Contax III-Stupid Purchase or Not

[Xícara de Café]

I know a good tech in Ukraine that restored my Contax iii. Even got the light meter working. Let me know if you'd like contact.

[chuck_foreman1]

Good Luck with the Contax III. Looks quite ok.. the lens as I said will be worth investing in a restoration...

[chuck_foreman1]

I've serviced these in the last couple of years. slightly older than your average Contax II :D

[ATTACH]1320095[/ATTACH]

 

You have three of these original models?? Wow!!!

[steve_gallimore1]

I'm not really sure that it's possible to call 'fake' on a Contax quite so easily.

 

There are Contax built in Dresden.

 

There are Contax, built in Kiev from Dresden parts.

 

There are some unmarked cameras, built in Kiev.

 

There are Kiev, built in Kiev.

 

There are probably Kiev that have been altered to say Contax, but I'm not so sure.

 

Only an early Kiev2/3 could be faked into a Contax and given that they're worth about the same, why bother?

 

Unmarked cameras are worth even more due to their rarity.

 

Differences in engraving could suggest a fake, or production in Kiev with new equipment, or simply slight changes in production in Dresden.

 

As far as I'm concerned, they all work the same.

 

Don't forget, the Kiev wasn't a copy of the Contax, the entire factory was moved to Kiev and a significant number of the original engineers remained in Dresden, which was also in the Soviet bloc, so we can assume there was technical assistance given. Those engineers probably didn't care about the old rangefinder, they were working on something new, the Contax S.

 

The West German Contax 2a/3a were entirely new cameras.

[Rick_van_Nooij]

There are Contax II cameras built in Jena as well as I recall, in the early post-war years. Before the plant was moved to Kiev in ...1947-ish.

I've also come across Contaxes having been repaired with Kiev parts.

 

 

You have three of these original models?? Wow!!!

These are a version 5 (with the Definex lens), a version 7 and a version 4, respectively (If you follow Kuc's method of classification).

[markwyatt]

I have a Contax iia, and it is my favorite film camera to shoot at this point. I generally use the rangefinder to focus, then compose with a top mounted viewfinder. It is a pleasure to use and takes great pictures with either Zeiss glass or my Voigtlander SC Skopar 21mm f4 (probably my favorite lens at this point). I also have a Kiev 4a (1978), which is very nice, but has some winding issues. It is probably my most attractive camera.

 

Kiev 4A Type2 (Black) by Mark Wyatt, on Flickr

[rick_drawbridge]

The Kievs are pretty cameras...

 

[brett_rogers]

I was in the local camera store the other day and was playing with a Contax III that tempted me, especially for the offered price.

 

I know that the(useless) meter on top makes the III a bit less desireable than the II, but it still seems like a good solid camera even if it is heavy. I sold my Leica IIIc a few months ago, partially because I hated loading film in it, and this seems like a good way to get a camera that is in a lot of ways better than the Leica.

 

Here are the issues as I see it with the one I looked at:

 

1. The rangefinder works, but the viewfinder itself is hazy. How much of a nightmare is this to open up and clean? The contrast on the rangefinder is good(better than some 60s/70s Japanese rangefinders I've used)-it honestly just looked like it needed to have the back sides of the glass cleaned.

 

2. Slow speeds were dead. I can live without them, but how difficult are they to access and service? From reading the shutter ribbons are an issue, but this one seems find since the faster speeds work.

 

3. The lens is an uncoated Zeiss 50mm f/1.5. It's hazy also, and the blades are oily. I'm a bit concerned about flare in an uncoated lens that fast. I know oily blades aren't a huge deal on a rangefinder lens, but I'm guessing they're probably the source of the haze. It seems straightforward to break down and clean the glass-are there any tricks here?

 

4. Finally, is there anything else I should look at? Am I look at a money pit even at $100?

There are a lot of air to glass surfaces in the Contax finder system. If you want the best results you really should clean every one. This means removing both the top chrome cover and the top housing beneath that hence the rewind knob film counter wheel and wind knob have to come off first.

 

The optics are mostly easily accessible however there is a pair of lenses between the prism and rear eyepiece in a closed metal housing. With care you may gently prise up the metal tabs securing one of the lenses to the housing just enough to remove it for access to the two internal optical surfaces. Note the orientation of the removed lens for correct re-assembly.

 

One wonderful thing about the II/III rangefinder/viewfinder system (apart from its unparalleled precision and accuracy) is it almost never goes out of alignment. But there is one way it can become affected.

 

The swinging optical wedges behind the RF window which travel across such a large arc, and provide so much of the Contax rangefinders phenomenal focus accuracy, were originally fixed into place with some sort of ancient bonding agent. Whilst this will usually still be holding the wedges in position (unless perhaps the camera has had a significant impact) they can be detrimentally affected by common cleaning agents such as alcohol or lens cleaning fluid. If this occurs and the wedges detach or move RF accuracy will be lost. But, they will also benefit from careful cleaning with a sheet of lens cleaning tissue and lens cleaner.

 

It's therefore very good policy to first affix each of the wedges to their mounts with small dabs of five minute epoxy at each end. They weigh little so need only a minute bridge at each end across the old bonding agent to secure wedge to mount. But this will secure them in the correct alignment so you may safely clean them with tissue slightly dampened with lens cleaner.

 

Reaching those two critical air to glass surfaces between the two wedges is a little fiddly, it is tight. But a sheet of tissue can usually be teased between the wedges and run to and fro a few times to effect cleaning.

 

I would always assume the ribbons of a pre-war Contax will need to be replaced. Unless someone actually has serviced a particular example in recent memory, there really are only two kinds of found Contaxes—those whose ribbons have already failed, or those which are just about to. Fortunately this isn't particularly hard to do if you've some camera repair experience although if it's the first time working on a Contax, getting your head around precisely how this absolutely unique shutter actually works before touching it, is definitely prudent. I've done 3 x Contax II to date.