Contax III or Special Kiev III ?

[dee]

I have just seen a nice Contax III - shutter tapes renewed , meter working , less than £200 shipped to UK .

I have another Contax III imminent from restoration , so I would not be interested BUT it sports a 50 f 1.5 Sonnar with a little repaired damage to the rim , but seems good ...
These seem to be expensive to buy .
It would have to be instead of my special KIEV III with English logo in metallic silver blue paint .

At least the Contax would have some ' value ' ... dee'cisions !

[Deleted]

The 50mm f1.5 Sonnar is considered a very good lens. The Soviet version's quality varies wildly. I ended up getting three examples before getting a decent on and it wasn't comparable to the Sonnar.

The Contax has more value that a Kiev but prices are falling rapidly. I'm selling a Contax IIIa for a friend. He had it rebuilt by Henry Scherer a few years back and he will be lucky to get half his money back. The prices of virtually all film cameras--including the "classics" are in free fall right now.

Wayne

[dee]

Thanks Wayne . I have noticed prices dropping - even since I started with Kievs a couple of years ago . I have bought several cheap Contax cameras as donors for my specials [ and one really nicely restored and original Contax III with collapsible Sonnar .
At the same time Kiev II cameras are getting more expensive .
Brian Sweeney has gifted me with a rebuilt1959 J3 glass , in genuine Contax mount , and I have bought a rigid Sonnar 50 f2 for £40 .
It's purely a collection thing - a Contax II Contax III and hybrid Contax III / Kiev IV top - all with Sonnars ... I could sell on the Contax , but something tellls me I won't !