Contaflex TLR

Another....

ContaflexVienna4.jpg
 
Too bad, Vince,

Found gray there and came back to real mess, EH?

I tried Googling Camera Wiz... is Frank the one in
Harrisburg, VA?

Rick ( about 50 miles due south of you in Calvert County.)
 
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newspaperguy said:
Too bad, Vince,

Found gray there and came back to real mess, EH?

I tried Googling Camera Wiz... is Frank the one in
Harrisburg, VA?

Rick ( about 50 miles due south of you in Calvert County.)
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Yes, Frank is in Harrisonburg, VA (not to be confused with Harrisburg, PA), and he's the best of the best. But don't send him anything right now -- I'm sending him 4 cameras and one lens, so I'll be keeping him busy!

One of the issues over there was that I was also shooting a job over there, so that took up more of my photography time with the digital thing. And, I think I overburdened myself with the Hasselblad Super Wide C -- should have just stuck with the Contaflex.

Here's one more shot from the excursion....

Vienna2.jpg
 
Here's a shot of the entire kit: Camera w/50mm f/2 Sonnar, cap and hood, 28/8 Tessar (modified to fit the TLR) w/viewfinder setup, 85/2 Sonnar w/cap, hood and pouch, 135/4 Sonnar w/cap, hood and pouch, 51mm slip-on yellow filter w/case for 85mm lens, a pair of Proxar 1 filters w/cases for 50mm lens and viewing lens, fitted display/carrying case, copy of the instruction manual. The only thing that isn't pictured is the leather ever ready case with strap.

I'm looking for the 35mm lens with viewfinder if anyone knows of one!

ContaflexKit.jpg
 
furcafe said:
I take it that Frank has done good work on your Contax equipment? I've heard of his good work w/leaf shutters (Compur, etc.), but didn't know he worked on Contax equipment (& I'm always looking for a good Contax repair person).

the last time i was at Franks (must have been 5 or six years ago)
he had two Contaflex cameras there that he was working on and he let me look at one of them ...... I have seen alot of cameras but that was the only time I ever had a chance to hold one of those
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Its all good....I carry my RZ67 around my neck and have for a while now.....I keep my chiropractor rolling in $.



Vince Lupo said:
Actually it's nothing compared to walking around with a Rollei SL66 around your neck...or how about schlepping a B&J 8x10 camera and tripod around Washington, DC?! I've done both, so really the Contaflex is not all that bad. And really, as far as a camera being difficult or slow to work with, if I'm looking for ease of taking pictures I'll use my wife's Canon Powershot digital thingy, or even my cell phone for that matter. For me, and I'm sure for others here, that's not really the point of using these old things. For example, I just loaded a roll of film into my Contax I (a) last night, and it almost felt like a sacred ritual.

Many thanks for all the comments, and I'll keep you guys posted on the TLR. Photos will all depend on how fast Frank gets the beast back to me....
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MISH said:
furcafe said:
I take it that Frank has done good work on your Contax equipment? I've heard of his good work w/leaf shutters (Compur, etc.), but didn't know he worked on Contax equipment (& I'm always looking for a good Contax repair person).

the last time i was at Franks (must have been 5 or six years ago)
he had two Contaflex cameras there that he was working on and he let me look at one of them ...... I have seen alot of cameras but that was the only time I ever had a chance to hold one of those
Click to expand...

Frank is the best - sometimes he takes longer than I'd like to have him repair things, but really it's because it's just him and one other guy in the shop, and they are just incredibly busy with work.

I know that he has one Contaflex on his shelf that he will not sell (I think my camera has some parts from that camera in it). Frank gave me the ever ready case that came with that camera of his, plus he sold me that 28/8 lens that he had sitting in a drawer for years. He wasn't even sure that the lens was going to work with the camera, but it's fine. It's not rangefinder coupled, so you just wind it out when you're close to your subject, and turn it all the way in for infinity. The depth of field is so great that it doesn't really matter too much. The only other thing is that you have to shoot with the camera upside down because I would have the 28mm viewfinder screwed into the tripod socket.

As far as holding the camera goes, it really is quite special. I've read online on some websites that the camera is horrible to use, changing lenses is a pain, verticals are almost impossible, etc etc etc. I think that once you get the hang of the camera and its qualities, you'd find that none of those things are true. The only thing that I find I have to watch is with slower shutter speeds (from 1/25th down) -- because the shutter release button is a lever, you push down on it with your thumb, and you could easily shake the camera if you're not careful. Other than that, the camera is awesome - particularly with that 85mm lens on it!
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I have a 5cm 2.0 Sonnar LTM that Marc Small identified as a lens made for the Contaflex TLR. It seems that the lens is the same as the lens for the Contax RF.
 
raid said:
I have a 5cm 2.0 Sonnar LTM that Marc Small identified as a lens made for the Contaflex TLR. It seems that the lens is the same as the lens for the Contax RF.
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Yeah, my new 85 and my 135 seem to be the same as what were made for the Contax cameras. I just found a 51mm slip on hood (a Cooke and Perkins) plus a 51mm slip on Zeiss yellow filter that fit perfectly on the 85mm lens. I had a hard time trying to locate a lens hood that size, and MW Classic Cameras just happened to have one (plus that grey carrying case and the yellow filter). Thanks Mr. Modi!
 
A few more shots for the Contaflex archive. The first three shots were done with the 85/2 Sonnar lens. The shot with the passion fruit was taken with a Proxar 2 closeup lens on the 50/2 Sonnar. As there is no parallax on the camera at this distance, it was kind of a guesstimate framing....actually worked out!

The shot with the signs in the snow were done with the 28/8 Tessar, and the last two were also done with the 85/2. Interestingly, my wife liked the last two the best.

I think my challenge at the moment is to try to make interesting/meaningful imagery with this camera outfit. It's one thing to say that you shoot with a 75 year-old camera, but quite another to actually make some good photos with it. Any suggestions would be greatly welcomed.....



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