Contax RX II
Contax (Kyocera) · Contax/Yashica mount · 2002
Also known as: Contax RX II · Contax RXII · CONTAX RXII · CONTAX RX II · Contax RX2 · Contax RX-II · Kyocera Contax RX II · Contax RX II body · Contax RXII C/Y · コンタックス RXII · コンタックスRXII · コンタックス RX II · コンタックス RX2
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RX II (2002–2005) | Contax/Yashica | 2002–2005 | — | — |
- Kyocera's RX II specification page, archived 10 December 2003, is the RX page with two changes: the DFI row is gone, and the shutter-speed row reads 'B, X (1/125, 1/250)' where the RX's reads 'B, X (1/125)'. The shutter row above it still gives X (1/125) on both pages. Whether the RX II syncs at 1/250 or the '1/250' is a slip is not settled by any other source reached; see disputed. kakaku.com's spec table lists no sync speed.
- Weight and dimensions are Kyocera's and kakaku.com's figures and are identical to the RX's 810g and 151 × 104.5 × 59mm; no source weighs the RX II separately, so whether removing the DFI module changed the weight is not known.
- Mike Eckman's statement that the RX II was Japan-only is the only one found on its markets; Kyocera's own documentation reached is the Japanese product site. No launch price was found other than Kyocera's ¥132,000, which its feature page gives as the price set for the model.
- Kyocera's feature page repeats the RX page's double statement of the slowest automatic speed, 16 seconds in the shutter row and 32 seconds in the speed row.
- No production figure and no serial table were found. Japanese Wikipedia calls the 1998 Aria the final model of the series although the RX II appeared four years later; en.wikipedia's table of Contax SLRs ends with the RX II.
How to tell them apart
- RX II on the top plate; the body, covers and control layout are the RX's (Kyocera feature page; kakaku.com user reviews)
- Drive dial with single, continuous, self-timer, 2-second self-timer and multiple-exposure positions, and no DFI position with its small lever (Kyocera feature page; Mike Eckman for the RX dial)
- No focus-indicator readout in the finder LCD; a brighter screen than the RX's (Kyocera; kakaku.com user reviews)
- Shutter-speed dial with mode collar on the left, exposure-compensation dial with A.B.C. collar, release collar as power switch and AE lock, dioptre knob beside the hot shoe, deep right-hand grip, P-8 port at the lower left of the back, all as on the RX (Mike Eckman for the RX; Kyocera says the exterior is unchanged)
RX II (2002–2005):
- RX II on the top plate, on an otherwise unchanged RX shell (kakaku.com user reviews)
- 2-second self-timer position on the drive dial where the RX has its DFI setting; no DFI readout in the finder (Kyocera feature page; kakaku.com user reviews)
- RX II (2002–2005): Black only. Kyocera's feature page presents it as a minor change of the RX, 'the standard camera of the Contax 35mm manual-focus SLR system': the RX's aluminium die-cast body and metal top and bottom covers, its six custom functions and its between-frame date imprint are kept; the DFI is deleted and the light its sensor took goes to the finder, and a 2-second self-timer is added to the drive dial. Mike Eckman calls it short-lived and Japan-only; Kyocera's Japanese site is the only maker's documentation reached.
Specifications
- Finder
- Fixed eye-level pentaprism, long eyepoint, dioptre adjustment +1 to −3 as on the RX, interchangeable FW-type focusing screens (five, shared with the RX), eyepiece blind; finder LCD without the DFI readout (Kyocera spec and feature pages) · 0.8× magnification · 95% coverage · no rangefinder image
- Shutter
- Vertical-travel focal plane, electromagnetically controlled metal blades, as on the RX (Kyocera spec page) · Av and P 16s–1/4000; Tv 4s–1/4000; manual 4s–1/4000, B, X (Kyocera spec page). A second row of the same page gives 32s–1/4000 in auto; see disputed · flash sync X at 1/125 in the shutter row of Kyocera's specification; the shutter-speed row of the same page gives X at 1/125 and 1/250, see disputed. TTL direct flash control with TLA units, with automatic shutter-speed setting on Kyocera's auto-set flashes (Kyocera spec page) · self-timer
- Film advance
- Built-in motor as on the RX: automatic loading, single and continuous advance, multiple exposure (normal or continuous by custom function CF2), automatic rewind at the end of the roll or on the lever (CF6), leaving the leader out or winding it in (CF5) (Kyocera feature page). The frame rate is not given
- Back
- Hinged, with the between-frame date imprint as standard: year-month-day, day-hour-minute, month-day-year, day-month-year or none (Kyocera feature page)
- Meter
- TTL centre-weighted average (EV 1–20) or spot (EV 5–20) at ISO 100 with an f/1.4 lens, as on the RX; aperture priority, shutter priority, program, manual, TTL auto flash and manual flash; ±2 EV compensation; A.B.C. bracketing at ±0.5 or ±1 EV, with the order chosen by custom function CF3; AE lock by half-pressure or the exposure-check button (CF1); depth-of-field button held or push-on push-off (CF4) (Kyocera spec and feature pages). No evaluative pattern: the dprforum thread records Kyocera Japan's confirmation that metering is spot and centre-weighted only
- Motor drive
- Not compatible — The motor is built in; no separate winder exists.
- Weight
- 810 g
- Dimensions
- 151 × 104.5 × 59, about 810g without battery (Kyocera spec page; kakaku.com gives the same) mm
- Original price
- ¥132,000 body only, ¥176,000 with the Planar T* 50mm f/1.4 MM, before tax (Kyocera, which says the RX's ¥160,000 was revised down to this figure for the RX II); Flex case C-4 ¥10,000 (today ¥150,000)
- Accessories
- Interchangeable FW-type focusing screens, five, shared with the RX (Kyocera feature page) · TLA-series flashes with TTL direct control and automatic shutter-speed setting on the auto-set units (Kyocera spec page) · Flex case C-4, ¥10,000 before tax (Kyocera spec page) · P-8 external power pack of four AA cells, by the RX's port, which Kyocera says the RX II's exterior keeps (Mike Eckman for the RX)
Kyocera says that with the DFI's metering path removed all the light goes to the finder optics, for about 20% more light than the RX and easier focusing; kakaku.com owners repeat the 20% figure. The dprforum thread records Kyocera Japan's confirmation that the 2-second timer gives no mirror pre-release.
Where sources disagree
- Flash sync
- X at 1/125 — the shutter row of Kyocera's RX II specification page, as on the RX
- X at 1/125 and 1/250 — the shutter-speed row of the same page, which on the RX page reads 1/125 only
Better supported: 1/125
The two rows are Kyocera's own text and disagree with each other. The shutter row is the fuller statement, and the RX, whose shutter the RX II keeps, syncs at 1/125; no other source reached gives a sync speed for the RX II.
- Speeds (slowest automatic speed)
- 16 seconds in Av and P — the shutter row of Kyocera's specification page
- 32 seconds in auto — the shutter-speed row of the same page; kakaku.com's spec table also gives 32 seconds
Better supported: 16 seconds
The same double statement appears on Kyocera's RX page, where Mike Eckman's test of the RX confirms 16 seconds.
What reviewers say
No reviews aggregated yet — this family is still in the research queue. Written one? We'd love to index it.
History
The Contax RX II went on sale on 5 November 2002 (kakaku.com), eight years after the RX whose body it reuses. Kyocera’s own feature page describes it plainly as a minor change: the aluminium die-cast body and metal top and bottom covers are the RX’s, so are the shutter, the two metering patterns, the six custom functions and the between-frame date imprint, and the only deletions and additions are the Digital Focus Indicator, taken out, and a 2-second self-timer on the drive dial, put in. Removing the DFI mattered more than it sounds, because the focus sensor had taken light from the finder path; with it gone Kyocera claims about 20% more finder light, and owners on kakaku.com repeat the figure. The list price was cut at the same time, from the RX’s ¥160,000 to ¥132,000 body only (Kyocera).
Kyocera called the result the standard camera of its 35mm manual-focus system, a simpler tool for photographers used to making pictures without a focus readout. The specification is otherwise the RX’s: 16 seconds to 1/4000, X at 1/125, centre-weighted or spot metering, program, shutter-priority, aperture-priority and manual, ±2 EV compensation, three-frame bracketing, a built-in motor with automatic loading and rewind, a 95% / 0.8× long-eyepoint finder with dioptre adjustment and five interchangeable screens, one 2CR5 cell, 810g and 151 × 104.5 × 59mm (Kyocera; kakaku.com). The 2-second timer gives no mirror pre-release, and there is no evaluative metering, both confirmed by Kyocera Japan to a dprforum member. One oddity of Kyocera’s specification page is a second X-sync figure of 1/250 in one row where the row above and the RX page give 1/125; no other source settles it.
Mike Eckman describes the RX II as short-lived and Japan-only, and the only maker’s documentation reached is Kyocera’s Japanese site; no English-language review of it was found, and the two owner reviews on kakaku.com are the published opinion. It is the last new body listed for the Contax/Yashica mount in en.wikipedia’s table, and Kyocera announced on 12 April 2005 that production of the mount would end that month (Digital Camera Watch).
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.
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