| Author |
Message |
    
Krafty5260
Tinkerer
Username: Krafty5260
Post Number: 21
Registered: 02-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 09, 2008 - 09:08 pm: | 
|
Well, I passed up a Contax II tonight that looked really nice, but had what appeared to be a flash synch connector to the right of the lens (looking at the lens, not the viewfinder). This didn't look quite right and I've read so much about Russian Contax II knockoffs from the immediate post war era before the Kiev Arsenal cameras went legitimate, that it spooked me. I have two other Contax IIs that neither one have this flash synch, if that's what it is. The photos in the ad were especially good, and I held my camera up to compare all the details I thought I could identify to be different and this was the only thing that didn't quite jive.
I've been extremely fortunate to find two very nice cameras for a price I could justify (well, if one can temporarily suspend disbelief). This is by far the finest machine I've ever owned. I now know what all the fuss is about. And if the Russian copies are half as nice as the genuine article, they must be pretty decent cameras themselves.
But, regarding the synch fitting, it wouldn't surprise me that this is a much newer version of the Contax II than mine, but I just don't know enough about them to know what changes took place in the '36 to '42 period, or how to spot an excellent copy.
Many thanks, by the way, to Rick Oleson, for the on line manual I found. Otherwise, I'd still be trying to figure out how to get the lens off.
Michael |
Krafty5260
Tinkerer
Username: Krafty5260
Post Number: 22
Registered: 02-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 10, 2008 - 06:35 pm: |
|
Rick? . . . Alex? . . . Werner? . . . Bueller?. . . Bueller? . . . Anyone? . . . Anyone? |
Top506
Tinkerer
Username: Top506
Post Number: 4
Registered: 03-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 11, 2008 - 10:42 am: |
|
Flash synch was a common aftermarket modification for Contax. I've had several pass through my hands, with both PC sockets and posts, two-pin connectors, and ASA twistlocks. Some have had the synch connector in the same location as the Kiev camera's, some on the top casing, and some in other spots.
Too |
Krafty5260
Tinkerer
Username: Krafty5260
Post Number: 23
Registered: 02-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 11, 2008 - 03:38 pm: |
|
I thought I'd saved the photo of this camera, but it turns out I deleted it, doggonit. I'm certain this was a flash synch, but I'd never seen such a thing. It was a single hollow post maybe a 1/4 inch high, with two screws holding a base plate to the body above the leather just next to the lens base about half way up the body on the front, of course. I'm trying to relate this configuration to something modern and it's not coming to me. Ted Williams said, "If you don't think too good, don't think too much." Maybe, I should listen to him.
I do apprecuate the input. I didn't know flash synchs were added as aftermarket features, but there's an endless universe of things I don't know about cameras, among other things. I'm learning amazing new stuff everyday, though.
thanks again.
Michael |
|
