Gear Porn

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Freshly resurrected Bell & Howell Filmo 70-D (With parts from a 70-HR)
Body has been repainted to match the original military film door, turning this into a Korean War-Era "US Army Signal Corps PH-430-B Motion Picture Camera"
Still debating on how to attach the reproduction nomenclature plate.... or if I really want to.
 
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Contax I (version 5 and version 4) with a CZJ 5cm f/1.5 Sonnar and a CZJ 5cm f/2.8 Tessar.

You've been posting a number of truly lovely and occasionally mouthwatering photographs of some wonderful old gear, Rick - but among many great ones, I find these two Contaxes especially wonderful. Many many decades ago, in the analog era, my father was generous enough to allow me to use both his old Leica (a IIIf) and an old Contax of his (I honestly don't remember which it was, damn!) when I started taking pictures (almost exclusively home-developed Tri-X, way back when) - and though the Contax 1 and CZJ are older than the one I used, they share an elegance of beautiful but simple, and practical, design.

Thanks for posting these!
 

I just have to say, Bobby - I love the series of photographs you've been taking - mainly of your X-Pro2, and many with your iPhone - they are, simply, beautiful.

They also remind me again of something I've known for awhile - that Fuji designs cameras that not only really work well for photographers, but are gorgeous designs in and of themselves. In fact, looking at your recent camera portraits has given me a hard-to-resist craving to give in and buy a Fujifilm camera for myself....

Oh! Wait a minute! I forgot: I already did ;) and it's become one of my favorite smaller-stick-in-your-jacket-pocket-and-take-anywhere cameras.

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You've been posting a number of truly lovely and occasionally mouthwatering photographs of some wonderful old gear, Rick - but among many great ones, I find these two Contaxes especially wonderful. Many many decades ago, in the analog era, my father was generous enough to allow me to use both his old Leica (a IIIf) and an old Contax of his (I honestly don't remember which it was, damn!) when I started taking pictures (almost exclusively home-developed Tri-X, way back when) - and though the Contax 1 and CZJ are older than the one I used, they share an elegance of beautiful but simple, and practical, design.

Thanks for posting these!

No problem, Miguel. I'm glad they stirred some nostalgia for you.

Here is a the final version of the Contax I, the Version 7 if you're going by Kuc's classification system
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This one is still in need of some TLC.

I have a few Contax II/III and IIa Cameras,
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They deserve to have some new boudoir/glamor photos to be taken of them.
 
Gad, I wish I didn't let mine go. Here's to an X40!

The bad news is: it's highly doubtful whether or not Fuji will continue this range of smaller-sensor borderline-portable cameras, with an X40. No one really knows for sure, but most pundits believe they won't.

The good news: lightly-used X30's can be picked up for reasonable prices these days. I bought mine from a fellow photographer and though I've used and truly appreciated several other excellent small-sensor cameras, including Lumix's excellent LX7 (aka the Leica D-Lux 6) and Ricoh's iconic GRDiii, the more I use my X30, the more it leaves the admittedly limited competition in the dust :)
 
Rick- beautiful set of Contax cameras with lenses. The Filmo looks like it could be in the Udvar Hazy Air and Space Museum. They have a case of cameras, still and movie, used in WW-II.

I've been busy the last weeks, but do have a new lens coming in, a 5cm F3.5 Tessar. From Thiele, it is from the first batch of lenses made for the Contax. No Contax I to put it on, so it will have to sit on a Contax II for a portrait.
 
Thanks Brian,

What I recall from reading about the 5cm Tessars is that the f/3.5 performs a little better overall compared to the f/2.8 ones. And they do look pretty with that black trim the Contax I lenses have. :)
 
I've read that the F3.5 is better, and that the F2.8 lens was reformulated early on.

I have an early 5cm F2.8, will test it against the F3.5. I also have a later chrome nosed 5cm F2.8 Tessar, that had a very bad front element. I replaced it with one from a Contaflex. That worked.
 
As much as I prefer mirrorless overall for the compact size, WYSIWYG viewfinder and more advanced AF features like full sensor coverage and EyeAF, I do miss my DSLRs for their solid and reliable build and better feel in the hand when going out for dedicated photography.

The Canon 6D was my first dip into FF and one with a “crippled” feature set, but it was a joy to handle and the files/colours were lovely. Pic taken by another previous love - my Nikon D90.

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