# Kontax Krazy-pure indulgence.



## paul'dee'dowling (Mar 2, 2015)

A while ago, I had a contact in Ukraine who could access the techs from the Arsenal factory who built Kiev cameras.
Even mild Autism does not connect very often, but a cheap and cheerful late Kiev 4 hooked me.
I sold my Dinky Toy collection and went Krazy for early Kievs.
Then I noticed that post digital, broken/for spares Contax bodies were affordable at around £40.
So I had one seriously dead Contax II rebuilt with tan leather covering and the original black paint polished off to reveal silver metal.
I love it !!
I also had a Contax III rebuilt from two cameras which left me with a spare body.
I love selenium meters and my fave Kiev was the Kiev 4 which has a meter copied from the post war Contax, but with severe compromises on the body...enter the 1935/57 Contax IV with early 1957 Kiev top plate and controls [ good quality at that time ] which is fabulous because it encompasses two ideologies,  and nearly two decades of continuity.
The techs just loved doing something special to theses cameras and they work exquisitely.
No attempt was made to minimise the wear/brassing/marks on what were very well worn cameras-even the 1957 Kiev donors having been well used by those trapped in a Soviet scarcity and expense.
I also have a mint boxed UK import Kiev 4 of 1979 which is as close as I can get to a new 1930's Contax.
Very indulgent @ £200 each overall, but it would cost that much to restore a Contax in UK.

dee







 !


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## Dave442 (Mar 2, 2015)

Love that Contax III with the light meter. My grandfather showed me his broken Contax III that he had replaced with the Nikon F. I think it was a shutter problem he mentioned. I was just moving up from a hand-me-down Argus C44 kit to a Minolta SRT-101 and I remember that Contax with all that shiny metal just made everything else look like a toy. Nice to hear you have been able to resurrect some of these and put them to use.


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## dxqcanada (Mar 3, 2015)

Ah, nice.
I love when cameras come back from the dead.


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