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bonsignore_ezio

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bonsignore_ezio last won the day on November 19 2013

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  1. Watching the sunset at Palmyra, in better days
  2. A cold and rainy day, but she liked it nonetheless
  3. @ chuck: We live in Westerwald just south/east of Bonn, which based in previous exchanges is some 120km south of you in Dusseldorf. Incidentally, just a couple hours ago my Super B also started acting bonker: I was loading a film and all of a sudden the shutter went blocked in partial aperture with the mirror down. And this, on a camera that very clearly has seen very little or no use. Oh well...
  4. 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.
  5. In the meantime, a more careful examination has revealed the real problem. The meter works and it is accurate, but it will not react to changes in the selected speed. It is rather stuck to 1 sec., and will react to varying light conditions by indicating the correct aperture at that speed or suggesting that no exposure is possible. Something is clearly amiss in the meter/shutter link. The very curious detail is that this seems to affect but the shutter>meter relationship, while the opposite meter>shutter function works. I mean, the meter will ignore the real selected speed and will always operate on the basis of a speed of 1 sec., but when an exposure is possible at that speed it will not only indicate the appropriate aperture, but also close the shutter at that aperture thus operating correctly in the semi-auto mode as it should. Go figure. In any case this is way beyond my wildest self-repair dreams, and thus external meter it will be.
  6. This is admittedly a long shot, but I though I would try anyway, I've got myself a Contaflex Super B (second model with semi-automatic exposure) in splendid like-new conditions. It works flawlessy but for the meter. Now this is a common occurence for selenium cell meters of that age, but this one is NOT dead. Rather, it will reactly briskly and apparently accurately in low/dim light conditions, but it will go bonker as soon as it is hit by decent light (i.e., in any normal daylight conditions it will say that even 1/500 at f=22 exceed the acceptable range with an ASA 100 film. If I partially cover the meter window, it will immediately drop to 3.5, 2.8 or tell me to lower the speed). So, it is not dead, is a zombie. Quotes by repairmen for just looking at the camera are an order of magnitude higher than I paid for it (and for its two extra lenses). So, the question is: do you reckon that the meter adjustment port of the back of the camera could possibly be twisted as to correct such a large error? Shall I try anyway? Of course I could place the camera as a shelf queen or use an external meter, but while I would accept a dead meter as a matter of classic cameras collector's life, I am intrigued by an old meter which has become way too sensitive,
  7. 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.
  8. @Chuch Foreman: in Europe, and more specifically in Germany where we are both located, 127 film is available from Photoimpex, altough not on a regular basis. At the moment they don't seem to stock slide fil, which I used to produce "superslides" with ny 44LM, Rollei Baby and Topcon Primo Jr.
  9. Or, What In Hell Is Happening? I am witnessing a very curious collector's market phenomenon, that I cannot begin to understand. Ebay is awash with Canon 7s being offered by Japanese sellers, which in itself is hardly surprising given that the camera is certainly not rare. Point is, most if not all offers are for "body only", which is rather puzzling in that I would assume these cameras were originally purchased complete with a lens. Any suggestion as to the reasons for the "body only" options? Perhaps, the sellers have all uninimously agreed that it would be more profitable to sell bodies and lenses separatedly? (unlikely, because the double shipping costs would deter many potential customers). Or, someone has located a huge stack of bodies left behind from Canon's production (e.g., not passed quality controls)? Any suggestion?
  10. Let's see... Sorry for asking a stupid question, but what happens if you set the shutter at any given speed, and then keep the shutter button pressed? Does the camera goes through its normal working cycle, as you described, at an arbitrary speed, or does the shutter remains open? In the latter case, the camera is obviously always working in "B", which indicates a mechanical problem and would explain why this is the same with or without batteries. In the former case, the camera is probably always working in the flash mode. If so, with batteries you should see changes in aperture depending on conditions. I'm afraid nothing of this is going to be of much help.
  11. Thanks for the correction. i was thinking in terms of the earlier 530.
  12. "hus, two red windows to use each of the 6x9 numbers twice for the half frame format. Advance the first number to the first window, take the photo, then move the same number to the next window and take another photo. " This is correct, but it should be pointed out that in order to use the camera to take half-frame (6x4.5cm) photos, you first have to insert the appropriate mask into the film gate. Otherwise, the procedure as described would produce double exposures.
  13. @orsetto A further question if I may: Is it possible to remove the screen, wire frame and retaining clips from a Kiev 60 body and transplant the whole on a Pentacon Six? Inoperative Kiev 60s are dirty cheap, arguably cheaper than a new screen alone.
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