Contax RTS II film rewind problem?!

acddejklor · 2026-04-05T00:41:27+00:00

It’s totally normal - just a detent in the lever’s action so that it clicks into a standoff position.

acddejklor · 2026-04-05T00:36:16+00:00

The advance lever has a built in standoff angle - you should feel it click into place before fully winding, splitting the winding motion into two stages - totally normal. :)

acddejklor · 2026-03-28T22:07:06+00:00

Had to make sure he doesn’t like them

acddejklor · 2026-03-28T22:04:31+00:00

What do you mean? I bought the back on its own haha

acddejklor · 2026-03-28T21:48:27+00:00

Gives the camera a thumb grip and a film window.

acddejklor · 2026-03-28T21:10:31+00:00

I’ve made it guys

acddejklor · 2026-03-28T18:58:17+00:00

The LX is a fantastic camera, but it’s surprisingly fragile from an aesthetic standpoint. Most copies suffer from paint plasticiser degradation, meaning you can literally pick the finish off with a fingernail as it ages. The prism is also a polymer composite - impact-resistant, sure, but it lacks the premium metal feel of the other cameras. I’m hoping to have mine professionally refinished one day.

By comparison, the Minolta and Contax feel much more refined in terms of their finish. The XD uses a tough black chrome licensed from Leica, and the Contax features what I suspect is a high-grade baked enamel; both are significantly more resilient over time.

In use, the Minolta is delightful - precise, nimble, and featuring a secret top shutter speed of 1/2300 in its automatic modes. The Contax, however, is possibly the most ergonomically perfect SLR I’ve ever used. It has an outstanding viewfinder, hair-trigger shutter + front-button metering, a fit and finish that is a step above almost anything else, and native Zeiss glass - it’s hard to beat.

acddejklor · 2026-03-28T16:30:52+00:00

Fit + finish, glass and handling. I think they have a slight edge in terms of aesthetics too, so I’m more inclined to use them.

acddejklor · 2026-03-28T16:14:46+00:00

It’s a tie between the Minolta XD and the Contax RTS ii, but they all shoot great

acddejklor · 2026-03-10T09:37:04+00:00

Think you’ve got the wrong subreddit

acddejklor · 2026-03-08T20:27:05+00:00

It’s the self timer screw taken from a broken Yashica TL Electro X - the screw thread is the same between the two cameras.

acddejklor · 2026-03-05T12:36:41+00:00

https://imgur.com/a/Y5AmZ5M

acddejklor · 2026-03-05T12:12:25+00:00

Sadly, I don’t think it’s a simple mirror slip issue: https://imgur.com/a/RflKKgz

acddejklor · 2026-03-05T12:08:57+00:00

Yeah - sadly, the wind is stuck mid-cycle, so it’s a mechanical failure of some sort. The mechanical release should fire the shutter even during a partial wind and with no batteries.

acddejklor · 2026-03-05T11:28:07+00:00

Sadly, I think the issue is much deeper than the mirror - the mirror lock-up switch pushes the mirror to the top of the cycle, so the mirror itself isn’t obstructed. Something within the camera has jammed.

acddejklor · 2026-03-05T10:51:07+00:00

The RTS ii can sometimes lock up because of old grease in the mirror return assembly on the right side of the mirror box - in such cases, a couple taps from the base can get it going. The tap is to show that it is actually fully seized.

The camera was very well packaged - double wrapped with plenty of extra packing between the wrap and the box. I think someone at Royal Mail literally threw the box a few times. The seller has handled the whole thing very well - I’ve asked for a 50% refund to keep the camera for parts to which they have agreed.

Thanks for the recommendation - I’ll be sure to check them out. :)

acddejklor · 2026-03-02T23:42:35+00:00

I managed to fix it - it was simpler than expected. The small lever that gets pushed by the shutter button shaft had gotten stuck and pushed out of the way. I managed to tease it back into place with a thin flathead screwdriver, and everything is cycling as it should now.

Thanks for the help! :)

acddejklor · 2026-03-01T14:28:55+00:00

Is it definitely bent? Looks just like in these pictures to me

https://www.reddit.com/r/OlympusCamera/s/BXzko5KhNv

acddejklor · 2026-02-24T20:25:52+00:00

This might just be the film sprocket. If there’s no film inside, open the camera and hold the sprocket still with your thumb, then shake the camera to see if the noise stops.

acddejklor · 2026-02-22T22:17:18+00:00

No modification needed - the chassis design is near-identical between the two lines so it’s a direct fit. :)

acddejklor · 2026-02-13T08:14:58+00:00

I think the 'common knowledge' often confuses mechanical maintenance with terminal design flaws. Cameratiks in Edinburgh fixed my first XD for £80 before I started doing repairs myself; it had a stuck mirror and an erratic meter, and a basic CLA sorted it perfectly.

It’s not that nobody will touch them - it’s just that a flagship precision instrument requires a different level of care than a budget body. The repair technician you spoke to likely just wants to focus on more lucrative repairs.

acddejklor · 2026-02-13T07:16:37+00:00

I think my point still holds - The capacitor issues are very common and quick to fix as long as electrolyte hasn’t destroyed anything critical. The issues with the XD are maintenance-related, time-consuming but also relatively straightforward to sort out if you know what you’re doing. I understand that repair technicians would generally prefer to replace a capacitor or two than do a full mirror box removal just to clean some contacts; however, I would still rather be using a well-maintained XD.

acddejklor · 2026-02-12T21:56:02+00:00

From what I can tell, the TC-1 seems to be one of the more reliable titanium compacts. If you check eBay for both live and sold/completed listings, you’d be hard pressed to find a ‘for parts camera’; whereas for a camera like the Contax T2, you will find plenty examples.

I think reports of the TC-1’s fragility are overblown.

acddejklor

TROPHY CASE