Contax TVS

Contax, a brand that once boasted a glorious history of over 70 years, was a subsidiary of Zeiss in Germany. Alongside Leica and Rollei, it was considered a representative brand of German cameras. However, with the decline of the film era, Contax gradually lost its strength and was eventually acquired by Cosina, a Japanese company. One of Contax's most well-known products is its pocket-sized automatic camera series, known as the "T" series. In the 2020s, models like the T2 and T3 have gained popularity among certain celebrities, leading to a phenomenon known as the "celebrity effect" and causing prices for the "T" series to skyrocket. For instance, the price of the T3 has reached over $2000. It's not just the Contax T2 and T3; various high-end point&shoot cameras from that era, such as the Minolta TC-1, Nikon 35Ti, and 28Ti, have also been subject to extreme price speculation.

Today, we are going to talk about another high-end compact point&shoot film camera from Contax, which was even positioned higher than the T2. It is one of the rare high-end compact cameras in the current market that has not been subject to inflated prices. It is the Contax TVS. The TVS is a series of pocket-sized point&shoot cameras from Contax that feature zoom lenses. The reason behind the name TVS is that this series uses the Carl Zeiss T* Vario-Sonnar lens. These cameras are autofocus (AF) cameras that also allow manual focusing. With Porsche design, a titanium alloy body, a sapphire shutter button, and the renowned Zeiss T* lenses, it already sounds exciting, doesn't it? The TVS series consists of three generations: I, II, and III, with each subsequent generation being more expensive. The first generation, which is the one we're talking about today, was launched in 1993. It was the world's first top-level compact camera to feature a zoom lens, primarily targeting travel enthusiasts among Contax users.

The TVS combines modern technology with a classical control scheme, and its craftsmanship is exceptionally fine, even surpassing the T series. At the time, it was considered not only a camera but also a work of art. Both the TVS and TVS II feature the Zeiss 28-56mm zoom lens, which exudes a distinct flavor reminiscent of Zeiss lenses from the 1970s. The images produced are rich and sharp.

The operation of this camera is very simple. Turning the zoom ring powers it on, and you can choose to manually set the aperture or leave it in the Program (P) mode for the camera to determine the exposure combination automatically. After that, you simply half-press the shutter button to focus and fully press it to capture the exposure. In aperture priority mode, if the light is too strong and exceeds the fastest speed of 1/700, the camera will forcefully switch to the P mode and narrow down the aperture. At this time, the letter "P" will be visible in the viewfinder. If you are not accustomed to using this type of sapphire shutter button, it may feel quite different. Compared to the shutter buttons on modern digital cameras, it is particularly light, so a gentle press may already fully activate the shutter and initiate the exposure, bypassing the focusing process.

Currently, the price of the TVS is still reasonable, and you can find a TVS in mint condition for around $300 in the second-hand market. However, there is a hidden risk of cable breakage in this camera, so it is recommended to handle the zoom ring with care. Another common issue of cameras from that era is LCD screen leakage, so it's important to be cautious when selecting a copy.

Overall, the TVS has excellent craftsmanship, decent performance, and a convenient focal range. It also features a panorama mode, which allows for panoramic photos. However, it should be noted that this mode achieves the panoramic shots by blocking the top and bottom edges of the film. Considering the currently reasonable prices in the second-hand market, the TVS is considered a highly worthwhile point&shoot film camera for many film enthusiasts to own.