Contax S2b
Contax (Kyocera) · Contax/Yashica mount · 1993
single source, unconfirmedAlso known as: Contax S2b · CONTAX S2b · Contax S2B · Kyocera Contax S2b · Contax S2b body · Contax S2b black · Contax S2b titanium black · Contax S2b C/Y · コンタックス S2b · コンタックスS2b · CONTAX S2b ボディ · コンタックス S2b ブラック
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S2b (titanium black, 1993–2000) | Contax/Yashica | 1993–2000 | — | — |
- The release date is the one contested fact. Japanese Wikipedia gives October 1993; English Wikipedia and Emulsive give 1994, and Casual Photophile says it came two years after the S2 of 1992. Both are recorded in disputed; the Japanese month-specific date is used for the year field.
- No launch price was found. Casual Photophile says only that it cost about $300 more than the S2; 35mmc put a used S2b at $600–700 in 2020 against $300–400 for an S2, the black body carrying a premium the reviews do not explain beyond its scarcity.
- Every specification is the S2's, since the two share a body; cdegroot.com's table (135° lever, 1/250 X, EV 4–20, two LR44/SR44, 565g, 134.5 × 89 × 51mm) is the one transcription specific to the S2b, and Casual Photophile and Emulsive give the same figures for the S2 apart from Casual Photophile's 560g and 134 × 89 × 50mm.
- Emulsive's note that the S2b took 'an alternate external flash' is unexplained there and is not confirmed by any other source; the shoe is a direct X contact on both bodies (cdegroot.com).
How to tell them apart
- Black titanium plates with the same body, controls and right-hand shutter-speed dial as the silver S2 (Japanese Wikipedia; 35mmc)
- Centre-weighted meter, read as LEDs in the finder beside the shutter speed; no aperture readout (cdegroot.com; 35mmc)
- Depth-of-field preview button, shutter-release lock, multiple-exposure lever, no mirror lock-up (cdegroot.com)
- Not to be confused with the Dresden Contax S of 1949 or the Contax S2 of 1992: the S2b is always black, the S2 always titanium-coloured (Japanese Wikipedia)
S2b (titanium black, 1993–2000):
- Black finish on the titanium top and bottom plates, called titanium black by Japanese Wikipedia, 'onyx' by 35mmc and 'smoky black' by cdegroot.com; the silver S2 is the same body
- Centre-weighted meter, where the S2 reads a 5mm spot (Japanese Wikipedia; 35mmc)
- S2b (titanium black, 1993–2000): The only version. Japanese Wikipedia has the colour and the metering pattern as the only changes from the S2; Emulsive adds a different external flash. Sold alongside the S2 until both were discontinued in 2000 (Casual Photophile; Emulsive). Priced about $300 above the S2 in the United States (Casual Photophile).
Specifications
- Finder
- fixed eye-level pentaprism with dioptre adjustment; horizontal split-image microprism screen as standard, interchangeable; shows the shutter speed and the meter LEDs (cdegroot.com; Casual Photophile for the shared body) · 0.82× magnification · 95% coverage · no rangefinder image
- Shutter
- mechanical vertical-travel metal focal plane, works without batteries (cdegroot.com; Japanese Wikipedia) · 1s–1/4000, B (cdegroot.com) · flash sync 1/250 and slower, X contact on the shoe only (cdegroot.com) · self-timer
- Film advance
- single-stroke lever, 135° throw with a 30° stand-off; manual rewind by crank with release button; multiple-exposure lever; counter resets when the back opens (cdegroot.com)
- Back
- hinged, opened by pulling up the rewind knob; film-check window (cdegroot.com)
- Meter
- TTL centre-weighted average, silicon photodiode, EV 4–20 at ISO 100, ISO 12–6400, manual exposure only; battery check on half-pressing the release; no TTL flash metering (cdegroot.com; Japanese Wikipedia; English Wikipedia). Two LR44 or SR44 cells, for the meter only
- Motor drive
- Not compatible — No winder or motor drive was made for the S2 body (Japanese Wikipedia)
- Weight
- 565 g
- Dimensions
- 134.5 × 89 × 51 (W × H × D), body only, 565g without batteries (cdegroot.com) mm
- Country
- Japan
- Accessories
- Interchangeable focusing screens shared with the S2: FU3, FU4, FU5 and FU6 (Emulsive) · Contax TLA flashes on the direct X-contact shoe, without TTL metering (cdegroot.com; English Wikipedia) · Two LR44 or SR44 cells for the meter (cdegroot.com)
Where sources disagree
- First
- October 1993 — Japanese Wikipedia
- 1994 — English Wikipedia; Emulsive's S2 review; Casual Photophile ('two years after' the 1992 S2)
The Japanese article gives a month, the English sources a year; 1993 is adopted for the year field with the dispute kept here.
- Weight (grams)
- 565g, 134.5 × 89 × 51mm — cdegroot.com's S2b specification; Emulsive and 35mmc for the S2
- 560g, 134 × 89 × 50mm — Casual Photophile for the S2
Better supported: 565g
What reviewers say
- James Tocchio (Casual Photophile) (blog) — A review of the S2 that covers the S2b as the same camera with a centre-weighted meter in place of the spot, sold alongside it until 2000 at about $300 more. 'The Contax S2 is a great camera', from a reviewer who prefers automation; the S2b's meter is the one he would rather have.
- Joe Monat (35mmc) (blog) — An S2 review that sets the two apart in a line: silver body and spot meter, or onyx body and centre-weighted meter, with the S2b at $600–700 used against $300–400. The verdict on the shared body, 'The Beauty of Simplicity', comes with a loud shutter, no mirror lock-up and no aperture in the finder.
- Cees de Groot (cdegroot.com) (blog) — A collector's page on the 'smoky black sibling' of the S2, with the full specification transcribed and the one functional difference stated: centre-weighted averaging metering. No verdict beyond the choice to own one.
History
The S2b is the S2 in black. Kyocera changed two things: the titanium top and bottom plates went from titanium colour to a black finish, and the 5mm spot meter gave way to a centre-weighted average reading (Japanese Wikipedia). Everything else is the camera of 1992: a fully mechanical vertical-travel metal shutter from 1 second to 1/4000 with X sync at 1/250, manual exposure only, a 95% finder at 0.82× with interchangeable screens, a 135° single-stroke lever with no winder available, a 10-second mechanical self-timer, depth-of-field preview, a multiple-exposure lever and no mirror lock-up, at 565g and 134.5 × 89 × 51mm (cdegroot.com). Two LR44 or SR44 cells run the meter, which reads EV 4–20 at ISO 100 across ISO 12–6400, and nothing else; the shutter fires with the battery chamber empty.
When it appeared is the one thing the sources argue about. Japanese Wikipedia dates it to October 1993; English Wikipedia and Emulsive say 1994, and Casual Photophile’s “two years after” the 1992 S2 agrees with them. Japanese Wikipedia also records that some S2 bodies had already been converted at the factory to centre-weighted metering, which suggests the demand the S2b answered. The two sold side by side until both were discontinued in 2000, the S2b at about $300 more than the S2 in the United States (Casual Photophile; Emulsive).
Nobody has reviewed the S2b on its own. James Tocchio and Joe Monat each review the S2 and set the S2b apart in a sentence: the same camera, black, with the meter most people would rather have. Monat’s figures put the premium at the second-hand counter too, $600–700 for an S2b in 2020 against $300–400 for an S2, a gap the reviews leave to scarcity. His list of faults carries over unchanged: a loud shutter with a ring after it, a stiff speed dial, no aperture readout in the finder, no mirror lock-up. Cees de Groot’s page calls it the smoky black sibling and transcribes the specification without passing judgement.
No launch price in yen or dollars has been found for either body, and no production total.
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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