Quickie guide on operating the folding Contina II:
1) Open the lens door by pulling down on the little silver stud. Pull down on the front of the door until it locks into place. Close the door by pressing the little "ears" near the door's hinge.
2) Load the film. First reset the frame counter by turning the little dial with your thumb until it's on the pointer. Next load the film. Make sure the tongue of the film (the film "leader") is secure in the takeup spool. I sometimes wind the spool half a turn or so to make sure it's caught using the small serrated edge of the takeup spool.
3) Close the door and wind two blanks, which the camera should do automatically, if you moved the film counter to the pointer. Sometimes, this doesn't work, so simply fire two blanks. Make sure the film counter is on "1." The advance knob is marked "A," while the rewind knob is marked "R." There are small arrows to remind you which direction to turn the knob.
4) With this camera, you have to tension the shutter by hand. With a Compur shutter, the lever is at the 10 o'clock position, looking at the front of the camera. Give it a firm push from left to right. with a Prontor shutter, it's roughly 11 o'clock, and it should push quite easily. The shutter release is the large rod on the front of the camera. When you take a real photo, try to keep the camera as steady as possible.
5). Focus by peering through the round window and turning the dial on the top of the camera with your right hand. When the two images align, focus is achieve. Now, read the distance from the scale of that knob, and set your lens to that same number.
6) Set your aperture and shutter speed. You'll want to have a meter, if you delve further into film photography. In fact, you'll really want to learn to meter and interpret a scene. But you have plenty of time for that.
7) Compose your shot using the square window. Release the shutter. You can use either your index finger or your middle finger -- or whichever finger works best for you.
8) The shutter release is now locked to prevent you from double-exposing the frame. Wind to the next frame. It will stop automatically when you reach the next frame.
Common problems with the Contina II:
-- Dirty viewfinder
-- Dirty rangefinder
-- Rangefinder is out of calibration
-- Lens turns very stiffly
-- Self-timer doesn't work or stutters
-- Slow speeds don't work or stutter.
Generally, these cameras will show one or more of these signs and sometimes all of them. And generally, they all can be solved with routine service.
It's a great little camera. I hope that you enjoy it.
