Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/07/03
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Daniel, very interesting regarding the silk cord. I recall now reading something about the Contax design. It's pretty astounding that it is repairable, making a functional shutter. I must read more. I recently saw a Leica 111 for sale which had a neat little Leicavit type device. That seemed to be driven by a cloth tape. Such an elegant little thing. My comments on the Sonnar were probably simplistic, given that I was looking at the web versions of the original pics. I just had an impression of a duller reproduction and of course different flare characteristics. I have one of the little T3's from Kyocera and that modern Sonnar is marvellous. I'm looking forward to seeing more of whatever you serve up. Tomorrow I get back some 300+ frames of good Provia and Velvia from my holiday. Can't wait to see them and, I hope, find some worthy of posting. Cheers Hoppy -----Original Message----- Subject: Re: [Leica] PAW 26 dlridings G Hopkinson wrote: > > What is the silk cord problem that you referred to with the Kiev body? > Thanks for the remarks, Hoppy. I'll try and get a shot done with the Sonnar that you might like. It really does quite well. The film combination here (Fomapan 200 + Rodinal) probably doesn't do it justice when it comes to tonality. The silk cord ... A Kiev is a Contax, not a copy, really, but Arsenal (the factory where they were made) got the Zeiss Contax factory after the war. Germans lost and it was pay-back time. The Contax (second version) had a fantastic shutter (the first version was junk). Instead of cloth curtains it had metal. Nikon didn't bother copying this construction when they brought out their rangefinders. They just couldn't get it right. Too difficult. So the curtains don't break or get pin-holes, but the silk cords that pull them and space them do (about once every 30 or 40 years). They just need to be replaced. By the time they need to be replaced, there is also a lot of other cleaning that needs to be done. That's where I am. If you are really, really interested: http://www3.telus.net/public/rpnchbck/replace%20shutter%20ribbons.html Thanks again, Daniel _______________________________________________ Leica Users Group. See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information