 

[Guest]

Hi, Rico,

the Energizer 1,5V lithium AA are the best power source for the RTS III, especially in winter time. According to CONTAX lab standard thus power source should be good for 150 (!) rolls of 36frame film.

Regards, Rainer

 

[Guest]

Anyone aware of any compatibility problems with the RTSIII and certain MM lenses? I acquired an 18mm MM, and the camera would not display the proper aperature -- it seemed to stick on 22. My RTSIII is used (s/n 023146).

Anyone have any thoughts about this one?

Thanks,
Max Fischer

 

[Guest]

Hi Max,

I have had a case where my P50/1.4 was sticking at f16, it was a problem with the lens, fixed by my camera shop, it did it with both my RTS 3 and my MT167, none of my other lenses did this. Once fixed I had no further problems. I suspect there is a problem with the lens, particularly if your RTS 3 is fine with your other lenses. The RTS 3 will work with all C/Y fit lenses this includes all MM and AE versions from Carl Zeiss, as well as a number of others from Zeiss Jena, Yashica and I believe Tamron and possibly others. My RTSIII has a SN of 28684 I purchased it new less than a month ago, this suggests yours is not particularly old. Also as the thread is RTSIII review, I must add that I find this an incredible camera, reassuringly solid and a pleasure to use, the viewfinder information is much brighter than earlier RTSIII cameras I have seen, a criticsm often leveled at the RTSIII.

Art

 

[Guest]

I, as has been noted by others, been dismayed that the information in the finder is so hard to see in bright daylight pictures when using the RTS III. Since such a large percentage of my photos as taken in daylight this was an aggravation. I am an eyeglass wearer. Because I am so near-sighted, the camera diopter adjustment is not fully adequate for my needs. I bought from B&H a -3 diopter. Now, I am more satisfied with my ability to focus the camera. I set the focus adjustment so that I can focus w/o my glasses. I have my eyeglasses attached to a cord around my neck. I now no longer have to search for them. By having my eye much closer to the finder, the data on the viewing screen becomes much more readable. If there is anyone who is looking for a manual focus camera capable of giving the best possible results, I do not hesitate to recommend this camera. I have aquired a good collection of lenses. They are: 21mm Distagon, 28mm Distagon,
28mm PC Super Angulon, 35mm 2.8 Distagon, 35mm PC Distagon, 50mm Planar, 60mm Macro Planar (1:1),
100mm Planar, 200mm Apo Sonnar Mutar II. I have not used the 28mm PC Super Angulon enough to have a valid opinion on it's quality. All of the Zeiss lenses have been very satisfactory. I have been very involved in photography for 40+ years. This is the best system to which I have been exposed.
Claire Senft