For the price of a pizza

<p>Okay, so it was a large, loaded pizza, but still----</p>

<p>I have always wanted one of these but put it off for various reasons. Going back to a preset lens and no instant return mirror takes a little getting used to but is sure is pretty. Some have called this camera the Porcshe 911 of SLR's, timeless beauty.<br>

This baby was listed on the great auction site as being only for parts or repair. The cover for the self-timer was missing and the timer itself was fully wound and jammed. Shutter speeds were thought to be a little slow. Since the cover is an integral part ofthe self timer release mechanism, I simply removed it and plugged the hole with a chrome flash terminal. all the speeds seem to work OK but there may be some curtain drag which I will puzzle out as soon as the wind stops and it gets above 20 degrees F around here. Cosmetically, its about an 8.5.<br>

Sold as body only and not wanting to spend 5-10 times the price of the camera for the original Biotar, I screwed on the famous Biotar copy, a Helios 44-2 and set forth on a cold and windy day. Oh yeah, the price.<br>

$19.74 plus shipping.</p>

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<p>Number 2</p>

<p>Number 2</p><div></div>

<p>Some local shots.</p><div></div>

<p>Beverage, huh? Somebody maybe has had one too many. Would it be too much to ask what camera you are alluding to? I would hate to guess.</p>

<p>Local Mom and Pop. It has had several owners but none dare change the name.</p>

<p>Local Mom and Pop. It has had several owners but none dare change the name.</p><div></div>

<p>one more</p><div></div>

<p>Last one</p><div></div>

<p>Wayne; sometimes you have to wait a minute for the upload.</p>

<p>Beautiful. A little jealous actually. Hope you can sort the timer out, it deserves to be back in original condition again. Thanks for the pictures.</p>

<p>Is that black Helios an M39 example? I have what looks to be the same lens in M39 and use it as such on my Zenit or on M42 with an adapter.</p>

<p>The Helios is M42. It came with a Zenit B.<br /> I would probably have to buy another parts camera to fix the self timer. The cover screws down over a protruding shaft and somehow it trips the timer when pushed. The timer mechanism is fine, just lacks a way to trip it. I removed it because that little shaft is very sharp and I kept catching my finger on it.</p>

<p>Sunny 16. I did take a few readings but they all gave the same numbers. I did some correction in PP as I think the shutter is a little slow, negs looked a little overexposed. Especially when I forgot to flip the diaphragm ring !<br>

My first SLR was an Exa, with no instant return. That was no problem but the lens was just clickstop, no preset. Got rid of it and went back to rf. (Contax 1, which I still have.)</p>

<p>Nice looking Contax D example. You didn't really need that pizza anyway. So grab a real piece of photo history...and keep your waist line trim all at the same time. Such a deal!</p>

<p>Terrific price for a working Contax of any model.</p>

<p>Nice work with it too. </p>

<p>This is definitely on my list of the most beautiful SLRs ever made. Its form shaped the character of almost all SLRs right up to the Canon T90/EOS jelly molds. Although it's a lot more complicated in practice, basically in conception it is a pre-war Contax RF with a prism.</p>

<p>I think they were also sold as a Practika, but came with a cheap 50/2.8. Going back to the 60's now.</p>

<p>Beautiful. May I ask what film you were using? Lovely quality, the lens, the film, the photographer's judgment.... </p>

<p>Superb. An all-time classic in every respect, and a great series of pics. Particularly beautiful tones in "Old Sea Captain's House" .(Wonder why Old Sea Captains generally lived in such interesting houses?) Nice post, <strong>Roger</strong>, and I hope you can find the missing lever, somewhere, and perhaps even a Biotar...</p>

<p>My first camera. Actually, mine was the Pentacon FM, with the aperture pin activator and the split image spot. Later I got a Contax branded body, as well but can't recall if it was a "S" or a "D". They look great, feel great, rubbish internally (mild steel was used for some of the gearing).</p>

<p>The basic design was also used for the Praktina, which for some reason seems to be a lot better made. The East Germans pioneered a lot of photographic firsts.</p>

<p>Thanks all for the compliments. I can't believe my good luck hot on the heels of getting a Rolleicord Art Deco a couple weeks back. That one was a lot more money and I have yet to post pics from it. I had a processing error on that roll and will have to re-shoot. Rick D just gave me an idea. There are a lot of "Old Sea Captain's" houses in this town, I think I need to shoot them all. <br /> <strong>Rick</strong>:I have the lever, it is the cap I am missing which is part of the triggering device. I can't remember the last time I used a self timer anyway and this camera was sold with and without one. If I find a Biotar, I want the one the Helios was copied from. The scallopped focusing ring makes it possible to focus with the fingertips as shown in the Contax "S" manual. I already have far too many M42 lenses now anyway.<br /> <strong>Vince</strong> : The film was Ilford FP4, Dev. in Ilfosol S.</p>

<p>Sorry, but as a fanatic on the subject. Some corrections.</p>

<p>The Praktica is a completely separate camera which adopted the Contax S (M42) mount. The Praktica is from KW, the Contax=Pentacon is from Zeiss.<br>

The Praktina is another completely separate camera, arguably the first 35mm SLR designed as a system camera. It used a distinctive bayonet mount of the sort later used by the early Canon SLRs.</p>

<p>Things are confused by the fact that all of these, much later on, all became part of the same encompassing combine, the VEB Pentacon that eventually included virtually all of the East German camera industry.</p>

<p>Some nice classic snow pictures with that Contax, helps me beat the heat here. They were always a very attractive camera, often found with the Tessar, which works nicely too.<br>

The Contax never was called a Praktica, but quite a few had the Pentacon label. It always amazes me how cheaply that one can get into classic cameras these days...no excuse not to then!</p>

<p>Ahh indeed.. The Contax (D) .. Very Envious. One might say I have no right to be as I have a Pentacon FM which came with a vintage Tessar and basically works. Alas; I want one that says "Contax" like yours.. Tah tthe "D" is small and higher up on the prism is of course preferred as the Others with the big letter...well ... well not the same IYKWIM. I too found your results great with the Helios. I have never matched the two, but I have one too!! So now I'm inspired! Excellent results in the snow which can be trcky to meter! Ohh and I just want to second what JDM said before as this is the UR -SLR and all others are pretenders!! Am I bias? You bet your sweet mm mm mm I am!! </p>

 

<p>I've got the Pentacon D version of it, complete with semi-automatic Biotar and a handsome ever ready case. It all seems to be working but I haven't got around to putting a film through yet. The focus is stiff but usable.<br>

One thing I notice, when I press the shutter three things happen in sequence: The mirror flips up, the aperture stops down, and the shutter operates. So it should be possible to get mirror lock up, just by part pressing the shutter button. After the exposure you have to turn the ring on the lens to open up the aperture again.</p>

<p>Wonderful camera! I agree with JDM that this is one of the most beautiful SLR designs ever! I owned one for many years and finally sold it (with Biotar, ev-case and eye-shade) as I never used it. I really liked the swirling sound of the slow speeds along with the turning shutter dial under the cover. Viewfinder is dark but I found it pleasant to use. Biggest annoyance for me was that after winding one frame after the other continuously my fingers really got red and swollen from the resistance of the winding knob, it became a torture after two rolls. I had the Biotar and the 35mm Flektogon (still own this one) - they are amazing lenses, I find. Still miss the Biotar but it doesn't fit my Pentax S1a. Eventually I believe, these are the lenses what you might be looking for, Roger... great price btw.! and wonderful images!<br /> If you just flick the shutter release lightly the mirror will turn up and you fire the shutter later. After some practice, this is really easy... (should I have kept mine?)</p><div></div>