Family reunion - my Contaxes are back! Some pics...

[vidom]

Finally, my Contaxes are back from repair. Re-united with their lenses

now.<div></div>

[vidom]

I couldn't wait to get out and take some test shots. So that's what I did. The next few shots are within walking distance from my home.<div></div>

[vidom]

More...<div></div>

[nicolas_douez]

Nice Ikea pine table, same as Mike's one :-)

[vidom]

Another one...<div></div>

[vidom]

Next one...<div></div>

[vidom]

All of these had to be scanned from prints as I don't have a negative scanner.<div></div>

[gene m]

Very handsome cameras and photos. Wow ! A Biogon 21.

[mskovacs]

Nice little collection you have there! Its clearly in capable hands.

[vidom]

Another one. I'm still fascinated with these tiny little cameras. None of this gear is younger than 50 years. These picturers are as sharp as it gets with APX 100 and Rodinal. My 4th gen. 50 mm Leica 'Cron doesn't do any better. The 21 Biogon alone is worth getting a contax. This is fun!<div></div>

[nicolas_douez]

Good use of the 21mm here. Don't shoot landscapes with it only.

 

Congratulations, you've got a very nice outfit Peter.<div></div>

[furcafe]

Hurray for you! I know the feeling well. Now you just have to keep those cameras fed w/plenty of film.

[mtk]

Great shots Pete~! I do really think the "family" portrait is great too with especially with the woodgrain! Can't wait to get the Kiev 4 out this weekend and finish the roll.............mark

[Troll]

Peter, I've always thought that the Contax IIa is the most beautiful camera ever built (I've had two of them; one a black dial and my present color dial). Lately, though, I've been lusting in my heart about an older Contax II. Since you are a user of both, could you write a little about a comparison between the two. For example, does the older camera have that ghastly green viewfinder with the pink rangefinder patch? Which do you prefer using, (and why). Thanks, Bill.

[conrad_poulin]

Beautiful set of cameras! I like your shots. The subjects and the

detail retained in the highlighted areas. Nice job!

[mike_elek]

that's a very nice group of cameras (and excellent shots too)

[Aoresteen]

Peter,

 

Very nice work!!!

 

Who did you end up sending your Contaxes to for repairs?

 

I just sent my IIa & 50mm f/1.5 to Henry for a complete overhaul.<div></div>

[furcafe]

I'm not Peter, but I can answer your questions. The Contax II's & III's do have tinted VFs, but if they're clean they're not as dark as the VFs in most of the IIa's & IIIa's (& the color is more gray than green if that makes a difference to you). The advantage of the II over the IIa is that the II has a longer RF baseline, which is useful for telephotos, & a more durable RF mechanism, which is better for rough use in the field. To translate into Leica terms, the Contax II is more like an M3, the IIa more like an M2. IMHO, the only practical advantage the IIa has over the II is that it's smaller & lighter.

 

-------------------

 

"Peter, I've always thought that the Contax IIa is the most beautiful camera ever built (I've had two of them; one a black dial and my present color dial). Lately, though, I've been lusting in my heart about an older Contax II. Since you are a user of both, could you write a little about a comparison between the two. For example, does the older camera have that ghastly green viewfinder with the pink rangefinder patch? Which do you prefer using, (and why). Thanks, Bill."

[vidom]

@ Anthony Oresteen: I sent the Cameras to Horst Enzmann of Winsen/Aller, Germany. Due to the lack of spares many repair shops in Germany refuse to accept Contax repair jobs. I paid something like 450 Euro for the complete repair job, which included complete shutter overhauls and CLA with both cameras. This won't be done any cheaper in Germany (my Leica repairs at Fotomechanik Kielgas of Hannover were more expensive, although Leicas are much simpler cameras). With the shutters he seems to have done a good job, yet I'm not sure yet whether the somewhat uneven negative density (you can see that some of my pics look a bit overexpsed at the top) has more to do with my poor developing technique or with the second shutter curtain travelling at a slower speed than the first. As films from both cameras are affected, I think this has nothing to do with the cameras; otherwise Mr. Enzmann will get them back for proper adjustment.

 

@ Bill Mitchell: I can't compare Contax IIa with Contax II because I have no pre war Contax gear. Judging from the Kiev 4 I own, for reasons of ergonomics I'd prefer post war Contaxes; the fingers of my right hand always want to be where the RF window on pre-war type Contax bodies is. The post-war VF may be a bit brighter and it's eyepiece a bit larger, but there is not much difference in actual use (maybe there is for people wearing glasses, which I don't). The pre war type is much bigger, bulkier, heavier and uglier (the latter being a matter of tase, of course). Strange enough, the Contaxes shutter is noisier at fast speeds than the Kiev's shutter; it's the other way round with the slow speeds due to the famous Contax wheeze. AFAIK there is not much difference in shutter reliability - both pre- and post war Contax shutters are divas. If you want reliable service, get a Leica.

[nicolas_douez]

450 euros ? Whoa ! Not cheap actually.

 

Well, doing the job myself on my II, IIa, IIIa, I saved... hmmm... yipee, what a lovely day today !!!

 

I do hope they performed a total teardown of the bodies including a replacement of the light traps baffles (like I did) on the rear of the main body, a complete dissassembly, cleaning and lube of the lens mount, a good cleaning of the RF prisms.

 

As for the shutter, well apart from a good cleaning of its gears and a proper lube once upon a time, there is nothing better than regular exercise for it.

 

If you had still shutter curtains problems, you wouldn't see a globally underexposed picture but a well exposed picture with a non exposed (clear on the negative, dark on the positive) bar on the upper side of horizontal shots when properly handled - i.e., in front of the sky, because the IIa shutter problem, called "blanking", results in a non exposed lower part of the film frame due to an upper curtain reaching the lower curtain when the lower curtain has not finished its vertical trip along the film frame yet.

 

According to what I see on your pictures, well, they seem to work quite well.

 

Peter, always keep in mind Rick Oleson's advice regarding the IIa : "either use it regularly, or service it regularly".<div></div>

[bacsa]

Peter, you have two, i have none. Where's the truth??? If i would not have lived in the eastern block for thirteen years, you would make me a communist now.

[bacsa]

Peter, a bit off-topic; on your Kiev 4, you mention the slow speeds are noisier than the Contax. Do they sound as a continuous rattle of a mini-chainsaw? Like rubbing metal on metal? I just repaired the shutter of mine and the sound is still the same, i'm not sure if i should do stg about it or it's "normal".Would some shutter lubrication help, i wonder?

[nicolas_douez]

I'm not Peter but I might be of some help Csab.<p>

 

On slow speeds (all speeds equal and under to 1/50) the prewar Contax and Kiev shutter is well known for its "wheeze". That "wizzz" sound is caused by the complex escapement mechanism and the main escapement gear that interfere with the upper curtain release to slow it, as the lower curtain is passive and enrolls at the same speed on its capstan whatever the shutter speed dial is set on. <p>You might read <a href=http://www3.telus.net/public/kaylalyn/index.html>this site</a> to learn more about the Kiev shutter. And also some valuable technical notes <a href=http://www.sdash.plus.com/>here</a> and <a href=http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-92.html>here</a> !<p>Based on my own experience of servicing that shutter I can just say that some are very quiet while other are noisy, but it doesn't not mean anything significant regarding how well they operate. I think that the level of noise depends on how the tolerances were set in the factory regarding the teeth cut of some critical gears in the escapement mech. Original Contax shutters might be slightly better than Kiev ones in that respect but it's not 100 % true. I've a 1959 Kiev 4 whose shutter is noticeably smoother and quieter than my 1936 Contax II one - and both work as well at all speeds. Also, if you just cleaned the shutter and lubricated it, in some weeks, after a regular use, it will get less noisy by itself, once the oil would have gone more deeply in the gears shafts.

[bacsa]

Thanks, Nicholas. I have read those pages on Kiev, and a few more, in fact, but i had never seen another Kiev or pre-war Contax, so i didn't know how it should sound/behave. I'm glad it's okay what it does.

 

Mine had one shutter ribbon broken (the one on the gears' side, dirty and scrapped). I replaced it, works fine apparently, but the sound bothered me. I did NOT oil anything; i was used to leaf shutters where there is no lubrication needed for the slow speed trains. Should I put a bit of lubricant on the gears then? Should it be machine oil or silicone lubricant is ok(which i do have, unlike the oil)?

[nicolas_douez]

Well, if the slow speeds are accurate enough (I mean, not too slow), you don't need to lube it too much for now maybe. But if they are a bit too slow that means that the escapement gears are beginning to be sticky because of old hardened and gummed up lubricants, so that a good CLA will be useful. If the camera was never serviced since he left the Arsenal factory, well bid it needs a CLA.

 

A good cleaning of the gears with lighter fluid (naphta) applied with an old soft tootbrush and followed (when dry) by some tiny amounts of superfine oil on every gear and every shaft (with a 00 paintbrush or a syringue) is the appropriate treatment.

 

You can get very thin oil from a seller specialized in guns. It's called "gun oil". Or, if you mind open the door of such a shop, well you can get the same oil in a sewing machines shop or even by your local bikes repairer.

 

He might have pure vaseline based thin colorless oil. For example, the well known bikes accessories Zefal brand sells the ref. 000552 oil. It works fine in old cameras shutters. I think it's exactly the same oil as the "gun oil" Mike Kovacs uses in Canada.

 

On my own side I use 3-in-One professional lubricant (made by the WD-40 company) that is a refined form of gun oil - basically the same too, but even thinner maybe as far as I can judge by using it. It's not a silicone based oil.

 

Of course I don't bomb directly from the can to the camera gears :-) but I bomb a bit of oil in a glass, and then I patiently apply the oil within the gears with a 00 art paintbrush. Takes me approx half one hour to properly lube an entire Contax/Kiev shutter.

 

BTW congratulations for the ribbons replacement job. For having done this myself I know it's not always a funny game.<div></div>