Zeiss Contax Must Read

[steve_bellayr]

I was looking at some Russian cameras labeled Contax...then I came across this article which I found extremely informative about purchasing Russian 'Contax' cameras.  Just thought I would pass it on.

http://www.zeisscamera.com/articles_JenaContax.shtml

[hjoseph7]

For a fakes they look pretty good. Not sure how they work though ?

[AJG]

I would pass on these unless you could trust the seller to have done a complete overhaul along with the re-labeling.  My guess is that such an overhaul isn't happening given the prices that are being asked. The shutter mechanism in these cameras is complicated and unusual, and the later Kiev cameras aren't exactly known for quality control.

[Greg M]

I bought my West German Contax IIA, 50,85mm Sonnars and 21mm Biogon from Henry, all fully-restored in 2014. Runs as smooth and sweetly today as when they arrived 10 years ago.

[AJG]

My Contax cameras have all come from eBay but all but one of my 5 bodies (2 pre-war and 3 post war) have been overhauled by Henry Scherer and they too work like new, along with most of my Zeiss lenses for these cameras.  I didn't mean to imply that Contax cameras are unreliable since my experience indicates otherwise.  But having bought one of those black "Contax" cameras at a much lower price than they want now, I wouldn't do it again.  It worked for a month or two and then the shutter died.  Shipping it back to Ukraine even before the war wasn't worth it so it is now a shelf queen along with its "Sonnar"  lens.  The black "Zeiss" lens cap is handsome, though...   

[christopher_a._junker1]

Interesting post. My Dad bought one of the "No Name" Kiev cameras from Cambridge that I still have. It came with a Carl Zeiss f2 lens which I replaced with a Nikon F1.5 50. Although it has been a long time since I spoke to Henry Scherer about the Kiev, I recall he made it clear that he would never work on one.  Gus Lazzari's response was the same. However I've used it and despite the dim viewinder/rangefinder window and the stiff, notchy shutter release that was partially cured by a softie release, I found it very easy to get rapid accurate focusing with the body focusing wheel. Whoever set up the Kiev's focusing mount was really good. That feature and the removable back are the camera's best features. The worst is the horrible shutter setting and notchy shutter operation. If all the functions of an actual Contax camera with its body and lens in good condtion matched the focusing I experienced, a real Contax could be a great camera.

[AJG]

Setting the shutter speed on a Contax II/III is the same as the Kiev--not an ergonomic triumph.  As for the shutter release feel, none of my Contax bodies feel notchy in that respect.  They are quite smooth and predictable. I also have  a Kiev from 1972 that feels OK as far as the shutter release goes, so yours must be a problem from the later production period.  Internet wisdom indicates that the older the Kiev is the better constructed it is likely to be, although like all cameras, problems are likely to arise with greater age.  The body focusing wheel is an acquired taste, since it is really easy to cover the rangefinder window with a finger when reaching for the wheel.  With practice it can be done but I find myself releasing the lock with 50 mm lenses and grabbing the lens to focus instead.  With wide angle and telephoto lenses the lock on the focusing wheel is overridden when those lenses are mounted on Contax II and later models.  On my recently acquired Contax I ( an early one without the lock over ride) it is necessary to release the lock to focus any lens.  Zeiss always recommended strongly not to use the focusing wheel for lenses longer than 50 mm since the mechanism isn't really strong enough to move that much mass.

[JDMvW]

In my experience, Russian copies of Contax are pretty good shooters. I will admit that one of the best of them is a transmogrified Kiev:

[christopher_a._junker1]

Regarding my earlier posr, the serial number for my "No Name Kiev" is 6306353 which may indicate it is from the early production series and there are no other markings on the camera. The 1.4 Nikkor S C lens #322402 isn't really very good wide open, but outdoors, hooded and stopped down to 4.5 and further, it delivered a nice image. However the Nikkor lens hood was easy to knock off and blocked part of the viewing window. I meter my shots and the shutter speeds appeared accurate. The exposure counter has to be manually set like the M2"s. All the chrome parts fit together well, and all exposed screw heads look like new. Except for very light wear from the lens strap, the black paint, chrome and leatherette have held up well over the years. From the above posts, it appears build quality for my 60 year old "No Name Kiev" leans closer to real Contax bodies than any Russian clone. 

Finally a question; is the 1/1250 shutter speed really usable and accurate? I've never tried it.  

[AJG]

Don't expect 1/1250 to be that precise, but I have used it on my Contaxes.  I have only shot B&W negatives with these cameras, so any over exposure wouldn't matter that much.  Any camera that old and with a mechanical shutter probably will run slower than marked speeds.  The post war IIa and IIIa models will sometimes "cap" at high speeds like 1/1250 and 1/500, but the Kiev and pre war Contaxes usually don't have that problem.

[bonsignore_ezio]

I own and use (although not as often as I should) both a post-war Contax III and a Kiev, and in my admittedly limited experience they both work very well and reliably (even incl. the meter). It should be appreciated that unlike the Zorkis and Feds as (rather poor) Leica copies, the Kievs are not Contax copies, but rather the result of the entire original Zeiss production line, including technicians and other personnel being forcibly transferred to the Soviet Union after WW2. These cameras are thus effectively "true" Contaxs produced elsewhere, although with some modifications to simplify production and lower costs. Until the early '60s the Kievs were still manufactured largely by deported German workers and in any case according to the original quality control standards, and are thus much more reliable than later models. The first two digits in the serial number indicate the production year, and the lower the better while camera marked beyond 65XXXXX are better avoided. The last Germans being pensioned off coincided with some planned economy genius dictating that production shoulöd be increased 3x and later 5x, with predicable results.

[robert_ante]

Just a note. The Zeiss Foundation was not established under US occupation authorities. The Zeiss Foundation was established by Abbe, relatives of the Zeiss family, and Mr. Schott to contributed their ownership shares to provide scientific research, especially in optical sciences as well as welfare for workers (Zeiss was a pioneer in the eight hour working day and paid vacations). With takeover of Russians and later nationalization of Zeiss in DDR, the courts decided that Zeiss continued to be under the foundation and therefore proper owners of Zeiss trademarks. 

[christopher_a._junker1]

Abbe also refers to an optical lens calculation used in lens designs and is named after a member of the lens designing family. Shott is a long time manufacturer of optical glass. At one time Schott sold glass to Leica.

[bonsignore_ezio]

Although most photonet members are certainly quite aware of all of this, to be benefit of newcomers to the Contax saga it might perhaps be useful to summarise that there are;

1). Pre-war Contax models built by Zeiss in Jena

2) Post-war Contax models built by Zeiss in Stuttgart

3) Kiev cameras built in the then USSR and corresponding to the Zeiss pre-war models with certain modifications. These are not "copies" or "fakes"; rather, are effectively Contaxes built in the USSR by (until the early/mid-60s) deported German technicians, and in any case with original machinery, specifications, dies and (originally) parts, Variations include

- a snall number of very early cameras assembled with original German parts, whereby the Contax name of the front was erased (by it is still visible on X-ray) and replaced by the Kiev name in cyrillic script. These are very rare

. So.called "no name" Kievs, produced without name for export to the US and other Western countries

4) An exceedingly small number of pre-war model Contaxes (with small modifications), produced after the war by Zeiss in Jena (or possibly elsewhere, but anyway in the Soviet zone). These are extremely rare

5) Fake pre-war Contax models, which a rather recent product out of Russia and mostly Ukraine whereby Kiev cameras have their names effaced and replaced by faked Contax and Zeiss logos.