Contax II, strange lens issue (?)

[Sid836]

I have bought a beautiful Contax II for a mere nothing, but its lens, a Sonar 50/2 collapsible, had something like haze. While looking in the internet for information on cleaning it up or sending it for cla, I have realized that most of the haze was gone! Early today, there was no haze at all.
What could be the cause of this? Will it come back? Could it be from something that the camera case had caused? How can I avoid damaging the lens by accident in the future?

 

[sevo]

Where did you buy it? In antiques stores or flea markets, it might have been condensation, if the owner just brought it from a cool room.

 

[Sid836]

It could be. I have bought it yesterday from an antique store. It could be that it had been stored at a cool and probably humid place. Would you advice me storing it in its original case? I have the metal cap on the lens.
Also I would like to give it a try with film. However, it is missing a take-up spool. I have one of those soviet ones that look like canisters of film. Can I use it on my Contax?

 

[sevo]

It could be. I have bought it yesterday from an antique store. It could be that it had been stored at a cool and probably humid place. Would you advice me storing it in its original case? I have the metal cap on the lens.

Leather cases are supposed to shed fungus spores. Regardless whether that is true or not (wherever I've encountered cameras in mouldy leather cases, fungus was their least concern, the metal was corroded beyond repair), we cannot know what the leather was treated with - some leather "repair" treatments contain highly mobile oils that should not be anywhere near a lens. I store cameras apart from all leather cases.

Also I would like to give it a try with film. However, it is missing a take-up spool. I have one of those soviet ones that look like canisters of film. Can I use it on my Contax?

Re-loadable cartridges from the Kiev II/III would do. IIRC the later Kievs had a different, simplified cartridge opening mechanism. Exakta spools are cheaply available from ebay, and do fit.

 

[Sid836]

Thank you very much for your advice. I will certainly keep it off its case that has in some areas some strange green dirt.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

About the take up spool. I scrounged an old empty 35mm film cassette from the local lab and took out the inner spool. It fits into the Contax II and works but the film has to be stuck to it with a long bit of sticky tape.

You'll probably find the right one, eventually, but they (sellers) do tend to be a bit vague about them in the description.

BTW, a lens hood is a good idea with those old uncoated ones but you didn't say what age your one is. My one is 1930's and so the bit about the spool may not work with yours.

Regards, David

 

[Sid836]

Thank you David.
Indeed that lens looks like having no coating at all. It is a pre-war Contax made in 1937 (the serial number under the shutter box starts with an E).

 

[David Hughes]

Thank you David.
Indeed that lens looks like having no coating at all. It is a pre-war Contax made in 1937 (the serial number under the shutter box starts with an E).

Hi,

You've one of the best and they can be repaired with Kiev bits, should the worst happen. I'll wish you luck with the spool.

Regards, David

 

[Sid836]

Thank you,
I cannot wait getting a spool and trying it out. I have already a plastic hood that came with a Jupiter-8 on a Zorki-4 to use on its lens.
I have found some kind of spool that looks like a film canister rather than the spool of a roll of film. I have no idea how to use it. Its inner core rotates to open a slit for the film. Being the first I come across something like that, I have no idea how to search on the internet about it.
A roll of Pan F+ (expired, but still excellent) will be my first roll with it.

 

[Elmar Lang]

The Soviet film cartridge described as canister-like, should be the same as the german-made one for the pre-war Contax, like your camera.

This allows to expose a film and possibly develop one part only, because wnen you open the back, the spool closes avoiding the exposed film to be damaged by light.

The easiest thing to do is to open the canister-cartridge, extract the inner spool (usually, the soviet one has two slits to fit the film) and use it alone. Loading is easy.

Best wishes,

Enzo (E.L.)

 

[Sid836]

Thank you very much Enzo.
That does make sense of how it works. It has been puzzling me why did that thing open and close and thought initially that it was a refillable film cartridge. Sounds great being able to get and develop the exposed part of the roll and get the rest going.
So what I should be doing is tape the leader of the film in that cartridge, close it, put the roll of the film and the cartridge in the camera and close the back. The cartridge will open when I lock the back. Am I correct?

 

[sevo]

Thank you very much Enzo.
That does make sense of how it works. It has been puzzling me why did that thing open and close and thought initially that it was a refillable film cartridge.

It is a refillable film cartridge. The original 1920's concept, where a labyrinth light seal is unlocked by the twist levers that lock the back to the camera. The snag with them is that the locking mechanism (angle of stops and buttons on the cartridge and corresponding slots on the levers) is highly proprietary - even different model generations of the same brand frequently had different cartridges. And if the cartridge does not unlock and open, you'll scratch or tear the film.

 

[Sid836]

Thank very much for the info. I will try with a test film first then and examine it for scratches before going with a real one.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

A bit of history. The Leica was originally designed to use with 35mm film but in those days it meant buying it ready for cine cameras or using off-cuts from cine cameras. The idea of buying film in a cassette came later. Also you could buy it on a spool only or else a refill only. Here's one from the 40's.

Originally you had to load each cassette for yourself. There's several types:

Original Leica, the second version (FILCA 1b), a Kodak cassette, M series version and a Contax one

Not shown; Agfa version very like a reloadable cassette as we know them. It's sometimes called the "Velvet" cassette but I'm not 100% certain as, again, I've only seen this mentioned in an old book.

The USSR made versions for their cameras, looking like the best of both the Leitz and CZ ones (lucky comrades).

Modern ones looking like an early non-reloadable one.

This is how the old 30's ones were but you must not unroll them outside of the cassette. You pull the paper and it comes out with the film...

Hope this helps.

Regards, David

 

[Sid836]

I had two rolls of Svema Foto 125 film that had paper like that. I had absolutely no idea why. Now I now.

Thank you,
Nikos.