My Analog Cameras

[luis triguez]

http://www.luistriguez.es/fotos/cameras/index_cameras.htm

[za33photo]

13 minutes ago, luis triguez said:

http://www.luistriguez.es/fotos/cameras/index_cameras.htm

Thanks Luis , really enjoyable.

 

[luis triguez]

15 minutes ago, za33photo said:

Thanks Luis , really enjoyable.

 

it is a pleasure to share

[za33photo]

What I have.

Those that WORK and are in use.

 

[za33photo]

The rest.

These DO NOT WORK and are cluttering up the house  😆.

 

[ericphelps]

Yes, thanks Luis for this! But looks at history always make me painfully regret selling my old Leica 111g years ago. An unaffordable choice now.

[rick_drawbridge]

I've visited your site on numerous occasions, Luis, when looking for information on cameras. I've appreciated the factual content and enjoyed the images, and many thanks for posting the link here for the benefit of other members.

[AJG]

Thanks, Luis--an interesting and well done collection with some great results from the cameras.  

[Julio Fernandez]

Thanks Luis, your site is a nice resource.I appreciate most of all the pictures included!

[rodeo_joe1]

On 3/11/2023 at 1:37 PM, za33photo said:

The rest.

These DO NOT WORK and are cluttering up the house  😆.

 

The non-working Weston V doesn't surprise me in the least. Fully working Westons from the model IV onwards are like hen's teeth. 

Best bet for a working Weston is to look for a model iii. This was the first revision to be calibrated in ASA speeds, rather than Weston  speeds, and the last to have a robust and properly varnished Selenium cell. 

If you're lucky you can find a model III with an invercone & ND baffle kit. Even luckier to find the larger leather case with special compartment to hold the invercone and baffle. 

[luis triguez]

thank you very much, comrades!!

[Ricochetrider]

What a lovely trip thru time, Luis! I also very much enjoyed seeing photos from each model. Thank you for posting, my friend. 

[chuck_foreman1]

Thanks for that... I always admire your street photography..

 

[hjoseph7]

Amazing stuff !

[Niels - NHSN]

Those in current use:

 

 

 

[AJG]

My first "serious" camera was a very used Contax III w/5 cm f/1.5 Sonnar.  I bought it from one of the big NYC camera stores and (probably lucky for me) the shutter died within the return period so I gave up on really old cameras and bought a Yashica 35 mm SLR instead.  40 years on, after converting completely to digital for my commercial work and not really wanting to deal with carting my Toyo 4x5 G and tripod around I bought a Contax IIIa and have continued to collect more bodies and lenses from both the 1930's and 1950's.  These are not the most ergonomic cameras ever made but with use I have become fairly adept with them and appreciate the quality of the Zeiss and Nikon lenses that were made for them.  I am attaching two images--the pre-WW II cameras and lenses and the post WW II cameras and lenses.  What I don't have and would love to try some time is a working Contax I, but I'm not holding my breath on that one since it was known to be one of the less reliable products of Zeiss-Ikon and they are now pushing 90 years old.

Post WW II cameras and lenses w/accessory viewfinders for other than 50 mm lenses.  Cameras are resting on the cases for close-up attachments for 50 mm lenses. 

 

Pre WW II cameras and lenses w/accessory finders for other than 50 mm lenses.  Cameras are resting on close-up attachments for 50 mm lenses.

[chuck_foreman1]

What I said in the "this weekend.." thread. Very Envious of this collection Wow!! I'm lucky if my IIa fires above 200 and the only Zeiss lens I have is a pre-war 3.5 collapsible Tessar .  

[Niels - NHSN]

A few more of mine:

 

[AJG]

2 hours ago, chuck_foreman1 said:

What I said in the "this weekend.." thread. Very Envious of this collection Wow!! I'm lucky if my IIa fires above 200 and the only Zeiss lens I have is a pre-war 3.5 collapsible Tessar .  

Thanks--I've only been collecting (and using) the Contaxes and lenses for about 10 years.  Prior to that I had frequently used "obsolete" equipment like Rollei TLRs and my Mamiya Universal with 65, 100 and 150 lenses in my studio for commercial work since I didn't need medium format enough to justify the investment in Hasselblad or other pro oriented systems.  I used 4x5 a lot, sometimes using medium format backs for 120 since my lenses were good and I also used Polaroid backs a lot to show clients where we were.  My Contax collection started with a single IIIa with 50 mm f/2 Sonnar which was satisfying enough to make me want more.  Lots of eBay searching and some good luck have led to what I have now.  I am still pleasantly surprised at how good the lenses are given how long ago they were made and the technology available at the time.

[mjferron]

I am actually in the midst of a substantial sell off and am keeping just a few of my favorites including these two gems.  
On the left a Konica II B-m with it’s 45mm 3.5 Hexar lens. Old school with manual cock shutter, knob advance and rewind.
 

On the right a Konica III A which has a 50mm 1.8 Hexanon. The build quality is about as close as one can get to Leica without actually owning a Leica. (I think) The shutter release on both cameras are amazingly gentle and smooth, best I have ever used. 

Edited April 1, 2023 by mjferron

[chuck_foreman1]

10 hours ago, mjferron said:

I am actually in the midst of a substantial sell off and am keeping just a few of my favorites including these two gems.  
On the left a Konica II B-m with it’s 45mm 3.5 Hexar lens. Old school with manual cock shutter, knob advance and rewind.
 

On the right a Konica III A which has a 50mm 1.8 Hexanon. The build quality is about as close as one can get to Leica without actually owning a Leica. (I think) The shutter release on both cameras are amazingly gentle and smooth, best I have ever used. 
 

@ MJFerron: I have the Koni Omega which I am ready to seell as I use it like ..never - I was amazed at the Hexanon performance.  My last weekend in Paris (1993?) my french colleague had just bought the latest wiz-bang Canon auto-alles. So we shot most of the same stuff. He was pooh-pooing my clumsy MF monstrosity. He was amazed at my pics.. wondering why he invested sooo much in the Canon outfit 😉

14 hours ago, AJG said:

Thanks--I've only been collecting (and using) the Contaxes and lenses for about 10 years.  My Contax collection started with a single IIIa with 50 mm f/2 Sonnar which was satisfying enough to make me want more.  Lots of eBay searching and some good luck have led to what I have now.  I am still pleasantly surprised at how good the lenses are given how long ago they were made and the technology available at the time.

@ AJG: My dream lens is the post-wear coated  21mm, or for that matter a 35mm Biogon. These are still way over my budget,. The Russian Jupiter 12 is quite good though.... but doesn't say CZ or Biogon.

The Sonnar 1.5 is also desirable but even the F2 would be Ok.. any way .. "Dream on, Dream on, Dream until your dream comes true"

 

 

Edited April 2, 2023 by chuck_foreman1

[AJG]

4 hours ago, chuck_foreman1 said:

@ AJG: My dream lens is the post-wear coated  21mm, or for that matter a 35mm Biogon. These are still way over my budget,. The Russian Jupiter 12 is quite good though.... but doesn't say CZ or Biogon.

The Sonnar 1.5 is also desirable but even the F2 would be Ok.. any way .. "Dream on, Dream on, Dream until your dream comes

I have never had thousands of dollars to play with, but bargains do occasionally turn up.  I got my 35 mm f/3.5 Planar for under $200 from a big camera store that had labeled it as being in fair condition while the pictures on eBay showed a lens in good shape, as it proved to be. Most of the time that lens goes for a lot more since Zeiss didn't make very many of them. It is interesting to me that some of the more expensive lenses for the Contax on the used market are ones that were originally made to sell for less, such as the 85 mm f/4 Triotar, 35 mm f/4.5 Orthometar, 35 mm f/3.5 Herar, 35 mm f/3.5 Planar and post war 50 mm f/3.5 Tessars from West Germany. I guess that photographers who could afford an expensive camera like the Contax weren't interested in lesser lenses so they didn't sell well.

If your finances ever permit, the 21 mm Biogon is definitely worth it.  I have been very impressed with the over all sharpness and lack of distortion from such an old lens.  A slightly cheaper option is the 21 mm f/4 Voigtlander in Nikon S mount that is still available new from Camera Quest in the US, and maybe elsewhere as well.  It is over $400 but it does come with a good finder and is a good performer optically, if not quite the same as the Zeiss Biogon. And the f/2 50 mm Sonnar is no slouch either, as long as you get a post war one that doesn't have a scratched front element the way that all too many pre war ones do.  Good luck on your search!

[orsetto]

On 4/1/2023 at 3:28 PM, AJG said:

I've only been collecting (and using) the Contaxes and lenses for about 10 years. 

Given that timeframe and wild gyrations in the market, your ability to pull such a stunning Contax collection together is incredibly impressive.

If I wore a hat, I'd absolutely doff it in respect. What beautiful, complete systems you've assembled: thanks for sharing!

[AJG]

8 hours ago, orsetto said:

Given that timeframe and wild gyrations in the market, your ability to pull such a stunning Contax collection together is incredibly impressive.

If I wore a hat, I'd absolutely doff it in respect. What beautiful, complete systems you've assembled: thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the compliments--I look at eBay every day to see what's out there and avoid the obviously over priced items, and I've had some luck with lenses not being placed in the right categories so interested people didn't see them. The other helpful thing is the reputation of Contax bodies for unreliability which makes lenses in that mount less desirable in the market for useable/collectable equipment.  Almost all of my Contax bodies have been to Henry Scherer for servicing and have been quite reliable since then.  I have also (mostly) avoided collecting other brands of equipment so I could focus on completing a Contax set-up.  Leica, Hasselblad, etc. have always been tempting but are  definitely out of my price range and so I know that anything reasonably complete in that line isn't happening for me, and I am obsessive enough to know that a Hasselblad with one lens would just incite more purchases...  

Edited April 6, 2023 by AJG

[chuck_foreman1]

I too, was interested in Contax gear as it was low on the radar compared to Nikon, Leica Canon etc ..  Even Henry Scherer is in the "too rich for my blood" category. I jhave read his site completely and found some historically exciting bits. I've even debated  a Zeiss Ikon logo as a tattoo ( I don't have any! ydet 🙂) 
I have seens one or the other gear slip by atreasonable pices as I fought myself overand over rationalizing