Thanks for the information everyone! I'll stop by tomorrow and see if its still available. I have 3 follow up questions:
1. What does "the shutter tapes are unbroken" mean? How can I check this?
2. How can I check to see if "the meter cell is weak" ? ( I followed the procedure in the manual to check the meter and it responded accordingly - the needle went to the center mark. Does that mean it's okay?
3. On collectiblend there is a listing for a 50/1.5 R Sonnar. What does the "R" stand for? Are the R versions really worth a lot more as collectiblend indicates? I didn't notice if it was a R version or not when I looked at it the other day.
Thanks again!
1) Shutter-tapes: the Contax RF shutter is a system of horizontal metal "slats", stacked edge-to-edge and joined with a linen cloth tape along each side-edge ( somewhat like Venetian blinds ). They are in two groups, an upper "stack" and a lower "stack". A preliminary check would be to remove the back-panel, and observe the operation of the shutter while winding-on, then releasing the shutter. The slats should remain absolutely horizontal and parallel to the upper and lower edges of the film-gate. The upper and lower stacks should move smoothly and swiftly, with no hesitation along the way. If the slats are slanted or bind, this indicates trouble inside the mechanism ( may or may not be bad shutter tapes ), and that the camera body needs professional service.
2) Meter Check - if you have a reliable hand-held meter, a comparative check against the camera-meter is probably best... If that is not possible, with the meter door CLOSED, turn the big meter-ring clockwise until it stops (the numeral 5 on the outer scale will be at / near the red pointer arrow). Now turn the meter ring COUNTER-clockwise, and watch the meter-needle: when it just lifts-off its stop-pin, stop turning the ring, OPEN the meter door, and point the camera towards some brightish light (shop window, overhead fluorescent light, etc.) - the meter needle should swing all the way to the front-end of the window. Close the meter door and see if the needle returns to the other limit. Repeat a few times.
Then set the ASA / ISO scale to 200, and turn the meter ring to bring the outer "250" numeral opposite the middle between the "16" and "11" on the center ring ( this would be "Sunny f:16" ), open the meter-door, and point the camera at the bright light again.... the meter needle should ideally line-up with the black diamond in the center of the meter scale.
These are very rudimentary tests... I played around with the one in my camera, and got it to respond to light, but am not entirely convinced of its accuracy. With my camera, with the meter-door closed (no light reaching cell), as I advance the meter-ring counter-clockwise, the needle begins to lift-off its stop when the "1250" on the outer ring lines-up with the first "A" in "ASA". If I continue to advance the meter-ring to its stop, the needle just passes the dot on the meter scale, but stops short of the diamond.
Ultimately, with the meter-door open, the meter-ring advanced all the way counter-clockwise, and the camera pointed at brightish light, if this will not "peg the meter" at the high end of its scale, the cell is probably weak / dead. A bargaining-point, but not essential to the operation of the camera itself.
3) Looks like Bill Jones covered the R-Sonnar question.
Good luck !
😎
