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My Contax IIa (rangefinder) set
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 3:54 pm    Post subject: My Contax IIa (rangefinder) set Reply with quote
I repost here (for better reference) my Contax IIa set photo and I also add a photo of my other Contax lenses that were not included:

the "one-lens" set - lens is Zeiss Opton (Stuttgart) Sonnar 1.5/50 (made in year ?)


the other lenses I have (sorry for the dust Embarassed ).
From left to right:
- Zeiss Jena Sonnar 2/50 collapsible (made in 1936)
- Zeiss Jena Sonnar 2/50 (made between 1945 and 1949 - I have no more precise numbers ref)
- Zeiss Jena Sonnar 1.5/50 (made in 1937)



PostPosted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 5:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Nice set, makes me want to re-acquire.


PostPosted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 5:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Wow! A 1.5/50! How accurate is focusing with this lens?


PostPosted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 6:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
@ Carsten:
I used it too little to tell. Perhaps when focusing close there is a shift, yes. But the result (bokeh, plasticity) is terrific anyway Smile





I can't wait to be able to develop the B&W negatives on my own, for this camera!


PostPosted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 6:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Beautiful set.
You need a few more Optons Wink


PostPosted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 7:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
F16SUNSHINE wrote:
Beautiful set.
You need a few more Optons Wink


Andy: I need a few more bank accounts!! Laughing


PostPosted: Fri May 01, 2009 1:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
So how does this feel relative to the other one, is it really smoother and better made? Does that translate to anything in the act of photography itself?


PostPosted: Fri May 01, 2009 1:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Nesster wrote:
So how does this feel relative to the other one, is it really smoother and better made? Does that translate to anything in the act of photography itself?


Holding the Contax you can feel the better build, the tighter mechanisms, without doubts. Better quality build.

However the viewfinder is better in the Kiev.
And this is not a small point.


PostPosted: Fri May 01, 2009 6:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks, Orio. I think you have already mastered it!


PostPosted: Fri May 01, 2009 7:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Orio

Definitely this comes into the photoporn category. Some of us would really like to stay away from these old marvels - I sometimes dream of the old Varexes, Leicas, Contaxes, Hassies, Rolleis and so on. I do not think there is a modern camera within reach of any but the very wealthy or the professional that can compare to those old legends.


patrickh


PostPosted: Fri May 01, 2009 7:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
patrickh wrote:
Orio
Definitely this comes into the photoporn category. Some of us would really like to stay away from these old marvels - I sometimes dream of the old Varexes, Leicas, Contaxes, Hassies, Rolleis and so on. I do not think there is a modern camera within reach of any but the very wealthy or the professional that can compare to those old legends.
patrickh


For me, it is also an aesthetical factor. I just love the beautiful objects, and these cameras are - all of them, the expensive Contax and the cheap Kiev - they were distant in the day they were released, but today they have this in common: the aesthetical value.

Holding one of these cameras in the hands, makes photography feel real. I don't know how to word this out differently. But whatever it is, it's the same feeling that makes me want to learn how to develop and print myself.
I rediscovered it while holding in my hands, the prints that my parents made 40 years ago. Prints of all sizes, from 6x4 cm to 30x40 cm.
But one quality common to all of them: they speak not only the vision that generated, but something more physical, that is, the passion of making, the tactile result, the fact that they created these in the darkroom, held these in their hands, and now they're in my hands - with digital, this human link is somehow missing. I take the USB key to the photo shop, and 5 minutes after I have my print - where's the passion and love for photography in that?

-


PostPosted: Fri May 01, 2009 9:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Orio wrote:


Holding one of these cameras in the hands, makes photography feel real. I don't know how to word this out differently. But whatever it is, it's the same feeling that makes me want to learn how to develop and print myself.
I rediscovered it while holding in my hands, the prints that my parents made 40 years ago. Prints of all sizes, from 6x4 cm to 30x40 cm.
But one quality common to all of them: they speak not only the vision that generated, but something more physical, that is, the passion of making, the tactile result, the fact that they created these in the darkroom, held these in their hands, and now they're in my hands - with digital, this human link is somehow missing. I take the USB key to the photo shop, and 5 minutes after I have my print - where's the passion and love for photography in that?

-



These beautiful cameras change our relation with the time. The rhythm goes down and a feeling of existence of enough time for thinking before the final "klik" comes up.

I love to use these retro gems. I have my rolleiflex that takes me back and far for the modern crazy rhythm of life.


PostPosted: Fri May 01, 2009 9:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
It's a beautiful camera. I can only dream of one. For now I will make do with a Kiev. Crying or Very sad

One day, one day I shall own one Rolling Eyes
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