ContaxT2

Released into a period when Contax, Nikon and Minolta were trading punches over who could put the best fixed lens in the smallest body, the Contax T2 is a premium compact built around a Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* 38mm f/2.8. For context, Kendall Jenner Instagrammed one and the resale market never recovered.

Format

35mm

Year

1990

Lens

Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* 38mm f/2.8

Min. focus

0.7 m (0.4 m macro)

Flash

Built-in

Battery

1× CR123A

The Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* 38mm f/2.8 is the everyday-light specialist — not a low-light hero, but contrasty, sharp and honest at every aperture. Film supply is a non-issue: any 35mm cassette from any lab works. A single CR123A lithium cell powers everything including the motor; still cheap and stocked at most camera shops. The built-in flash will fire whenever the meter decides it should, so learn the override before your first night out. Minimum focus is 0.7 m (0.4 m macro), close enough for a coffee cup or a face but stops short of true macro. A quirk worth flagging up front: Helmut Newton, Karl Lagerfeld and Bruce Weber all carried T2s. The mild-normal focal length flatters faces and street scenes alike without either looking forced.

Reputation is doing a lot of the price work on the Contax T2; the camera is good, but pay for the camera, not the legend. One last detail: has its own sub-Reddit dedicated to whether yours has 'the look.'.

• §1Kendall Jenner Instagrammed one and the resale market never recovered.
• §2Helmut Newton, Karl Lagerfeld and Bruce Weber all carried T2s.
• §3Has its own sub-Reddit dedicated to whether yours has 'the look.'