Contax IIa / IIIa cassettes?

[mhv]

Anybody know what the Zeiss code may be for the postwar Contax film cartridges? Or any other useful telltale detail?

I'd like to get a few, but I'm always afraid of buying the prewar ones by mistake.

 

[Bill Jones]

Both the pre-war and post war Contax cassettes are Catalogue number 540/1. Any of them work equally well in all Contaxes. The post war ones have the 540/1. a Zeiss Ikon logo and Germany stamped on the bottom end of the casing and the outer casing is painted with a black crackle finish. The pre-war ones lack the stamping on the inner shell and are back enamel finished on the outer casing. The post war cassettes came in a metal holder the pre-war ones come in a round plastic holder. A late post war variant (also sold for Contarexes and Contaflexes) has the same inner shell but with smaller pins and an outer shell finished in black enamel and comes in a black plastic case. The post war case are diamond shaped with large blending radii if you look down on them. The pre-war cases are barrel shaped (fat in the middle as viewed from the side.) Pre-war cassettes usally have aluminum spools with the name Contax on the bottom end of the shaft extension. Post-war one have plastic spools with Contax molded on the upper flange. Zeiss introduced plastic replacement take-up spools for the cmeras in Jan 1939 in the US. I don't know if they changed the cassette spools at that time. I have never seen a pre-war cassette with a plastic spool.

 

[mhv]

Whoa, expert advice, what else can I say! Thank you so much.

 

[LonelyRadio]

Thanks, that's just what I needed to find out too! I'd picked up a II with a bunch of lenses, but needed to get the shutter fixed first. Having done so, I then noticed there's no take-up spool...

 

[Elmar Lang]

It isn't a problem: if you can't find an original Contax or Kiev take-up spool, you can just open an used film cartridge and use its inner spool. No insert slot? A piece of scotch-tape works perfectly.

 

[ghostwriter69]

You can also take a used film cartridge, and slice a small slot in it. Back when I had my IIa (which I stupidly sold), I did this as a backup. Not sure if I ever used it. I must have found some information on the net about how to make this. It wasn't pretty, but I'm sure it worked.

 

[ghostwriter69]

Here's a link:

http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/kievspool.jpg

 

[Bill Jones]

Hi All,

If you can get a cassette at a reasonable price it could be a replacement for a take-up spool. The spool won't wobble and mark the film chamber of your camera. I just got 2 late post-war ex++ ones in cases for $15 each from Igor Camera. The down side of using a casette for a take-up spool is it takes longer to load since you have to open the cassette, insert the film and then close the cassette vs inserting te film only in a spool. Either way works and if you are primarily a user, the spool (any spool as suggested above) is the way to go. I use cassettes for bulk laoding film and then do not need to rewind the fillm since I feed it from cassette to cassette. When using a standard 36 shot film 135 size like Fujichrome, I always use a take-up spool.

One more FYI comment: "back in the day" when people used 235 sixe film the film wit its paper leader was fed from spool to spool like 120 or 220 is today, so it was not uncommon to have a camera with a take-up spool that was not made by Zeiss Ikon. Also when using a number of cassettes bulk loading (I would load 20 or so at a time) having a spool in a cassette that did not match the cassette for age/style was also common.

Bill

 

[mhv]

Well, I just ordered a batch of cassettes from an eBay dealer, and after much fiddling (and finally reading the instructions...) I figured out they opened.

They work very well in my IIa, and I've just set it up as a two-cassette load, which is nice, but adds significantly to the weight of body (actually a plus when using a long lens).

It's also easy to load them with a daylight loader like the Alden, and open/close them with the button to this effect on the loader.

I'll definitely be buying more. Much sturdier than the felt-lined plastic ones I generally use, and they have their own aesthetic appeal.

 

[mhv]

By the way, does anybody know if the Contarex cassettes can also fit the Contax? They look very similar, with minor design changes in the pins.

 

[Bill Jones]

Contax Cassettes

Contax Cassettes

I guess you missed it the fine print of my wordy reply above, but the Contax late post war model was sold as a Contarex part. Interestingly enough it was still called a Contax cassette when sold for any other Zeiss 35mm camera. So the small pin was designed for use with the Contax IIa and IIIa. It works better in the Contaxes than it does in the Contarex which definately prefers the larger pin cassettes.

Bill

 

[mhv]

I guess you missed it the fine print of my wordy reply above, but the Contax late post war model was sold as a Contarex part. Interestingly enough it was still called a Contax cassette when sold for any other Zeiss 35mm camera. So the small pin was designed for use with the Contax IIa and IIIa. It works better in the Contaxes than it does in the Contarex which definately prefers the larger pin cassettes.

Bill

Why, yes indeed, I missed it! Thank you for the correction, though.

 

[mhv]

Just got a postwar Contarex / Contax cassette in its plastic case.

They're much lighter than the prewar ones (which are made of brass!), and in perfect condition. Spool seems to be made of plastic, while shell is made of a lighter metal (aluminium?). It has the 540/01 code on the top, which the prewar did not.

It's the case that cracks me up: perfectly shaped oval to accomodate the positioning tab of the cassette being put in on the left or the right, and cap that can be placed either way to hide or reveal an "EXP" engraved on the case. Such nice fussiness!

 

[Bill Jones]

Pre-1945 Cassettes

Pre-1945 Cassettes

I just ran across 2 pictures of war time cassettes with plastic spools in "Das Contax Buch" by Dr. Otto Croy (p27 of the 11-20 thousand printing 1942).

Bill Jones

 

[David Hughes]

I just ran across 2 pictures of war time cassettes with plastic spools in "Das Contax Buch" by Dr. Otto Croy (p27 of the 11-20 thousand printing 1942).

Bill Jones

Interesting, as I was assuming the metal centres meant they were pre-war. And the one I'm looking at has the double "S" slot and what appears to be an alternative slot with two slots (one for each) on the other side.

There's a page or two about them in "The Contax Way" 1939 edition. I don't think it was ever reprinted.

Regards, David

PS One of the sources for the cheap plastic reloadable cassettes is here:-

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10-Plasti...947?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item519e2cb89b is

 

[mhv]

The Contax Way has been re-edited for the IIa/IIIa models. My copy is from the 50s.

Interesting, as I was assuming the metal centres meant they were pre-war. And the one I'm looking at has the double "S" slot and what appears to be an alternative slot with two slots (one for each) on the other side.

There's a page or two about them in "The Contax Way" 1939 edition. I don't think it was ever reprinted.

Regards, David

PS One of the sources for the cheap plastic reloadable cassettes is here:-

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10-Plasti...947?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item519e2cb89b is

 

[mhv]

Well, I just spent some quality time with my cassettes and an Alden 35mm daylight loader, and it's been a success, marred by some mistakes.

I really dig the centre attachment of the film in the cassettes, since it means no more tape, and is very solid while allowing for detachment as you reach the end of the spool (no more rewind!).

On the other hand, what requires care, is the closing of the cassettes in the loader. The two halves have to be very well aligned. To test for it, prepare loading by tying film to the center spool and reassemble the cassette. Close the cassette, then reopen it gently. Place it carefully in the loader, engage the winding lever in the base of the spool, then turn left and right the dedicated knob on the loader. You will see the cassette opening and closing. If it works fine, you can now close the loader, open the light trap of the bulk roll, and start spooling.

When you're finished, close the cassette by turning the dedicated knob in the appropriate direction (you remember it, do you?). Open the trap. If the cassette was not perfectly aligned, you might see the spooled film, and thus have wasted it.

Took me three times to figure it out properly!

 

[Livesteamer]

Long ago when I was bulk loading I had four Nikon cassettes similar to the Contax cassette. On the bulk loader, the knob that closes the cassette, I put a piece of tape with an arrow showing the direction to close the cassette after winding in some film. When turning the knob I would also listen very carefully for the click made by the cassette closing. Maybe this would work for the Contax cassettes also. Joe

 

[Bill Jones]

Hi MHV,

I agree with Livestreamer about listening for the click. Also when loading I always partially close the casette by rotating the inner shell counter-clockwise (anti-clockwise) looking from the bottom (inner shell end) of the casette about 1/16 in or 1.5 mm before placing it in the loader. This keeps the 2 halves aligned as the guide rim is engaged. Also when turning the closing knob do not push down (in) on it. This way the rotation stops when the locking spring engages (clicks in) at full closure of the casette.

Best of luck with your bulk loading.

Bill Jones

 

[Bill Jones]

Hi MHV,

One more point on loading cassettes. If you have the 1950's style spool with the slash cut and a tooth in it for take-up, these spools do not require you to trim the leader. If you are using two cassettes with these you also may skip trimming the tailer if you put the film into this slash cut and catch it on the tooth. Just remember to put the film in from the right side (cassette right side up) instaed of the left side as in a take-up spool. This saves all of the trimming time and you have a full width film on the sprocket drive right from the start. With either the pre-war or the late post war spools this is not possible.

Bill Jones