Size, heft, viewfinder, feature-set, lenses.

Shutter speed dial location is awkward to use, but I find myself setting it for the day (essentially) and working with the aperture when I need to change exposure. There is a more serious concern to do with the shutter. Mine has a tendedncy to hesitate or not fire--this seems to happen in cold. NOT cool.. This is the second Aria I've had this problem with. I haven't looked into getting it repaired yet. All said, I find myself thinking that it would be the perfect SLR if it didn't have the shutter trouble.

This is well near the perfect SLR. The viewfinder is the best I've used or even looked through on an SLR--hands down. This, for me, is the single most important feature of a camera. The Aria's snaps into focus, is bright, has good eye relief (I wear glasses), shows 95% of the view, is relatively high magnification, and displays useful information consolidated on the right side of the view. The feel and heft of the camera inspire confidence that it will wear well and take some knocks (and it has). Feature set is useful with not to much to sift through--I've never found myself wanting another feature. Spot metering is very useful. Matrix metering is accurate. It's small and relatively discrete for an SLR. It has a good aesthetic design. Zeiss lenses have been great (25/2.8, 35/2.8, 45/2.8, 50/1.7, 50/1.4, 85/2.8). I now just leave the 35/2.8 (it's a gem) mounted on the Aria; it's been an incredibly useful kit.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Contax 139Q, Yashica FX-3 2000, various Nikon and Minolta SLRs

- Lightweight - Uses zeiss lenses - Responsive convetional controls and informative viewfinder display - Bright and contrasty viewfinder makes focusing and picture composition a joy. - Every lightmetering mode you can crave for, including true spot metering - Full range of exposure modes including shutter priority and program, using the more recent MM lenses. - 1/4000 shutter speed

Mirror lock-up is not there An add-on vertical grip would make it absolutely perfect

I believe that ratings should be given based on what a given camera/lens is meant to be. As a lightweight, reliable and accurate picture-taking machine the Aria could not be much better. If you use this camera and one of the world-renowned zeiss lenses and are still not satisfied with your pictures don't spend any more money on equipment. Take a photography class instead.

Zeiss lenses, good build, traditional design, bright viewfinder

Viewfinder readouts can be hard to read in bright light, rubberised body cover is very sensitive to acid rain - take care to keep it dry in heavy showers!

This is my favourite travel camera by far - it is very discreet, lightweight and compact. I love its traditional design, keeping LED screens and buttons to a minimum. Has matrix/centre-weighted/spot metering capabilities. I've found the matrix accurate for most situations with the standard 50mm lens, but on bright days, avoid using matrix with any wide-angle lenses because it will overexpose dramatically. The Aria is built very well for a modern SLR. I would highly recommend this camera for those who take their photography seriously, and who can't get enough of Zeiss lenses.

Customer Service

Never had to use it.

Similar Products Used:

Contax ST, Nikon F80, Pentax ME-F

Handling, ease of use, lenses, features for price (what other sub-$500 has true spotmetering?, for instance]. If you search for the best manual SLR for the beginner, this is it.

As you might know, Contax lens line is more limited than that of the large manufacturers, and some (not all!) of the lenses are more expensive than comparable professional products from other brands. On the other hand, even the cheaper Zeiss lenses rank among the best on the market. And how often do you really need that 15/2.8 or 300/2.8? Another weakness, I guess is that there is some insecurity about the future of the Contax manual focus line at the moment, which may worry some people. Yet, the quality of Contax cameras is very high, in my opinion, and I believe that they will work even in 20-year time, or as long as film is available (whichever occurs first].

This is my first SLR camera and I have nothing but praise for this little jewel. If you are serious about learning photography, this camera provides the best mix of convenience (autoexposure + unique Contax AE lock, integrated motorwinder, matrix, integral and spot metering, timer, multiexposure, DOF preview button, excellent viewfinder) with perfectly ergonomic manual control and outstanding lenses. I use this camera with Planar 50/1.4, Distagon 28/2.8 and Sonnar 135/2.8 - all magnificent and yet inexpensive lenses. I have never regretted not having bought my first camera from Canon or Nikon - in fact, even after hundreds of rolls later and several-year practice, I still believe that I could not have made a better choice. And although the digital seems to have cought up with film in many respects, and is overtaking it in some, film cameras like Aria will still give you many years of unsurpassed photographic enjoyment.

A joy to use. Not too pricey. All the features you'd expect. Lightweight. Great user interface. THE VIEWFINDER IS BLOODY AWESOME compared to most pathetic SLR viewfinders.

No mirror lock up or mirror-before-shutter when in timer mode. Why??

1) interface is top of the heap, very modern yet no stupid needless gadgets. Also quite lightweight for travel. 2) the best viewfinder in recent SLR history. BRIGHT and informative. 3) Useful metering modes. Note to people familiar with other Contax bodies, this body is made of polycarbonate (quite strong) instead of metals, it's great for travel but if you're expecting something as massive as the RTS series, not going to find it here.

Customer Service

none needed. Excellent reputation though.

Similar Products Used:

Contax 139Q, Canon EOS-3 (more like P.O.S!), Yashica FX-7

Light Weight, User friendly, uses Zeiss lenses.

none

This camera is great for street photography. With the 45MM pancake lens attached it is small enough to be nearly unnoticable. It is light in weight, great for those sweltering summer days in NYC.

Customer Service

Never USED

Similar Products Used:

RTS,167MT,137MD,RX,Yashica fx2000,Olympus G, Pentax ME super.

Takes Zeiss lenses, very accurate focusing and exposure metering, bright viewfinder with all the info you'd ever need, and with the exception of a couple of functions ergonomics are wonderful. Takes great pictures.

Stiff exposure lock is horrendous. No pre-fire is inexcusable. Self-timer should be a switch vs. an LED display.

I use a Pentax ZX-5N with fast film for non-critical work but use my Aria and Zeiss primes almost exclusively with a quality tripod, Velvia and the expectation of enlarging if I really like the shot. I've developed a pattern of first locking in the composition, then removing my camera (on a quick release), then work with focus, filters, aperture and when ready to shoot I'll take the exposure reading and lock it in. Finally I snap the camera back onto the tripod, recheck the composition and initiate the self-timer. For landscapes this is the technique I use over and over and over but the Aria is far from ideal. First comes the problem of locking in the exposure. Although a stiff switch is nice for the On/Off function it is horrible as an exposure lock! You have to push it so hard that it's easy to accidentally move the camera as the switch changes positions and then you don't know for sure what the camera was pointed at when it took the reading. This doesn't always or even usually happen but it requires a conscious effort to prevent it. It's really a poor design to make this switch so stiff and I get the feeling that Contax wanted to be able to advertise the capabilty but didn't expect people to frequently use this function. Then comes the problem of using the self-timer.The Aria in general has a very nice layout with knobs and buttons instead of LED displays but this is the one place where it forces me to use the LED screen.Every time I turn the camera on I have to push tiny little buttons to call up the self-timer function. It's a pain. Then there's no mirror lock, not even via pre-fire.Despite how wonderful Contax says the dampening is, this camera jumps like a man with the hiccups when it takes a picture. My pictures look really good but I always wonder if they wouldn't look even better if this camera didn't jump so much. I was told that Contax made ideal cameras for the serious amateur but in light of the above deficiencies I really think not. It looks like the bean counters won again. To be fair, I'd probably buy it again because as a system with the Zeiss lenses it's probably still the best value around. I'm just disappointed that after doing so very much exactly right they stopped just short of the goal. It could so easily have been the perfect camera for me. The Zeiss lenses look and feel and function beautifully. They shout Qua

Customer Service

OK

Similar Products Used:

Nikon SLRs, Pentax ZX-5N

Size and weight, features for its class, sophisticated accessories, compatibility with Zeiss lenses of course

Matrix metering, On/off switch to stiff, readings in the viewfinder to much on the right side.

This is the SLR answer to rangefinder compactness. Geat camera, many professionals features, Matris metering with surprises. Look at my review at www.contaxinfo.com. This is the ultimate source for every Contax/Zeiss user! For every camera model.

Similar Products Used:

almost all contax cameras (SLR, G, T, TVS etc.

* light weight * easy to use * Zeiss optics!

If you buy a lot of lenses, the Zeiss line can get expensive. ñ

This is my first new SLR body, my previous cameras have been a cheap P&S and a 30+ year old, fully metal, fully manual Minolta SLR, hand-me-down from my father. The Aria is a delight to use. I have been looking for a new SLR that is easier to carry than the full-metal dinosaur, as well as with a little more automation but keeps the manual controls usable. I was looking at the Nikon F65 and F80 but was disappointed in the quality of the lenses as well as the electronic gadgets the bodies have to offer. I still love dials and switches as they give me a clear view of what the settings are. I was undecided on AF or MF because my old Minolta was hard to focus in low light, even indoors -- even with a f1.4 lens -- but the Aria with a f1.7 lens, was bright and clear enough that it is easy to manual focus. Then my choice became clear -- MF is the way to go for me. (I have the 50mm f1.7, as opposed to the f1.4) My main reason to go for the Contax line was the Zeiss lenses, and those have not disappointed me. The prints came back with so much contrast and details that the images seem to pop out of the papers. They look really 3D. I took pictures of a waterfall and later bought a postcard of the same landmark and I couldn''t tell the difference between my photo and the supposedly professionally taken one. The Aria came with three metering modes, exposure bracketing, and exchangeable focusing screens. The matrix metering is always dead on, but with consumer grade ISO 100 film I always overexpose by 1/3 of a stop. In difficult lighting situations there is always spot metering and AE lock. They are all dials and switches so no scrolling menus around. Wonderful camera body which deserves 5 stars alone. With the line of Zeiss optics I wish I could give it 6 stars.

Customer Service

Never tried.

Similar Products Used:

Minolta SRT1015

Light weight camera that gives you access to the Carl Zeiss line of lenses. It is nice to see matrix metering appear on a Contax camera!

Loud mirror slap
Almost too light for any other zooms than the 28-70 designed for the camera.

This is a relatively inexpensive way to get into the Contax system. Coupled with the new 28-70 it is a nice travel system (the lens is much better than the negative reviews which it has recieved). Although it doesn't have that silky smooth feeling which the RX has, its control layout is still better than anything I have seen from Nikon or Canon.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

RX