marco_vera1

so $58 bucks for a piece of Leather, hand made by some poor North African Soul in Naples?...Wonder what Gigi's mark up is here...uhmmmm....

 

Gotta love Luigi, selling to this market..he's got you guys all wet...

Make shure you really understand where the film sits when the rear cover is closed! Shimming the lens mount on a Contax RF is not an easy task! Tape will work but it must be taught and placed on the same rails the film sits.

 

I believe some test shots of a tape measure at max aperture would be a cheap check..rahter than a $200 CLA!

No that is not normal.

 

The Vitessa is a complicated and beautiful little beast but a little delicate IMHO. The connection of the plunger and the shutter release button to the actual lens mounted shutter is an excercise complex leverages.

 

Yours could be a simple problem, try to understand how the various levers work on the inside of the barn doors and you might get a glimpse of what is going wrong. If the seller offers a return option and you are mechanically challenged...I would suggest a return.

Thanks for the ice chest suggestion I had not thought of that. Styrofoam is cheap and disposable once I'm done with it. I will also watch temperature gradients...this should be interesting...thanks

I will be eagerly heading to California next week and my bags are

packed with my full Contax RF outfit and the trusty Rollei 2.8F...

 

I will be visiting death valley and taking early morning pictures. Are

these the last the Sonnars will produce before separating in the heat?

I will be air conditioning them in my car with me...Should I leave the

Contax at home and just go with my Nikon SLR?

 

I love to use these cameras but would hate to see them die from

exposure to the sun (heat).

 

What would you do?

This is the only real reason to use 127 film today and the Rollei is the best way to do it.

 

4cmx4cm slides are mounted in regular size glass mounts and projected with a regular 35mm projector.

 

Once you buy film (at B&H for modern E6 emulsion), get it processed and then mount it, each click it costing you about $2.00.

 

120 can be cut and re rolled on 127 spools.

 

The Xenar is excellent and I have not seen any film flatness issue with my baby...

The f2.8 Tessar had always been somewhat of a compromise. It had flopped most notoriously with the Postwar Rolleiflex model A and was always somewhat soft at 2.8.

 

Postwar Carl Zeiss (West German) probably got this one right, it offered the excellent Sonnars all the way to f1.5 and the f3.5 Tessar which excelled when available light was not an issue. Some believe the f3.5 tessar is the the best normal lens out there for the Contax RF system.

Most users chose the Sonnar lenses and thus the postwar f3.5 is quite a rarity.

B&H is a great outfit. They really know how to sell stuff! I did try Adorama for my last film order and was greatly disappointed...

 

About the catalouge..did anyone mourn the loss of the Contax? If that new Zeiss Ikon RF doesn't make it to market soon..how are we going to dream about using a modern film camera with Carl Zeiss T* lenses? If Zeiss can make M mount lenses, why can't they make Nikon mount lenses? Too much dreaming...and that Contarex...

 

Marco

before i found the elusive rear cap, along with the just as elusive body cap, I managed by going through empty pill containers and cutting them to size with an exacto knife...not pretty but it works...

I just took the Vitessa L for a "ride" this Sunday. It was the first time since I had adjusted the RF and collimated the Ultron. What a suprise! The negatives (all i have right now) are wonderfully contrasty and sharp. Ran a roll of Ilford FP4 through it and if I get a chance I will print on Thursday.....

 

Not only is this one of the best looking folders ever, I takes wonderful pictures!

 

One small quirk that I have not yet figured out is the film advance that doesn't allways happen when I open the barn doors....unless I manually move the locking tab to the locked position for the first shot..then it proceeds without hesitation 'till I fold her up again. So ocasionally I will get a double exposure. Is this suppose to happen ? Is that little locking tab suppose to be spring loaded?

 

Thanks

Marco

Thanks Ezio, I believe you might be correct the shot of the bathers is certainly not Naples the bay is way too small! But I didn't imagine Gaeta as being such a big city...

 

Piazza Esedra and Via Veneto I had recognized but wasn't 100% sure..I'm guessing in the Via Veneto shot the American Embassy (current location) sits right behind the palm trees on the right...

 

To connect this back to classic cameras, the Piazza Esedra picture shows a small sign that reads "FOTO" I believe this to be the location of an historic camera store (now closed) that sold by mail order and produced yearly multi-page hardbound catalouges that are excellent reference guides to techincal specs and italian period pricing.

Gene these are wonderful!

 

The first series is taken in Naples, I recognize the view from San Martino of the Bay of Naples. The last few ones appear to be taken in Rome (which I still try to consider Home...), easily recognizable is Piazza del Popolo, with the twin churches and the obelisk with the lions around it.

 

That kid being dragged around and propped on fountains could easily be my dad! If you need a better recognition of the places in the pictures I could probably help you out. Just let me know!

 

No doubt when these pictures were taken..early post-war Italy 1943-1944, wonderful stuff!

I purchased my first Mac iMac G5 in March and have not looked back. The monitor is great and the bundled software very good.

1937 Contax II - Still my second choice as a user after the postwar IIIa

Mike,

 

As explained to Ezio that advance mechanism is a pain! It tends to lift out of it's seat and lock up! I removed the top casting and got it working again, why it's now working, I don't know....

 

Ezio, it appears that everyone on this forum with a working Super Ikonta BX has now taken it apart....

 

Has anyone taken pictures with this coated tessar and how does it compare to the prewar one?

Nicolas,

 

Great shots! Wonderful, love the old man with the accordion! These are the best you have posted to date. What happened in the following decades, was your creative spirit subdued or you just haven't posted you best work yet?

Ezio,

 

Check the Kyphoto forum, I provided an answer to your question yesterday.

 

Ciao

Marco

Ebay must love this guy, imagine the fees it collects from sales that never happend....

These cameras can be focused in low light if you have good eyesight and your VF/RF is in top condition. They can be handheld as low as 1/10 sec so indoor shooting with a 400ASA film is possible.

 

Jupiter lenses can give results equal to their german counterparts if the sample you have is a good one, but quality control has poor and not allways do you get a good lens.

 

For all the historical information you need follow the link below, and buy the oldest working one you can find!

 

 

http://www.cameraquest.com/zconrfKiev.htm

the thing I love most about this film is that it's not Loud, doesn't shout color at you!

 

Yes grain isn't the best, but who cares.....

Beseler MRC(?)4x5 from the 50's. Condenser Head. A monster from the 50's handles everything with ease. $80 (without lenses and boards)at a local auction. Only down side it needs plenty of room!

I have shot about 10 rolls of 127 with my baby rollei over the past year... Film can be found and so can processing for it, but there are probably easier film formats to use.

 

What I enjoy most is the "super slide" format. This really stands out compared with 35mm and it has the great avantage of the standard size slide mount. I don't see much advantage in using print film in 127, specially if you have a 120 camera available, it' just not worth the extra effort.

 

I have found a local lab to process my E6 slide and he has no problem returning the spools and backing paper.

 

Now if we can find someone to manufacture a cutter to cut down 120 film in a simple manner, then we are in business!

Where's the News?

I did the same thing a few years ago with a Sonnar 50mm f2.0 postwar; a Summilux 1.4; and a Prewar Sonnar f1.5. All shots taken on the same roll of PAN F. The darkroom prints at 16x20 magnification showed small differences with the prewar Sonnar being equal to the Summilux as far as resolution capabilities...I didn't learn much from the experience, but to stop down at least three stops when possible!

 

Unfortunately, many of the suttle differences disappear once the negs are scanned.

Henry Scherer is a very competent repair person, but the rates he charges are probably

more than the cameras are worth. The ZI folding Contessa is a rather simple camera to

repair. Try the following too....

 

Wolf Umbach of Z-V Camera Service in Oriental, NC (252-249-2576)

 

I have never used him but heard good things about him. Otherwise wait for a working

example to appear at a camera fair. They are capable of great results!