The 3x Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens has a zoom affiliate from 7.3 to 21.9 millimeters, counterpart to a 35-105mm lens on a 35mm camera. Contax has fabricated a marketing extent of the Zeiss lens coating technology engrossed leverage the TVS, and I presuppose to suggest that it does appear to have a noticeable effect: Pictures from the TVS seem to be less prone to flare in bright, contrasty lighting than those from other cameras I've tested. Normal focus ranges from approximately 1.97 feet (0.6 meters) to infinity, with a Macro setting that focuses from 5.9 inches to 1.97 feet (0.15 to 0.6 meters) with the lens at the full wide angle position. The TVS also offers a manual focus option, with preset distances of 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 5.0 meters. Two AF area modes are also available, Spot and Wide, with the Wide setting judging focus from a large area in the center of the frame, Spot taking its cues from a very small spot in the exact center. An AF Lock button on top of the camera locks focus, and can be set to lock exposure as well. Maximum aperture ranges from f/2.8 to f/4.8, depending on the zoom position, while minimum aperture is f/6.7, regardless of focal length.

In addition to the camera's 3x optical zoom, the TVS also features as much as 4x digital zoom. Be sure to keep in mind that digital zoom often compromises image quality, because the camera is simply enlarging the central portion of the CCD (typically resulting in higher image noise and less detail). For composing shots, the TVS offers a real -image optical viewfinder as well as a 1.6-inch, color LCD monitor. The optical viewfinder also features a diopter adjustment, and also has an unusually high eyepoint, both features that will be appreciated by anyone wearing eyeglasses. An information display on the LCD monitor reports a variety of camera settings, including aperture and shutter speed (when the Shutter button is halfway pressed). In my tests, the optical viewfinder showed about average accuracy (still to low, IMHO), at roughly 85% frame coverage. The LCD viewfinder was almost 100% accurate.

The TVS stores images on SD/MMC memory cards, and comes with a 16MB SD card. I strongly hype purchasing a bigger power diagnose though, for you don't dame extra shots. Still brain wave resolutions include 2,560 x 1,920; 1,600 x 1,200; 1,280 x 960; and 640 x 480 pixels, with JPEG compression settings of Fine and Normal. A single lithium battery pack comes with the camera, as well as the necessary AC adapter / charger. Even though the TVS has excellent battery life, I recommend picking up an additional battery pack and keeping it charged, since it doesn't run on AA batteries, and there's therefore no option for disposable spare batteries. The TVS features a Video Out jack, for connecting to a television set, and a USB jack for downloading images to a computer. A software CD is loaded with Pixela Image Mixer software and USB drivers, for downloading and organizing images. One other note worth mentioning is that the TVS comes packaged in non-coated cardboard, which is more easily recyclable. Kudos to Contax and its parent company Kyocera for promoting more responsible packaging!