Paulo J Moreira
Contax 159 MM
Everybody knows how I like Zeiss products, not all of them, but Contax in particular. The trouble is cost and the fact that all modern Contax SLRs are electronic and so, subject to the sudden death phenomenon. My dear friend Dan James has caught the Contax bug and started to build up a very nice Contax outfit, including this Contax 159 MM. You read it right, precisely this 159 MM that ended up in my collection. Sadly, this Contax contracted the fearsome sudden death virus and Dan decided to sell it for parts. I asked him to sell it to me, even as a paperweight, it’s a lovely camera to look at and a perfect addition to the 139 Q, 167 MT and the G2. Dan, always kind, shipped the camera to me and here it is.
The camera is similar to the 139 Q in size and styling, though it is slightly more macho looking. Gone is the dreadful peeling leatherette, replaced by rubber coverings, problem solved. The viewfinder is something special, as in all Contax cameras. You get the usual bright viewfinder, but here it is a High Point version, no need to squash the eye against the viewfinder to see the image. Viewfinder info is a curious mix of old and new, you get LEDs for shutter speeds and a digital display for the apertures. I like it, it´s simple and clean.
This camera is one of the very few manual focusing cameras to have an ultra fast shutter going up to 1/4000th and flash synch at 1/250th. This is Nikon FE2 and FA territory, in fact, the camera is very similar in feeling to the FA. No fancy metering system, but the shutter seems the same, same high quality viewfinder, same rackety film advance lever with multiple exposure capability. Also, the 159 MM is the first multi-mode Contax, yet, not fully developed, there isn’t a proper shutter priority mode, replaced by a high speed mode.
Trouble is, as appealing this camera sounds on paper, it fails to preserve the high quality aura that the 139 Q exhibits. The camera is very light, so light that I thought it had plastic top and bottom covers, it doesn’t, but it doesn’t feel very robust. The feeling of a precision instrument is no longer present in this model, too much Yashica in it (read too much like other Japanese cameras).
Contax 159 MM
Everybody knows how I like Zeiss products, not all of them, but Contax in particular. The trouble is cost and the fact that all modern Contax SLRs are electronic and so, subject to the sudden death phenomenon. My dear friend Dan James has caught the Contax bug and started to build up a very nice Contax outfit, including this Contax 159 MM. You read it right, precisely this 159 MM that ended up in my collection. Sadly, this Contax contracted the fearsome sudden death virus and Dan decided to sell it for parts. I asked him to sell it to me, even as a paperweight, it’s a lovely camera to look at and a perfect addition to the 139 Q, 167 MT and the G2. Dan, always kind, shipped the camera to me and here it is.
The camera is similar to the 139 Q in size and styling, though it is slightly more macho looking. Gone is the dreadful peeling leatherette, replaced by rubber coverings, problem solved. The viewfinder is something special, as in all Contax cameras. You get the usual bright viewfinder, but here it is a High Point version, no need to squash the eye against the viewfinder to see the image. Viewfinder info is a curious mix of old and new, you get LEDs for shutter speeds and a digital display for the apertures. I like it, it´s simple and clean.
This camera is one of the very few manual focusing cameras to have an ultra fast shutter going up to 1/4000th and flash synch at 1/250th. This is Nikon FE2 and FA territory, in fact, the camera is very similar in feeling to the FA. No fancy metering system, but the shutter seems the same, same high quality viewfinder, same rackety film advance lever with multiple exposure capability. Also, the 159 MM is the first multi-mode Contax, yet, not fully developed, there isn’t a proper shutter priority mode, replaced by a high speed mode.
Trouble is, as appealing this camera sounds on paper, it fails to preserve the high quality aura that the 139 Q exhibits. The camera is very light, so light that I thought it had plastic top and bottom covers, it doesn’t, but it doesn’t feel very robust. The feeling of a precision instrument is no longer present in this model, too much Yashica in it (read too much like other Japanese cameras).