Can I see some Contax SLR?

[Les Sarile]

Happy now?

That is a fine looking example there!

 

[Brett Rogers]

That is a fine looking example there!

Thanks, Les. I got a bit lucky with a BIN on eBay. It was only around US $65 for the body, which, for one in that cosmetic condition I thought was reasonably cheap, as they are often brassed like the rangefinders that preceded them. I particularly wanted an early-ish one with just the classic large "Contax" script, like the rangefinders, so, when I spotted it I only waited a quarter hour to do some basic checks, and grabbed it. As a bonus, it actually runs really well at all speeds, too. I'll need to put new curtains in it, (they're fairly light tight, and run off well but, strangely, don't quite cap fully when cocking the shutter--perhaps they've shrunk a bit). Otherwise, it's in excellent shape. As of last week, it has a Contax II in similar cosmetic condition to keep it company in my cabinet (though I hope to make regular shooters out of both).
Cheers,
Brett

 

[tomken]

Happy now?

Absolutely stunning!

 

[Neal]

Contax lens on Canon Caveat.

Hello All,

My old beat RTS is still my favorite walking around camera but once in a while I want a faster film advance so I use a Canon Elan 7ne with an adapter similar to the one RattyMouse pointed to. The Contax 135mm f/2.8 will not clear the mirror at infinity. Fortunately, my Yashica YUS model does. The Contax 50mm f/1.4 works without issue.

Neal Wydra

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Hello All,

My old beat RTS is still my favorite walking around camera but once in a while I want a faster film advance so I use a Canon Elan 7ne with an adapter similar to the one RattyMouse pointed to. The Contax 135mm f/2.8 will not clear the mirror at infinity. Fortunately, my Yashica YUS model does. The Contax 50mm f/1.4 works without issue.

Neal Wydra

There are charts out there with specs on which lenses will work in adapters and which won't. There should be no problem with telephoto lenses - I don't know why your 135mm f2.8 won't work on your camera, as the rear element is not close to the mirror box. I could see some of the wide angle or extreme wide angle lenses, and some zooms, not working because of a protruding rear element. I have used my 50 f1.4 and an 85 1.4 on my Canon 5D with no issues with the lens clearing the mirror.

 

[Neal]

Dear TheFlyingCamera,

Thank you for your post. It gave me hope that I could figure out why the mirror would not clear the lens. The rear element was never in play, but the mirror was hitting something. A more careful look at things revealed that the brass block that controls the rotational position of the lens protruded about 0.020"/0.5mm above the mount. Removing the block, filing it down, replacing it and touching things up with a Sharpie solved the problem.

Sadly my Yashica lens will be a little lonelier now.

Thanks again,

Neal Wydra