Camera Talk

If the Contessa 35 is like the Ikonta 35, the rewind button is reverse threaded. I'm guessing that was done to keep it from working loose as the wind knob is turned. I've seen several Ikonta 35's with this button twisted off (I have one I recently bought like this) from someone trying to torque it off the wrong way.

Well, this self-closing pincer did it:



The button itself was right threaded on this camera, while the winding knob was reverse.

I'm sorry for not seeing this before. Is this a folding Contessa? Because sometimes you just need to clean the gearing under the bottom plate.

The rewind button is a reverse thread, and if you grip it lightly with a pair of needle-nose pliers, you should be able to remove it (twist to the right).

Oh heck - I see that you removed it.

The construction of the camera is reasonably straightforward. How is the meter on this camera? If it appears to be dead, you can try to revive the meter by cleaning the contacts under the selenium cell.

» Instructions here.

Thanks Melek! Cleaning under the bottom plate did it. Now I need to test drive the thing