A genuine Contax III?

Xícara · Jan 5, 2019

Hello,

Yesterday, I purchased a Contax III body in non working condition. It won't arrive until next week but I'm a little curious about the flash sync on the front left face of the camera, which I haven't seen on other models. The back of the camera has the Zeiss Ikon logo embossed in the leather, so I don't imagine it's a fake. Perhaps the flash sync lug is a custom fitting?

Also, if anyone knows anything about the serial numbers please let me know. G 13667 is embossed on the film rewind. The 13667 suggests a 1936 model however the G suggests 1938 (ref. http://leicacontax.blogspot.com/p/contax-cameras-serial-numbers.html)

Here are the pics:

Theo Sulphate · Jan 5, 2019

Stephen Gandy of Cameraquest says about the III, "No production model Leica or Contax left the factory with flash sync until after the war."

Even then, it's on the back of the camera - my IIIa has it on the back as well.

I suspect yours was modified to add the flash sync and whoever did it chose a better location.

Ian Grant · Jan 5, 2019

A friends father told me many years ago that he had a part time job in a camera store in the 1950s adding flash sync to Leica & Contax and other cameras, My Leica IIIa has had flash sync added, positioning does vary depending on who did it.

Ian

BMbikerider · Jan 5, 2019

The sync plug at the 3 o'clock position is almost certainly a later modifiction, possibly made elsewhere than Germany. I have just has a look at a picture of a Kiev 4 (Russian Copy of the Contax) and the sync point is on the front, but it is just under the viewfinder eyepiece, not alongside the lens mount.

R.Gould · Jan 5, 2019

As flash units came into more use it was not unusual for flash sockets to be added to cameras, Leica never had flash sockets added until around 1950 with the IIIf, but you see many earlier cameras with added sockets, I have seen a few Contax from before the war with added flash sockets,
Richard

anfenglin · Jan 5, 2019

I also had a Leica II which was upgraded to a III which also had the flash synch fitted later on or when converted to a III.
I talked to a well known technician when having it overhauled and he told me that this was a common thing in the past.

Films were quite slow and you wanted to tke pictures indoors so you wanted to use a flash, hence the upgrade.

Judging from what I can see, the camera seems to be genuine, Contax have the levers for unlocking the back in these terraced cones or however you want to describe it,
Kievs also had these but only in the early models.
Contaxes also almost always have the serial number on both the lower part of the inside body and the back.
But, sometimes, this is not the case.

Maybe that helps.

BAC1967 · Jan 5, 2019

I had this 1935 Leica IIIa with Bulb/X-Strobe flash capability added to it by International Camera Corp., a Chicago, Ill company that used to service Leica cameras. It was very well done and had a sticker with some instructions inside the camera.

Leica IIIa by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

Xícara · Jan 6, 2019

Thanks for the explanations everyone. It'll be interesting to study the camera more once it arrives. All the best!

Surehand · Jan 15, 2020

There is this book from Hans-Jürgen Kuc
"On the trail of the Contax" which is the best known resource for Contax friends. On page 155 in the german version it says that "it is interesting, that Zeiss Ikon has synchronized some Contax II/III already before 1945". Rick Oleson came across one of these: http://members.tripod.com/rick_oleson/index-46.html
I can confirm his findings, since there are two K-series Contax III in my collection with numbers starting with 58XXX and 59XXX which have exactly the same professional flash sync installed. Interestingly, they are both factory stamped with the letter "E" in the left side of the casing, where the film chamber is.

Surehand · Jan 15, 2020

Just want to add some speculation for what the "E" could possibly mean: "E" like "Elektronenblitz"

A genuine Contax III?

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