I apologize in advance for this overly long post. I promise not to do it again any time soon.
On Tuesday, I checked out a collectors storage rooms filled with cameras, fishing reels, video cameras, etc. Starting in the last 80s, he went by thrift stores and Goodwill, picking up cameras. Ballpark estimate, he had amassed about 2000 of cameras. Over almost four hours, the three of use who had responded to the ad sorted them. About a dozen interesting pieces, many scooped up by one of the more knowledgeable buyers. I ended up with a box full of rangefinders - Canonet 17s GIIIs, a Pax 2, an Olympus 35 SP and RC, a Canter Beauty, a Minolta A, a Fujica Ger, etc.... and the Contax IIIa.
Unfortunately, most of the cameras weren't in great shape. Decades in a storage facility - after time in a thrift store - was killed many of the cameras.
The Contax shutter doesn't seem to cock (or it is stuck - I'm not sure which). The Sonnar looks like it had fungus or surface abrasion over a quarter of the front element. I assume the Contax may be salvageable but the lens likely not.
My conundrum is that I'm not sure what to do with the camera at this point. I may be a bit of a collector, but I don't have any cameras I can't shoot.The repair costs I've seen for Contax IIIas have been in the $250-700 range, more than I can really justify for a camera that seems like more of a collection piece than anything.
Don't get me wrong here, I'm thrilled to have found it. Simply sorting through that pipe of cameras was probably a once in a lifetime opportunity. I also have a bunch of other cameras I've been wanting to try (Olympus RC, Ricoh 500G, Auto S2, etc).
As a photographer use to shooting $20 rangefinders though, it was eye opening to hold a camera like the Contax and realize what quality construction (and a quality rangefinder) looks like. Its also a little frustrating to be so close to such a nice camera but so far from having a functional one.
On Tuesday, I checked out a collectors storage rooms filled with cameras, fishing reels, video cameras, etc. Starting in the last 80s, he went by thrift stores and Goodwill, picking up cameras. Ballpark estimate, he had amassed about 2000 of cameras. Over almost four hours, the three of use who had responded to the ad sorted them. About a dozen interesting pieces, many scooped up by one of the more knowledgeable buyers. I ended up with a box full of rangefinders - Canonet 17s GIIIs, a Pax 2, an Olympus 35 SP and RC, a Canter Beauty, a Minolta A, a Fujica Ger, etc.... and the Contax IIIa.
Unfortunately, most of the cameras weren't in great shape. Decades in a storage facility - after time in a thrift store - was killed many of the cameras.
The Contax shutter doesn't seem to cock (or it is stuck - I'm not sure which). The Sonnar looks like it had fungus or surface abrasion over a quarter of the front element. I assume the Contax may be salvageable but the lens likely not.
My conundrum is that I'm not sure what to do with the camera at this point. I may be a bit of a collector, but I don't have any cameras I can't shoot.The repair costs I've seen for Contax IIIas have been in the $250-700 range, more than I can really justify for a camera that seems like more of a collection piece than anything.
Don't get me wrong here, I'm thrilled to have found it. Simply sorting through that pipe of cameras was probably a once in a lifetime opportunity. I also have a bunch of other cameras I've been wanting to try (Olympus RC, Ricoh 500G, Auto S2, etc).
As a photographer use to shooting $20 rangefinders though, it was eye opening to hold a camera like the Contax and realize what quality construction (and a quality rangefinder) looks like. Its also a little frustrating to be so close to such a nice camera but so far from having a functional one.
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