Junk and Cheap Camera Month: Will it or won’t it work for me?

This is another camera I picked up for £5 in the WYC charity sale. For a Contax, the leatherette was in great condition. Often, these need replacing which I love doing, but this one didn’t need it 🙁

I have tried the RTS III before and found that quite heavy. That camera replaced this one in 1990. This one felt much lighter, but didn’t look as ‘cool’. Saying that, it didn’t feel flimsy or cheap. You can find lots of technical details for this 1982 camera at this website.

I loaded the camera with a very expired roll of Orwo and headed to meet some friends in Blackpool. I loved using the camera, it just seemed to work and the f1.4 was a delight as always. The focusing screen didn’t have a split prism or any other aid, just a grid. I did try and swap it out for another, but the spare one I had didn’t fit. In the end, I didn’t mind the square one as it was very clear.

Once I finished the roll, I immediately loaded another. I enjoyed using this camera that much. I really liked the little details, like the dial on the rewind lever to show the film was moving. The shutter button was very sensitive, I was fooled by the lack of a half press. The exposure check was a button on the front of the body. Here are most of the results from Blackpool.

I didn’t quite finish the second roll so I went for a walk near where I lived and finished the film there.

Well that definitely worked 🙂 Oh and that random robot is from the local Co-op. I caught covid just after the second set of shots and was too sick to go shopping. Luckily, a local supermarket has these lovely robots and you can order stuff online and it gets delivered right to your house for 99 pence.

Back to the camera though. While using it and the f1.4 lens, I noticed the lens aperture was not matching what was being shown in the viewfinder. It was out by a half or full stop. When I set the lens to 1.4 the viewfinder showed 1.2, when I set it to 16 it showed 13. I tried another lens after, a Yashica, which was fine. I tried the f1.4 lens on another Contax and it demonstrated the same issue. So the lens is out of alignment somehow. I can live with that for now, but at some point I want to get it fixed as it is a really good lens and one of my favourites. BUT it did mean there wasn’t an issue with the RTS II body. YATTA!!

Did it work for me? Yes, it absolutely did. What a camera for £5, I am stoked. I am disappointed about my f1.4 lens, but that has nothing to do with the camera. Even if none of the other cameras work, this one camera made the trip to WYC worth it. I am not sure why this one was in their junk pile, maybe the small dent on the top of the mirror box. That doesn’t bother me. There is also a little bit of dirt on the focusing screen. That also doesn’t bother me. I am going to keep this one and keep the WYC stickers on to remind me what a bargain I got. It also shows what high standards WYC has for the cameras they sell at the ‘proper’ price.