Contax ii cameras today range from rusting, unusable pieces of junk to very clean examples. Using a vertically traveling shutter and worldclass interchangeable lenses, it was quite a formidable opponent to the leica. Today, a contax g2 sells used for less than a new nikon d5000. I love all my contax and yashica cameras and the s2 is no exception. Contax repairs temporary site im julian abel, exservice manager for contaxyashica uk and ex nikon official service centre technician. On the other hand, the s2s spotmeter is difficult to use for general photojournalistic photography. Contax s2 repair manual contax s2 brochure contax s2 test report. You can see a contax 3a in the background, its a bit smaller and the engineering is great for a camera that was designed in the 2nd half of the war. If you arent completely happy just return the manual for a full refund. I live in new york city so i have always taken them to panorama camera repair on 30th street.
This means, for the most part, repair persons attempted to loosen them up by saturating them with oil. In 1973 the contax name was licensed to the japanese maker yashica by carl zeiss to create a prestigious brand of 35mm cameras and. Its a much more complicated machine and its engineering is nothing less than what i would expect from. If the image below looks like your camera, click below to see. Contax yashica accessories leaflet contax accessorieslenses leaflet contax rtf flash system. This is the method recommended by the currently published book on the contax cameras. Parts for this camera are hard to find so you will want to have an experienced contax repair company to repair your camera, like tocad. This is of course documented elsewhere, as it is a very common repair need for collectible cameras, notably the very popular japansese rangefinders from the 70s canonet, konica s2 and c35, yashica gsn, minolta himatic, etc. How to use contax s2 and any other typical manual camera. Repair and service information for the contax 9 camera. We have been in business for over 40 years and have hundreds of. Id love to have the all mechanical contax s2 is for me out of the ball park at its current what. These repair manuals say all you need to do to get a shutter working is to oil it up on. Most contax shutters in the working cameras were serviced.
I have recently purchased the contax rx, nice camera but am looking for the user manual. Contax 9 assembly manual and parts lists contax 9 brochure. Contax rts is an slr 35mm film camera, manufactured by yashica and introduced in 1975 in the early 1970s, production of zeiss ikon cameras had ceased but the desire to build a highquality system using zeiss lenses remained in 1973 the contax name was licensed to the japanese maker yashica to create a prestigious brand of 35mm cameras and interchangeable lenses in cooperation with the. Nowadays it is deemed important for cameras to have a distinct target market. Builtin focusing aid digital focus indicator low vibration mirror.
Featured cameras articles instruction manuals repair manuals the classic camera. The rx was an integrated motor drive camera, similar in features to. Contax s2 instruction manual, user manual, free pdf manual. Here i explain what causes contax slr mirrors to slip and one way to address the issue. Pictures uploaded are considered an important part of this description.
Just came across this thread and wanted to let you know that im pretty sure you could buy a pdf of the g2 repair manual from nippon photo clinic. Compared to the nikon s2, it can take you significantly more time if all. A shutter release lock surrounds the shutter release button, and can be easily set. Consequently, kyocera will terminate the shipment of contaxbranded cameras, and the exclusive lenses and accessories in september 2005, except for the contax 645 camera system, the shipment of which to some markets will come to an end in december, 2005. The contax s2 is a 35 mm single lens reflex camera that was. The problem with this method is that it is completely ineffective. The zeiss ikon contax camera repair website overhauling. The contax 9 quartz is a 35mm slr that was introduced in 1979 and manufactured up until 1987 with something over 200,000 being built in that time. One manual advises setting it until the shutter curtain exerts a force of 300 grams. Contax 7 md, 9, 167 mt, 645, aria, g, i, n, rts, sl, t, tvs, u. The service manual also includes assembly, disassembly, adjustments and more. Having worked 20 years for zeiss in cameras sales and service, and repaired hundreds of contax cameras, these instructions written by peter tooke are excellent, even for the beginner. This is by no means a real repair and servicing manual for this camera. Like most contax n users, i came from the background of using the contax cy manual system for some time.
Contax is originally the name of the famed 35mm rangefinder camera made from 1932 by zeiss ikon see contax rangefinder, which subsequently became the name of a pioneering singlelens reflex camera made from 1947 by the eastern part of zeiss ikon see contax s. Please support this site with a paypal donation by clicking the button above. Entry level, amateur, semipro and professional cameras are slotted into most manufacturers ranges. How to use contax s2 and any other typical manual camera duration. Receive a high quality printed and bound manual in days. Digital presentation of a genuine zeiss contax iia and iiia service manual. Like all modern contax manualfocus slr cameras, the s2 used the contaxyashica bayonet mount in order to accept.
Shutter speed range 1 sec to 14000 plus b, x flash sync at 1250. This manual may be useful in repairing kiev ii and iii. Ive over 30 years experience repairing professional photographic equipment from contax, nikon, mamiya, hasselblad etc but these days i concentrate purely on the brilliant mechanical cameras from contax. The contax g2 is like no other rangefinder on earth. The contax ii was the second in the series of contax cameras. It is all but impossible to find any repair information on the contax equipment.
Contax rts2 repair discussion in camera building, repairs. The limited ev range of the s2s meter is a bit of a problem. Contax kyocera service manuals learn camera repair. The zeiss ikon contax camera repair website services for.
Contax also claims that the compensation dial affects flash as well, so maybe in manual mode could let you control ambient light exposure manually and dialdown the flash with the compensation dial. App near mintas is contax 167mt 35mm slr film camera body only from japan 3267. Manual exposure settings, ttl spot metering, led meter display, dedicated hot shoe, pc sync terminal. It is a hard decision for me to get into the n system because i still currently own 11 carl zeiss manual focus lens with the contax ax and aria bodies. It was manufactured by yashica in japan under licence to zeiss. For the germanmade contax rangefinder cameras, see the zeissikon section. Following notes are results of my hobby work with my rts ii. Recently both my aria and ax broke down at the same time and they are to be repaired. It is a mom and pop place that has repaired cameras when other places refused because of lack of parts. These repair manuals say all you need to do to get a shutter working is to oil it up on the outside of the mechanism, and then work the parts to free them up. Lets say that you can find a contax repair person, or other competent repair person, who can restore the mechanical parts to their true roundness or replace them, to restore the functions of the aperture and manual focus rings, but the question remains will it be possible to restore the lens assembly to its proper alignment. The zeiss ikon contax camera repair website contax ii.
The modern, smooth, autofocus contax g2 system is significantly more advanced and refined than the 1950sbased manual focus leica system of today. Today, we are going to tackle zeiss ikons masterpiece the contax 2 camera. Includes winder w 3 wiring diagram and data back d4 troubleshooting chart wiring diagram. It is a fully mechanical, manualfocus, manuallyoperated 35mm slr camera, using batteries only to power the light meter, and features titanium top and bottom plates. The contax 2 contax 3 were both succeeded by the contax 2a contax 3a in the early 50s. S2b has a center weighted average metering system rather than the spot metering system in the s2.
For decent results for fillflash with slides, id calculate it manually, or give up and use a white card as a reflector or shoot a nikon slr. We provide free online pdf manuals for digital and film cameras. Secondly, even with all the description below, repair manual, proper tools and skills etc. If the image below looks like your camera, click below to see the full manual. Yet in the dim and not so distant past things were very different.
The contax s2 was originally introduced in october 1992 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of contax cameras. View and download contax n1 instruction manual online. Film iso setting is completely manual, with a setting ring around the rewind crank on the top left of the camera. Includes winder w3 wiring diagram and data back d4 troubleshooting chart wiring diagram. I own a cantax rx and a contax aria and up until last june a contax s2. The contax camera is hand made out of parts that are largely hand made. They were the official usa repair center for kyoceracontax until kyocera ended support for the cameras and they still have all the remaining parts, calibration tools, etc. But it is far from being complete and detailed enough for the repair of the camera. This is something that a professional manua, repair shop will be about to fix for you.
Zeiss ikon contax 2 part 1 richard haws classic nikon. Contina guide contax rts cantina contax rts ii contax g1 contax g1 focusing. Contax s2 instruction manual, user manual, free pdf manual, free. Contaxyashica accessories leaflet contax accessorieslenses leaflet contax rtf flash system. As my old faithful s2 has to be sent for a service i would really. It just kept on going, including the battery operated light meter, as if it were any other day. Reprint of the original service manual from gaf on this camera. Recently, i picked up a contax ii in what i consider poor condition. The contax 2contax 3 were both succeeded by the contax 2acontax 3a in the early 50s. Here are the instructions guides manual you may need on how to repair restore diy clean, lubricate, and adjust contax 9 quartz camera. For such applications, the centerweighted meter in the s2b would be more appropriate. In fact, its technological ethos employs certain tricks that are outright heresy to diehard fans of the classic rangefinder. For the manual mode shooter, s2s2b is the most userfriendly slr from contax since at the most convenient place to operate with right hand fingers, unlike rest of electric shutter slrs with exposure compensation dial to set the relative exposure to the meters suggestion, s2s2b has the shutter speed dial, that sets the absolute exposure.
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