Contax I ribbons

[TenEleven]

I do like the Contax IIa, and while in many ways it was a step forward, especially the later models with the fixed take-up spool and platinum finder which are much easier to load & see through, I have to agree that in some ways it introduces new problems that that original II did not have. Most notably it now had a rangefinder that could (and often does) go out of alignment vertically. This would not have been possible on a II unless you took a hammer to it.

The feeling that the IIa is a sort of "prototype" can be confirmed in the fact that most of the IIa's design documents were actually drawn up during or before the war. Then after the war they no longer had Kueppenbender to make sense of these drawings or address some of the shortcomings which had already been identified in these very drawings, but remained unaddressed.

I still like the IIa's for the excellent "Opton" lenses though - the new Biogon in particular is a big step up over its predecessor as is their compact size and weight. The new chrome process is very beautiful, also. However if I want a camera that I can blindly rely on, I often end up taking the II ...

Edit: Oh yeah, addressing the above messages, the IIa is also the much.. much more "repairable" camera. It comes apart into three main sections (the outer shell, the shutter board, and the helical assembly) which thus can be serviced individually and the process is quite painless. The II is quite straight-forward as well, it's just involved but no worse than a Barnack Leica in my opinion. The I is an absolute nightmare to work on though, no disagreement there!

 

[Erik van Straten]

gelatin silver print (s skopar 50mm f2.5) contax 1 v4

Amsterdam, 2016

Erik.

 

[Dralowid]

These were mine, the dimple one on the left being the simplest. I really don't want to go back into the Contax I world, honest...

IMG_1630 by dralowid, on Flickr

 

[Erik van Straten]

When an early Contax works as it should, is using it quite nice. "Change of food makes people eat" is a famous Dutch proverb.

Erik.

 

[Mr_Flibble]

It's been said before, (in this thread and another one discussing the Contax I), I think the camera just gets a bad rap, mainly because it's hard to find them in working order today.
Simply because there aren't (m)any technicians working on them. Same goes for the Contax II, or Kievs for that matter). All cameras need service over time and like with any camera, a well-maintained one will generally do a good job.

I should feed some film through one of mine soon.

 

[Erik van Straten]

gelatin silver print (nikkor 50mm f2) contax 1 v4

Amsterdam, 2016

Erik.




Somehow I like to use the Contax 1 better than the Kiev 4 altough the Kiev is the better camera. The Contax 1 is so decorative, it's like it's straight out of a Laurel & Hardy movie!

Erik.

 

[perberggren]

Hi,
First time posting on this topic.
A have a Contax I that I just cant get to work proparly. New shutter ribbons, the right ones, are installed.
The slow speeds are correct and normal group is correct, no worries there. B does not stay open, even how hard I try. The Sport group is the same as Normal group.
What am I missing here?

Ps.
This is not the first Contax I or camera I work on, but this one is given me nightmares!!!! 🙂

 

[Erik van Straten]

Hi,
First time posting on this topic.
A have a Contax I that I just cant get to work proparly. New shutter ribbons, the right ones, are installed.
The slow speeds are correct and normal group is correct, no worries there. B does not stay open, even how hard I try. The Sport group is the same as Normal group.
What am I missing here?

Ps.
This is not the first Contax I or camera I work on, but this one is given me nightmares!!!! 🙂

I have four Contax l cameras, but only one of them works as it should. I've been working on the other three, but to no avail. Just don't start to work on them, it is impossible for a beginner to get them right. You are warned!

It is clear that my fourth Contax l has been repaired, or has been remade, by a true specialist.


gelatin silver print (sonnar 50mm f1.5) contax l

the bicycle repairman, 2023

Erik.

 

[perberggren]

Hi, everybody
I got myself stuck on one Contax I. I changed the ribbons and now the only speeds that is working is the slow ones. Not encountered this before. B-1/10 is ok. All over that does not work, the curtains does not travel up enough to catch the release and the curtains do not seperate.
This is ny 4th shutter repair and I never got this problem.
Any thoughts?

 

[Erik van Straten]

Try to get a true specialist if you want to get the camera back to work. Don't work on it yourself.

Erik.

 

[perberggren]

Try to get a true specialist if you want to get the camera back to work. Don't work on it yourself.

Erik.

Hi, Erik
As i wrote this i the 4th Contax I that I worked on and the other three work just fine, after my repair and CLA, included the camera from the post above. I worked on Leicas, Hasselblad, Rolleiflexes, lenses from all over the world. I do not see myself as a newbie in the field of camera repair.
Now , on this camera, I encountered a problem I have not encountered before. Therefor I reach out to all of you, in this Forum, for help and input on what could be the problem. You guys are the experts, the specialists.

Anyone got any idea? The winding goes to far, almost all the way round, before it starts to move the curtains.

 

[Erik van Straten]

Beware, this is just one of the many mysteries you will encounter when working on working on the Contax l. Don't waste your time on it. Be happy when you have a working Contax l.

gelatin silver print (sonnar 50mm f1.5) contax l

Amsterdam, 2023

Erik.

 

[Shafovaloff1]

Good work, Michael!

There's nothing to lose. Renewing the ribbons in a Contax is standard.

Removing the top cover.

1. Remove the film stabilizers in the film room. As a result, the screws of the housing of the shutter are accessible.
2. Remove the housing of the shutter from the film chamber.
3. Unscrew and remove the release button of the image counter with a piece of rubber (rear cover, near arrow).
4. Remove the rewind button. (one screw)
5. Remove the frame counter. (one screw)
6. Remove the small nickel screws from the top of the front plate (on the versions 6 and 7 also the ones of the receiving fork of the viewfinder slider.)
7. Remove the two large screws on the corners of the top cover, which can be accessed from the film room. (Inside the camera)
8. Remove the two large screws at the corners of the front side of the top plate under the leather. (Outside of the camera)

You now can remove the camera's top cover.

To get access to the shutter, remove the four screws of the cover plate of the shutter.

Installing new ribbons.

The biggest problem is the fact that the original ribbons are no longer available. One has to rely on alternatives. I've had good results with the ribbons from Aki Asahi, but actually these are too thin, so 1/500 and 1/1000 do not work anymore. The gap then closes to easy. Other speeds work fine.

Alternatively, there are the ribbons from Arsenal (Kiev). Which are thicker, more narrow and stiffer. I intend to use those when my v4 dies. I have no experience with these.

For the attachment of the ribbons there are two ways: first attach to the second curtain (Oleson method) or first attach to the first curtain (Van Straten method).

My method is as follows.

1. Let the ribbon that still is intact stay where it is. It serves as a model for the ribbon that you are replacing.

2. Set the shutter to "B" or "Z".

3. Remove the lower roller (in which the shutter spring is). In the left film chamber, seen from behind, is an aluminium hatch mounted with two small screws. Make these screws carefully loose, but not quite, so that the cover does not spring away because of the spring tension. Rotate with the schrewdriver the end of the spring (in the middle of the aliminium hatch) counter-clockwise until the spring is totally relaxed. Now, take off the hatch. Then the roller can be taken out of the camera. Beware the little rings at both ends of the roller but also the small metal pin that looks like a part of a needle. These components are all very important.

3. Remove the remains of the broken ribbon.

4. Attach a long piece of the new ribbon (at least 15 cm) to the roller in the same manner as the ribbon which is still good if the camera still has a good one. Work the ribbon through the openings while pushing it with a needle. The "caps" can be removed - by taking out the small screws - for easier inserting the ribbons (thank you Highway 61 for this tip). Use a fine needle and thread for the stitching. Lubricate the stitching with glue. Before the ribbon passes through the clutch on the other end of the curtain, the ribbon must be rotated a number of times around the roller in order to build up some tension. Use clothespins to keep everything together. Be inventive. When the ribbon is through the clutch its tension is fixed.

4. Attach the ribbon to the second curtain. This curtain stays in the camera. For the correct length of the ribbon compare with the old one.

5. Replacement of the spring-loaded roller. First replace at both ends the small rings, then put its end with the thick ring in its small hole on the right and then put on the left (the side of the aluminum hatch) the small metal rod in its slit. Replace the aluminum hatch, but do not fully tighten the screws yet. First give the spring some tension with a screwdriver (clockwise). Then tighten the small screws to fix the tension. The small metal pin is hold by the slot in the back of the aluminium hatch. The spring has enough tension when "B" or "Z" is working correctly. If you cannot get the speed selector to "B" or "Z" the ribbon is too short.

6. Have fun.

Erik.

Thanks for the refresher course on ribbon replacement for the Contax I,[MY VERSION 5 OR 6]. The version 4 or 5 that I did some time back is still functioning like a champ! Evidently the version 5 had the old ribbons in it...a nice camera despite the repair needed now. I still have a Contax II needing shutter repair...get to that later. Looking to buy a 21mm Zeiss lens to use on both. Thanks again. Thomas S.

 

[Shafovaloff1]

I may have found the problem and if I have it is fundamental and remarkably obvious.

When I start tensioning the roller, the two pulleys to which the tapes are attached tighten up nicely but the central pulley to which the first blind is attached, remains slack.

Consequently all that is happening when I release the shutter is that the second blind is shunting the first blind down and no gap is appearing. I assume the spring in the roller is broken (or maybe I should admit to breaking it)?

IMG_2828 by dralowid, on Flickr

So my questions are:

1) Has anyone dismantled this roller and what does it look like inside?

2) If the spring is broken, I assume I will need another...do I have to buy a Kiev?!

IMG_2829 by dralowid, on Flickr

Looking around inside the camera it looks as if many have been in here before, not a screw untouched, not a surface unscratched

IMG_2827 by dralowid, on Flickr!

I have replaced the center first roller spring of a Contax I with one transplanted from a Contax II. It takes some effort to make the replacement as the inner spring is delicate, must be wound right and fixing the ends to the inner roller for reassembly quite a trick, but this can be done. It is far better to use a known operable roller from another Contax I. A failed first spring is a trecherous operation and requires patience, planning and the right tools. Best of luck.

 

[Dralowid]

Do I remember that the roller spring of the II is wound in the opposite direction to the one in the I?