File :-(, x, )
Contaflex IV Anonymous
Hi Guys

I found a Zeiss Ikon Contaflex from my grandfather, and i am not sure which one it is and how it rly works

also, due keeping in a rather moist room the outer housing is a bit cover by mold and the lens is .. well it looks kinda gross

Any Ideas how to check which one it is and how to clean everything? also how to check if something else is damaged?

the picture is googled, it looks exactly like the one I have
>> Anonymous
bump before goin to sleep
>> Anonymous
Fire the shutter in each speed, you should hear a distinct differentiation between each one. If that woks, open up the camera back and cycle through a few exposures. Make sure the shutter is opening and closing completely and that the take-up spool is turning when you wind the lever. Next, remove the lens then look through it and rotate the aperture ring to each stop. You should see a corresponding change in size for each stop, and the changes should be crisp and quick. Clean the front and rear elements as needed (using lens cleaner or rubbing alcohol and a soft cloth) then look through the lens. It should be perfectly clear.

Any haze or fuzz indicates fungus on the glass which may or may not be easily fixable. If you can get to the fungus without disassembling the lens, you can often remove it with rubbing alcohol and a lot of vigorous scrubbing with a soft cloth. If the lens is coated, the fungus will likely permanently damage the coating, but given the age of the camera it probably isn't. Fungus can also etch the glass, in which case the haze will remain even if you manage to remove the fungus. There isn't much you can do at that point other than buy a new lens on ebay (they're cheap)
>> Anonymous
Another Idea. Find a good camera shop where you live, and have them service it, clean, ect...
There is one near me, and they get all my business for full cleaning of all my equipment.
>> Anonymous
I think I will take it to a camera store, just I don't know if something that mostly has the newest stuff and also sells other things, or those creepy looking little stores with cam's that are way older then mine
like
I googled a bit and found the Instruction manual to my cam, just I dont figure it out at times changing shutter speed and so

I did what you meantioned, the thing with testing the shutter times, and saw that the lens has to every .. i think its the exposure a certain opening radius .. just have to figure out if everything is OK with it

Next thing is, I never really worked with reflex cams, when then just shooting without further thought of details, is there any thing "good" on the net that helps noobs like me understand a bit more?
>> Anonymous
Fungus is an incurable lens killer if it gets too bad, so get rid of it asap. It may already be dead.

Go for the creepy looking store, by the way. If they specialize in older cameras, it may be a better bet.
>> Anonymous
inside i didn't see any fungus, but it reeks terrble of it *or just maybe because it is so old*

I'll look if i can get some adresses to locals stores, because they are hard to find where i am from :-/