>>3618352I had the Zoom version for 6 months. Such an irritatingly close to perfect camera. It has the *the* perfect compact zoom focal range and is very sharp, but the aperture range handicaps it to only be suitable on sunny days. I ultimately used it almost exclusively at the 28mm setting, which defeats the purpose. Also exposure was always sliiightly funky, and it having an aspeherical zoom results in strange out-of-focus regions and flare. I shot more than a dozen rolls with it before I just couldn't stand it producing sharp but somehow underwhelming images anymore. Its replacement, a Ricoh R1, is somehow the exact opposite. Technically imperfect (slightly soft corners) but of the first couple of rolls I've scanned, my hit rate is 2/3 or greater. If the Contax TVS didn't have the lens cable flaw, I'd have saved up all my pennies and bought one shortly after I first started shooting film. It's my dream camera, but there's no point in buying one because every time you open and close the lens it's one actuation closer to death. Obviously the R1 isn't famed for reliability either, (I already got one that turned out to be broken) but prices are holding steady at < 100 euro which is a bargain for an advanced compact.
