HU ? Contax III kit in Prague

[darkkavenger]

Hello,

I noticed today at Fotoskoda a set going for 8900 Kc. With this inside :

Contax-III (shape 1-C, though I'm not really sure that it's in 1-C shape as they say. It looks OK cosmetically)

Sonnar 135/4 (number not seen)
Sonnar 85/2 (not seen as well)

Sonnar 5cm f/2 red T n°2854085 - I suspect it to be a wartime Sonnar, the finish is more like my aluminium J8 than my pre-war chrome Sonnar. The other lenses are also looking a bit "poor" i.e. the metal isn't very shiny and goes on a kind of yellowish silver color.

The boxes are russian, but the lenses look genuine. I checked the scales on the lens bodies and they appear to wear the small german 'm' instead of the russian 'M'. And the Sonnar is definitely a Sonnar. I happened to have my Contax-IIIa with my 1936 Sonnar with me so I had the occasion to compare. 🙂

Cheers,
Max

 

[Santafecino]

And one big question is: does the meter work? I understand that the Contax (and Kiev too) meters are actually useful and tough (but not as sensitive as a Cds cell). If I bought a Contax III I'd want a working meter. Repairs are possible, I think.

 

[darkkavenger]

I don't think the meter would be working. The meter on my 1936 Contax-III is dead. However, the meter of my 1952 Contax-IIIa works surprisingly well 🙂

Meters can be fixed. Henry Scherer does it, if you are patient to wait about 2 years in line... and other repairmen might do it as well...