Anybody here use a Zeiss Ikon Contaflex Super BC?

[Pioneer]

Great information Brett. Thanks for sharing this.

 

[Brett Rogers]

Great information Brett. Thanks for sharing this.

Welcome. It would be good to see a few more of these under-rated cameras in regular use. I concede they're not really the best configuration to tackle if someone is new to camera repair, but at the same time I don't think they're the diabolical nightmares to work on that many people seem to think they are. Voigtlander's Bessamatic lens shutter SLR is a delightful and beautifully made camera with which to photograph, but also one that's much more involved to reach the shutter on for the usual servicing needs any Synchro Compur will eventually have. By comparison the Contaflexes are much easier.
Cheers,
Brett

 

[louarnold]

Well, I have a Contaflex Super B. Some 20 years ago, some salt water hit it on the right-hand side from a whale tank. I was on vacation and could not soak it in fresh water. I called to have it overhauled (2nd time in 30 days), but they would guarantee nothing and again charge $350.
The shutter is now frozen although almost all controls work to some extent. I immersed it in water and other things, but there is no change.
Any ideas to help?
I have nothing to lose by opening it, but things are awful small and I'm 65 yo. Anyone have a repair manual?

 

[Germanicus]

The Zeiss Contaflax Super BC is just a fantastic camera. I have two or three. I just have not used them lately, in years! I'm terrified that they might not work. I am concerned about the built-in light meter but most of all about the timing on the shutter. I'm not a technical guy, but timing is everything, right. You don't want to shoot at 250 when you are supposed to shoot at 125. Of course, in full auto mode, that depends on the light meter. Everything has got to work. You've got to have confidence in the camera. In the old days, I would send the camera out to get checked and serviced by a German who lived in one of the southern states; I must till have the correspondence. That man most likely is retired or is an angel. I need to find a replacement. Does anybody have an idea?

 

[nosmok]

Can't speak to the Super BC, but a Contaflex Prima was the first camera I ever bought for myself! My grandpa gave me his Zeiss Contina III with all the interchangeable front lens elements (30mm wide and 75mm tele); when I saw that the Prima took those same front elements I jumped. Haven't used it in years-- just not a reflex guy, but some of those 30 year old negatives print up at 11"x14" beautifully, so I should probably drag it out again. I remember loving the VF, and hating the EV exposure system; as of 1995, the Selenium meter was still accurate. The Prima was a lot more reliable than the Contina III -- difference is btw the Compur shutter on the Prima and the Prontor on the 'tina. IIRC Zeiss actually DID NOT make these interchangeable front element lenses-- Rodenstock did it for them. And they did a bang-up job. The part of grandpa's system I still use is the brightline multi-viewfinder for those Contina lenses-- bright, crisp, parallax corrected and compact.

 

[Fotogenic Felix]

I found a Zeiss Ikon Contaflex S today at an estate sale, and picked it up for a real good price. I have two things I haven't figured out yet. 1st- Where is the battery located, because I need to replace it, and 2nd- How does the lens come off, so I can clean behind it, and change it to the 115mm lens? 4he camera appears to be in wonderful working order (other than the battery), and came with a lot of "extras". It came with the black leather hard case, the 155mm lens, 3 different lens multipliers, shutter cord, flash, and afewvother misc peices. I look forward to using it.

 

[shutterfinger]

From Wiki:
The Contaflex S was the last variant, introduced in 1968, and was simply a renamed Super BC. It had a black rectangle marked Contaflex S on the front, and a different, newer Zeiss Ikon logo. It proudly sported the word Automatic on the front of the shutter.
The Super BC and S could take the magazine backs, as well as the usual supplementary lenses.
Both the Contaflex Super BC and S were sold in chrome or black; they were the only Contaflex models to be produced in black.

Instruction manuals available here: https://www.butkus.org/chinon/zeiss_ikon.htm

 

[Kino]

I found a Zeiss Ikon Contaflex S today at an estate sale, and picked it up for a real good price. I have two things I haven't figured out yet. 1st- Where is the battery located, because I need to replace it, and 2nd- How does the lens come off, so I can clean behind it, and change it to the 115mm lens? 4he camera appears to be in wonderful working order (other than the battery), and came with a lot of "extras". It came with the black leather hard case, the 155mm lens, 3 different lens multipliers, shutter cord, flash, and afewvother misc peices. I look forward to using it.

If it is a Contaflex S, the compartment should be on the front of the camera under a small square on the left side (as you face the front of the camera).

The lens is released by a lever with a red dot that is at the 6 o'clock position on the face of the shutter. The "normal" lens is very thin; seemingly only an element. This will expose a bayonette mount the aux lenses can mount into.

 

[Kodachromeguy]

Interesting discussion. I am not sure if I have ever seen a Super BC in use, at least not in decades in USA. Here is note by a French collector:
http://www.lumieresenboite.com/collection2.php?l=2&c=zeiss_ikon_contaflex_super_bc

The Voigtlander Bessamatic looks like it is a similar camera in concept, with a leaf shutter rather than focal plane. But the Bessamatic exchanges the entire lens rather than the front group. I see Bessamatics for sale on ePrey really cheap - wonder if I should try one? I got interested in the Bessamatics after my recent experience with the amazing 50/3.5 Super-Scopar lens on a Vito BL

 

[Kino]

Interesting discussion. I am not sure if I have ever seen a Super BC in use, at least not in decades in USA. Here is note by a French collector:
http://www.lumieresenboite.com/collection2.php?l=2&c=zeiss_ikon_contaflex_super_bc

The Voigtlander Bessamatic looks like it is a similar camera in concept, with a leaf shutter rather than focal plane. But the Bessamatic exchanges the entire lens rather than the front group. I see Bessamatics for sale on ePrey really cheap - wonder if I should try one? I got interested in the Bessamatics after my recent experience with the amazing 50/3.5 Super-Scopar lens on a Vito BL

If the Contaflex has a reputation for being difficult to repair or service, the Bessamatic is supposedly orders of magnitude WORSE.

Of course, that's just hearsay; I have never owned a Bessamatic.

 

[Malcolm Stewart]

OK, I'll join the party.
I bought my Contaflex 1 in 1958 when I was in Germany serving with the RAF. A few months earlier I'd tried a Retina Reflex and I was hooked on the reflex idea. In Hanover I had a choice of a Leica 1G (no viewfinder fitted, and without a viewfinder offered) or the Contaflex 1 for around the same price. I went for the Contaflex, and it was my main camera until I bought a Minolta SRT101 in 1969. The 45mm Tessar in my camera was very sharp centrally, but poor at F/5.6 towards the edges. This lack of sharpness was first spotted when I was shooting the Hanover Telecoms Tower which was festooned with masses of scaffolding during its construction phase. (My Vito II (bought a year or so later) with Color Skopar was not as sharp centrally, but held adequate sharpness to the edges.) I did buy a Teleskop 1.7x for my Contaflex 1. What were Zeiss Ikon thinking about?... I used a Zeiss Ikophot for my meter, and it did OK for colour slides as well as Ilford's FP3.

Two weeks ago I saw a mint condition Contaflex Super B with case on eBay, and it's now mine - and for the minimum bid. Lovely pristine condition, and apart from the selenium cell meter, it all works as it should. (My late mother used one back in the 1960s until she lost patience with the metering which she never mastered - replaced with a reliable Canon TLB.)

 

[mklw1954]

Kino addressed the battery compartment location and lens removal tab.

Link to the Super BC manual: https://www.butkus.org/chinon/zeiss...ex_super_bc/zeiss_ikon_contaflex_super_bc.htm

I found a Super BC about 7 years ago on Craigslist in excellent condition for $25, including the rubber folding lens hood, carrying case, several Series 5 filters and filter holder, an Ikoblitz 4 flash (don't use it because it uses flash bulbs), and a camera bag. I use a 375 1.4 volt hearing aid battery in this adapter (https://www.paulbg.com/Nikon_F_meter_batteries.htm), negative side up, and the meter is accurate. Some of the thicker battery adapters won't fit in the chamber.

Nice heavy camera, impressive quality (works well after 50 years). Nice lens, sharp photos. I think the carrying case is bulletproof. My only complaint is that sometimes I find it a little difficult to focus due to a relatively dim viewfinder. I use mine regularly.

 

[John Wiegerink]

Kino addressed the battery compartment location and lens removal tab.

Link to the Super BC manual: https://www.butkus.org/chinon/zeiss...ex_super_bc/zeiss_ikon_contaflex_super_bc.htm

I found a Super BC about 7 years ago on Craigslist in excellent condition for $25, including the rubber folding lens hood, carrying case, several Series 5 filters and filter holder, an Ikoblitz 4 flash (don't use it because it uses flash bulbs), and a camera bag. I use a 375 1.4 volt hearing aid battery in this adapter (https://www.paulbg.com/Nikon_F_meter_batteries.htm), negative side up, and the meter is accurate. Some of the thicker battery adapters won't fit in the chamber.

Nice heavy camera, impressive quality (works well after 50 years). Nice lens, sharp photos. I think the carrying case is bulletproof. My only complaint is that sometimes I find it a little difficult to focus due to a relatively dim viewfinder. I use mine regularly.

Your complaint is well founded. I have the Contaflex S and the two BC's, but use the old bubble metered Contaflex Super since its viewfinder seems to be about three stops brighter and its lens seems just as good. For me, the Super is easier to use with the wheel on the upper left. That said, I love all the Contaflex models except the ones that don't work. JohnW