What features would make an ideal yc body

[wojo]

Not that contax listens, or so it seems by their apparent "buy it and your on your own" attitude expressed on another thread, but IF you could design an ideal body, what would be its characteristics?
My wish list:
1) Quiet operation; either detachable motor drive or a very quiet slow speed motor
2) Lit and easily readable shutter speed (three digit perhaps?) and aperture indications
3) Spot and center weighted metering BOTH TO WORK DOWN TO EV 2 or lower at asa 100
4) Extended flash metering capability (my gossen meter only works to f2.8 at asa 100)
5) Lit and readable compensation indication
6) 1/500th flash sync.
7) Second curtain flash capability
8) TTL flash, diopter correction,
9) True flash compensation without having to go manual mode....
10) Data port for retrieving exposure information: docking cradle, firewire, usb, IR....think CMOS
11) Film motion indication....(more than the rewind lever!!!!) I've misloaded film once to often.......
12) Mirror lock up: I don't use it but may someday
13) Ready for a digital back (along the line of leica?)
14) Compact and lightweight.......
15) Image stabilization...pie in the sky but why not..

Just curious as to what other folks needs and or desires are..

Joe W

 

[rico]

Agree big-time with 1).

The ideal camera depends on the shooting circumstances, so you need more than one! Sometimes I want heavy (RTS III), other times light (Aria). I like the quietness of the RX, but cannot quite justify owning one. On the other hand, I did want a small, light camera with low dependence on batteries and no film-advance buzz - new 139Q is on the way!

Not that Contax will ever make another film SLR, but how about a Commemorative RTS II? Keep everything the same, including manual film advance, but have RX sound d&ing and modern electronics. 700 grams of clean fun.

 

[lytton]

I think it's time for Contax to make a camera body worthy of the RTS IV Moniker. Of course, this would incorporate the new N mount(and many new lenses to accompany its release as well), but it would be the penultimate Contax. I can think of a similar time when Canon had a big gap in their pro line cameras. The EOS 3 was released under the guise of a replacement for the discontinued 1n. Yes, the 3 had many more up to date features but anyone with a brain could look at the spec sheets or simply handle the camera and know it was not even close to a replacement for a 1 series Camera. Sure enough, almost a year after the release of the 3 came the new king of the EOS line-up, the 1V/1VHS. I must say that since the release of the 645 that I have not been impressed with the latest wave of Cameras such as the T3 and TVS III or even the N1, N1 digital, or the Nx. None of which quite have the look or feel of their ancestors. That's not to say that Contax could not produce another great SLR body, but it won't be easy. I think a grass roots revival of everything Contax had meant to it's users is overdue. The release of the RX II is a spark; a glimmer of hope for the future of Contax. Has anyone noticed that the Kyocera name has taken prominence over the Contax name on some of the newer cameras? Perhaps this is an indication of how things have been going in recent years. I know they are one and the same, but it's time to reclaim Contax's sovereignty. Kyocera just needs to keep the R and D dollars flowing. If they build it, we will come.

 

[davidfung]

Hmm... I am a person who craves for reliability and sturdiness. To that end, a perfect Contax body would be something like this...

1. Fully Manual Operation.
2. Fully Electronic operation as well. Much like the Nikon FM3A.
3. Mirror lock up.
4. Weather sealed body.
5. Durable metal outer shell. Titanium or the alikes.
6. Built in diopter for eyepiece.
7. A quite shutter mode.
8. Spot and Center metering. With ability to store various exposure settings and determine average. Much like Mionlta Autometer IVF.
9. Dateback option. With ability to store exposure information.
10. Very low shutter lag.
11. Have the various text engraved into body, rather than just painted on. To improve longevity.
12. Some form of vacuum back that does can be operated electronically, and perhaps even mechanicallly.

I think that many of these features are already on Contax cameras, past and present. I just hope they lump it all into one...

 

[matthias]

What do I need: - Robustness, Robustness, Robustness meaning: -- as a backup: Fully Manual Operation -- Weather sealed body. -- Durable outer shell, not necessarily metal -- Durable mechanics and electronics - Quietness of shutter and motor - Fast Flash synchro ( 1/200 or less) - Spot-Metering ( IMO 5-field Metereing is not necessary) - the "old" mount (because I have 4 Zeiss lenses, which I do not want to loose)

What do I want:

- Digital Back and Film back, which can be interchanged. The body must be prepared to control both (For the 645 there seems to be a professional digital back from KODAK; why not something like that ? By the way: it should not be such difficult to define and develop a standard-interface, which allows to interchange backs to different bodies ( if the producers of the bodies join the team .... ). David Fung mentions it: Very low shutter lag in Digital mode !!!!

- Autofocus? Maybe a reduced AX-type autofocus: Not 10mm but about 4 mm movement, meaning prefocus your lens, fine-focus will be done by the camera. I think, this could be a good compromise to make the body not too big.

- All the standards that CONTAX has nowadays, e.g. -- the most important functions han be done by one finger !!! I could write a lot, but I Think thats enough. Give the engineers a chance, not a fully worked out construction!

Matthias