(1) The mere fact that the Leica shutter was copied does not make it a better shutter, just that it's easier to manufacture. As to the Contax's superior RF, who's to say that it's "overkill." I find the RF on my IIIc & Tower 45's to be barely adequate, & hardly ideal, for shooting a 135mm.
(2) The Contax was hardly a "failure" in the marketplace, except to the extent that all RFs eventually "failed" in the wake of the Nikon F. The facts are clear on this one.
(3) It is a simple fact that Leicas were produced in greater quantities than Contaxes during the time when both where in competition. Period, end of story. If I had my books w/me, I could give you a citation. Google may help you pull up the production figures. I don't see why you dispute this fact as it would support
your opinion that Leicas are better.
Yes, a camera is just a tool & not a "fancy fashion show," but camera "success" is not just a popularity contest, either. Many more cameras today have the Copal-style metal-bladed shutters, does that make them superior to your vaunted Leica? More SLRs are made than RFs, does that make them better? In some ways the answer is yes, in others, no.
(4) I know all of my Contax shutters (3 IIa's, 2 II's) are accurate in field use. I'm a shooter, not a camera tech. Likewise, my Leica bodies (IIIc, M2, M3, M6 TTL) have all been accurate, too, although
in my experience the Leicas tend to be too slow @ 1/1000th on more occasions than the Contaxes, which are consistently "on target" @ 1/1250th (verified via slides). As I say, a wash, as almost all of the vintage bodies had to be professionally CLAed,
@ similar prices BTW, to be brought up to spec. My Hexar RF & G2 beat all of them in accuracy.
(5) Not that many military Leicas survived the war, either. Miliitary & Nazi-engraved Leicas & Contaxes are both very rare & collectible. The only reason I brought up famous photographers & institutions like Time-Life using Contax is that far from being considered unreliable & troublesome, the Contax system was considered reliable & very tough in field use.
(6) Again, the fact that the Leica shutter curtain is easy & cheap to replace doesn't answer the fact that Contax/Nikon/Canon metal shutters
hardly ever need to be replaced in the 1st place. I've never heard of anyone's Contax needing to have its shutter curtains replaced, only the shutter cables on the pre-war models, nor have I heard of anyone needing to replace the steel shutter curtains on a Canon P or the titanium shutter on a Nikon SP. My point is that the Contax shutter may be more difficult to fix, but I see no proof that it breaks down or needs to be adjusted more often than a Leica shutter. Your argument re: overall maintenance costs only holds true if you can prove that the Leica shutter breaks down or needs adjustment less often than a Contax shutter to the extent that it outweighs the Contax's greater durability of materials, & you can't prove that point based on anecdotal evidence. As I stated above, almost all of my vintage Leicas & Contaxes have needed CLAs to get them running properly (exceptions being the M6 TTL, which was practically new, & 1 of the Contax II's, which was purchased already CLAed by Henry Scherer).
(7) Ed Romney is hardly the final authority on matters of camera mechanics. The fact that used Contaxes are cheaper than many (not all) used Leicas is influenced by many factors having nothing to do w/the engineering of the bodies.
My bottom line & last word(s):
Whatever floats your boat. I like Leicas
& Contaxes. I just don't think Leica shutters are superior; when it comes to Leicas I like the M series because, to paraphrase James Carville, "it's the RF/VF, stupid!" But I also like TM Leicas & Leica copies because they're small & chicks think they're cute.
chendayuan said:
You have repeat several times about this , as I said time has proved Contax shutter design is a failur, no one copy it. Leica's 1.5x rangefinder can accurate focus up to 135mm, beyond 135 both have to use a reflex box. we do not need overkill, this is one of the reasons that made Contax fail in the market plus poorly designed shutter.
that's easy how many samples do you need to get a conclusion? every contax made since its day? go buy a shutter tester do it yourself, it is not difficult thing to do and an accurate shutter tester is not expensive either.
You have no prove to back up your claim that Leica made more cameras than Contax in a giving peroid. Camera is just a tool, not a fancy fashion show, if it is relaiable, durable, less trouble, minimum maintenance that's what a tool designed for. if you are trying to make a point which camera is more complex, more difficult to repair, I agree with you - Contax win
show me how many military Contax has survived the war, you forget to maintain lots of famous Leica Photographers, more than Contax user.
It is the same, you have no prove that the burned shutter curtain is common.
like most repair shop I use film exchange bag materal. I can buy a bag very cheap so material wise only few cents, and you can order from micro-tools for few dollars, can Contax/Canon do that? My USA army retired M3 went throuh hell but the shutter curtain still good.
Ed Romney, a very good camera repair technician, does not recommend Contax as a good used camera to buy, is this mean anything to readers?. due to these problems even Contax cost more to buy when they was new but cheaper than Leica when they are used.
