[rollei_list] Re: "different types of black boxes" (was: OT / prove it !)
- From: "Douglas Shea" <dshea@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 2 Apr 2005 20:42:23 -0700
I am not so sure about the engineering and lenses. I've
worked on older Leica's. They are very well thought out and
are relatively easy to work on and support. The Contax has
an extremely complex shutter which I would not attempt to
work on. While the Leica rangefinder has a shorter base it
also has a built in telescope so its _effective_ baseline is
equal to the Contax. Contax had to use the wider basline
without a telescope because the rangefinder image is
combined with the finder image.
Lenses are hard to tell about. The famous f/1.5 Sonnar is
a good lens but the type has some problems. The Sonnar type
has fallen out of use because lens coating eliminates its
main virtue: low flare due to minimum number of glass air
surfaces. Modern designers use forms of the double Gauss
(Biotar) for lenses of f/2 or faster. This is not to say
that the specific lenses made by Zeiss for the Contax may
have had better prformance than equivalent Leitz lenses for
the Leica. Remember that both companies made very advanced
optics for microscopes and other optical instruments.
Andreas Feninger wrote in one of his books that he
couldn't use a Leica because it impressed him as being too
delicate, so he used a Contax. Knowing what is in the two
cameras I suspect the Leica is the more rugged of the two.
Actually, old screw mount Leica's seem to be very rugged
cameras.
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA
dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
I feel quite secure in both the engineering and the lenses of the Contax
system. Because the Contax is complex does not make it a poor design; it
just requires a skilled technician to properly repair, lubricate, and adjust
the camera. One person that completely understands the complexities of the
Contax design is Henry Scherer, and every camera that I have sent to Henry
for refurbishment performs flawlessly, and has so for years. My criteria for
judging the quality of a camera design does not include whether or not I can
do the repairs myself. With that thought in mind I would not hesitate to
rebuild or repair a Flathead Ford engine, but wouldn't even consider tearing
into a Cosworth Ford F1 motor -- does that make the Flathead a better motor
than the Cosworth? In addition to all of the various Contaxes from "I"
through "IIa" that Henry has refurbished for me I am also using an early "I"
that by all appearances has never been repaired or opened up, and it is
working flawlessly at all shutter speeds to this day -- the serial number
dates this camera back to 1934. Seventy years of continued reliable
operation is not too shabby a track record. Criticism of the
rangefinder/viewfinder system have to be considered in their historical
context; the early Contaxes also had separate rangefinder and viewfinder
windows and still had a longer baseline than Leica (103mm). Combining the
rangefinder window with the viewfinder was considered an advancement in its
day which Zeiss pioneered and was first to bring to market; later Leica
followed suit.
Richard, I would sooner tear into that Cosworth motor than to argue lens
design with you -- I hold your knowledge on this subject in the highest
regard. However, once again it is important to consider what Zeiss patented
and brought to market in its proper historical context. It is unfair to dis
the 1.5 Sonnar now because modern lenses and coatings are available -- what
was the lens' status when it was brought to market? It was the best of the
best and still holds its own against modern lenses. How about the 21/4.5
Biogon, the Tessars, and the 85/2 Sonnar? The 50/3.5 rigid barrel Tessar is
still an incredible lense.
I believe that too many Contaxes have either been the victims of botched
home repair jobs, or repaired by unqualified technicians with the same end
result: they judge the camera to be no good when in fact they do not
understand its design. Send a Ducati to a lawn mower repair shop for a
tune-up and you can hardly blame Ducati if the motor doesn't run. A Contax
properly refurbished by Henry Scherer is a beautiful and reliable machine,
with a much more durable and precise shutter than the Leica.
Doug
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