Pin-sharp, contrasty pictures.

None except price when new.

Great compact camera. I shoot with mostly 35mm because of the larger frame size but this camera closes the gap. I agree with the critics that this APS is in the same league as the other "posh" p/s cameras out there. Street price is $699, retail store used is around $550. Used price in the $400-500 range on eBay. A steal for this level of quality. I also own a TVS and the Tix takes much sharper pictures. Not quite the quality of a G2 but close and much more portable. Very thoughtful design and great for travel and carrying around. The three image sizes available for APS cameras distinguish this one from other posh p/s cameras. Value rating is for a used one.

Customer Service

Not needed

Similar Products Used:

Contax TVS, Contax G2, Nikon N80, Canon Elan II, Canon Elph

Strong and well-built, great optics with no distortion, good flash with sensitive auto-flash function (doesn''t try to flash all the time), comfortable size, bigger than an elph but still fits on your belt (I think the elph''s are a little too small). The aperture priority ring at the base of the lens is a great touch. The capacity for filters and a lens hood are also welcome additions to a P&S camera. An additional nice touch is the way the lens covers itself and the camera shuts down while rewinding.

Hardly any, especially with the price coming down. The viewfinder is not great, I wear glasses and have to search around sometimes for the little markers of the exposure area. I also wish there were a little more information in the viewfinder. The camera displys the shutter speed on the LCD disply briefly after takign the shot, but would like to see it in the viewfinder.

Terrific camera with a dropping price. If you really like APS, you will recognize that Contax has really put some thought and care into designing this camera (more than Leica did the c-11)The fit and feel are great. Practically no distortion. Good rich colors. Near SLR quality pictures. The best APS P&S I''ve used. I also have a Leica c-11 and a Pronea 6i. This camera does not match the Pronea''s image quality, but exceeds the leica in all areas except with exposures using fill flash ( the leica does a better job at using flash for short range portraits than any P&S I''ve used or the Pronea). If you are using an APS SLR, then this will be a good companion camera, but it will not match the quality though it will come close and will be much more portable. I would not recommend breaking the bank to buy this camera, but if you find a good price and like APS then go for it.

Customer Service

Have not used

Similar Products Used:

Minolta Vectis 2000, Nikon Nuvis 75i, Nikon Pronea 6i, Elph sport, Leica c-11

The Contax Tix is a super camera for a traveler or anyone who wants high quality pictures without carrying a large camera. The small size of the Tix means you can actually carry it in your shirt pocket, so you can take the camera anywhere, on trips, to sporting events, parties, you name it. It is a high quality camera, with a fine titanium finish and sturdy construction. At night, the bright lines in the mostly excellent finder (see weaknesses) are illuminated. The auto focus operates quickly and with a minimum of fuss. I often use the fill flash to eliminate shadows in high contrast light. Best of all, this camera has a Carl Zeiss Sonnar f2.8 lens. I suspect this is the finest lens available for APS in a point and shoot camera. The color rendition is sensational, with great separation. The photos have almost a 3-D feel. Admittedly, APS photos are not quite up to 35mm, but for shots of people and travel scenery it's perfectly acceptable. I recently took several rolls of film at The Kentucky Derby and sent them to a good friend and Leica snob, who raved over the quality. In short, considering its size, this camera is hard to beat.

The main weakness is the viewfinder. While made of optical glass and much brighter and sharper than other point and shoot cameras, it is not parallax adjusted, relying on a a second set of bright lines. It's hard to get used to this and invariably if you hand the camera to someone else to take your picture, it will be misalligned. The other weakness is probably the high price, although it is now reduced to the $700 range. Some people would claim the lack of a zoom lens is a weakness, but that's before they see the razor sharp pictures from the fixed lens of this camera.

If you want the highest quality and most portable APS camera, this is it.

Customer Service

Kyocera fixed the sliding lens cover which for some reason froze in the closed position.

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Among point and shoot cameras, ones by Pentax, Olympus and Canon (including the Elph). Also own Leica rangefinders and Leica and Nikon SLR's.

Superb lens, build quality, controllability, focus system, exposure system, everything about the camera is wonderfully conceived and beautifully executed.

Hmm... Well, I wish it had the infrared remote that the ELPH Jr does and I wish the viewfinder was parallax corrected, but these are minor nits.

As the years plow forward, I find myself using compact cameras with a single lens more than anything else. I have been looking for a quality APS camera which had the size I wanted with the lens quality and controllability to do top notch photography. I looked at the Tix many times over the course of the past year or so and finally decided to take the plunge.

I've had other compact Contax cameras so I expected build quality and features to be good. I didn't expect them to be far better than my Tvs or T2 were, though. The Tix is a highly evolved, beautifully executed camera with just the right mix of features. I simply have not found a way to get a bad picture with it as long as I point it in the right direction.

I feel this is the finest APS camera available. I don't want an APS SLR ... if I want that much bulk I go for full frame 35 ... The Tix meets the size I want with the features I want and returns superb results every time.

My value rating may seem crazy to some, but I've learned that to get the best you have to pay for it. I own Leica equipment too, and I rate the value of Leica equipment to be extremely high because it works, keeps on working, and returns results that are simply yards beyond anything else I've tried in the genre. The Contax Tix is like that. I feel I'll be shooting a LOT of film with this camera.

Customer Service

no need yet.

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I own about 40 cameras, about 20 of which are compact 35s or APS. I compare the Tix against the Canon ELPH Jr, Rollei 35S, Minox 35GT-E and Olympus Stylus. It's on par with the Rollei and Minox in terms of quality, or better.

Tiny size, very nice looking and well-finished.

High-quality lens. With a lens hood! (Why don't all cameras have them?)

More user controllability than most P&S.

Tiny size sometimes makes it a little difficult to handle.

No continuous parallax compensation in the finder.

Some sort of leather or rubberized material on the body might improve the grip.

Expensive.

APS film issues?

Being an equipment freak, I couldn't resist the T ix, with its tiny size and beautiful finish. Once the infatuation wore off, I began to realize that the pictures didn't really measure up to some much cheaper 35mm cameras. I don't think this is the fault of the camera, but probably mainly due to the smaller negative size. The results I got were certainly better than the only other APS camera I tried (Elph). I ended up switching to the Minolta TC-1. It's almost as small, but gives 35mm quality. (It's not quite as cute as the T ix, but I like the photos better.)

If you like APS, though, the T ix is at the top of the heap.

Similar Products Used:

Canon Elph, Minolta TC-1, Yashica T4 Super

1 Zeiss Sonnar 28mm
2 Contax build quality
3 Very compact
4 Brilliant viewfinder.

1 No mid roll change facility!!
2 Expensive

I have the black version of the Tix which makes for a very low profile camera.

Image quality is outstanding - I use print film and have it professionally developed and scanned to CD (18Mb image files, then print it using photoshop and an Epson Photo Stylus printer. The results are fabulous. Most bad results with APS usually come about from poor processing in discount processoring houses. I have had big enlargements done from APS by a professional processor and they are stunning.

I have also used Fuji slide film (100x - the only one available) - this really shows off the quality of the Zeiss Sonnar lens.

I now carry this camera everywhere with me now, its small size, light weight and excellent image quality having displaced my previous carry everywhere camera, the 35mm Contax T2.

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

Canon Ixus II

I like this product because of the workmanship, size, quality of lense, and features. There is not a whole lot of compact point and shoot cameras out there with aperature priortity, exposure compensation, etc. Contax gives you the ability to overide the settings that are automatic for customization. The build quality is exceptional with it's rugged titanium shell. The first roll I got back were not that impressive, but after getting used to the camera, the pictures improved. It has a fairly fast Zeiss lense at f 2.8.

No problems encountered.

This camera takes great pictures with decent functionality and a small size. Just the weight and feel of the Contax conveys quality of workmanship. Whether it takes as good pictures as a 35mm high quality camera, I am not sure yet entirely as I am still experimenting but it does take good pictures...well it should for the price. About the only down fall is the price. It is quite expensive compared to a lot of other cameras out there, 35mm P&S and slr alike. If you can get by the initial cost, the camera is a nice unit with a build quality and design that is a work of art...not to mention an f2.8 Carl Zeiss Sonnar lense.

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I have tried the Fuji 1000ix titanium tiara. The pictures out of this camera was good as well, but not as good as the c