For the germanmade contax rangefinder cameras, see the zeissikon section. Contaxkiev same as nikon scontax rangefinder adapted. After ww2 the contax ii was reborn as the kiev rangefinder camera, which was manufactured. Today, we are going to tackle zeiss ikons masterpiece the contax 2 camera. Its not an easy task to take this camera apart but the real fun begins here in part 3 where we repair the broken shutter and adjust it until we get something acceptable.
I have often wondered if it might happen and whether it might be a good ideas to buy a few g2 lenses cheap on ebay ahead of a g2d announcement and sudden hyperdemand for the zeiss glass. In summary classic contax rangefinder camera is not just a tool to take great photos, it is a masterpiece of engineering which is a delight to use, a pleasure just to hold and a pride to own. The zeiss contax was arguably the best 35mm rangefinder made before wwii, with a larger range of faster and sharper lenses than leica. The only way to have it right is to put it together right. This is the largest online collection of free service manuals that we know of. In this particular marathon however, i brought along my contax g2 with the 282. Flickr is almost certainly the best online photo management and sharing application in the world. The contax i was zeiss answer to leicas offerings in.
Theyve also produced bessa r2s and r2c cameras, which are compatible with the nikon and contax rangefinder mounts, respectively. S2 viewfinder is somewhat nicer than contax, you need a nikon sp for a great viewfinder. Using a vertically traveling shutter and worldclass interchangeable lenses, it was quite a formidable opponent to the leica. Zeiss ikon contax iia type 56324 the contax iia was manufactured from 1950 to 1961, this one is what is known as a colordial model, the latter type made from 1954 to 1961, this one being made in mid 1956. Contax rangefinder film cameras with timer for sale ebay. If contax could be resurrected with a g2d and full size senor that allowed you to use all the old g2 lenses it would trash all the competition in a single blow. So i remember well the days when the contax was being made and sold and what people were saying about it then.
In addition, the value of contax lenses varies greatly between one in very good condition compared to one in excellent condition, more so than most collectible lenses. The retail price of a contax iia black dial with the 50mm f1. I sold off my leica m6 to fund the purchase of the. Zeisss finest rangefinder 35mm film camera, the contax ii, was manufactured in germany between 1936 and 1941. Cameraquest home shopping cart price list camera articles i buy wants repairs books adapters. The contax ii was the second in the series of contax cameras. A 35mm film rangefinder camera, the contax iia continues a line of machines that stretches back to the original contax i of 1932, and is the last of the nonmetered contax rangefinders the iiia, a version with a builtin light meter, debuted in 1951. The contax i was a high end 35 mm rangefinder system camera made by zeiss ikon. The values below are based upon the common of examples. For the beginning rangefinder enthusiast it would perhaps have been better to produce a book on the great classic 24x36 rangefinder systems of yesterday and today.
The contax i, or original contax, is a 35 mm rangefinder camera made between 1932 and 1936 by zeiss ikon. It offers the greatest degree of sophistication in the smallest and most ergonomically pleasing package of all zeiss rangefinders, and provides the shooter with mechanical perfection paired with what was once the best glass in the world. Zeiss ikon contax 2 part 1 richard haws classic nikon. The fact the contax ii and iii were being manufactured and available for sale around july 1947 is illustrated by advertising produced by the peerless camera company in 1947. The contax was a cash cow generator of foreign exchange prior to the war and so its a good bet they wanted it back into production as soon as possible. The zeiss ikon contax camera repair website the contax. Manuals and guides for contax camera for sale ebay. Rangefinder lenses use a proven focusing technology. The contax i is a high end 35mm rangefinder camera made by zeiss ikon to compete with leica models.
Contax kyocera service manuals learn camera repair. Tocad america serviced contax up through 2015, and handed it off to. The nettax was meant to be a cheaper alternative, it was a derivative of the super nettel with a rigid body and interchangeable lenses with a specific bayonet and a. The contax ii and iii used the same mount, as well as the postwar contax iia and iiia models this mount was also used by the kiev followers of the contax, from the first models to the kiev 5 nikon copied the mount for their own rangefinder cameras just after the war but, being this a. Contax iiia is the same camera with contax iia with a light meter. With the addition of the carl zeiss t lenses which have been tested to be some of the sharpest lenses ever created for 35mm, you have a combination. It is not in my area of knowledge but i seem to remember contax cy and contax g, also kiev is also somehow.
The contax i had six identifiable variants, but fundamentally identical. Here are some repair shops that ive heard good things about. This is probably the deepest most repairman will bother. If you send me your camera for a repair estimate i will disassemble it to the extent required to determine the problem. The zeiss contax was arguably the best 35mm rangefinder made before wwii, with a larger range of. Nikoncontax rangefinder 50mm internal mount rear lens cap price. I also offer hundreds of original repair manuals in dozens of brands of. Contax kiev rangefinder on mft micro four thirds talk. Overhauling a contax iiiii shutter and rangefinder. Zeiss and zeiss ikon service manuals learn camera repair. I also had a contax t2 from new, a few years back i sold that black ltd edition i bought a black contax t and enjoy it, its benefit is its whisper quiet use and the ability to zone focus alongside any more critical focusing with its clear rangefinder my copy had a dirty viewfinder, but with care i unscrewed the top plate and cleaned the. It consists of removing the rangefinder lenses from their frame, cleaning the lenses and mounts and then the lenses are re cemented back into their frames with a critical optical alignment. Because it isnt retrofocus, the rear element almost touches the.
The design endures the test of time and its still a joy to use this camera despite being almost 90 years old. Make your own film spool so you just got your new well, new to you classic contax in the mail, and to your horror, it doesnt have a film spool. It was the first camera with a rangefinder and viewfinder combined in a single window. Get the best deals on manuals and guides for contax camera when you shop the largest online selection at.
Contax is originally the name of the famed 35mm rangefinder camera made from 1932 by zeiss ikon see contax rangefinder, which subsequently became the name of a pioneering singlelens reflex camera made from 1947 by the eastern part of zeiss ikon see contax s. The contax i was zeiss answer to leicas offerings in the 35mm market, one leica effectively controlled since it helped to create it in 1925. The adjustment requires removal of the front lens mount and movenent of the lens mount helical. All in all this book gives the impression of being compiled opportunistically and in great haste. Peter tookes book on the repair of the prewar contax cameras. Contax ii instruction manual on mike butkus excellent website. Contax ii photographs, photographers and photography. The contax 2 is a beautiful camera, its amazing to think that this camera was designed in the years leading to the rise of the third reich before the mid 1930s. All of the manuals we offer now are free pdf downloads. The zeiss ikon contax camera repair website services for.
Canon 7 rangefinder camera 54pp, fully illustrated. Join rangefinderforum zeiss contax i rangefinder 19321936 the contax is the modern universal roll film miniature camera of unsurpassed efficiency and allround versatility. These repair manuals say all you need to do to get a shutter working is to oil it up on. Contax and nikon rangefinder screw and bayonet lenses. Zeiss contax iia, iiia cameras 100pp, fully illustrated.
The contax ii was the first camera to incorporate a rangefinder focusing system into the same viewfinder that was used to compose the photograph earlier builtin rangefinders such as was used on the contemporary leica required the photographer to first focus with the rangefinder and then switch to a separate viewfinder to compose the photo. The ten contax lenses is a very early book published by zeiss ikon concerning the lenses. Our library contains more than six hundred factory service manuals, repair articles, and tutorials for repairing cameras. With careful adjustment, strobe could be used at speeds of up to 1100, if the shutter was. The amount of exposure leica gets compared to contax is out of all proportion to the significance of the zeiss rangefinders from the contax ii and iii of the 1930s to the iia and iiia continuing the line up to 196061. In fact, its technological ethos employs certain tricks that are outright heresy to diehard fans of the classic rangefinder. Gus lazzari tlc camera repair 4554 chestnut street ext. The contax g2 is like no other rangefinder on earth.
In the future, we will also have some original hardcopy books for sale. The zeiss ikon contax i introduced a new lens mount in 1932, today known as contax rangefinder mount. The voigtlander r4m is a great 35mm rangefinder camera that should still be in production. This is the earliest contax advertising brochure for the contax iia. Recently, i picked up a contax ii in what i consider poor condition. It had a bayonet lens mount see contax rangefinder lenses instead of leicas screw mount. Colourconsistency is a major consideration, which is why i very rarely shoot commercial projects with film. Because the rangefinder camera doesnt have to work around a viewing mirror, they are almost always smaller and lighter than slr lenses. Please note the contax iiaiiia were designed by the zeiss factory not to have a. The contax i was a high end 35 mm rangefinder system camera made by zeiss ikon to compete with leica models. There are literally hundreds of small variations amongst the contax rf lenses. So i remember well the days when the contax was being made and sold and what people were saying about it. Can those lenses be mounted on an mft body without interfering with internal body functions and damaging the camera.
In 1973 the contax name was licensed to the japanese maker yashica by carl zeiss to create a prestigious brand of 35mm cameras. Buy and sell used contax rangefinder camera lenses at keh camera. I was looking at an old russian 35mm lens jupiter 12 in a contax kiev rangefinder mount. Save up to 40% off retail price and get a 180day warranty. Contax is a work of art, a product of ingenuity, precision craftsmanship and perfection both mechanically and optically. In part 2, we took apart the rangefinder and removed the shutter mechanism from the chassis. I was lucky to borrow a used one from a camera store i worked in during my student days, along with the contemporary leica iiic, the contax with the 50mm sonnar, the leica with the 50mm summar. The lens mount would turn only partially through the range roughly from 20 meters down to 6 meters. Contax iiia is a 35mm film interchangeable lens rangefinder camera manufactured by zeiss ikon ag. This section covers germanmade zeissikon, contaflex, contax, contarex, etc. Its probably useful for repairing soviet kiev cameras contax copies, too.
The first step was to determine what problems exist with the camera. Make offer zeiss ikon contax iii rangefinder camera wcarl zeiss sonnar 1. It was released in 1936 and was the successor of the contax i. In my experience the contax rangefinder mount is often abbreviated as crf when theres any possible confusion, otherwise referred to as contax mount when discussing rangefinders. Many considered the prewar contax the professional 35mm camera, while the leica was for amateurs. In 2017, its rare that there is still a manual 35mm rangefinder out there in the world and not as costly as a leica or a zeiss ikon. Our library contains more than six hundred factory service manuals, repair articles, and tutorials for repairing cameras and other types of photographic equipment. For instance, the removable back was for faster loading and reloading, the bayonet lens mount was designed for rapid lens interchangeability, the longbase rangefinder.
The zeiss ikon contax camera repair website about us. That was the time when the rangefinder camera was right at the end of its time as the king of photography. The jupiter12 is a copy of the zeiss biogon, a very famous 35mm f2. Contax ii cameras today range from rusting, unusable pieces of junk to very clean examples. The super nettel was based on the contax i, with the same kind of shutter, but a folding body, a fixed lens and a short based rangefinder. After ww2 the contax ii was reborn as the kiev rangefinder camera, which was manufactured in ukraine as various models until the late eighties, and in 1950 zeiss ikon in west germany introduced the new contax iia camera, a completely redesigned camera using the same lens mount. The zeiss ikon contax camera repair website overhauling. This is a very specialized book for the small number of amateurs looking to repair the relatively few remaining prewwii contax cameras on their own. Every contax camera i have seen has the same problem. The earlier ones are known as blackdial model, and were made from 1950 to 1954. Choose from a wide range of used rangefinder camera lenses and expand your collection.
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