Small size.
Very high quality lens.
Spot metering.
Very accurate AF.
No flash unless I switch it on deliberately.
Exposure compensation as well as ISO override.

Slighty noisy focus mechanism, but still quieter than the Minilux.
Lens only a f3.5
Manual focus a little fiddly.

Awesome!

Customer Service

never needed

Similar Products Used:

Caontax T2, Leica Minilux, Olympus Mju-II, Minox 35MB

-small size
-very sharp picture (center) can be captured even at full aperture, f3.5
-contrasty and fine color rendition at f5.6-8
-color fringe at the edge is not noticeable

high price

You can get pro picture with this small gear!

Customer Service

it is too delicate that it has to been sent back to Japan for maintenance.

Similar Products Used:

Leica R8 and its lenses
Nikon F5 and its lenses
Canon RS and its lenses
Ricoh GR1s
Rolleli Prego
olympus

Very compact - the ideal camera to always have with you
Very solid and high quality feel - the camera radiates confidence, luxury, precision and 100% commitment to the best... It just demands to be *used* !
Easy to use - the control wheel is a very neat design.
Control - all the features can be controlled
No diaphragm blades, but round circles.
Very sharp lens, very high contrast

Price is rather steep.
Fixed 28mm lens
f3.5 seems a bit slow

This is a brilliant machine. When I visited Singapore, and I realized I forgot my camera, I decided to go for a point-and-shot compact model. However, I've been using an Olympus OM-1 and OM-3 all my life, so I expected a feeling of perfection and control. After fiddling around with lots of plastic, I got a feeling of "wow-this-is-it" when I touched the TC-1. I'm very happy now that I overcame my anxious feeling at spending this amount of money for that small a camera !

First of all, I adore taking night pictures, specially of cities. That's why I really appreciate the fact that the camera doesn't use diaphragm blades. Instead, when you change the f-stop, a small round hole is turned in front of the lens. The effect on night pictures is absolutely impressive : all lanterns come out as small balls instead of bright stars. Something that is much harder to quantify is the quality of the unsharpness of the background, which is also caused by the roundess of the diaphragm hole. Stunning !

Add to that that the lens is a very fine piece of optics, and you get the crispest night pictures that deserve big enlargements ! I still remember laying on benches on the opposite bank of the water in front of Boat Quay, taking a picture of the bridge & the National Theatre, using my wallet as a "tripod" to tilt the camera a bit. Just let the TC-1 sit there for 15 seconds by itself and look forward to getting your prints.

The control you have is also admirable. Coming from a manual camera, I don't have a problem selecting the aperture for every shot. Even with that, the auto focus & auto exposure dramatically speed up my shots, so I can concentrate on framing the scene. I used to use the spot meter of my OM-3 all the time, so I'm very happy with the spot metering system of the TC-1, that allows you to measure a spot and move it away from the center of the picture. The built-in measuring system performs its job more than well enough, but it feels good to have the spot meter available just in case.

I'm not very familiar with flash photography, so I cannot give comments on that.

Even though I've considered my purchase of the TC-1 to be rather too expensive, the camera is very inviting and the results are great. My budget for film has definitely gone up since I have it.

Customer Service

never used

Similar Products Used:

none

- Great lens, sharp, contrasty, little flare
- Size (or lack thereof)
- Handling - multifunction wheel is excellent
- Spot metering
- AEL can be configured like Minolta SLR
- Backlit LCD has good info
- AF panic reset button to convert quickly from MF
- Good range of features, exp comp well appreciated
- Titanium construction
- Excellent viewfinder, bright with little distortion
- Tough
- Good shutter speed range

- Cost
- Weak flash
- Some vignetting at f3.5
- Lens a little slow at f3.5
- No true P mode

Very costly, but truly excellent quality and capable of first class pictures. Ultimate portability with a great range of features. Small size does not compromise handling, with Minolta puttng in some nice touches, like the adjustable AE lock function with the spot button. The more I use it, the more I realize it is a true marvel of engineering!

Customer Service

Not needed

Similar Products Used:

Contax T2
Ricoh GR1
Contax TVS

Tiny. Well constructed.

No 1/2 stops. Even lacks some full stops because of the aperture plate. Weak flash.

If size were the only criteria...it's lovely. Overpriced. Lens not up to Leica Minilux's..although close. Lack of 1/2 stop and some full stop settings unforgiveable at the price.

Similar Products Used:

Leica Minilux. Contax T2.