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 RTS III Black is a finish variant of the Contax RTS III, the professional apex of the Contax/Yashica C/Y-mount SLR line introduced in 1990. Mechanically and electronically identical to the standard chrome-and-black RTS III, the Black edition presents the body in a uniform matte black finish across its brass and aluminum alloy chassis. The core technical achievements remain the same: a **1/8000s maximum shutter speed** on an electronic vertical metal blade shutter, a **vacuum film-flattening system** that holds the film plane against the pressure plate using a small pump to minimize film curl-induced focal-plane shift, and a 97% coverage pentaprism viewfinder. The Black finish was produced alongside or as a variant of the main production run; it is encountered less frequently than the standard version and carries a collector premium for its visual uniformity.
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.
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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
The RTS III flagship in all-black finish - same vacuum film flattening and 1/8000s shutter, rarer livery.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Mount | Contax/Yashica (C/Y) |
| Introduced | ~1990 |
| Discontinued | 2005 |
| Shutter | 30s - 1/8000s + B, electronic vertical metal |
| Flash sync | 1/250s |
| Meter | Center-weighted silicon |
| EV range | EV -2 – EV 21 |
| Modes | Manual, Aperture-priority |
| Viewfinder coverage | 0.97 |
| Weight | ~740 g |
| Battery | 4x AA |
| Vacuum system | Yes - active film-flattening |
| Finish | Matte black (uniform) |
The RTS III arrived in 1990 as the successor to the RTS II, substantially upgraded in its shutter mechanism, metering range, and film-plane engineering. Kyocera, which had acquired Yashica in 1983, manufactured the body and marketed it under the Contax brand alongside Carl Zeiss T* lenses. The standard RTS III combined chrome trim with black body panels; the Black variant presented the full body in a uniform dark finish — a configuration that parallels similar all-black variants produced by Nikon (F3T, FA Black), Canon (F-1 Black), and Leica (R-series black chrome) during the same era for professional and photojournalist markets that preferred visual discretion.
The entire Contax SLR line, including all RTS III variants, was discontinued when Kyocera announced its exit from the camera business in April 2005.
As a technical instrument, the Black edition differs from the standard RTS III in finish only. Both share the vacuum film-flattening mechanism, which addresses a genuine optical variable: film buckling and curl in the gate can shift the focal plane by tens of microns — a meaningful deviation when shooting wide-aperture Zeiss glass like the Planar T* 50mm f/1.4 at close distances. The vacuum system largely eliminates this variable, making the RTS III — in either finish — the more metrologically rigorous choice for scientific, macro, or exacting commercial work.
The Black edition carries additional value as a collector piece. Uniform all-black professional-grade SLRs from the film era are consistently sought by collectors, and the combination of the RTS III's technical pedigree with the rarer finish creates a premium above the standard body. For working photographers, the Black finish also reduces lens flare from body reflections in some shooting conditions.
Full Contax/Yashica (C/Y) mount compatibility. Typically paired with top-tier Zeiss glass:
Compatible flashes: TLA 360 and TLA 480 with OTF TTL metering. The Contax Data Back RTS III replaces the film door for data imprinting. The vacuum film-flattening system activates automatically and adds measurably to battery consumption.
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.
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