Contax RTS II

Overview

The Contax RTS II is the 1982 successor to the original Contax RTS — a refined version of the flagship Yashica/Kyocera-era Contax 35mm SLR that adds quartz-timed shutter accuracy, a 97% viewfinder coverage (vs. the RTS's 92%), and a horizontal titanium-foil shutter curtain replacing the original RTS's cloth focal-plane shutter.^[1] Production ran from 1982 until 1990, when the RTS III launched as the new flagship — making the RTS II's eight-year run the longest of the Yashica/Kyocera-era Contax flagship 35mm SLR bodies.

For 35mm SLR photographers building a refined C/Y mount kit on a working budget today, the RTS II is the sweet spot of the Contax flagship line — sub-$500 used pricing for a body that has the quartz timing of the Aria, the titanium-foil shutter durability of the RTS III, the AE-Lock metering convenience of every later C/Y body, and the F. Alexander Porsche-styled body that defines Contax visual identity. The trade-offs vs. the RTS III: no vacuum film flattening (RTV is RTS III-exclusive), no 1/8000 top shutter speed (RTS II tops at 1/2000), no 100% viewfinder coverage (RTS II is 97%), no integrated motor drive (the RTS III has a built-in motor drive at up to 5 fps; the RTS II requires the optional Winder accessory).

Construction and build

• Body weight — 735 g without battery.^[1]
• Body dimensions — 142 × 89.5 × 50 mm (essentially the same footprint as the original RTS at 142 × 90 × 50 mm; small refinements in the construction).
• Shutter — quartz-timed electronically-controlled horizontal titanium-foil focal-plane shutter; speeds 1 s through 1/2000 s plus B. Titanium foil curtain replaces the RTS's cloth shutter for improved durability and timing consistency.
• X-flash sync — 1/100 s (improved over the RTS).
• Materials — die-cast metal body shell with leatherette covering; satin chrome trim. Same F. A. Porsche styling vocabulary as the original RTS.
• Battery dependency — the body needs battery for shutter timing and meter; manual fail-safe shutter release at 1/50 s is mechanical and works without battery.

Distinguishing features (vs. original RTS)

The RTS II's defining refinements over the 1975 RTS:^[1]

• Quartz timing — replaces the RTS's non-quartz electronic timing for improved shutter speed accuracy across all speeds. Long-term shutter consistency is meaningfully better than the original RTS.
• 97% viewfinder coverage (vs. the RTS's 92%) — better framing precision; less surprise of "elements appearing in the developed frame that weren't visible in the viewfinder."
• Horizontal titanium-foil shutter curtain — replaces the RTS's cloth curtain. The titanium foil is more durable than cloth (less prone to pinholes over decades), enables faster timing consistency, and is the technical refinement that distinguishes RTS II from the original.
• AE-Lock feature — locks exposure (EV value) for unlimited time. Newly-added to the RTS II; the original RTS lacked AE lock entirely.
• Manual shutter release fail-safe at 1/50 s — should the meter battery die, the camera retains the ability to fire at 1/50 s without battery via mechanical fail-safe. The original RTS lacks this; if the battery dies, the original RTS is non-functional except at flash-sync. The RTS II's fail-safe is meaningful for working photographers who can't afford to be camera-down due to dead battery.
• AE lock + standard exposure compensation carry forward from the 139 Quartz, which introduced these to the C/Y line in 1979.

The Contax/Yashica (C/Y) mount and Carl Zeiss T* lens system

Same C/Y bayonet mount as every Yashica/Kyocera-era Contax 35mm SLR. Full Carl Zeiss T* lens compatibility — Distagon wides, Planar normals, Sonnar teles, Tessars, plus Yashica ML budget options. The RTS II shipped commonly with the 50mm f/1.4 Carl Zeiss Planar T* as the kit normal.

Lens lineup recommendations for an RTS II kit:

• 50mm f/1.4 Planar T* (canonical kit normal)
• 28mm f/2.8 Distagon T* (wide-angle)
• 85mm f/1.4 Planar T* (portrait — Contax's most-prized portrait lens)
• 135mm f/2.8 Sonnar T* (short telephoto)

Working notes

• Mechanical fail-safe at 1/50 s is the RTS II's most-cited working-photographer feature — a battery-dead RTS II can still capture an exposure at flash-sync speed where the original RTS cannot.
• Titanium-foil shutter durability — bodies in working condition today are noticeably more reliable than original RTS bodies of the same age, due to the more durable titanium curtain.
• AE Lock workflow — depress the shutter halfway to engage; pan to recompose; full-press to fire. Standard 1980s implementation.
• Self-timer — electronic, ~10-second delay.
• Common service items on a 40-year-old body: shutter timing verification (less drift than RTS but worth verifying), light seals (foam strips around the back), AE meter calibration, prism silvering (rare). Contax specialist CLA: $200–400 typically.

Used market and reliability

• RTS II body only — working condition: $250–500 (US 2026 pricing).
• RTS II body + 50mm f/1.4 Planar T* — working condition: $400–700.
• RTS II kit (body + 28mm + 50mm + 135mm Carl Zeiss T)* — working condition: $800–1,400.

The RTS II's used market is healthier than the original RTS's because the titanium-foil shutter holds up better over decades — buyers correctly perceive the RTS II as the more reliable long-term ownership prospect. Pricing reflects this: RTS II bodies trade roughly 30–60% above original RTS bodies despite both being mid-1970s-to-1980s flagship-era cameras.

Common buying-checklist items: shutter timing accuracy at all speeds (the quartz timing is reliable but verify), AE Lock function, light seal condition, viewfinder cleanliness, battery contact corrosion.

Related cameras

• Contax RTS — the predecessor; cloth shutter; no AE Lock; lighter
• Contax RTS III — the 1990 successor; vacuum film flattening + 1/8000 + 100% viewfinder + integrated motor drive
• Contax 139 Quartz — the contemporary mid-range C/Y body
• Contax Aria — the 1998 compact final manual-focus C/Y body
• See [[contax-rts-aria-cluster-deepened]] for the broader Contax SLR comparison

External references

• Contax RTS II (Camera-Wiki) — community-edited reference for body specifications
• Contax (Wikipedia) — brand history