Contax reconsidered

All I remember about Contax is that;
1. The lenses cost a fortune.
2. It took great pictures.
3. The mid-1980s model I held had superb feel and construction and
at the time, I coudn't afford their system!
-Rich

 

I also used a Contax for a while in the 1980s.
The camera and lenses were high quality but when I look at my old pictures
I cannot tell what was taken with Minolta, Nikon or Contax.
Nor do I remember, nor do I care, nor does it matter: only the final image
matters.
What I do recall was that it was far more sensible to trade out of the
costly Contax line for equipment of equal or better value at a much lower
total cost because the Contax stuff was just not significantly better than
other quality Japanese brands.
I have held on to my old Leica M3 and lenses despite the dubious
cost/performance ratio: the Leica brand, especially of this vintage, is
worthy of the veneration that Japanese franchised Contax can only pretend to
deserve.
I couldn't care less what happens to the Yashica/Contax franchise but it
will truly be epochal--and heart breaking--when (I don't think there is an
"if" much longer) Leica has to rent out its 35mm name to a low cost Asian
OEM (ignoring the fact that Panasonic/Matsushita already is pimping a Leica
badged Panasonic Lumix--its only digital, after all).