Contax 137 MD Quartz
Contax (Yashica) · Contax/Yashica mount · 24×36mm on 35mm film · 1980
Also known as: Contax 137 MD Quartz · Contax 137MD · Contax 137 MD · Contax 137MD Quartz · CONTAX137MD · Contax 137 MD Quarz · Yashica Contax 137 MD · コンタックス 137MD · コンタックス 137 MD · コンタックス137MD クォーツ
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 137 MD Quartz (1980–82) | Contax/Yashica | 1980–1982 | — | No figure published |
| Contax CGCM (stripped military and oscilloscope body) | Contax/Yashica | — | — | No figure published |
- 665 g is Japanese Wikipedia's figure and Nakamura's; ImagingPixel gives the same number with batteries. Dimensions are Nakamura's alone.
- No launch price in yen or dollars was found in the sources read; Japanese Wikipedia lists none for the body.
- The film-speed range differs between the two spec pages: ASA 12–3200 by Nakamura, ISO 25–5000 by ImagingPixel. ImagingPixel also lists spot metering, which no other source gives for the MD; its description of the 137 as the smallest SLR with an integrated motor is its own.
- The CGCM is known only from English Wikipedia's one sentence; nothing else read describes it.
How to tell them apart
- RTS-sized body with the motor and four AA cells in the base, no advance lever (Japanese Wikipedia; Karen Nakamura)
- A, X and B are the only positions beside the automatic speeds: a 137 with manual speeds from 11 s to 1/1000 on the dial is the MA (Karen Nakamura; ImagingPixel)
- Shutter speed read off a vertical scale at the right of the finder (Karen Nakamura)
- Self-timer LED on the front that flashes through the 10-second delay (ImagingPixel)
137 MD Quartz (1980–82):
- Shutter dial offers only A (aperture priority), X (1/60) and B; no manual speeds (Karen Nakamura; ImagingPixel)
- Motor housing in the base holding four AA cells; no advance lever (Karen Nakamura; ImagingPixel)
- Selected shutter speed shown on a vertical scale at the right of the finder (Karen Nakamura)
- 137 MD Quartz (1980–82): Released May 1980 (Japanese Wikipedia). An RTS-sized body with the winder built in, the first Contax with automated film advance, and aperture-priority only; the 137 MA of 1982 added manual speeds, raised the motor to 3 fps and cut the weight from 665 g to 610 g (Japanese Wikipedia).
- Contax CGCM (stripped military and oscilloscope body): A severely stripped-down 137 MD supplied to the Swedish military and used for photographing oscilloscope screens (English Wikipedia). Years, numbers and the exact specification are not given by any source read.
Specifications
- Format
- 24×36mm on 35mm film
- Finder
- fixed eye-level pentaprism; matte screen with split-image spot and microprism collar; shutter speed on a vertical scale at the right · 0.86× magnification · 95% coverage · no rangefinder image
- Shutter
- horizontal-travel rubberised cloth focal plane, electronically controlled with quartz timing (Karen Nakamura; ImagingPixel) · Aperture priority 11s–1/1000 stepless; manual settings only X (1/60) and B (Karen Nakamura; ImagingPixel) · flash sync X at 1/60 through the hot shoe or the PC socket on the front; TTL auto flash through the shoe contacts (Karen Nakamura; ImagingPixel) · self-timer
- Film advance
- built-in motor, single frame or continuous at 2 fps, powered by four AA cells in the base (Japanese Wikipedia; Karen Nakamura; ImagingPixel)
- Meter
- TTL centre-weighted, aperture-priority AE only, with AE lock and ±2 EV compensation in 1/3 steps; TTL flash automation with dedicated flashes (Karen Nakamura; ImagingPixel; Japanese Wikipedia). Nakamura gives the cell as CdS with a range of EV 0–18 at ISO 100.
- Motor drive
- Not compatible — None needed: the 2 fps motor is built into the body (Japanese Wikipedia; Karen Nakamura)
- Weight
- 665 g
- Dimensions
- 143 × 92.5 × 51 (Karen Nakamura) mm
- Country
- Japan
- Accessories
- TLA-series TTL flashes through the shoe contacts (Karen Nakamura)
95% and 0.86× by Karen Nakamura and ImagingPixel
Where sources disagree
- Meter (film speed range)
- ASA 12–3200 — Karen Nakamura
- ISO 25–5000 — ImagingPixel
Neither page cites the manual; Nakamura's 12–3200 matches the range usually given for the 139 generation.
What reviewers say
- Karen Nakamura (Photoethnography) (blog) — "A nice little automatic-exposure SLR" bought cheaply from a Japanese dealer; the Zeiss lenses are, in her words, the main reason to buy into the system. Her page carries the fullest specification table found for the MD.
- Dusty Grain (blog) — Asks what the cheapest Contax can do and finds a body that feels good in the hand with a large, bright finder, an incredibly cheap way into Zeiss lenses; the meter is often defective on surviving bodies and the camera is heavy.
History
The Contax 137 MD Quartz was shown at Photokina 1978 beside the 139 Quartz but did not reach the shops until May 1980, almost a year after its smaller sibling (Japanese Wikipedia). It is the body that put a motor inside a Contax: an RTS-sized chassis with the winder built into the base, running on four AA cells and advancing at 2 frames per second, so there is no lever at all. Exposure is aperture-priority only. The quartz-timed shutter runs steplessly from 11 seconds to 1/1000 under automation, and the dial’s only other positions are X for 1/60 flash sync and B (Karen Nakamura; ImagingPixel). Unlike the 139’s vertical-travel shutter, the 137’s is a horizontal rubberised cloth curtain, which is why it syncs at 1/60 rather than 1/100.
The finder shows 95% of the frame at 0.86× on a matte screen with a split-image spot and microprism collar, with the selected speed on a vertical scale at the right. The centre-weighted TTL meter offers an AE lock and ±2 EV of compensation in third stops, and the hot shoe carries TTL flash contacts for the TLA flashes with a PC socket on the front for everything else (Nakamura; ImagingPixel). At 665 g it is the heaviest of the three Quartz bodies, and the figure Japanese Wikipedia quotes when it says the 137 MA of 1982 cut the weight to 610 g, added manual speeds and raised the motor to 3 fps.
Two oddities attach to it. A severely stripped-down version called the Contax CGCM was supplied to the Swedish military and used for photographing oscilloscope screens (English Wikipedia), though nothing read gives its years or numbers. And the 137 MD was the base for the 1982 Contax AF prototype, with a Honeywell TCL sensor and a body-side focus motor, which never went on sale (Japanese Wikipedia). Reviewers treat the MD as the cheapest door into Zeiss C/Y glass: Karen Nakamura calls it a nice little automatic-exposure SLR, and Dusty Grain praises the bright finder while warning that the meter is often defective on surviving bodies.
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
Asking price, DKK: a median of DKK 1,600 across 5 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-02 (middle half DKK 1,600–DKK 1,600). First day tracked.
Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.
- Contax 137 MD Quartz - test shot October 2026
- Contax 137 MD Quartz - New light seals and test shot October 2026
- Contax 137 MD Quartz - New light seals December 2024
- Contax 137 MD Quartz - New light seals April 2024
- Contax 137 MD Quartz - New light seals January 2025
- ＜作例あり＞CONTAX 137 MD QUARTZ ボディ フィルム一眼レフ
- ★動作品★ コンタックス CONTAX 137 MD QUARTZ ボディ #8778_49_20L
- ★良品★ コンタックス CONTAX 137 MD QUARTZ E1461
- 【動作OK】CONTAX 137 MD QUARTZ ボディ#1015
- 【良品】 CONTAX コンタックス 137 MD QUARTZ トカゲ皮 ボディ フィルム一眼レフカメラ ＃3079360
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- ◆CONTAX【137 MD QUARTZ】+レンズ【Carl Zeiss Planar 1.4/50 T*】動作品ですが現状・ジャンク品 コンタックス
- 難あり コンタックス CONTAX 137 MD QUARTZ ブラック 同梱無料 #my1634
- 【中古】CONTAX コンタックス 137 MD QUARTZ フィルム一眼レフカメラ
- 名機 CONTAX 137 MD QUARTZ シャッター OK
- Contax Carl Zeiss 137 MD QUARTZ ブラックボディ コンタックス MFフィルムカメラ + Planar T* 50mm F1.7 AE (f22677)
- CONTAXコンタックス 137 MD QUARTZ フィルムカメラ トカゲ皮 一眼レフ ボディ レトロ ジャンク品 佐川急便着払い
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