Contax II repair

[odyocu]

I'm looking for a professional repair shop for my prewar Contax II, Serial M 31XXX. The shutter seems to be in one piece with no obvious problems with visual check. But it does not fire.

Any recommendations?

I have checked cameraquest.com, but Stephen does not repair Prewar Contax cameras.

I'm looking for a qualified person using similar ribbons etc. to the original, because what I'm after is having the camera in its original specs. I have one of the 4 1/4cm Biotar lens (1937) that came with it (in perfect shape), and I'm willing to have the set as a collectors item, in working condition.

Any recommendations will be appreciated. You may reply privately also to seyhun@slrdigital.org

Thanks in advance.

Seyhun

 

[odyocu]

I have missed an important point. I'm loking for someone in the U.S.A., not in Istanbul.

 

[Spyderman]

Is there a chance that you could find a capable camera repairman locally ? If he's experienced with Kievs, he can do a Contax. But be sure not to let some "butcher" work on it.

The ribbons for Kiev can be obtained from Alex-photo or Blyatnikov on eBay, and I'm sure they will work in a Contax.

 

[dexdog]

I have missed an important point. I'm loking for someone in the U.S.A., not in Istanbul.

Not too many choices in USA, but I have been very pleased with service on Contax II cameras by Henry Scherer (zeisscamera.com) and Ken Ruth (Photography on Bald Mountain, http://home.pacbell.net/baldmtn).

The bad news is that Henry Scherer has a 2 year waiting list. Ken Ruth would probably have it done in 3 or 4 months. Expect to pay $350 to $450 for a complete overhaul, including ribbon replacement.

 

[odyocu]

Thanks. I have opened the camera today together with a Kiev IV which I had repaired some time ago. The mechanisms are very similar, but I still did not touch it and really preferred an expert to look into it. (Most of the repair technicians here are very good with Kiev's, but there's only one guy which repairs my Leica collection, which did'nt like to repair the prewar Contax. The others are either butchers, or not even as good as myself.
On the other hand, it seems that a working Contax II or III may be bought from Ebay for approximately the repair cost. So I couldn't decide. In case of Ebay purchase, I will never be sure that it is an original Contax shutter (or completely a Contax shutter). I guess I will try to find an original one, and if I can't I'll try zeisscamera.com .
Thanks for your replies. Best regards,

Seyhun