BlueMan
Newbie
Hello all, I've been reading this and related forums a lot recently, trying to get a good idea of what I have here: an early 50s Contax IIIa with 3 lenses and a few accessories. Here are some pix:
The 50 mm f/1.5 Sonnar is a Zeiss-Opton, Nr 1053303, with the red T coatings. It is free from fungus but has a few small particles inside. It says "Made in Germany" on the outside near the rear element.
The 35 mm f/3.5 Planar is a Carl Zeiss, also says "Made in Germany" on it, and is totally free of internal or external scratches, blemishes, etc. Looks like it didn't get used very much- these lenses and camera were my father's, purchased by him in Germany in the early 50s. This lens has a nice little leather drawstring case with "Zeiss Ikon Germany" on the bottom.
I also have a 135mm f/4 Sonnar with Carl Zeiss Nr 1308044 on the lens and "Made in Germany" near the rear. The front element is clean, but the inside the rear element seems to have fungus or something- little tiny dots visible when you hold the lens at an angle. They're not visible when looking straight through though. The lens has a nice leather drawstring case with "Zeiss Ikon" and "Stuttgart Germany" on it.
What else do I have here. . . a viewfinder to attach to the accessory shoe for 35, 85/90, and 135 lenses, with parallax correction dial, with "Steinheil Munchen Germany" on the back.
The 35 and 135 lenses have both front and rear metal lens caps, which say "Zeiss Opton", or "Carl Zeiss", or "Zeiss Ikon", etc.
As for the camera: the slow shutter speeds, above 1/10th sec, are not accurate. The half and 1 second are not at all that long- maybe 1/50th sec. I don't know about the other shutter speeds. I just this morning took the selenium meter assembly apart and got it working again- seems a bad contact between the cell and camera body was preventing it from working.
I haven't shot film in this camera for many years, opting instead for my late 70s Canon F1 and early 80s GIII-1.7, both of which take beautiful pictures.
After reading about these lenses around this forum and various other web sites, it sounds like I have some really fine, famous lenses. I should try some film in this camera, get the shutter speeds either firing accurately or determine what they're firing at, and enjoy this fine piece of optics and mechanics again!
Or not- maybe this equipment would be happier with someone who would appreciate it more. I'm pretty happy with my 2 Canons and 5 lenses. I am willing to sell all or part of this Contax equipment. . . . anyone interested? I'd rather sell it on this forum than Ebay.
The 50 mm f/1.5 Sonnar is a Zeiss-Opton, Nr 1053303, with the red T coatings. It is free from fungus but has a few small particles inside. It says "Made in Germany" on the outside near the rear element.
The 35 mm f/3.5 Planar is a Carl Zeiss, also says "Made in Germany" on it, and is totally free of internal or external scratches, blemishes, etc. Looks like it didn't get used very much- these lenses and camera were my father's, purchased by him in Germany in the early 50s. This lens has a nice little leather drawstring case with "Zeiss Ikon Germany" on the bottom.
I also have a 135mm f/4 Sonnar with Carl Zeiss Nr 1308044 on the lens and "Made in Germany" near the rear. The front element is clean, but the inside the rear element seems to have fungus or something- little tiny dots visible when you hold the lens at an angle. They're not visible when looking straight through though. The lens has a nice leather drawstring case with "Zeiss Ikon" and "Stuttgart Germany" on it.
What else do I have here. . . a viewfinder to attach to the accessory shoe for 35, 85/90, and 135 lenses, with parallax correction dial, with "Steinheil Munchen Germany" on the back.
The 35 and 135 lenses have both front and rear metal lens caps, which say "Zeiss Opton", or "Carl Zeiss", or "Zeiss Ikon", etc.
As for the camera: the slow shutter speeds, above 1/10th sec, are not accurate. The half and 1 second are not at all that long- maybe 1/50th sec. I don't know about the other shutter speeds. I just this morning took the selenium meter assembly apart and got it working again- seems a bad contact between the cell and camera body was preventing it from working.
I haven't shot film in this camera for many years, opting instead for my late 70s Canon F1 and early 80s GIII-1.7, both of which take beautiful pictures.
After reading about these lenses around this forum and various other web sites, it sounds like I have some really fine, famous lenses. I should try some film in this camera, get the shutter speeds either firing accurately or determine what they're firing at, and enjoy this fine piece of optics and mechanics again!
Or not- maybe this equipment would be happier with someone who would appreciate it more. I'm pretty happy with my 2 Canons and 5 lenses. I am willing to sell all or part of this Contax equipment. . . . anyone interested? I'd rather sell it on this forum than Ebay.
