Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/12/28
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Edward Meyers wrote: > > Rather than being a Contarex "joke", it's a true story. I still > own a Contarex with interchangeable film magazines. Photographer/ > writer Simon Nathan often told people that someone broke into > my car and left a Contarex there. > As for the Leicaflex (through the SL) Bob Schwalberg told me > to turn them around with the lens faceing my eyes."Now tell > me how it feels", he would say. And he was correct. Leitz > put the lens on the wrong side. > Back to the Contarex. I think I've told this story a few times > before. But here it is. Back in the dark ages Popular Photography > published test reports by expert Norman Goldberg. They weren't > always perfect, however. When the Contarex test report was > published and read by the Zeiss Ikon people a few of them > are said to have broken out in laughter. The report showed that > the Contarex's noise level was very low, although we know this > not to be the case. It turns out that the testing device only > recorded the beginning of the shutter noise sequence and not > the entire wherring and clumping noises. So the testing device > had to be changed. So much for bench tests. > I still own and dearly love my Contarex Special (first version). > I have mercury cells in my freezer for it's wonderful spot > meter, plus the 25mm f/2.8, 50mm f/2 and 85mm f/2, in addition > to my Novoflex adapter. It's the jewel of the 1960s. That > ain't so old. Ed The cover of the January 2001 Bazaar has a very large but softened Contarex bull's-eye on the cover held by Meg Ryan right in the foreground!!! This was my dad's camera which i inherited from him when he died 20 years ago. Releasing the shutter was like making change to the 0001. Decimal point! I felt like it should be spitting out fractions of copper pennies! Damn nice shots my did did with it in Moscow, London and Bavaria in the 70's with Kodachrome II. mark :) rabiner Happy "Days of Non!" updated temporary Website by "Foxy": http://spokenword.to/rabiner/