C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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The Contax Aria Limited is a limited-edition kit edition of the Contax Aria SLR, produced by Kyocera in approximately 2002 as one of several special-edition sets issued in the closing years of the Contax C/Y-mount system. The body itself is mechanically and electronically identical to the standard Aria: magnesium alloy chassis, multi-pattern silicon metering, full four-mode exposure automation (manual, aperture-priority, shutter-priority, program), and an electronically controlled metal-blade shutter running to 1/4000s with a 1/200s flash sync. The defining feature of the Limited edition is its inclusion as a kit with one or more **Carl Zeiss FA Limited** lens variants — a series of special-finish limited-production C/Y-mount lenses issued alongside commemorative Aria bodies. The complete kit was sold in presentation packaging and is rarely encountered with all components intact.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
View profile →BW
Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
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Before you buy used
About this camera
A limited-edition Aria kit bundled with FA Limited-series Carl Zeiss glass — late C/Y system in presentation packaging.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Mount | Contax/Yashica (C/Y) |
| Introduced | ~2002 |
| Discontinued | ~2002 |
| Shutter | 30s - 1/4000s + B, electronic vertical metal |
| Flash sync | 1/200s |
| Meter | Multi-pattern silicon |
| EV range | EV 0 – EV 21 |
| Modes | Manual, Aperture, Shutter, Program |
| Weight | ~410 g body only |
| Battery | 2x CR2 |
| Kit lens | Carl Zeiss FA Limited lens (variant unverified) |
| Status | Rare |
By the early 2000s, Kyocera's Contax division was operating in a shrinking film camera market. Digital compacts were eroding compact film sales, and autofocus SLR systems from Canon and Nikon dominated the professional and advanced amateur segments. The C/Y-mount system, which had never incorporated autofocus, was sustained by a community of photographers committed to the optical quality of Carl Zeiss T* glass.
Kyocera responded to this late-era niche with a series of limited-edition kit sets pairing production Aria bodies with special-run lenses under the "FA Limited" designation — FA indicating the lens was finished to a specific aesthetic standard for a limited collector release. These kits were marketed primarily in Japan and through specialist camera retailers in Europe. The Aria Limited sits alongside the Aria 70 Years and other commemorative kit sets produced in 2001-2003, all of which were among the last new products from the C/Y SLR line before Kyocera's 2005 exit from camera manufacturing.
The Aria Limited carries interest on two distinct registers. As a collector set, the intact kit — body, FA Limited lens or lenses, presentation packaging, and documentation — is scarce and represents a documented moment in the deliberate wind-down of one of the great optical systems in 35mm photography. The FA Limited lenses carry independent collector value; removed from a kit they are desirable C/Y glass on their own merits.
As a shooting instrument, the Aria body is the same capable multi-mode SLR available in the standard production version. The magnesium alloy chassis, comprehensive exposure automation, and compatibility with the full C/Y lens catalog make it a practical choice for contemporary film photographers regardless of the Limited designation. The bundled FA Limited lens, whatever its specific focal length, represents a superior piece of glass that stands on its own merits in a shooting context.
Kit lens: Carl Zeiss FA Limited (specific lens unverified). The Aria body accepts all Contax/Yashica C/Y mount lenses:
Compatible flashes: Contax TLA-200, TLA-360 with TTL metering. Data back available for date imprinting.
BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
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Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
View profile →Contax Aria Limited
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