Contax plus Kiev parts = acceptable ? .

[dee]

I just wondered - with good Contax parts becoming rarer , and having bought 4 really cheap [ and exhausted - Contax II / III sold as spares , signalling the fact that complete cameras must be being broken to support others , what is the feeling about using Kiev parts ?

I am delighted that ex Kiev technicians in Ukraine brought back to life 4 rough Contax cameras with a little help from Kiev spares - it indicates how well engineered Contax cameras are , that all three complete cameras , despite their hard use , retained their original shutters and needed just a spring or so and some screws from the Kiev donors . Only the Contax II literally , a box of parts needed a KIev shutter assembly .

So , revive a Contax via Kiev , or dismantle a dead donor for spares ?

 

[Dez]

Well, I guess it depends on how much of a purist one is. In almost every case, with the exception of the shutter curtains, the parts are exactly interchangeable, although there were many tiny variations in the Contaxes over the years. The Kiev curtains can accomodate the heavier Russian shutter tape material, while the Contax ones really can't be made to work exactly correctly without the unfindable Contax tape.
For me, getting the camera to work properly is more important than the pedigree of the part. I work on Contaxes from time to time, and I have a number of donor bodies, both Contax, and Kiev to draw from.

Cheers,
Dez