Fiji 🇫🇯 x Contax T2
Recently I asked my instagram followers to vote on my travel destination and the camera I’d use to document the trip.
Fiji 🇫🇯 and the Contax T2 came out on top with 43% & 30% of the votes respectively (Vietnam & Canon EOS 3 were very close second places).
I’ve sold plenty of Contax T2’s in the past, but never really had a good opportunity (until this trip) to use my personal one, so I was really excited to find its strengths and weaknesses, and boy did I.
I’m going to put together a few interesting similarities I noticed between Fiji and the Contax T2, along with the strengths and weakness of the camera. Finished with my favourite photos from the trip.
Contax T2 Spoiler alert - you won’t find many better point and shoots…..however it does have it’s distinct weaknesses
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Both are BEAUTIFUL. The sharpness of the Carl Zeiss 38mm f/2.8 lens really rendered the landscapes and colours of Fiji beautifully. You can’t deny the elegant and minimilist design of the Contax T2, much like the raw natural beauty of the Fijian islands.
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Both are decently EXPENSIVE. You are looking at minimum $1,500AUD+ for a Contax T2 these days and for a country with a $4FJD ($2.69 AUD) minimum wage, prices for food, drinks, accomodation etc. were not too dissimilar to that of Australia. That being said, the entire trip didn’t actually turn out to be expensive considering everything I packed in.
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Both are an EXPERIENCE. Fiji is hands down one of the nicest countries i’ve ever visited and the Contax T2 is easily once of the best point and shoot user experiences you can buy. The control you get with aperture priority, and the luxury feeling within the hands is second to none.
- Both feel vulnerably DELICATE. Both feel very close to being no longer. Seas rising one meter, ocean warming, coral bleaching or a accidental drop of the camera into the water or onto rocks, you definitely feel on edge using this camera in the island environment.
Contax T2: Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths:
- Carl Zeiss lens & photo quality - The 38mm f/2.8 lens renders beautiful colours and sharp photos, better than 99% of other point and shoots on the market. Nothing more needs to be said.
- Aperture Priority - Having depth of field control (whilst the camera handles the shutter speed) is one of the biggest attractions for me as it gives more creative control than most point and shoots
- Size - It’s compact and relatively light, meaning it easily fits in all my bags and pockets. Yes it’s a bit heavier and bigger than other point and shoots like the Olympus MJU ii, however I didn’t notice it to be any less portable.
Weaknesses
- Price - The combination of T2’s cult status, image quality and limited availability means it comes with a premium price tag, putting it out of reach for many photographers.
- Delicate - Despite its premium build, the Contax T2 feels fragile, like it’s only one mistake away from breaking. This did make me take really good care of the camera, however I did always feel on edge when moving around or going places with it.
- Not ‘everything proof’ - aka it’s not waterproof, moisture proof or dust/sand proof, so for the snorkelling, swimming and quad biking, I brought the Canon PRIMA AS-1 waterproof point and shoot along.
The final thing I’ll say is … if you have the means to buy this camera, I would seriously consider it. If not, I could list of 10 other point and shoots for under half the price that will do 80+ % of what this camera can.
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