The model
Contax T2
Kyocera · From 1990 (Wikipedia gives 1991). Later followed by the T3. Kyocera announced in April 2005 that it would stop shipping Contax cameras in September 2005
A titanium autofocus pocket camera with a Zeiss Sonnar, aperture priority and a manual focus option, whose price multiplied in the late 2010s for reasons that had little to do with photography.
- Format
- 35mm film
- Made by
- Kyocera
What it was
Kyocera built it under the Contax name and sold it from 1990. The proposition was a genuine Carl Zeiss T* Sonnar in a titanium shell small enough to carry all the time, with active infrared autofocus and a manual focus option, aperture priority, exposure compensation of plus or minus two stops in half-stop steps, and a fixed flash you had to ask for.
Then something happened to it that had nothing to do with the camera. It started appearing in the hands of celebrities, and in 2018 Bellamy Hunt of Japan Camera Hunter told Kosmo Foto that prices had tripled or quadrupled in the previous year or two. They kept going. A specialist dealer was quoting around two thousand dollars for a serviced example in 2026, with parts described as scarce and a donor camera often the only source.
We mention the price history because it changes what you are looking at. A T2 is now bought by two different groups for two different reasons, and only one of them cares whether it focuses accurately.
What it is good for
Carrying a Zeiss lens without carrying a bag. That was the original argument and it still holds: 295 grams, 33 millimetres deep, and a 38mm Sonnar that does not apologise for being in a compact.
People who want control in a pocket camera. Aperture priority, exposure compensation in half stops, AE lock, and autofocus you can override by hand on a wheel marked in distances.
Quiet work. A leaf shutter in the lens rather than a focal-plane shutter, so it is far less conspicuous than an SLR.
Where it falls short: no manual ISO, so pushed or hand-rolled film needs the compensation dial or a re-coded cassette. No f/2.8 on demand. Active infrared autofocus that the manual says handles subjects behind glass badly. And the thing nobody writes in a specification — it is now expensive enough that a fault which would scrap another camera is worth repairing, so a surviving example may well have been opened before.
Troubleshooting
The camera dies whenever the flash fires
Owners report the camera freezing after the flash fires, with the lens out, until the battery is taken out and put back. The suspects discussed on the forums are the battery contacts, a contact spring sitting too low, and a tired or poor-quality cell that sags when the flash charges. Start with a fresh CR123A from a known maker and clean the contacts. One owner reported that pressing the contacts down slightly cured it; bending contacts carries its own risk.
Try this before anybody quotes you for electronics.
Blinking 00, and it will not recognise the film
Two quite different causes. The common one is a kinked or badly seated leader — curl the leader and reload, and treat the camera's alignment mark as a guide rather than a precise stop. The other is a fault inside: in one case a repairer traced it to a cracked solder joint on the contact of the film-sensing infrared sensor. Try reloading with another roll before assuming the second.
It will not shoot at f/2.8
It is not supposed to. The ring's widest mark is engraved 2.8, but setting it there selects programme AE and a P lights in the finder. In programme the camera chooses both values. Aperture priority covers only the marked stops smaller than f/2.8. It is a common complaint, and it is not a fault.
A low-light workaround published on 35mmc is to select flash and tape over the flash window; its author reports f/2.8 at 1/30 in the dark. Treat it with care: the manual describes flash exposure as flashmatic, with the shutter between 1/30 and 1/500, so the settings are the camera's choice, not yours.
The flash did not fire in the dark
The T2's flash is fixed in the body and is switched on from the aperture ring. The manual says that with the ring on a flash setting it fires regardless of the brightness of the subject. Check where the ring is set.
It stopped working in the cold
That is the cell, not the camera. The T2 runs on a single CR123A 3 V lithium, sold as DL123A by some makers and still widely available. The manual warns that battery performance falls below 0°C, so carry a spare in an inside pocket. If instead it dies when the flash fires, see the first section above.
It focused on the background
The autofocus reads what is inside the focus frame in the finder. Put the frame on the subject, half-press to lock focus, then recompose, as the manual describes. The closest distance is 0.7 m, and the manual lists subjects behind glass among those the autofocus handles badly.
The frames overlap, or it half-advances
This one is worth taking seriously. In one repairer's account a half-advance was caused by two leaking electrolytic capacitors, whose electrolyte had corroded contacts under the main board and the parts around a gear axle. Specialist, promptly.
The focus runs to the end stop and ignores the distance you set
The autofocus encoder lifting or misaligning, with torn jumper links. Specialist repair — re-gluing the encoder and bridging tracks.
What goes wrong, and what fixes it
Battery contact spring, imitating a dead camera
Put first because it is cheap to rule out. Owners report the camera freezing when the flash fires, revived only by re-seating the cell. Forum advice points at the contacts, the contact spring and the cell itself. Fit a fresh cell from a known maker and clean the contacts before assuming anything worse.
The lens flex cable
A broken flex cable is one of the faults Brooklyn Film Camera says can send a repairer hunting for a donor camera. Aftermarket replacement ribbons are also sold. Independent technician.
One caution from a repair bench: a camera that had been through five previous repairers, with the fault put down to the shutter cable, turned out to have a displaced shutter-open sensor contact. Reported causes on this model are not always the actual causes.
Electrolytic capacitor leakage
Symptom in one repairer's account: the film advanced only halfway, overlapping frames. Two capacitors had leaked electrolyte under the main board and oxidised contacts and the parts around a gear axle; the gearbox itself was clean. He removed the oxidation and replaced the capacitors. Do not leave it.
The autofocus encoder
Focus runs to the end stop and sticks, ignoring manual distance settings. The encoder lifts or misaligns and the jumper links tear. Specialist.
Film-sensing fault
Blinking 00 with a correctly loaded film. In one repairer's account the contact of the infrared film sensor had cracked away because of poor soldering; resoldering it cured the camera. Specialist.
Cracked processor or damaged board tracks
The same camera that had been through five repairers had cracked solder on the processor's legs and board tracks burnt by earlier soldering. The technician resoldered the processor and bridged three damaged tracks with copper wire. If a T2 has been round several repairers already, that history is part of what you are buying.
A bent lens barrel
A slightly bent barrel stops the lens extending fully. One owner was quoted around two hundred dollars by a New York repairer.
A light leak on a T2
Brooklyn Film Camera lists light leaks around the film door among the problems of ageing T2s, so look at the door first. We have not found a published map of any foam seals in a T2, or a pre-cut seal kit for it. Anyone selling a T2 seal kit should be able to tell you what it replaces.
Where a T2 goes for service
When Kyocera left the camera business in 2005 it promised after-sales service for at most ten years, so service now means an independent. Owners name Nippon Photo Clinic in New York, and repairers in the UK, Poland and Japan. Brooklyn Film Camera put a full service at four to five hundred dollars in 2026.
Two claims that do not survive checking
The T2 has manual focus — 0.7 m to infinity on the top wheel, with a focus mark in the finder. It is in the manual and the data sheet, and at least one dealer's 2026 buying guide says it does not exist.
And it does not share a lens with the T3. The T2 is a 38mm, five elements in four groups; the T3 is a recomputed 35mm with six.
Every one of these we list has been through the checks on this page first, and what we found is written on the listing.
Written once and kept up to date. It applies to every example of this model, not only to the one in the photograph. The facts were last checked on 23 September 2026, against the maker’s own published figures where they exist; where sources disagree, the page says so.
More like this: 35mm film cameras, or every model we have written up.
Specification
Lens — Carl Zeiss T* Sonnar 38mm f/2.8, 5 elements in 4 groups
Shutter — between the lens, electronically controlled. Programme AE 1 s to 1/500 per the manual, with automatic long exposures beyond 1 s in low light; some sources, Camerapedia among them, give 8 s to 1/500. Aperture priority from under 1 s to 1/200; with flash 1/30 to 1/500. For exposures of 1 s or more the camera switches itself to what the manual calls bulb exposure
Aperture — f/2.8 to f/16. The ring is engraved 2.8 at its widest; setting it there gives programme AE, and a P lights in the finder. Aperture priority uses only the smaller stops, so f/2.8 cannot be commanded by hand
Exposure — metering range EV 3–17 at ISO 100. Compensation plus or minus 2 EV in half-stop steps. AE lock on a half-press
Film speed — DX 25–5000. Non-DX film is read as ISO 100. No manual setting; the workarounds are the compensation dial or re-coding the cassette
Focus — active infrared autofocus, plus manual focus on a top-plate wheel marked in distances, with a focus mark in the finder. 0.7 m to infinity. We have not found a published number of autofocus steps
Viewfinder — 0.6x magnification, 85 per cent coverage per the manual. Shows shutter speed, programme mark, focus mark, compensation and flash indication
Flash — built in and fixed; it does not pop up. Flashmatic, setting the aperture from the focused distance. Range 0.7–3 m at ISO 100, recycle about 3.5 s
Self-timer — electronic, 10 s, cancellable
Weather sealing — none claimed
Power — one CR123A or DL123A 3 V lithium cell
Weight — 295 g without battery
Dimensions — 119 x 66 x 33 mm
Body — titanium
Finishes — titanium silver, black, gold
Here now
None here at the moment. They come through a few times a year, and this page stays up so you can find it when one does.