Davide Caniatti

<a href=“https://davidecaniatti.com/post/contax-tvs-digital-shooting-with-a-2002-digital-camera/"http://google.com")" target="_blank” rel=“noopener noreferrer”>The first time I wrote about Contax TVS Digitalwas over a year ago. The discovery of this little digital camera was surprising to me. Not only does the technology of 20 years ago seem absurdly old, but above all useless. When I picked it up, I did it with an almost archaeological spirit, as if to reconstruct the functioning of a now-forgotten object. In fact, over time I realized that it is something much more: it works, and takes beautiful photos!

2021 was a challenging year. Now that it comes to an end, it is right to give us a little treat. In this spirit, I tried my luck and bought myself a Contax 645. It is a bit of a gamble as these cameras are prone to problems and malfunctions. Unlike other past models, once broken there is no way to repair them. Or rather, there is a way to cannibalize other bodies to take the necessary parts, but it is never an actual repair, but at most a transplant.

The twins lens reflex cameras (tlr) are undoubtedly cameras of the past, but still of great charm and rediscovered use. The possibility of having the quality of the medium format with a contained weight and dimensions made them popular around the middle of the last century. These qualities are still appreciated by photographers today, so much so that we are witnessing a real renaissance of TLRs. As evidence of this, we find a general increase in prices, with several Rolleiflex models now unapproachable.

We usually associate medium format with the word “professional”. This equation is historically accurate: the 135 format was reserved for amateurs and photojournalists, with surprising overlaps between these two categories. The point & shoots then were totally a consumer product dedicated to enthusiasts, but not too advanced. So seeing a point & shoot in 645 format, with the word “professional” on it, creates a bit of an oxymoron. Is it possible to make these different souls coexist?

The 90s were undoubtedly the golden age of point & shoots. Innovations in the optical field, as the introduction of AF and the help of electronics, have helped to create iconic camera bodies even today. Among them, there is certainly the Contax TVS. The German-Japanese brand took full advantage of this trend, producing many popular models such as the T2 and, indeed, the TVS. With the advent of digital, these camera bodies were among the first to disappear, as they were intended for those rich amateurs, who went digital before professionals.