tony_lockerbie

<p>Nice one John. So many Japanese Rollei clones, and they all seem to acquit themselves rather well. Your pics look quite sharp, with good colour, so this three element is no slouch....looks like a great place to try out your new toys as well. Thanks for the heads up on the Lustreflex....nice name that too!</p>

<p>Funny, but I bought one for my wife back in the day, sweet little camera, and it worked really well. Got to realize though, that these are getting on a bit so maybe run a film through and get it processed before the holiday, just to make sure that all is well.<br> Great to see someone buying a film camera as a gift!</p>

<p>Nice one Andy, and it's always good to read SP's response on all things Praktica....he's the man! Look forward to some images from it.</p>

<p>I'm glad that you brightened up the forum with these. Like SP, I think that yo are getting a nice 3D quality from your images, the Helios is obviously a good one.<br> I have a screw mount 50mm Jupiter that is quite poor, but other Soviet lenses that are really good....luck of the draw maybe? I must dust off my Kiev and see how it's frame spacing goes, mine certainly doesn't have the quality feel of the Contax with a somewhat grindy noise from the advance. Mind you, the Contax is pretty much the benchmark for smoothness, so I shouldn't be picky!<br> Hope the weather is improving over there, here it has been a real taste of Summer...even had my first swim on Sunday, despite all the dire warnings of shark attacks!</p>

<p>You are right Donald! Quite forgot until I checked, then I remembered taking the badge then seeing those cool wipers and seeing another pic...old age is a bugger!</p>

<p>Last one.</p><div></div>

<p>Second pic.</p><div></div>

<p>Fine and very warm here this weekend...nice! A couple from a recent car show.</p><div></div>

<p>Highly unlikely that the it's slipping of the sprockets, and I would try Gus' suggestion. Could be that the actual advance mechanism is slipping, in which case it will need to be looked at.<br> You could just try another roll and advance the film slowly,making sure that the lever goes all the way around and see how that goes. I do believe that film advance issues are something that does occur on the Contarex from time to time.</p>

<p>Thanks Marc. I think the Spotmatic didn't arrive on our shores until 1967, I could be wrong, but my Dad did buy a very early example which was eventually handed down to me. I'm currently shooting with a modern iteration,the Bessaflex, but with classic Takumar lenses....put something up soon!</p>

<p>Late afternoon.</p><div></div>

<p>Nice work again, and Rick, that camera looks impressive, also love the tones in padlock picture Rajmohan...the Leicaflex s a fine instrument.<br> Two from me.</p><div></div>

<p>Sounds like you have a wonderful Contax collection David....you should definitely use them. I have a Contax 111A and a 11A, but never got more than the fifties.</p>

<p>Alan, really good to read of your exploits with the Leica. You are quite right, they are not for the faint hearted, but once mastered, the Barnack Leicas really do get under your skin. I still think that all classic camera users should try one at least once.<br> Your images show that glow and flare that you expect from early uncoated lenses, and when you learn to work with that, the results can be really pleasing. I think your first pic is a good example of this.<br> I do have an uncoated Summar, a coated Summitar and an early Summicron so I can tell you about their relative merits. Surprisingly there is not a lot of difference in the performance for everyday shots, but the Summar will show much less contrast, although the detail is still there.<br> It is often hard to find a Summar or Summitar that has clear unscratched elements as the glass is quite soft. But find a good one, fit a lens hood and use it within the limits of it's design and the lens will produce lovely images.<br> Of course each design was an improvement over the last, but that was incremental, so I wouldn't bother too much with trying to find a Summicron in thread mount. The Elmars have better contrast due to having less elements, but don't have that nice glow at wide apertures.<br> Also a note of warning, these Leicas can become addictive!</p>

<p>Thank you all. You are quite right David, a good mix of Leica and Contax, and one great advantage of being a copier...just pluck the best from both systems. I do also have a CV 50mm Color-Skopar that was made for the Nikon, and will do some pics with that soon...along with the 85mm and 28mm.<br> I'm sure that the newer optic will be sharper and more contrasty, but I really love the quality of the 50mm 1.4, especially at those wider apertures.<br> Thank you Rick, I will endeavour to shift the highs your way, although we are now getting another arctic blast, so Winter hasn't done with us yet!<br> Chuck, I hope the Jupiter 9 works out ok, good Russian glass can be really good. I have a Jupiter 9 in M42 mount and it makes really nice images.</p>

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