The accidental Contax 139

[Stan]

Let me start by saying that, I'm not much of a serious collector, but I've always loved all the Contaxes of the "Japanese Era". This episode goes right to the top of my strange acquisition lists. It started with me trolling an auction site and finding a 139 Winder which I land for $7. Then, a week later, I find an actual 139 for $10. I hardly expect either piece to be in working condition at these prices, but as it turns out, after a little bit of fiddling around, they both work! And the shutter even sounds right at the various speeds!

Now, I just have to find lenses I can afford and try it out.

[truls]

Congratulations, you got a bargain on this.
They are lovely cameras, I have the 139. Several good things can be said about that camera, good viewfinder, logical placed controls, soft operation, very good light meter, it do not get in the way when photographing. The shutter dial is probably most unusual, placed in the left side, but one gets soon used to this.

Good lenses, I have the Tessar 45/2.8 pancake, not too impressed, images are no better or worse than the outcome of my Yashica lens. Speaking of Yashica, those lenses are highly underrated and of very good quality. The cheap Yashica ML 50/2.0 is recommended for a start, it delivers sharp and clear pictures, and gets fine reviews on various sites. It is said that some yashica lenses are also designed by Tomioka (Zeiss design).

I have thought of getting a Planar lens, 50mm. But as those Yashica's deliver I can wait. May be I will stick with Yashica lenses.

[Stan]

Thanks for the quick Yashica lens recommendation. That is my next order of business as the Zeiss lenses will be out of my range for some time (unless I get really lucky). I have a number of Tamron Adaptalls and Adaptall 2s, so I just need to pick up a mount for those. However, I believe primes to fit this camera's "character" better, especially given it's size.

I do need to pick up a kit to replace the "leathers", and probably a light seal kit as well.

[philbirch]

Nice finds. Congrats!

[Stan]

The box from KEH was on the porch last night when I got home. In it were 2 Tamron Adaptall mounts; one a Minolta MD (which is threatening to consume my collecting energies), and the other was a Contax C/Y. Since the XE-7 has yet to arrive, I opened the C/Y mount first and put in on the Tamron Adaptall II 28-50mm. Wow! Does that Contax feel great in the hands!

I have the winder on there and for someone used to carrying a Nikon D300 with the MD10 attached, it felt almost perfect. I can't wait for the weekend so I can take it, the 28-50 and 75-150 out to shoot a roll or 2 of film. I ran it without film for a while just to hear the sound of a real camera. My 8 year old daughter who had never hear the sound of a motorized film SLR was immediately intrigued! She might have to come with Daddy tomorrow.

[cooltouch]

Congrats on your good fortune. The Contax 139 is the only model I have even a passing familiarity with. I knew a guy who owned one and he loved it. He would also go on and on about the quality of the Contax lenses. What I remember most clearly about it is it had one of the smoothest film wind cranks I'd ever stroked. Made my A-1's stroke feel positively barbaric in comparison. These days I have one camera that I feel rivals the 139 in a buttery smooth winding stroke, and that is the Minolta MD-11 (MD-7 in Europe, MD in Japan).

[lesdmess]

Jun 9, 2015 12:27:35 GMT -5 cooltouch said:

Congrats on your good fortune. The Contax 139 is the only model I have even a passing familiarity with. I knew a guy who owned one and he loved it. He would also go on and on about the quality of the Contax lenses. What I remember most clearly about it is it had one of the smoothest film wind cranks I'd ever stroked. Made my A-1's stroke feel positively barbaric in comparison. These days I have one camera that I feel rivals the 139 in a buttery smooth winding stroke, and that is the Minolta MD-11 (MD-7 in Europe, MD in Japan).

Did you mean the Minolta XD-11 in the US, XD-7 in Europe and XD in Japan?

[cooltouch]

Yikes! Yes, that's exactly what I meant. Selective dyslexia strikes again!