Problems with Contax RTS ii

[j.scooter]

Just bought a Contax RTS ii and Planar 50 1.4.

I got both the body and the lens for the price of the lens. The Seller was not sure if the body was working but threw it in as a rear lens cap.

The body looks really good with only a few signs of use. The seals looked a little gummed up so I wasn't surprised when I got this from my first roll

I was surprised when I saw the lines in this shot. Is this a slow second curtain or could it be a light leak as well? Sorry for the less than exiting shot, it was a test roll after all 🙂

Does anyone know where I can get a replacement seal kit for the RTS ii? I see that akai ashai makes one for the RTS but clearly states that it does not fit the RTS ii.

If the second shot is indeed a slow second curtain, can you please recommend someone that works on these cameras, preferably in Canada. I tried David Yau already, unfortunately he doesn't.

Thanks
James

 

[nasmformyzombie]

I used a Contax RTSII in the early to mid 1990's. It was my primary Contax body for several years. Wonderful camera.

As I recall the RTSII has a large light seal inside that when it decomposes it can damage the shutter or gum up the insides of the camera. Let's hope that's not the case with yours. Unless you have a donor body spares for both the shutter and the internal electricals have been somewhere from very scarce to unavailable for years. The RTSII was discontinued in 1990 or 1991 when the RTSIII was introduced.

As for replacement light seals there is a guy named Jon Goodman who does light seal kits for many cameras. He is mentioned in this RFF thread: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=112908&highlight=jon+goodman

If a repair is needed, I am familiar only with what's available in the US. Mark Hama http://www.markhama.com/ repairs both Contax and Yashica cameras. The 'authorized' repair location in North America for Contax after ToCAD ceased Contax repairs in 2015 is Nippon Photo Clinic. http://nipponphotoclinic.com/

 

[j.scooter]

That is very helpful. Thank you.
I hope it can be fixed either with light seals or a CLA, I have grown quite fond of it in the short time I have had it.

 

[j.scooter]

Unfortunately Jon does not have a seal kit for the RTS ii.

Any other ideas?

Also, any opinions on what is going on with the second shot? If in fact it is a shutter issue, it would be better for me to send it in to get looked at by a professional who would conceivably (hopefully) fix the shutter issue and put in new seals.

Thanks again

 

[nasmformyzombie]

The second photo in particular looks like the result of a shutter issue---although the first photo has one huge light leak and another smaller one which could also be something more than a simple issue with a seal or seals.

Contax cameras are also noted for mirror drop due to issues with the adhesive and the plastic used on portions of the mirror box. I don’t believe this would result in the kind of issues with the images you posted, rather this would result in the mirror getting stuck or hitting the rear element of the lens which could damage the lens.

One issue that plagues some users of the RTSII is film loading. The film spool is rather large. Sometimes the spool doesn’t hold the film-end tight enough, in particular if you want to try to shoot to the very end of a roll of film. The white line on the film advance rewind lever (which is locked in position on the shutter speed dial) does indicate when the advance lever is turning. Did you get any good images from the roll you processed? Obviously, most often when film is improperly loaded, typically the film sprockets are not seated on the spool and you get no exposures on your film because the film is not advancing.

Film loading is covered in detail here. http://mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/contax/contaxrts2/manual/index.htm#filmload
More information about the film transport system is here. http://mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/contax/contaxrts2/htmls/index1.htm

If you have (only) a decomposing light seal that has contributed to a shutter issue best case scenario you have a bad main seal or seals that have deteriorated and gummed up the shutter in which case either Mr. Hama or Nippon Photo can hopefully repair it. Best of luck!

 

[Larry Cloetta]

This is, indeed, not a problem with the mirror slipping due to adhesive failure, which mostly afflicted the RX, as I remember. Unfortunately, because that is a very easy and cheap fix.
That is going to give you uneven horizontal areas of completely unexposed film on the bottom the frame.
Wish I could be of more help than that.

 

[p.giannakis]

I'm no expert but to me they both look like light seals problem.

 

[nasmformyzombie]

I'm no expert but to me they both look like light seals problem.

On the second photo, if the black border on the left hand side of the image is part of the frame it's indicative of a shutter or film advance issue, not a light leak.

Having said that, both images would seem to show pretty clear evidence of light leaks as well.

 

[nongfuspring]

I think the issue is light seals and/or shutter curtain. I don't think it is the mirror slip because that would cause horizontal underexposure, and I also don't think it is the decomposing internal seal because when that goes it doesn't cause leaks, it jams the shutter contacts.

Not sure what to do if it is a shutter issue but replacement light seal foam (adhesive foam sheets) is easy to find online or in hardware stores, you just need to cut it yourself.

The RTSII is IMO the nicest of the Contax SLRs, I hope you get it working again.

 

[j.scooter]

Thanks for all the help!!
Obviously the subscribe function isn't working. I came back here to bump the thread because I thought there were no responses.....

There were quite a few undamaged frames in this roll.

The film was loaded properly, I originally tried to load the film the traditional way of threading the film into the roller. I took a few shots and realized something wasn't right so I pulled the film and read the instructions, then reloaded. It seemed fine after that, none of the above shot were near the beginning of the roll.

 

[wwnore]

Hi, I now its been eight years or so. But did you figure out how to solve this problem ?

Repost from another post I made:
Hi, I got a free RTS together with a Tessar 50mm f1.4. I got it because there were some problems with the shutter. The seller sent me some example pictures:

Do you guys know if this is hard to fix or if it is expensive? I don't really need the RTS, but would be nice to have a backup to my 167 MT.

Thanks

 

[monopix]

Hi, I now its been eight years or so. But did you figure out how to solve this problem ?

Repost from another post I made:
Hi, I got a free RTS together with a Tessar 50mm f1.4. I got it because there were some problems with the shutter. The seller sent me some example pictures:

Do you guys know if this is hard to fix or if it is expensive? I don't really need the RTS, but would be nice to have a backup to my 167 MT.

Thanks

Is yours an RTS or RTSII. They are totally different cameras.

The pictures look more like a light leak issue rather than a shutter fault.

 

[j.scooter]

Was racking my brain to try and figure out how/who/when fixed my camera.

Recently remembered that I used and slightly modified to fit, a foam replacement kit for a RTS to fix my RTS II.

Once the foam seals were replaced, my problems with this camera went away.