Heads Up Contax III BIN / Unusual?

[bmattock]

Contax III - Says Carl Zeiss Jena on Body?

I am not a Contax expert - or any kind of expert for that matter. But this looked unusual to me - I'm used to seeing Contax II and III, never saw one that looked like this before. Not my auction, I have no knowledge of it other than as an eBoy explorer.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[rover]

Kiev, the flash PC socket on the front gives it away.

 

[wlewisiii]

Very late model 4m at that - the rewind crank, shutter/advance knob and hot shoe are also give aways. He is calling it a copy and it's no worse than some of the "Liecas" out there. But nearly $100 for a Kiev and a Jupiter-8m? The black paint isn't worth that much. Not when with a little looking you can still find $29 Kiev 2s.

William

 

[bmattock]

Gotcha! Well, you guys are the experts - I just know I hand't seen anything like that one before - but I missed those cues. Thanks!

Bill

 

[Pherdinand]

there were no black contax ii and iii's made, i think. As said above, a contax III with a pc socket would be pretty strange, considering it should have been made before WWII.

 

[iskra]

Hello,
is an lausy faked camera.
Is very easy to fake the frontshield holder with Contax engraving for this Kiev rangefinder.
Is impossible with many details this KIEV camera can called Contax.

 

[former member]

And notice the "sentimeter" markings, abbreviated SM instead of CM. Pretty bad!

I seem to recall an old Modern Photography article stating that No Contax III or Contax II left the factory finished in Black.

 

[Duncan Ross]

I wonder if you can get the black Kiev 4M without the contax logo..? Always wanted one in black!

Frankly I've had 4 Kiev 4Ms and my current one is the nearest I've got to a perfect one (the lens however is from my second kiev). Still has a slightly loose shutter speed gate though. If a pink Kiev with 'Volvo' decals appeared I'd happily use it if everything worked perfectly!

Still like it in black tho.

 

[Doug]

Yes, Duncan! Fedka.com often has had black Kiev cameras, painted for him by a shop in the Crimea, I think he said. Prices are typically in the $185 range. Well, here's one marked down to $175!
http://www.fedka.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=32&products_id=52

 

[Doug]

It's a model 4a, however, not a 4M...

 

[wlewisiii]

Actually 4m. Look at the rewind crank and hot shoe. These did not happen until the 4m and 4am models. Personally I still need to get a 3, no-name Kiev, 4a type 1, 4m and 4am for my collection... I'm glad there aren't quite as many variations in the Kiev line as some... 😀

Of course then there are the prototypes ... Argh... :bang:

William

 

[Doug]

William, it looks rather like a 4a to me... No rewind crank on this one.

 

[Doug]

Ah, I think I see where the difficulty lies. I was not calling the 4m pic posted by Bill at top a 4a; I was referring (for Duncan's interest) to the black 4a I mentioned that Fedka was offering for $179. Pictured immediately above. 😉

 

[wlewisiii]

Ah, my mistake. Sorry about that one.

William