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 Quartz (also marketed in some regions as the Aria Quartz Date) is a variant of the standard Contax Aria with an integrated quartz date-imprinting back. Like the standard Aria, it is a compact multi-mode AE SLR on a magnesium alloy chassis, compatible with the full Contax/Yashica (C/Y) mount lens catalog. The date back imprints date or data information in the bottom corner of the frame at the time of exposure. All other specifications are identical to the base Aria: 30s to 1/4000s electronic metal-blade shutter, multi-pattern metering, four exposure modes (manual, aperture-priority, shutter-priority, program), and dual CR2 battery power.
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.
Develop 35mm film
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Before you buy used
About this camera
The compact Contax SLR with a built-in quartz date imprinter — all the Aria's AE modes, plus date data on the negative.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Mount | Contax/Yashica (C/Y) |
| Years | ~1998 – 2005 |
| 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 |
| Date back | Quartz date imprint |
| Weight | ~415 g |
| Battery | 2x CR2 |
Quartz date variants were a common commercial option in the late film era. Manufacturers offered date-back versions of most serious consumer and semi-professional bodies to appeal to the social and wedding photography market, where dated negatives provided workflow and legal documentation. Kyocera produced the Aria Quartz alongside the standard Aria from approximately 1998, with both models running to 2005 when Kyocera exited camera production. The Aria platform replaced the older, larger RTS and ST bodies in Kyocera's strategy to position Contax as a compact-pro brand for the late analog market.
The Aria Quartz is essentially the most practical variant of the Aria for photographers who wanted a permanent record of shooting dates embedded in their negatives. In the film era, this was genuinely useful for editorial, journalistic, and event work, where clients or editors might request dated documentation. The quartz mechanism is a minor addition that does not affect the camera's optical or mechanical performance.
From a collector or user standpoint today, the Quartz version trades the cleaner look of undated negatives for a period-accurate feature. Users who print their own negatives or scan for archival purposes may find the date imprint either useful or intrusive depending on their workflow. The underlying camera is identical to the standard Aria in every respect that matters photographically.
Full Contax/Yashica (C/Y) mount compatibility:
TTL flash with Contax TLA-series units (TLA200, TLA360). No motor drive available; film advance is built in and automatic.
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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