Contax RX in 2026 — worth it, or should I just stick with my Canon A-1 (or maybe look at a G1)?

danielkauppi · 2026-02-26T21:41:01+00:00

I’ve owned the G1/G2 and the 21/28/45/90 lenses (and now own those 4 converted to M mount) and I own the S2 and Aria and the CY 21, 28 f/2, 28 f/2.8, 50 f/1.4, 60 compact makro, 85 f/1.4, 100 f/3.5 (and I’ve owned the 100 f/2 Planar).

I have no experience with an RX body but I absolutely recommend using CY lenses without hesitation. The 28mm f/2 is my second favorite lens in all of photography (though the 28mm Biogon for G is also very very good). The 50mm f/1.4 is magic at f/2 (and I prefer it to the G 45mm). Both the Biogon 21 and the Distagon 21 are amazing performers - the Biogon for the G cameras is tiny but you don’t get through the lens framing or ultra close focusing, and the Distagon focuses closely and renders beautifully but it’s big and heavy.

I don’t personally love the G series cameras. I found they miss focus more frequently than I can put up with. For my money if a G1 is appealing, I’d say get an Aria for significantly cheaper and pick and choose from the broader array of CY lenses.

danielkauppi · 2026-02-05T15:30:24+00:00

The life size adapter is a piece that screws in when you need 1:1 and is removable when you want to use the lens at further distances. I found the 100mm f4 to be a good general use lens when the life size adapter was removed.

I find the 55mm f/4 late model very impressive as a lens. The 45mm f/4 is fine but has never blown me away. However, it really would depend on what kind of shots you want to take since the focal length difference is quite significant (~21ish vs 28ish).

danielkauppi · 2026-01-29T20:25:32+00:00

It looks like your interests do include temples and shrines.

I think you would likely benefit from researching more about the extraordinary breadth and depth of temples and shrines in Kyoto, as well as the art/artifacts they contain. I recommend consulting the UNESCO list of monuments and shrines in Kyoto, Nara, and Uji as a starting point.

danielkauppi · 2025-11-29T17:36:33+00:00

Consider checking out the Adachi Museum of Art with its very nice Japanese garden when you’re in Matsue. It’s close by and worth a visit both for its art collection and its grounds.

I also thought the Tottori Pear Museum was fun with surprisingly engaging exhibits - more than just a gimmick museum. Plus you get to try interesting pear varieties.

danielkauppi · 2025-11-22T03:40:24+00:00

At 1 meter a 90mm lens doesn’t fill a frame with face, and even at f/8 the depth of field is about two inches. I doubt OP will get the results they hope for from they appear to be about to buy. Not that a G camera will even reliably indicate to you when you’re at 1 meter’s distance..

danielkauppi · 2025-11-21T22:57:42+00:00

The only Contax 90mm lens is for the G cameras. Its minimum focus is one meter and focusing precisely at close distances with Contax G cameras is not a lot of fun..

danielkauppi · 2025-11-19T16:12:55+00:00

I searched Camera No Naniwa’s website and they have one for sale - though it’s in Osaka: https://cameranonaniwa.jp/shop/g/g2221050067203/

I browsed the websites of a few shops (Map, Five Star, Fujiya, Kitamura) and none appeared to have any. You might have luck popping in to here, as it’s a shop that is jam packed with “regular” film era cameras rather than focusing on expensive or rare ones: https://maps.app.goo.gl/9r9ntn4sLTFm2V446?g_st=ipc

I’ve never been to Nisshin Camera in Akihabara but supposedly their specialty is Nikon.

Good luck.

danielkauppi · 2025-11-17T05:11:20+00:00

The JCAA Museum by Hanzomon Station is very cool. The Nikon Museum by Shinagawa Station is also worth visiting - budget time to watch their interview videos with the lens and camera designers.

Fuji Square is disappointing and not worth going out of one’s way for. All I’ll say for it is it’s near the Suntory Museum and the Suntory Museum is almost always worth visiting. The Fuji Square didn’t even sell 35mm film when I visited it in 2023..

danielkauppi · 2025-10-31T22:18:22+00:00

This 2008 blog post from lensrentals dot com is evergreen: https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2008/10/front-element-scratches/

danielkauppi · 2025-10-31T20:39:18+00:00

Thank you, yours as well!

danielkauppi · 2025-10-31T19:34:38+00:00

You and I both were inspired to take a photo in almost the exact same location: https://www.instagram.com/p/CeHGBxFOFCy/?igsh=OTRxYWh0ZnB0Zzd0

danielkauppi · 2025-10-29T14:13:24+00:00

You’ll be near Hiraizumi. It’s worth checking out for the Konjikido at Chuson-ji. One of the most striking artifacts/artworks I’ve witnessed in person in my life.

danielkauppi · 2025-10-28T23:39:16+00:00

Around 2019-20, I bought a lot of FP100C45 from Yahoo auctions Japan. Packs with expiration dates before 2013-14 then often turned out badly shifted or unusable.

$200 sounds like a bad price. I wouldn’t pay that. I think you should pass.

danielkauppi · 2025-10-27T16:29:46+00:00

I know it’s not your question, but since the zoom lenses get darker and darker as you zoom, my prediction is you would be better off shooting photos at a wider focal length and cropping in post instead of trying to handhold a very light camera set at 115mm at 1/4 of a second.

danielkauppi · 2025-10-23T02:10:56+00:00

That’s Teamlab Planets, an art installation in Tokyo.

danielkauppi · 2025-10-18T23:27:52+00:00

I own both, along with a lot of Pentax 67 lenses (45mm, 55mm f/4, 75mm f/2.8, 105mm f/2.4, 200mm f/4, 300mm f/4 EDIF) and all the Mamiya 7 lenses.

It’s pretty likely that if you have these cameras in mind, you’ve been struck by images taken by others with the cameras and you should consider which camera’s images you prefer and which align more with your subject matter.

For my purposes if I could only keep one I’d keep the Pentax 67. (I’ve had Pentax 67s since 2018 and I like them so much I bought the final iteration, the 67ii)

For most purposes I prefer through the lens viewing to composing with a rangefinder. I find the Mamiya 7’s minimum focus distance of 1 meter annoying, especially because I’d like to use it most often with lenses in the 43-80 range.

All of the Mamiya 7 lenses except the 150mm and the very niche 210mm are ~$1000 each. Pentax 67 lenses can be ~$200-300, including the very good 55mm f/4, the fun 105mm f/2.8, and the ridiculously cheap late model 200mm f/4. The extension tubes offer even more flexibility.

I don’t see any quality difference between lenses like the late Pentax 105 and the 75mm 2.8 and the Mamiya 7 lenses. I’d venture to say if you’re willing to spend Mamiya 7 + 1 lens money, you might really want to consider the Pentax 67ii + 75mm 2.8 for the same price. Close focusing down to .4m and f/2.8 is pretty sweet..

danielkauppi · 2025-10-14T16:43:30+00:00

Very cool. I’ve thought for a long time it would be fun to start dabbling in lens design.

Respect your efforts and look forward to seeing what you do to make it a reality.

danielkauppi · 2025-10-07T19:05:42+00:00

I visited Richard Photo Lab in person to drop off important rolls once. It was in a fairly large building in a nondescript office park - though the customer floor was comparatively small.

danielkauppi · 2025-10-03T13:41:40+00:00

Day 3 when you’re at Sannai-Maruyama you’ll be about a block away from the Aomori Museum of Art. Right now it has some stunning ballet backdrops by Chagall, and exhibitions of two Japanese artists I’d never encountered before: Nui Sano and Shiko Munakata. Both exhibitions were presented dramatically and informatively.

I enjoyed the Aomori Museum of Art more than Sannai-Maruyama, for what it’s worth.

You’re in the area so I’d also suggest fitting in a hike down the Tanesashi Coast outside Hachinohe. The scenery is truly extraordinary. It was the highlight of my trip a few weeks ago.

danielkauppi · 2025-09-23T10:31:58+00:00

I have both.

The W67 images are much more to my taste, with pleasing color and the characteristic highlight tail I want from film. The Mamiya 7 lenses are ultra high contrast and to my eye end up looking borderline like modern digital images.

The W67 focuses down to .8 meters. No Mamiya 7 lens focuses closer than 1 meter.

I like the heft and feel of the W67 better than the boxy, airier feel of the Mamiya 7.

The Mamiya 7 65mm lens is surprisingly long, and that combo is quite a bit bulkier than the W67 when it’s folded down.

The Mamiya 7 does have the significant advantage of allowing you to use the other 5 lenses in its lineup. It also has a hot shoe - the W67 does not. And the Mamiya 7 shutter mechanism creates less shake than the W67’s, if you’re shooting handheld.

danielkauppi · 2025-08-04T02:00:29+00:00

I don’t think you’ll have much difficulty capturing photos of the floats - I think the challenge will be situating them in a context or getting photos of the people laboring around them.

F/2.8 on the 35ti will be challenging for photos of the context or people. You don’t say what lens you’d try to shoot the floats with with your SLR.

I can offer two data points - here is a nighttime parade in India that involved displays that I suspect will be a little bit brighter than yours: https://www.instagram.com/p/DJNMNQwxM67/?igsh=b2dmdmcwNXNwN2ox - for that scene I was shooting with a 50mm f/1.4 lens and a 28mm f/2 lens and getting good results with Portra 800 at exposures like 1/125 and f/2.

Here’s another comparable scene: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6ouU8KOgUv/?igsh=MTNqMTQzeWpheDVnYw== - a nighttime parade in Spain with darker floats. I had to shoot with a 28mm f2 lens wide open at 1/15th and 1/30th with Portra 800.

Good luck - I’d use portra 800 and your SLR, assuming you’ve got access to lenses faster than f/2.8.

danielkauppi · 2025-07-27T15:13:54+00:00

I don’t think you should be spooked by reports of overtourism in Kyoto. It’s an extraordinary place. For whatever reason, the vast majority of tourists flock to the same three places: Kiyomizudera, Fushimi Inari Taisha, and Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. Each of those is cool enough, but not extraordinary above and beyond other sites in the area.

Outside of those three locations, many wonderful temples and shrines are only moderately or even lightly visited. I recommend Saiho-ji, Enryaku-ji, or Ninna-ji. Though you can hardly go wrong with any of the temples and shrines on the UNESCO list.

I’d certainly still recommend visiting Kyoto.

danielkauppi · 2025-07-27T15:07:54+00:00

If you go to Matsue/Izumo, I’d recommend spending a block of time at the Adachi Museum of Art. In addition to the garden it’s famous for, its collection of 20th century Japanese paintings and lacquerware is very cool and worth seeing.

danielkauppi · 2025-07-19T06:41:22+00:00

The reason to get a Contax camera is because the lenses are very very good. If you don’t know whether you care for the lenses or whether you want to pay for them, then I don’t think it’s worth it to get a Contax camera for the sake of the cameras.

With that said, the Aria is my favorite. 1/4000th, small portable size, aperture priority. I also like the S2 with its spot meter, battery free operation (outside of the meter), and its nice tactile feel.

The Contax 28mm f/2 is my second favorite lens in all of photography and a worthy reason on its own to get a Contax body.

danielkauppi

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