I believe Henry Scherer has passed away

Sad but no one lives forever. I'm in my mid 70's and my brother just passed away last week at 81. What I've noticed for a few years is that someone you knew well, co-worker, friend, enemy, what ever, you don't find out for months or even years. As you get older your peers pass and no one is left knowing you when you die. Or since we no longer live our entire lives in small towns, and papers have gone the way of the Dido bird, news of someone dying goes unnoticed for months or years.

Rest in peace Henry, when it came to contax repairs his name was first on the list of recommendations.

Sendean cameras has come up as recommend on a couple of occasions. When Miles Whitehead retired, he suggested sending cameras to them for repairs. They have good reputation.

Radu Lesaru of 3R Cameras, the Alpa expert, repairs Contax rangefinders too. He did a good job of repairing some pre-war stuff of my own when Henry's waiting list proved too long. Radu's in Florida now, though it has been several years since we last communicated.

I enjoyed looking through Henry's website. A bit reminiscent of the Cameraquest vintage articles. Obviously Henry was doing what he enjoyed.

RIP

Freakscene said:

My father told me that Henry did several courses at Zeiss on servicing their cameras. Is this not correct? My father and your brother corresponded over a long period.

I am sorry for your loss and please accept my condolences. Your brother was very important for the community of users of older Zeiss cameras.

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Freakscene said:

My father told me that Henry did several courses at Zeiss on servicing their cameras. Is this not correct? My father and your brother corresponded over a long period.

I am sorry for your loss and please accept my condolences. Your brother was very important for the community of users of older Zeiss cameras.

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The photo is of Henry as a teenager. Henry could have instructed classes at Zeiss. It would have been after attending nuclear power school and serving on SSN639, and then studying chemical engineering. At this point we went our separate ways. So if your father met Henry after 1984 it is possible.

steveyork said:

Radu Lesaru of 3R Cameras, the Alpa expert, repairs Contax rangefinders too. He did a good job of repairing some pre-war stuff of my own when Henry's waiting list proved too long. Radu's in Florida now, though it has been several years since we last communicated.

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I emailed Radu about repairing a Contax 1 in Summer 2023 and he never responded (I had Oleg Khaliavin do it, and he did a great job). I emailed Radu again last spring (2024) about repairing a Meopta Mikroma II, and he said:

"I am sorry but I stopped servicing any cameras excepting Alpa and Tessina."

I'm not sure how final that decision is, but anyway, I wouldn't count on him as a Contax repairperson.

I ended up sending my Mikroma to Advance Camera Repair in Portland and it came back good as new. I'd use Oleg K in Slovakia for future Contax repairs.

I'm sorry to hear about Henry's passing. I didn't have any interaction with him, but I know he was considered the best out there for Contax rangefinder repair, as evidenced by his long backlog.

armadsen said:

I emailed Radu about repairing a Contax 1 in Summer 2023 and he never responded (I had Oleg Khaliavin do it, and he did a great job). I emailed Radu again last spring (2024) about repairing a Meopta Mikroma II, and he said:

"I am sorry but I stopped servicing any cameras excepting Alpa and Tessina."

I'm not sure how final that decision is, but anyway, I wouldn't count on him as a Contax repairperson.

I ended up sending my Mikroma to Advance Camera Repair in Portland and it came back good as new. I'd use Oleg K in Slovakia for future Contax repairs.

I'm sorry to hear about Henry's passing. I didn't have any interaction with him, but I know he was considered the best out there for Contax rangefinder repair, as evidenced by his long backlog.

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2022 is when Radu repaired a Contax II and some pre-war lenses for me. At the time, it sounded he was getting busy, following a relocation to Florida, and I assumed he was in semi-retirement.

That is a tough loss, RIP and my condolences to @SSN584

So sorry to read this @SSN584. My brother had lung cancer too. He was able to beat it after a surgery that took 2 years of recovery. He's come close to dying 5 times by his count, the latest after a battle with Sepsis after prostate surgery. I only hope I go before he does because I'll be at a total loss without him around. My condolences to you, may your brother rest in peace.

RIP Henry. This is a sad day.

The Contax II you overhauled for me in 2008 is still running perfectly as it did when you returned it.

@SSN584 my condolences. Henry repaired several old Zeiss cameras for me over the last several years and we will certainly miss his expertise.

SSN584 said:

This is actually Henry at his fathers’ camera store. I know this because I am his brother. Henry never worked at Zeiss.

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I am very sorry and very sad to learn that Henry passed away.My condolences to his family. He will be very missed. The Contax community loses not only a great technician, but also a very good man.
I booked a place, don't remember, back in 2004-2005. My turn came in 2010. One Contax II, 2 x Contax IIa and a very ill Contax I went to his clinic.
We talked long by email.
He told me my Contax II was a rare gem, it was a genuine Contax, with genuine Contax shutter, made with Contax part but... a small leather part in the shutter mechanism was not the Dresden part, and the same for the glue. Might have been built in the last days of war or might have been one Jena or Saalbach Contax as these supplies were scarce in wartime.
The IIas had no problem
And the Contax I... was very worn. The front lens element was well dead so he exchanged and adapted another one so I have the fastest lens in a Contax I (no longer 3,5 maybe 2,8).
Then problems came when clearing spanish customs, it was a nightmare. Spanish Tax Agency wanted to bill for the complete cameras, not for the repair cost. Finally was solved at huge cost.
Had always wanted to make a tribute to Henry and send him the pictures I took with my repaired Contax II.
Last year the opportunity came and had the chance to visit Dresden. Took my Contax II with me.
There was only one fault. HAd a filter with a 1,5x correction (as the letters were faded did not adjust exposure meter accordingly so the came somewhat underexposed).
Sadly forgot to send them to him on time. Thought he might have liked to see how the factory where the camera he repaired looked like almost 80 years afterwards.
So Henry, if you are in Heaven (I suppose you will be) take a look at this post. Here is the link
Best regards from the Earth
Robert

Nor do websites live forever -- his site appears to be down now. However, it was archived at the Wayback Machine at the Internet Archive, start at http://zeisscamera.com/first.shtml .

Henry overhauled my 1952 Contax IIa BD back around 2003 (before he got really busy). I had bought it off eBay from a guy who bought it from a widow of an Air Force Officer who had bought it in Germany in the 50's. She told him that her husband had tried to use it but just couldn't get it to work. They put it in a drawer and left it there for 45 years. It locked up on me when I got it after testing the shutter a few times. Since it was in mint shape I decided to keep it and have it repaired. I sent it to Henry and he discovered that the camera had never been assembled correctly. The rangefinder was defective/broken and had to be replaced. The shutter was not assembled correctly. After Henry overhauled it (and the 50mmm f/1.5 lens) it worked like butter - and still does. So I had basically a brand new Contax IIa BD in 2003. I am the 1st owner (of 3) that could actually use it. It was my 2nd IIa BD - I had one back in 1978 and sold it 1980. I regretted selling it and that's why I finally bought another one in 2003.

I bought the Voigtlander 25mm S lens from the Head Bartender here for it and a black Nikkor 10.5cm f/2.5 "C" lens. A few years ago I had SK Grimes make an adapter for it so I can use Leica M screw-in correction lenses on the eye piece (+2). It's a very nice kit that I like to feed it HP-5.

RIP Henry! Your labors live on in the cameras you fixed. I am so glad you fixed mine! Thank you!

aoresteen said:

Henry overhauled my 1952 Contax IIa BD back around 2003 (before he got really busy). I had bought it off eBay from a guy who bought it from a widow of an Air Force Officer who had bought it in Germany in the 50's. She told him that her husband had tried to use it but just couldn't get it to work. They put it in a drawer and left it there for 45 years. It locked up on me when I got it after testing the shutter a few times. Since it was in mint shape I decided to keep it and have it repaired. I sent it to Henry and he discovered that the camera had never been assembled correctly. The rangefinder was defective/broken and had to be replaced. The shutter was not assembled correctly. After Henry overhauled it (and the 50mmm f/1.5 lens) it worked like butter - and still does. So I had basically a brand new Contax IIa BD in 2003. I am the 1st owner (of 3) that could actually use it. It was my 2nd IIa BD - I had one back in 1978 and sold it 1980. I regretted selling it and that's why I finally bought another one in 2003.

I bought the Voigtlander 25mm S lens from the Head Bartender here for it and a black Nikkor 10.5cm f/2.5 "C" lens. A few years ago I had SK Grimes make an adapter for it so I can use Leica M screw-in correction lenses on the eye piece (+2). It's a very nice kit that I like to feed it HP-5.

RIP Henry! Your labors live on in the cameras you fixed. I am so glad you fixed mine! Thank you!

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I remember reading on Henry's website that a fair number of Contaxes never worked properly when new. One wonders about the quality control. On the other hand, there's a piece in one of the Kuc books about an apprentice at the factory (I guess postwar, before the tooling and workers went East) who put together a Contax II entirely from rejected parts, and it worked perfectly.

I remember reading on Henry's website that a fair number of Contaxes never worked properly when new. One wonders about the quality control.

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It was however a unique camera design with a very complex shutter. The first Contax models had some flaws and their weak spots, but they persisted and the camera became a success after all. Sending a camera back for repair or maintenance was quite common. My fathers Contax is still in the original condition, the old ribbons and lubricants still remain. (Don't ask me how stiff the camera is...)

Ironically, the post-war East German Contax S (later Pentacon F) did not have a good start either, a lot of cameras had to go back to the factory for repair and modification. Fixing and upgrading this camera could not fix its reputation sadly.

KoNickon said:

I remember reading on Henry's website that a fair number of Contaxes never worked properly when new. One wonders about the quality control. On the other hand, there's a piece in one of the Kuc books about an apprentice at the factory (I guess postwar, before the tooling and workers went East) who put together a Contax II entirely from rejected parts, and it worked perfectly.

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There was more parts variation than in modern manufacturing. So a set rejected together or a part rejected with another given set of parts might work perfectly in a different manufacture set. It’s sort of crazy that those Contax shutters could ever be coaxed into working at all.

Marty

I'm just seeing this post from Miles for the first time. I had reached out to Henry in early 2023 about cleaning my Zeiss Biogon 35mm f2.8. I received a prompt reply from him saying that he had received a bad medical diagnosis and was suspending his business indefinitely. I later learned on this forum about the lung cancer diagnosis. Henry overhauled my Contax IIa and cleaned my Zeiss Opton Sonnar 5cm f1.4 lens. Although his backlog of work was well known, he somehow managed to squeeze me in and I received the camera back within a year. He was always very kind and freely shared his knowledge of Contax cameras.

Henry was one of those repairmen who was uncompromising in his attention to detail. He will be missed. I send my condolences to his family, with gratitude that our paths crossed.

I, too, just saw this. I purchased what I suspect was one of the last cameras Henry acquired on spec and overhauled: a 1937 Contax II with a 50mm collapsible Sonnar lens. I happened to contact him at just the right moment. He had recently found a Contax II at an estate sale. It was in excellent cosmetic condition (albeit not so perfect that he didn't feel compelled to improve on it), and he agreed to sell it to me when he finished its restoration. I received it almost exactly four years ago, in September, 2021. Needless to say, it looked great (see the image link above), and has worked perfectly ever since.

Henry and I had a number of electronic mail exchanges both before and after the sale. He always seemed very willing to share information and offer advice—and both his website and his messages demonstrated the depth of his expertise beyond any doubt. Apropos of the website: I hope some mechanism can be found to preserve it as he left it at a URL other than the snapshots on the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. Not just because it was an excellent resource for anyone interested in Zeiss rangefinders, but also as a tribute to a remarkable man.