Luddite Frank
Well-known
As spring settles-in (grudgingly, it would seem), I've been hauling-out various cameras and going shooting.
This weekend I exhumed my one & only Contax, a IIIa acquired last year, but I never really worked with it.
When I first got the camera (from Sandy Ritz), I checked it over, noting that the shutter seemed to be functioning and that the meter was active, although when checking it against my Luna-Six, the IIIa's integral meter seemed to be "weak" (with the Luna-Six set for 400 ASA, I had to push the Contax's ASA dial up to around 800 to get the needle to match). It then got put away and forgotten about through the winter.
I was going to an antique car show, and decided to bring the IIIa along and shoot a roll of Kodak Gold 200 ASA, and see how it performed. ( My other 35mm for the trip was my 1932 Leica D)
When I got around to pulling out the Contax, I set-up my first shot, then opened the meter door, and.... nothing. I moved the large knob until the needle centered on the "diamond", then closed the door. The needle stayed-put. I tried moving the big dial some more, but it was at the limit of it's travel.
In short., it seemed like the meter was dead. Okay, so just go "sunny -f 16".
This evening I was meeting up with one of my camera buddies, and I had the Contax along, in case I found some interesting shots in the evening sunlight.
When I handed-over the camera for his scrutiny, I mentioned that the meter appeared to be dead. He popped the lid open, twiddled the big dial, then "flagged" the meter cell a few times with his hand, and gave it back to me saying "the meter seems to work fine..."
On our way back to our cars, I stopped to shoot a "leaning building", and tried the meter. It was dead again... so I twiddled the dial, and opened and closed the lid a few times... sometimes the meter responded, most of the time it did not.
I'm not familiar with how the meter is constructed, but am wondering if there's a place in the system for loose connection or dirty contacts ?
My experience has been that there are three categories of selenium meter:
"working", "active but weak", and "too late, it's dead Jim!".
Is this something that is best left to Henry Scherer ?
Thanks,
Luddite Frank
This weekend I exhumed my one & only Contax, a IIIa acquired last year, but I never really worked with it.
When I first got the camera (from Sandy Ritz), I checked it over, noting that the shutter seemed to be functioning and that the meter was active, although when checking it against my Luna-Six, the IIIa's integral meter seemed to be "weak" (with the Luna-Six set for 400 ASA, I had to push the Contax's ASA dial up to around 800 to get the needle to match). It then got put away and forgotten about through the winter.
I was going to an antique car show, and decided to bring the IIIa along and shoot a roll of Kodak Gold 200 ASA, and see how it performed. ( My other 35mm for the trip was my 1932 Leica D)
When I got around to pulling out the Contax, I set-up my first shot, then opened the meter door, and.... nothing. I moved the large knob until the needle centered on the "diamond", then closed the door. The needle stayed-put. I tried moving the big dial some more, but it was at the limit of it's travel.
In short., it seemed like the meter was dead. Okay, so just go "sunny -f 16".
This evening I was meeting up with one of my camera buddies, and I had the Contax along, in case I found some interesting shots in the evening sunlight.
When I handed-over the camera for his scrutiny, I mentioned that the meter appeared to be dead. He popped the lid open, twiddled the big dial, then "flagged" the meter cell a few times with his hand, and gave it back to me saying "the meter seems to work fine..."
On our way back to our cars, I stopped to shoot a "leaning building", and tried the meter. It was dead again... so I twiddled the dial, and opened and closed the lid a few times... sometimes the meter responded, most of the time it did not.
I'm not familiar with how the meter is constructed, but am wondering if there's a place in the system for loose connection or dirty contacts ?
My experience has been that there are three categories of selenium meter:
"working", "active but weak", and "too late, it's dead Jim!".
Is this something that is best left to Henry Scherer ?
Thanks,
Luddite Frank
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