Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/07/17
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 02:42 PM 7/17/01 -0700, Frank Filippone wrote: >Excuse me sir... Zeiss had the Contax series of cameras with a top speed of >1/1250. Leica was at 1/500. I think that is called a kill stroke. The >Contax really was for the rich man, the Leica for the relative pauper. Well, the Contax I was offered with 1/1000" from the get-go, in early '32; the first Leica with this speed was the IIIa, in 1935. Similarly, Contax beat Leica to the marketplace with slow speeds by some months, the Contax I, Model 4, predating the Leica III by some months. I am not certain of the price charged for the IIIa and IIIb in the late 1930's, but the Contax II body only was $US 157 in 1937. I believe the two cameras were very close in terms of price, but I haven't the data at my finger-tips to confirm this. Marc msmall@roanoke.infi.net FAX: +540/343-7315 Cha robh bąs fir gun ghrąs fir!