Cascadilla
Well-known
You'll have to get past our ferocious guard cat...
Timmyjoe
Veteran
This is what almost got me to buy a Contax IIa camera after I sold my IIIa. I LOVED advancing the film and watching that inner frame number dial spin around with each frame advance. Such a cool little mechanism.
The IIA is no longer mine....
Shawn
Best,
-Tim
boojum
Ignoble Miscreant
The Contax II/IIa cameras are just gorgeous to my way of thinking. I am influenced because I first saw one in '53 or '54. A fellow student had one that his dad had gotten from a German officer in WW II. I remember him taking out the lens and showing me how the metal shutter worked. All I knew was the in-lens shutter of my little Vito II so a focal plane was magical. So, I guess like a baby duckling, I was imprinted and have followed the Contax ever since. And if they made current digital equivalents to the M bodies I would probably be using them with those CZJ lenses. Likewise, I started recently with the Sonnars and have stayed with them. Great lenses. Just another creature of habit. And loving it.
Cascadilla
Well-known
And here is the pre war set (without my Contax I). The cameras are sitting on their respective close up sets. In the front are finders for other lenses (L-R) 28 mm, 28,35,50,85,135 turret, 28,50,85,135,180 turret and 85/135 masks for III and II.
boojum
Ignoble Miscreant
You will need more than a guard cat. That is a gorgeous collection. Just gorgeous. You lucky dog, or cat.
Cascadilla
Well-known
You underestimate the cat... I've been at this for about 12 years now, bargain hunting on eBay. Every once in a while there are true bargains to be had, like the 35 mm f/3.5 Planar I got from a major retailer that was listed in fair condition and went for a low price. I took a chance on it and it turned out to have clean glass, smooth focusing and no oil on the diaphragm. Whoever graded it wasn't paying attention, for which I am truly grateful.
Compared with the DSLRs I use for my commercial work, these Contax cameras are a totally different experience which I really enjoy. It is refreshing to use mechanical cameras as opposed to the electronic marvels that are made today although I don't miss doing darkroom work at midnight to meet somebody else's deadline.
Cascadilla
Well-known
One more bit of camera porn: a Contax Ic w/black and nickel 50 cm f/3.5 Tessar. This camera works (sort of, the film transport is a bit wonky) and the shutter speed run a bit slow, but not bad for a 90 year old camera. The black focusing scale with white numbers is a lot easier to read than the chrome with black on later models of Contax cameras.
I was wondering why the 5cm F3.5 Tessar was not in the Family Portraits. I have one from the "127" batch, first batch of lenses made in Contax mount.
But no Contax I to put it on.
But no Contax I to put it on.
Dralowid
Michael
The 'black face' 5cm 3.5 Tessar is a lovely lens to use and worth the effort. It is said to be preferable to the 2.8 version.
Darinwc
Well-known
My Contax corner.
boojum
Ignoble Miscreant
I will accept the caution about the guard cat as sage advice. And I will take the extension ladder back to the hardware store as I will no longer need it. ;o)
Those old Contax cameras, especially the pre-war and wartime ones, are just gorgeous. I am beginning to dread this thread. This is where GAS went to thrive. All of you guys, knock it off! LOL Your gear is just gorgeous. And it is a ood thing that that gear has found a home where it will be cared for and cherished.
Cascadilla
Well-known
I do run film through all of these and enjoy it thoroughly--it still surprises me just how good these lenses are, and how much fun these cameras are to work with.
boojum
Ignoble Miscreant
I have some retro lenses, Sonnars from the 40's and 50's and really like them. Maybe if I had gone down the Leica path I would be fond of those lenses. But I went down the Sonnar path, Zeiss, Jupiter and others and like what they do with light. I kind of guess that you do, too. And there is a real Sonnar brain trust on this board, too.
You say that cat is really fierce, eh? ;o)
My Turn. I do not have a Contax I. I have 10 or so Contax's in good working condition, including the Meters. Several bought cheap for the lenses on non-working bodies. I have good luck with the IIIa shutter- managed to fix two of them by cleaning the mechanism and applying slightest amount of oil. The II and III- got pretty good at cleaning the VF/RF. I have 4 Contax II bodies with non-working shutters. Maybe when I retire completely from writing code...
Contax III with an early T 5cm F2 Sonnar, to the right in the picture- First Batch of lenses made in Contax Mount, 5cm F3.5 Tessar. Meter works perfectly.
Contax II with 5cm F1.5 Sonnar T
Anybody else use their Leica M3 Case for the Contax? Fits perfectly, move the screw.
Contax II with a very late production KMZ Jupiter-3.
And the IIIa that I repaired, a color-dial. I think this was $60. With a very, very good J-3 on it. Made from parts after converting a Sonnar to LTM. The focus on the J-3 was WAY off. Figured I had to shim it anyway, might as well use the LTM mount for a Sonnar and the J-3 on a Contax.
Meter works just fine.
Contax III with an early T 5cm F2 Sonnar, to the right in the picture- First Batch of lenses made in Contax Mount, 5cm F3.5 Tessar. Meter works perfectly.
Contax II with 5cm F1.5 Sonnar T
Anybody else use their Leica M3 Case for the Contax? Fits perfectly, move the screw.
Contax II with a very late production KMZ Jupiter-3.
And the IIIa that I repaired, a color-dial. I think this was $60. With a very, very good J-3 on it. Made from parts after converting a Sonnar to LTM. The focus on the J-3 was WAY off. Figured I had to shim it anyway, might as well use the LTM mount for a Sonnar and the J-3 on a Contax.
Meter works just fine.
Cascadilla
Well-known
Yes, the cat is fierce... I do like the look of those Zeiss lenses on B&W film. I haven't really been disappointed by any of them. The fact that most of them cost a small fraction of Leica equivalents is helpful too. I owned a Leica M3 many years ago but it came with a 5 cm f/1.5 Summarit that had seen much better days (scratched front element). My Yashica 50 mm f/1.4 was vastly better wide open and the Summarit didn't really sharpen up until f/8 or f/11. I was getting into 4x5 at the time and that M3 went a good way toward buying the 90 mm Rodenstock wide angle that I needed for commercial work.
Cascadilla
Well-known
I haven't attempted any repairs on mine, but I do have working meters on my III and my 2 IIIa bodies. They aren't exactly low light champions, but they are accurate.
boojum
Ignoble Miscreant
Is "covet" truly a sin? LOL You guys are killing me with all that gorgeous gear. They look just as if the were bought yesterday. The Leica film M bodies are great cameras but for me the Contax II and III series define 35mm film cameras on the top shelf. Yeah, there are a lot of really good 35mm cameras and some wonderful ones. Maybe it was that fellow student's II back in '53 or '54 that set me off. Maybe. But no camera has ever defined 35mm to me as much as those old Contax cameras. The only other camera with that kind of gravitas, for me, is the old Hasselblad 500 series with some honkin' big Zeiss or Schneider hanging off the front of it. Those two cameras were machines to convert light into images. Not to look cute or stylish, these were just image creating machines. And they were just plain gorgeous.
boojum
Ignoble Miscreant
Propinquity or fortuitous? Matt Osborne does a vid on old Contax II's and III's and old Leicas, pros and cons.
Mr_Flibble
In Tabulas Argenteas Refero
I should probably make an updated family portrait of all my Contaxes....might have some time for it this weekend.
Missing a few items in this one.
Missing a few items in this one.
boojum
Ignoble Miscreant
I should probably make an updated family portrait of all my Contaxes....might have some time for it this weekend.
Missing a few items in this one.
You guys are cruel. LOL It is great to see these beautiful machines.
I like the looks of the II's ad III's better but I understand that the IIa's and IIIa's are more competent. They are just lovely. And that Zeiss glass and its imitators is great, too.