Zeiss Ikon Contax i - collector interest or value?

Hello -

 

My wife's great grandfather, as best we are able to determine, purchased this camera around 1932 and we are trying to find out if it has any collector value. I have posted some pictures below. I have done a bit of research and it appears to be a 1st iteration Contax I, with indications of a factory repair according to the A prefix in front of the "U" serial.

 

Can anyone confirm its history, and the best way to determine if it's mechanically functional or not? We are not camera buffs...

I should add that there is an additional lens that I did not upload - it's a "Carl Zeiss Jena No. 2285850 Biogon 1:2,8 f=3,5 cm".

Check eBay for sale prices--there is a fair amount of activity in Contax cameras and lenses and completed sales on eBay should give you a fair sense of the market. The "for China" engraving and the back and nickel Tessar might be of some interest to collectors, but the 3.5 cm Biogon is fairly common.

There is some interest as a collectible, although perhaps not so much as a few years ago. Yours looks like it would clean up fairly well--however leave that to someone who knows what they are doing. Repairs and even cleaning by people who don't know are among the most common reasons for ruining the item.

 

 

The Contax I has a reputation for being a little 'fragile'. The focal-plane shutter was innovative and a precursor of the modern form of the shutter, but on the I, as well as on the later IIs and IIIs, it tended to fail. They are said to be hard to repair, and some unprincipled people have created Franken-Contaxes of the later models by mixing in parts from the Soviet-made clone, the Kiev.

 

see (LINK Contax - Wikipedia) and (LINK The Zeiss Ikon Contax Camera Repair Website - Overhauling A Contax I Shutter)

Collectors value? - probably "yes".

I'd

• download a manual
  
• open the camera and check the shutter if it works a) at all, b) reasonably at long times (i.e. if half a second doesn't sound like several ones).
   
  
• check the rangemeter for plausibility. i.e. focus on a distant antenna and check if the lens gets set to infinity and both rangemeter images overlay perfectly (even in the other direction not moved by focusing)
  

Describe what you discovered, when you list the camera for sale.

Maybe google or ask how to shoot fungus & flaws revealing pictures of your lenses.

No comment on best way to sell. - Ebay isn't what it used to be?

Whats the background of the "For China" engraving?

It is a Contax Ia (or Version 1 according to Kuc's classification system).

From what I gather the Ia is the most difficult to repair of the entire Contax I series. From experience I know the cameras before the Version 5 have shutter crates that are made from a softer metal than the younger versions. This means you can only remove the screws in the crate a few times for a repair or adjustment before the holes wear out.

 

Functionality;

Check if focus moves freely, by checking if the lens turns with the star wheel on top of the camera (press the infinity lock pin next to it to release it)

Check the rangefinder image in the viewfinder, See if it's there, see if it moves with turning the focus wheel)

To check the shutter, carefully turn the knob on the front to charge the shutter (and wind the film).

With the back off the camera. press the release on top and see if the curtains run down.

If they don't move or pull crooked, the curtain straps might be broken.

 

Whatever you do, DO NOT FORCE ANYTHING. ;)

 

As for the "For China" engraving. These were Contax I cameras destined for exported to China. Kuc mentions this in his book "On the trail of the Contax".

 

 

 

Contax I cameras generally get a bad rap concerning reliability, but the Version 5 to 7 actually aren't that bad. The shutter straps wear and break, but the same can be said for the Contax II (and Leicas). It's to be expected of an 80 year old camera.

Thanks so much for the replies, very helpful.

 

The rangefinder and focus wheel appear to work fine (the rangefinder image is small but it is there). I aligned the rangefinder on an object at infinity and the lens moved to the position closest to the camera (the infinity position). Likewise, focusing on something three feet away requires moving the wheel all the way to the right to line things up in the rangefinder (lens extended about 4mm).

 

I am a little unsure how to turn the knob to turn to charge the shutter and wind the film. Which direction? It appears to be spring loaded, does it need to be pulled out a bit to turn it?

 

Does anyone know where to download a manual? I am not readily locating it online.

The knob should turn clockwise to wind the film and shutter. Have you removed the back? If you wind the knob with the back off you should see the shutter curtains move. I think the eBay seller Petrakla sells a CD or download of Contax manuals which should include one for the Contax I. Good luck.

When I try to turn the knob clockwise, it moves a very few degrees and then stops. I can see the wheel on top of the camera turning counter-clockwise, toward the lower numbers. The sprocket wheels inside the camera also try to turn to the right. Is that correct? Is there anything I can look at or lubricate to free up that mechanism? I don't see any movement of the shutter curtains with the slight movement of the knob.

 

Also, what is the silver button at the top right on the back of the camera, next to the down arrow? Is that some kind of release, and for what? (I just discovered that the numbered wheel on top spins freely toward the lower numbers when it is depressed, so it must be some kind of counter adjustment.)

Also, I found this article that basically says that this model is only a "shelf" camera anyway, so the operation of the winding mechanism may not matter. I guess I should be happy that the rangefinder and focus mechanism are still working. I used a damp cloth on the leather portions and they really cleaned up very nicely.

 

The Zeiss Ikon Contax Camera Repair Website - Overhauling A Contax I Shutter

Here are some pictures of the extra lens - would it make sense to sell this separate from the camera?

 

Here are some pictures of the extra lens - would it make sense to sell this separate from the camera?

 

[ATTACH=full]1332844[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1332845[/ATTACH]

The general consensus is that a Contax I is more likely to be a shelf queen than a functional camera, unfortunately, although if you go to rangefinderforum.com you will find people who have repaired these and make pictures with them. I believe the button you are referring to on the back is for rewinding film back into a 35 mm cartridge at the end of the roll. The Contax I sprockets inside the camera that advance the film don't have a clutch like most 35 mm cameras have for disengaging the sprockets to rewind the film. The button lifts a wire that lifts the film above the sprockets so that it can go back into the cartridge. This disappeared on the Contax II/III and wasn't copied by anyone else that I know of.

As for the lens, if you want to make the most money then sell items separately on eBay. eBay can be tough on new/small sellers, so you might want to take less money and sell to a camera dealer instead.

I'm one of those people on RFF who fixed Contax I cameras; a Version 4, 5 and 7 so far. ;)

 

If the winding knob on the front only turns a little it might be that the shutter is already wound. And failed to release on pressing the release button on top (due to it having frozen from sitting too long or broken curtain straps or springs in the curtain roller drum

 

The winding knob does lift up a little, but this is to change the selected shutter speeds, it might offer a little more resistance if the shutter is already charged.

 

The button on the back of the camera is indeed to disengage the film from the mechanism for rewinding.

 

The lenses will certainly sell if sold separately. There is a collectors' market for the early black-face contax lenses. And the Biogon isn't very common either.

Hello,

I would really like to buy this camera. May i ask where are you from?

Cheers