Two German beauties rescued from drawer storage

[Julio1fer]

I got these two locally for a very reasonable price. The seller claimed that they belonged to his granddad and had been in a drawer for several decades. They look the part all right. Both go today to the technician for CLA and cleaning. Surprisingly, both cameras seem to work well, even their speeds look right. The lenses and viewfinder optics need a good cleaning.



The left one I know well; I have used a very similar one since 1974 on and off. It is a Leica IIIa. The long lens is a Komura 135mm/3.5. I know nothing about this lens except that it has about 12 blades in the iris and fungus in the rear element. 135mm is an odd focal length on a Leica but there it is.  Maybe Grandad used the rangefinder window as a rough 135mm finder, which would not be such a bad idea.  Have you used this lens?

I'd be very interested in your comments and tips about the right-hand side model. It looks to me like a Contaflex Super B. This Contaflex handles in much the same way as a Contarex I have used, although it has leaf-type shutter. I suspect there may even be interchangeable pieces between the Contaflex and Contarex. It has the standard back (not the interchangeable film magazine). The lens is a Tessar 50mm/2.8 and the controls on the lens barrel are full of those Zeiss blocks and hinders that some people love and others hate. Someone had taken off the battery, but the battery contacts are well greened, maybe just from the long storage. I downloaded a manual for the Contaflex and promise to study it carefully. It seems that you can exchange the front elements with "Pro-Tessar" lenses to get a range of focal distances. Interesting! I have no other leaf-shutter SLR in my small collection, although I shot a borrowed Retina Reflex S when I was a teenager.

To complete the haul, both cameras had C-41 Agfa color film inside, ISO 100. The Leica had Agfa XR-100, which I think was not made after 1990 or so. The Contaflex had a more modern Agfa Vista roll. Let us see what the minilab will do with this.

[martolod]

sweet find. i have used a hector 135mm on my IIIC, albeit with an auxilliary finder. while yes it's a little odd using the rf window & turret for composition, it does work remarkably well using this somewhat unusual focal length on a leica.

[LarryD]

I have a Soviet AUX finder for the 135. I got it in a box of junk ... You got a great find there. I used to have one of the Flex models I found at a 2nd hand store for $3.00 but some guy offered me $100 for it and I needed baby formula so away it went.

[radiophoto]

I have a 135mm Kyoei Super-Acall that I use on my LTM rangefinders, and it came with its own viewfinder attachment.  It helps to have that different point of view, so if you can find one, get it.

Congrats on the double-find!  I hope they both work well for you.

[Julio1fer]

Thanks for the comments! Larry, I have the Russian turret VF and also an Alpex VF that covers 135mm. Both are usable. I'll definitely try this baby if it comes out well from the fungus cleaning, although I prefer SLRs for anything over 90mm.

How about the Contaflex? Any recommendations or experiences about those quaint Pro-Tessars? The manual mentions 35, 85 and 115 as available lenses. From a quick look in the usual auction site, there are lots of examples, especially for the 35 and 115. Several pictures of the Pro-Tessars show element separation in their glass.

[Dean Williams]

Nice find, Julio. 
If the Contaflex works at all after sitting so long, it's a true miracle.  They have so much mechanical stuff
going on inside, and it often causes problems. 
Some of them used interchangeable front elements to provide wide and tele, similar to the interchangeable
lens Retina rangefinders and Contina III viewfinders.  I think they made four different types of Contaflex leaf
shutter SLR.  If yours has changing lenses, it would be one of the latter models.  A III or IV, going from memory.

I'd say the Leica body is the prize in this line up.

[Julio1fer]

Thanks, Dean!  As you say, I was really looking for the other item in this lot.

The Contaflex definitely has the interchangeable front element. I have been checking - it is a Super BC model, introduced in 1965. I believe they are later models than the IV.

[Dean Williams]

You can't trust my memory, Julio.  ; )  It's as old as I am!

[martolod]

How about the Contaflex?



well... i have a a contaflex with a few lenses.ingenious system. i can't quite remember what the focal lenghts are (50.mm and maybe 75 and 120 mm...but i'm not sure. the camera and lenses are packed away after we got flooded and i have not unpacked a lot of stuff.but this much i can tell you, THEY ARE BIG GOURGEOUS, and a dream to use.
Les has a lens of mine that i traded with him as it was a duplicate, and i have a feeling that he is a bit of an aficinado with contaflex.
the only problem i have found is that these lenses are starting to suffer from seperation,so getting a good one could be somewhat costly/rare. both my larger lenses have edge separation and it seems to be a common thing. no big problem though as it does not interfere with the FOV .

[Julio1fer]

Thanks for the info!  Separation in Zeiss lenses of that era is not rare, I've seen it in Contarex lenses. It does not seem to affect images at all but it is an excellent price discounter.

Now I remember that I have a monocular that fits into an adapter in the Contarex - maybe it can be used with the Tessar as well. That would be interesting. Last time I used it with the Contarex someone thought I was shooting with a gun! I had some explaining to do.

The two rolls came to nothing - the Leica roll had faded into oblivion, and the Contaflex roll was blank.  Win some, lose some.

Hope to be able to post something, after I get the cameras back and run a test roll.

[Julio1fer]

The Leica, not surprisingly, came out of the CLA like new. I run a test roll which had mostly portraits (I seem to be in a portrait mood these days). A couple of samples:

Silly dog, Komura 135mm f/3.5 at f/8. The horizontal line is from lack of care on my side; this test roll went through 3 cameras!



Young couple, Jupiter-8 at f/2



I was not so lucky with the Contaflex. The meter could not be restored, and the Tessar had some fungus marks that were beyond rescue. However, the mechanisms are working perfectly and I'll probably try the camera anyway. I also should explore the possibilities of getting a Tessar lens from a parts Contaflex (there must be a few parts Contaflexes around!). Stay tuned.

[br1078lum]

Great results from the Komura, Julio.  How in the world did you keep track of exposures when changing cameras?

PF

[Julio1fer]

Thanks, PF!

How in the world did you keep track of exposures when changing cameras?

Easy! Make a note of the current frame, rewind the roll. Load roll in second camera. Make blank exposures and wind, until the counter reaches the frame number you noted. Make one or two extra blanks for safety to compensate different initial lengths.

[lesged]

Julio,

Hard not to like any Leica model. The Komura looks pretty decent. The dog and the young couple shots are first rate.

Kalle is right I did swap something for his pro-Tessar lens, a 85/4. 50/2.8. See details below:

Found the NFf post that announced when I got the Contaflax and with other members help determined the model number.

http://nelsonfoto.com/SMF/index.php/topic,12374.15.html

Here is a key section:

<<A 115/4 Pro-Tessar is heading south from Toronto from Dan Iggers. Other Pro-Tessars are coming from the west coast: a 35/3,2 from Ben, and a 85/4 will be coming from the SW, but further than AZ where a set of Proxars are already in house. The 85/4 is coming from way down under from martolod in Adelaide. BTW the  Proxars: 2cm,3cm, 5cm and 10cm are in perfect condition housed in a neatly fitted case....>>

But alas, I swapped the Contaflex with its basic Tessar 50/2.8 and 3-4 Pro-Tessar lenses to a NFf member, but can't remember who it was, or find a post referencing it.

Good luck with your two new cameras, Julio.

[lesged]

Julio,

I just found a thread with a shot taken with my former Contaflex and Kalle's (martolod's) 84/4 Pro-Tessar and it's amusing. It will give an idea about a pro-Tessar's performance and quite likely a smile to a few faces.

http://nelsonfoto.com/SMF/index.php/topic,12839.0.html