Hi Chris,
Glad to hear you've got the RX sussed and are enjoying it.
About Contax ever-ready cases: years ago, I thought they made splendid ever-ready cases. My local dealer assured me that the current stock in this part of the world are for Contax flex-type cases. Most are designed C-2, C-3,C-4 etc and are soft cases, designed for the more 'modern' Contax users with a zoom lens. Contax don't appear to make a tight nor rigid fitting ever-ready case to support the SLR and standard lens - it sounds like you were looking for a dedicated ever-ready case, which can be worn on the camera, or at least half-dressed on the camera at times. The prices here are similarly expensive for the flex-style cases (except with British bargain value reeling in at around 55-85 sterling!) These look like vinyl printed leather (no authentic designation on the case) and are not particularly handsome by Contax standards. Even with the Contax label on the case, it looks cheap. (The dealer himself wasn't too impressed with the case either, but then he trades Leicas).
The Contax flex-type case has a huge mouth to cram the lens head-in before gaping to swallow the camera body and close its lips on the back of the camera. The snout - yes - the allusions to a particular animal - is zippable on demand, should you need to fit a longer zoom. These snouts are measured in centimetres such that its possible to estimate which lenses will fit in the case. As a result, carrying this should ensure you are arrested by the fashion police.
I didn't find the dedicated ever-ready flex cases particularly traditional nor functional. The thickness of the material seems around 3mm (at best) and is easily rolled for storage however isn't overwhelmingly shock-absorbant. The print appears to mimick cow leather, however the repetitions in the patterns make me wonder if the print was scanned in by a poor quality digital, and reproduced en masse?
The fit for your camera will not be tight-fitting either; there will be loose baggage within the camera case, so it may be possible to cram a spare set of batteries, a shaver, a bingo card, or even a sandwich without the mayonnaise depending on the size of the snout. The ex&le I looked at didn't have a built-in tripod hole either...you could cut one...
Tarzan (the lord of the Contax jungle) in my local dealer told me that the subtle differences in Contax SLR precludes other cameras fitting well into another case, however the 167MT case (which I think is still available) doesn't share the same design as the flex-cases and is less offensive to the eye. The Aria case won't fit the RX well or at all......small is very beautiful.
There are the standard independents which you'll be able to scout around and others will have more experience than I on this (and many other matters) no doubt. I thought the Contax flex-type case compared favourably (excepting price) with other designs. Still I thought I might share my pleasure from using the north-American neoprene Zing (is Canada part of North America - excuse my ignorance, but I'm British?. The design is ultramodern and built from shock-absorbant 5mm neoprene. It comes in 3 sizes. The standard should fit the RX. The fit is very close, and built in one piece, with a flap which covers either a standard lens (or a different bag to cover a zoom) without any hard-bits to knock or scratch your camera against. It also costs a fraction of the flex-type, and can be strapped on juxtaposed to the body to d&en rebound vibration when bolting for the next train or bus etc.
Alternatively, if you've not been sold by any of the independents nor Contax, you could go to a saddler. English saddlers still make camera bags, however its a dying art, and most complain they don't cut even for the amount of hard work that goes in to customising a one-off camera bag. Clearly there's a market for the rest of the cow!
I hope that helps.
Joe99