A Contax III followed me home

[Julio1fer]

Local price was about 110 US equivalent. Not exactly a bargain but it seemed a good opportunity. I have never tried a Contax before, only a Kiev. I was planning to sell the Kiev and the lens set but this made me think twice.



Shutter is always open, hope the technician can fix that. Mechanisms seem to operate smoothly (Zeiss smooth), even the selftimer works. Even the light meter works! Rangefinder patch well visible and distances bang on, focus smooth, lens extension is very tight.

The camera seems to have been in a closet for a long, long time. The leather case was disintegrating.

Serial M30466, so when was it made? And the lens? All comments appreciated, thanks!

[PFMcFarland]

Can't say for sure on your shutter problem, but if the case had disintegrated, then I don't hold out much hope for the tapes on the shutter being in tip-top shape. But then it just could be stuck open from no use in however many years. It certainly looks like it was well cared for when the owner was using it.

I don't have any experience with the older Jena glass, but love the Opton Sonnar on my IIa. There is a Zeiss Group on Yahoo where you may find some information on the age of your particular camera. And this forum http://www.forums.camera-info.com/forums/contax.485/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

PF

[Captain Slack]

CameraQuest has a very through page about these models: https://www.cameraquest.com/zconrf2.htm. If you contact Stephen Gandy, he might could give you some info on how to date yours.

[Julio1fer]

Thanks for the links and comments. I was aware of Cameraquest pages which are an excellent source.

I am sure that the camera needs a complete rework of the shutter (at least, those tapes). Fortunately my technician was originally trained by a German expert in Contaxes, many years ago. I hope he has a good memory!

[melek]

For information about the year of production. contact the Zeiss Ikon Collectors Group on Yahoo.

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/zicg/info" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If you provide them with the serial numbers of the body and the lens, someone on the group should be able to tell you the month and year of manufacture.

I sort of have a love-hate relationship with the meter-equipped Contax RFs.

I like the idea, but it makes for a very large camera (Contax III) or a very heavy camera (Contax IIIa).

Your camera is in really nice condition. You have a bit of chrome loss on the tip of the self-timer, but it otherwise looks to be in nice shape.

I am working on a Contax II at the moment for someone. Looks good on the outside. Not so good on the inside. But that's to be expected for a camera that will be 80 years old.

[Santiago Montenegro]

Great find, Julio! Hope your tech has it running in no time. Those are not very difficult to service at all.

[Mike Kovacs]

Nice find. I'm sure your shutter tapes are shot. No big deal to fix.

Can't tell for sure but your lens looks a bit foggy. I can tell you, after they are clean, the Jena Sonnars are superb lenses with great contrast for an uncoated optic with so few air/glass interfaces compared to their Leitz contemporaries.

[Brian]

The uncoated Sonnars can get hazy, usually on each side of the aperture,

Easy to break down:

http://www.leicaplace.com/showthread.ph ... ght=sonnar" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I know which Contax is keeping Mike busy...

[Julio1fer]

Thanks, Mike and Brian. The lens was indeed quite foggy. Brian, that link is reassuring. The portrait looks fantastic.

[Dennis Gallus]

Looks like you made a good purchase, Julio, even if you need to do a complete overhaul. Please keep us posted on how the camera turns out. Ivor Matanle certainly speaks of that Sonnar in glowing terms in his book, "Classic Cameras".