just got a IIIa!

[richardHaw]

Hi!

Just passed by my favourite camera shop and found this IIIa being sold cheap (as junk). the leather is not original and the helicoid is squeaky. I am not sure about the RF's accuracy but the shutter looked OK to me and sounded OK. The good thing is the spool is there AND the meter is OK but is off by a bit.

I will fix these things when I have the time and when I have gathered the correct information on how to fix these. I am a Nikon so Contax is a bit alien to me, in fact I havent began on my pre-war Contax II yet!😱😱😱

 

[peterm1]

I had the other kind of 111a (this kind) :^)

 

[Philip Whiteman]

Pah! Leica junk! (Check my avatar or whatever you call it before you go off the deep end.)

Well done, Richard. If you have half the fun I have had with my £30/$45 Contax junker (frozen focus mount, broken shutter ribbon - now all fixed by me and working like new) you are in for a gas.

 

[Cascadilla]

Congratulations on your Contax. If you haven't yet, check the high speeds (1/500, 1/1250) to see if the shutter is capping. You can do this by winding the camera, taking the back off and then firing the shutter while you look out a window or some other relatively big bright light source. If the shutter is capping, you will see either no light at all or a small slit. If it is capping, the shutter will need some work. I own 3 of them--2 arrived without working high shutter speeds and they are being repaired now. The insidious thing about this is that the shutter sounds normal even if it isn't opening at all. As for the meter, there is a zeroing screw on the back of the meter housing that might help you adjust the meter. Good luck!

 

[richardHaw]

Thanks for the support, guys! The Contax cameras are extremely well-made! I would even dare say that they have the best fit of all the cameras that I handled and the metal's gauge seemed thicker,too. So much better than the over-priced brand. But the handling is worse than my Nikons (I am biased). 😱😱😱

Last night, I tested it with my shutter tester and found out that 1/1250s would give me 900 and the other ones were off as well. I will have to calibrate this one day but I do not know where to start since I am a Nikon specialist. I also wanted to take the front bezel off so I can clean the helicoid but I cannot because I am not sure how to get that thing off without removing the top part. Looks like this is more complicated than my Contax II 🙄

I am my Contax cameras and since I have my Nikon S system, I can use my wide lenses and finders on these!

 

[Philip Whiteman]

If it is any help, I found I could get to the focussing helicoid once I had removed the shutter crate from the body. With nothing to lose (this was an otherwise scrap Contax II I was reviving) I simply applied some food processor grease to as much of the helicoid as was exposed when winding the mount right out. Pleasingly, this did the trick - the grease appears to be just the right viscosity to give 'buttery smooth' focussing and, being intended for food appliances, the oily part of it doesn't creep out to stain the surrounding structure. Not quite how the pros might do it, but a DIY fix that seems to have worked very nicely.

 

[richardHaw]

Thanks. Mine would need a thorough cleaning😱😱😱

and maybe a little brushing of the helicoids. it is almost seized at the moment. 🙄

 

[Philip Whiteman]

Mine was too - it took at lot of pressure to move it at all. You can clean the helicoid with the end of a cocktail stick (it has to be something non-metallic that won't scratch the brass). There was not much crud in mine - the problem was that what little lubricating grease there was had completely dried out.

 

[richardHaw]

OK, I just ordered repair manuals for the II and IIIa 😱😱😱 they are each very different cameras anyway. can't afford any guesswork!

 

[Dez]

It's actually quite straightforward to remove and relube the focusing mount, as I recall. Just remove the front cover then the whole mount can be removed- secured by five or six screws, it's then easy to clean and lubricate. The tricky bit is getting the gear mesh right so the RF is accurate when putting it back together.

Cheers,
Dez

 

[richardHaw]

It's actually quite straightforward to remove and relube the focusing mount, as I recall. Just remove the front cover then the whole mount can be removed- secured by five or six screws, it's then easy to clean and lubricate. The tricky bit is getting the gear mesh right so the RF is accurate when putting it back together.

Cheers,
Dez

Thanks! I checked the IIIa and it seems that you need to remove the top cover to remove the front bezel because there are a few screws hidden under that. 😱😱😱

The II & III doesn't require you to it seems and is pretty much like the Nikons, very straight-forward.🙄

I am intending to do a shutter calibration on this thing since the speeds are off. I hope that the manual is in-depth enough

 

[Highway 61]

Thanks! I checked the IIIa and it seems that you need to remove the top cover to remove the front bezel because there are a few screws hidden under that. 😱😱😱

On the Contax IIIa to get access to the focusing helicoid you need to remove everything at once : lightmeter cover, rewind shaft assembly (beware of the very small steel ball in the spring loaded rewind knob), top cover including the whole lightmeter unit, front cover, rangefinder geartrain unit, focusing helicoid infinity lock spring loaded arm.

 

[Dez]

Thanks! I checked the IIIa and it seems that you need to remove the top cover to remove the front bezel because there are a few screws hidden under that. 😱😱😱

The II & III doesn't require you to it seems and is pretty much like the Nikons, very straight-forward.

You're quite right- my apologies, it has been a while since I have done a postwar Contax. You have reminded me of my S3 that needs lubrication, though.

Cheers,
Dez