2026-03-29 The Contax TLA20 Electronic Flash

The Contax TLA20 is a 1980’s Through The Lens (TTL), Low and Hi Power Manual flash.

It works particularly well on Contax 139, 137, RTSII, 159MM, 167MT and St cameras. It’s head doesn’t tilt or zoom. The TLA20 had a wide flash panel that allowed the flash to cover a 24 mm lens. Although there is space in the case for this panel, it didn’t have it when I acquired it.

The back has a slightly puzzling exposure guide at the top. There is a switch OFF/Lo/ Hi/Auto bottom right. The Lo and Hi are manual power settings. There is a test light bottom left.

The flash foot has two extra contacts (other than the standard hotshoe middle contact (of course the side of the foot has the final contact for the hotshoe). One of the two contacts tells the camera the flash is powered up so the camera will set itself to the sync speed. The camera displays it is ready to fire in the viewfinder by switching to the sync speed and displaying a red lightening bolt. The camera can also tell the flash what aperture the lens is going to use. Then the other contact is communication from the TTL sensor telling the flash it has exposed enough so it will shut down. If there was enough light the lightening bolt will briefly flash.

Returning to the exposure guide and taking a random example—if you were using ASA 400 film and set the camera to f/8 you could get an accurate TTL exposure from 1 — 5 m (3.3 —16 feet). If you were making a manual exposure and used the Lo setting you would have a correct exposure at 0.75 m (2.4 ft), unless you have the wide panel attached and you would have to be 0.33 m (1.1 ft) away. On the Hi manual setting you would exposing correctly for 5 m (16 ft). Unless you are using the wide panel. In that case you are exposing correctly for 3 m (10 ft). The Manual Lo setting allows the flash to keep up with most winders for awhile but you really need to be close.
Are you confused yet?

The flash takes 4 AA batteries in a really nice compartment down the back of the unit. I say nice because it is so easy to clean the contacts compared to many other flash unit’s battery storage compartments. Being relatively modest in output the TLA20 can recycle in 5 seconds from a full manual flash.

The Contax TLA20 came in a heavy vinyl snap case.

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