Report Abuse

“I bought my first CONTAX Aria in 1999 and loved it...”

Written on: 05/08/2003 by cceuk (1 review written)

Good Points
Handling, viewfinder, versatility, size and weight

Bad Points
CZ lenses are SO expensive!

General Comments
I bought my first CONTAX Aria in 1999 and loved it from the moment I picked it up, but the results were superb (even with the Yashica ML lenses, not the CZ items) and confirmed it as my favourite camera ever (a position previously held by the Contax 137MA). Sadly a burglar parted my company with both cameras, and with the insurance money I was seduced by an attractively priced Contax RX. For some reason I never got on with the RX - I think because of a poorly placed AEL button which resulted in countless over- and under- exposed pictures. Apart from this and a disappointingly dim viewfinder, it handled so well and felt superb, but eventually I sold it. I then bought my second Aria in January 2003 and found it as delightful as the first. There was a slight glitch when I ran my first slide film through it, and discovered a tendency to over-expose (though when the slides were scanned into my computer the exposure suddenly became spot-on for some strange reason). I got round this by over-riding the DX system and rating the 200ASA film at 250ASA.



I have not experienced any reliability problems with this or any other Contax camera.



No other camera I have handled comes close to the Aria. Even though it seems like the poor relation of the Contax range, do not be fooled - this is a seriously capable camera and delivers quality results. It is also simply an enjoyable camera to use.