Glass Bodies a variant-level encyclopedia of vintage lenses and cameras by iwillpat

Contax 137 MA Quartz

Contax (Yashica) · Contax/Yashica mount · 24×36mm on 35mm film · 1982

Also known as: Contax 137 MA Quartz · Contax 137MA · Contax 137 MA · Contax 137MA Quartz · CONTAX137MA · Contax 137 MA Quarz · Yashica Contax 137 MA · コンタックス 137MA · コンタックス 137 MA · コンタックス137MA クォーツ

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
137 MA Quartz (1982–86) Contax/Yashica 1982–1986 — No figure published
  1. 610 g is Japanese Wikipedia's figure, given as the saving over the MD's 665 g. ImagingPixel prints 655 g in one place and 665 g with batteries in another, the second being the MD's number; see disputed.
  2. ImagingPixel prints the film-speed range as ISO 12 to 5320, which looks like a misprint of 3200 and is not adopted. Its 1981 introduction date in the body text contradicts the 1982 in its own title.
  3. No launch price in yen or dollars was found in the sources read; Japanese Wikipedia lists none for the body.
  4. The shutter type and 1/60 X setting come from ImagingPixel, matching Karen Nakamura's description of the MD's cloth shutter; the 139's vertical shutter and 1/100 sync do not carry over to the 137 bodies.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • RTS-sized motorised body with no advance lever; shutter-speed dial on the left under the rewind crank (Blue Moon Camera)
  • Manual speeds on the dial separate it from the 137 MD, whose dial has only A, X and B (ImagingPixel; Karen Nakamura)
  • Self-timer LED on the front flashing through the 10-second delay (ImagingPixel)

137 MA Quartz (1982–86):

  • Shutter-speed dial with manual speeds as well as A, X and B, placed on the left of the top plate under the rewind crank (Blue Moon Camera; ImagingPixel)
  • Motor housing in the base for four AA cells, as on the MD (ImagingPixel; David De)

Specifications

Format
24×36mm on 35mm film
Finder
fixed eye-level pentaprism · 0.86× magnification · 95% coverage · no rangefinder image
Shutter
horizontal-travel cloth focal plane, electronically controlled with quartz timing (ImagingPixel; David De) · Aperture priority 11s–1/1000 stepless; manual 11s–1/1000 by ImagingPixel, 1s–1/1000 by David De; X (1/60); B · flash sync X at 1/60 (ImagingPixel); TTL auto flash through the shoe contacts (David De) · self-timer
Film advance
built-in motor, single frame or continuous at 3 fps, powered by four AA cells, 1.5 V dry or 1.2 V nickel-cadmium (Japanese Wikipedia; ImagingPixel; David De)
Meter
TTL centre-weighted; aperture-priority AE and manual, ±2 EV compensation in 1/3 steps; TTL flash metering (Japanese Wikipedia; David De; ImagingPixel). ImagingPixel also lists spot metering, which no other source gives.
Motor drive
Not compatible — None needed: the 3 fps motor is built into the body (Japanese Wikipedia)
Weight
610 g
Dimensions
143 × 92.5 × 51 (ImagingPixel) mm
Country
Japan
Accessories
TLA-series TTL flashes through the shoe contacts (David De)

95% and 0.86× by ImagingPixel; David De calls the screen bright

Where sources disagree

First
  • October 1982 — Japanese Wikipedia, citing two references; ImagingPixel's page title; Karen Nakamura (1982–87)
  • 1981 — English Wikipedia's table; ImagingPixel's body text

Better supported: October 1982

Collector sites place its arrival in France in summer 1983 and David De in North America in spring 1983, consistent with a late-1982 Japanese release.

Last
  • About 1986, replaced by the 167 MT — David De
  • 1987 — Karen Nakamura

The 167 MT's own launch is dated 1986 or 1987 by different sources.

Weight (grams)
  • 610 g — Japanese Wikipedia, as the reduction from the MD's 665 g
  • 655 g, and 665 g with batteries — ImagingPixel, in two places on the same page

Better supported: 610 g

Speeds (slowest manual speed)
  • 11 s — ImagingPixel
  • 1 s — David De

The automatic range to 11 s is agreed.

What reviewers say

History

The Contax 137 MA Quartz is the 137 MD with the features its users asked for. Japanese Wikipedia dates it to October 1982 and says the manual exposure mode was added in answer to user requests, the built-in motor went from 2 to 3 frames per second, and the weight came down from 665 g to 610 g. David De adds TTL flash metering to the list of changes. The quartz-timed cloth shutter still runs from 11 seconds to 1/1000 under aperture-priority automation and syncs at 1/60, but the speed dial, placed on the left of the top plate under the rewind crank (Blue Moon Camera), now carries the full manual range rather than the MD’s A, X and B.

Underneath it is the same RTS-sized chassis: four AA cells in the base drive the motor, the 95% finder at 0.86× is unchanged, and compensation runs ±2 EV in third stops (ImagingPixel). The date is less settled than the specification. English Wikipedia’s table and ImagingPixel’s text say 1981, Japanese Wikipedia October 1982 with two references, and De records the camera reaching North American shops in spring 1983, which fits a late-1982 Japanese launch. It ran until the 167 MT replaced it in about 1986 by De’s account, or 1987 by Karen Nakamura’s.

In use De finds a high-quality but hefty advanced-amateur SLR with a bright screen and a muted advance, not far behind his preferred RTS II, with primitive film loading as its weak point. Jonas Ranstam’s five frames at 35mmc show the other side of the secondhand market: a body bought for about €90 mainly for its Planar 50mm f/1.7, with worn leatherette and a light leak until the seals were done. No launch price was found in the sources read.

Expand Collapse

This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.

Live listings

Buying from Yahoo! Auctions outside Japan. It is a domestic marketplace: sellers ship within Japan, and most will not register an overseas buyer. A proxy service bids on your behalf, receives the item and forwards it, for a fee and a wait. Buyee, Jauce and ZenMarket each accept a Yahoo auction number directly. Listed alphabetically for information — none is recommended over another, and none of these is an affiliate link.

Listings updated 2026-11-02. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: Contax 137 MD Quartz · Contax 139 Quartz · Contax 167 MT

Lenses for this body: Apo-Sonnar T* 200mm f/2 (C/Y) · Distagon T* 15mm f/3.5 (C/Y) · Distagon T* 18mm f/4 (C/Y) · Distagon T* 21mm f/2.8 (C/Y) · Distagon T* 25mm f/2.8 (C/Y) · Distagon T* 28mm f/2 (C/Y) · Distagon T* 28mm f/2.8 (C/Y) · Distagon T* 35mm f/1.4 (C/Y) · Distagon T* 35mm f/2.8 (C/Y) · F-Distagon T* 16mm f/2.8 (C/Y) · Makro-Planar T* 100mm f/2.8 (C/Y) · Makro-Planar T* 60mm f/2.8 (C/Y) · Mirotar T* 1000mm f/5.6 (C/Y) · Mirotar T* 500mm f/4.5 (C/Y) · Mirotar T* 500mm f/8 (C/Y) · PC-Distagon T* 35mm f/2.8 (C/Y, shift) · Planar T* 100mm f/2 (C/Y) · Planar T* 135mm f/2 (C/Y) · Planar T* 50mm f/1.4 (C/Y) · Planar T* 50mm f/1.7 (C/Y) · Planar T* 55mm f/1.2 '100 Jahre Planar' (C/Y) · Planar T* 85mm f/1.2 anniversary editions (C/Y) · Planar T* 85mm f/1.4 (C/Y) · S-Planar T* 100mm f/4 bellows lens (C/Y) · Sonnar T* 100mm f/3.5 (C/Y) · Sonnar T* 135mm f/2.8 (C/Y) · Sonnar T* 180mm f/2.8 (C/Y) · Sonnar T* 85mm f/2.8 (C/Y) · Tele-Apotessar T* 300mm f/2.8 (C/Y) · Tele-Tessar T* 200mm f/3.5 (C/Y) · Tele-Tessar T* 200mm f/4 (C/Y) · Tele-Tessar T* 300mm f/4 (C/Y) · Tessar T* 45mm f/2.8 (C/Y) · Vario-Sonnar T* 100–300mm f/4.5–5.6 (C/Y) · Vario-Sonnar T* 28–70mm f/3.5–4.5 (C/Y) · Vario-Sonnar T* 28–85mm f/3.3–4 (C/Y) · Vario-Sonnar T* 35–135mm f/3.3–4.5 (C/Y) · Vario-Sonnar T* 35–70mm f/3.4 (C/Y) · Vario-Sonnar T* 40–80mm f/3.5 (C/Y) · Vario-Sonnar T* 70–210mm f/3.5 (C/Y) · Vario-Sonnar T* 80–200mm f/4 (C/Y)

Sources (7)

Every page here is assembled from public sources, and the gaps are real ones. If you own this camera, know a serial number I'm missing, or can see where I have it wrong, tell me — corrections, serials and sample photos are all worth having.