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Jean
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 02, 2005 - 08:47 am: | 
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Hello,
I've got a Zeiss Ikon Contaflex Super B and a problem a with the aperture leafs. It is too slow and the shots would be overexposed if i use it. Does anyone know how i could repare it by myself ?
Regards
Jean |
Jon Goodman
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 02, 2005 - 09:25 pm: |
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Hi, Jean.
Please don't think I'm trying to deflate a "can-do" spirit, but this is a very difficult camera to service. I would forget the idea of attacking those aperture leafs myself. This is, however, a common problem. If the aperture gets sticky at all, the aperture can not keep up with the shutter. Disassembling this camera with its complicated linkage is often a swamp you can walk into but not out of.....
Sorry.
Jon |
Jean
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 03, 2005 - 04:42 am: |
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Nobody has already serviced it here ? |
Jon Goodman
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 03, 2005 - 08:23 am: |
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Hello, Jean. Maybe somebody here has done this...and maybe not. The problem with Contaflex cameras is this: When the models I and II were produced, they were complex, but not impossible to disassemble and service...I still service these models, but am too busy to entertain such work right now. Models III and above contained some changes. These changes made the camera increasingly more complex and difficult to service. Please think of this as the removal of your appendix. For an experienced surgeon, this may be a relatively routine operation. For a person with no medical training nor skills, this operation could be fatal to the patient. Disassembling your Contaflex could result in a box full of pieces with only modest value. Before you let anybody repair it, you should understand two things...(1) it will be VERY expensive, this work (2) you can buy a Contaflex with a working shutter & aperture for less money. In fact, I believe I have one which has a decent shutter & aperture but a meter which is registering on the low side. If your meter is good, it would make more sense (economic sense) to combine two cameras into one good one. If you want me to take a look at the Super B I have, please let me know.
Jon |
Jan Dvorak
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 03, 2005 - 03:45 pm: |
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Jean,
I fully agree with Jon. The Contaflex Super B is among a few cameras considered to be mechanic's nightmares. There are others - an example would be the Voigtlander Bessamatic and Ultramatic models. Those two cameras use a similar design and are extremely difficult to work on.
Unless you are extremely well versed in camera repair, do what Jon is suggesting.
There - this could be called a thread of three Johns - Jean, Jan and Jon!
All the best,
Jan |
Tony Duell
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 04, 2005 - 01:41 pm: |
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I've come to the conclusion that many things are classed as 'difficult to work on' (not just cameras, I may add) because they're unconventional. If you are used to working on, say, a metal vertical focal-plane shuttered SLR, then you'll find the Contaflexes difficult. If you're not used to anything then the Contaflexes are no worse than anything else!. Fortunately, having no official training I don't have any preconceived ideas as to what to expect.
I have taken a Contaflex IV apart and got it back with no problems. I've also looked inside the Super B. It is more complicated, and it is unconventional.
The unconventional stuff starts with removing the rewind knob. You take out the 2 screws on top, then take off the cover disk and the handle, then unscrew the locking collar, then unscrew the knob itself. Then you have to remove the meter ASA dial.
On the other side the collar round the shutter release unscrews, then take off the counter disk, the collar under it, the counter index (black plastic), counter leaf-spring pawls, etc.
OK, that shows very little. I have gone further. These cameras are modular, from what I remember the pentaprism, meter, and wind/release assembly all come out. The meter is the painful one. It's got 2 (at least) loose pins that couple to levers on the back of the lens assembly. There are screw plugs in the side of the mirror box that you can take out that make things a little easier. Oh yes, you need to desolder the sync wire and the wires to the selenium cell..
There's some kind of spring inside the meter unit, part of the lock-needle automatic system. It'll run down when you pull the meter. You need to wind it up, hold it tensioned, etc when you put the meter back in place. I seem to remember taking a lightly-glued-on cover from the top of the meter unit so I could use a bit of pegwood to hold the meter movement (magnet part, not the coil).
The lens assembly will come off (screws under the leatherette) once you've pulled the modules from the top. I've not tried to dismantle that yet.
But I will. I have a Super B that needs repairs. |
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