In Love with a Contax I..

I've just joined the forum and happen to have a Contax Ib in working condition. It was my grandfather's and has the modification to the serial number (# AV24770) indicating it went back to the factory for warranty repairs. It has the collapsible Tessar 1:2.8 50mm lens and original leather case. If you're interested I can send you some photos. (Hmm, I'll have to figure out how to post photos to the forum.)

Anyway, let me know if you're interested. I'd love to see it go to someone who will use it!

Bill Potter
Webster NH
 
Bill Potter said:
I've just joined the forum and happen to have a Contax Ib in working condition. It was my grandfather's and has the modification to the serial number (# AV24770) indicating it went back to the factory for warranty repairs. It has the collapsible Tessar 1:2.8 50mm lens and original leather case. If you're interested I can send you some photos. (Hmm, I'll have to figure out how to post photos to the forum.)

Anyway, let me know if you're interested. I'd love to see it go to someone who will use it!

Bill Potter
Webster NH
Click to expand...

Awesome! Sounds beautiful! Shoot me a PM. I'd love to see it 🙂
 
One thing to keep in mind is that the Contax I isn't modularily built, as is the Contax II.

Once you are left with a torn shutter ribbon (which will happen later or sooner) the camera has to be entirely taken apart for the repair.

Which means, a lot of hours of work spent by anyone wanting to fix it.

I have handled one for some period and I didn't like that... thing, probably because I consider the Contax II to be a stunning design masterpiece (ontop being an extraordinarily modern camera for its time).
 
Highway 61 said:
One thing to keep in mind is that the Contax I isn't modularily built, as is the Contax II.

Once you are left with a torn shutter ribbon (which will happen later or sooner) the camera has to be entirely taken apart for the repair.

Which means, a lot of hours of work spent by anyone wanting to fix it.

I have handled one for some period and I didn't like that... thing, probably because I consider the Contax II to be a stunning design masterpiece (ontop being an extraordinarily modern camera for its time).
Click to expand...

I know, I know.. I know they're extremely unreliable and poorly built. I did some research before even starting this thread, but I absolutely love the look of the Contax I, but I do not like the look any other the other Contax RFs.

I would love to shoot with and own one. Hopefully I will in the near future 🙂
 
I have a very early Contax I and a later Contax I -- although not the final variation.

The early version is a somewhat crude camera. I get the feeling that it was rushed out the door -- in a way not unlike today's digital cameras. Focusing is accurate but the mechanism isn't precise.

The lens mounts easily, but the small locking piece is imprecise and not made of a sufficiently stiff metal.

My camera lacks slow shutter speeds. I've replaced the shutter ribbons, but it was in fact a major undertaking.

The later Contax I -- from what I've read -- is partly the work of Zeiss Ikon camera designer Hubert Nerwin, and it is a more refined camera. My camera hadn't been used in a long time, although it's cosmetically in very good condition with the exception of an ID number scratched onto the back of the top plate with what appears to be a nail.

The shutter straps are torn, so I'll need to replace them. I'm excited by the prospect of using this camera, if for no other reason to compare it to the earlier Contax I. It also came with a very clean black-and-nickel f/1.5 Sonnar.
 
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And to show how nonsensical the camera market can be, the Contax I almost always sells for much more than a Contax II and often more than a Contax IIa.
 
ZeissFan said:
And to show how nonsensical the camera market can be, the Contax I almost always sells for much more than a Contax II and often more than a Contax IIa.
Click to expand...

It being very much a work in progress or a series of design studies, there have been so many versions of the I that almost all have some kind of enhanced collectible status or other.
 
No infinity lock button on the front, black distance scale, rangefinder 'outside viewfinder', 'square corners'. Guessing at slow speeds being there...

...I'd make a stab at it being the first version with slow speeds, think you might call this Contax Ic...but don't take my word for it. If so, not too rare.

The easiest one to identify is the last...

Michael
 
Dralowid said:
No infinity lock button on the front, black distance scale, rangefinder 'outside viewfinder', 'square corners'. Guessing at slow speeds being there...

...I'd make a stab at it being the first version with slow speeds, think you might call this Contax Ic...but don't take my word for it. If so, not too rare.

The easiest one to identify is the last...

Michael
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help, sir! Looks as though it's in good cosmetic condition. Hope it's there for a while.. Already made deposit on another, I(b). No slow speeds, but it's in beautiful shape (and working!) and has the everready case (so I don't have to worry about those horrible strap lugs)
 
contax I

contax I

As an owner/user of a Contax I that went through Henry Scherer's service I can say that, while working fine, its a "difficult" camera to use. There were 6 basic versions of the camera, most efforts to solve some of its mechanical problems. Version 6 is the one to get if you want a "user"...see Henry's webite for serials. Note that a two letter prefix on the serial means it went back to the factory for modification. Zeiss themselves in their literature referred to the I as an "unsatisfactory" camera. Good Luck. Will Wright
 
Have you actually tried using one? I did, 35 years ago when they were a bit newer and slightly more reliable, and the thing is an ergonomic nightmare as far as I am concerned. It would be a pity to lay out a lot of money, only to discover that you can't actually stand using the thing.

Edit: Ah, I see that Will has said much the same thing. If you buy cameras on the strength of their looks, have you ever considered an Exakta Varex? It's much easier than a Contax 1 to use, but even so... From http://www.rogerandfrances.com/subscription/ps collect varex.html (where you will also find pictures):

Those who are accustomed to more modern cameras may however breathe a short prayer of thanks at the fact that they don't make 'em like this any more. Compared with the vast majority of cameras past or present, many of the controls are upside down or backwards or both. It is not so much a camera with some eccentric features built in, as a collection of eccentric features with a camera hiding somewhere behind them.

Cheers,

R.
 
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The latest version would definitely be my first choice, but my options (and funds) are limited.. Besides the focusing and the placement of the shutter speed dial/advance, are there any other small things I should be aware of that make it more difficult to shoot?

I agree, Roger. It would be very upsetting if I hate shooting with the thing. I'm hoping that's not what happens. I'm getting the I(b) and if I don't absolutely hate it, I could probably bring myself to spend a little more for later version.
 
Roger Hicks said:
Have you actually tried using one? I did, 35 years ago when they were a bit newer and slightly more reliable, and the thing is an ergonomic nightmare as far as I am concerned. It would be a pity to lay out a lot of money, only to discover that you can't actually stand using the thing.

Edit: Ah, I see that Will has said much the same thing. If you buy cameras on the strength of their looks, have you ever considered an Exakta Varex? It's much easier than a Contax 1 to use, but even so... From http://www.rogerandfrances.com/subscription/ps%20collect%20varex.html (where you will also find pictures):

Those who are accustomed to more modern cameras may however breathe a short prayer of thanks at the fact that they don't make 'em like this any more. Compared with the vast majority of cameras past or present, many of the controls are upside down or backwards or both. It is not so much a camera with some eccentric features built in, as a collection of eccentric features with a camera hiding somewhere behind them.

Cheers,

R.
Click to expand...

I actually have one. (Thanks MC JC) And it has a waistlevel finder, making it even more awkward to use.. Everytime I pick it up I hav to awkwardly switch hand placement, forgeting it's a** backwards
 
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My VX 😉
5395235973_be0c065d16.jpg
 
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