A rangefinder camera focuses by displaying two images in the viewfinder. You then twiddle a knob to bring the two images into alignment and, if everything is calibrated correctly, the lens will then have your subject in focus. I have never owned a rangefinder camera; but have always fancied playing with one.
The first rangefinder was made by Kodak in 1916; but the most famous rangefinder brand is Leica, mainly because Leica rangefinders are still in production; albeit at a price. The latest Leica M Monochrom (which as the name suggests, only shoots black and white images); together with the latest 50mm F2 Summicron lens, is available in Bangkok for the modest sum of 550,000 baht.
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How about an old Leica then? Maybe one of the first pre-production models which, although not a rangefinder, would be fun to play with. They don’t come up for sale very often, but last month this one sold for $2.8 million…
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The first Leica rangefinder was the Leica II, introduced in 1932; the start of a line of cameras that continues until today. But it was not the best rangefinder of the 1930s. The Leitz company of Dresden decided to produce something better, The Contax 1. The Contax had a better rangefinder mechanism and a metal shutter rather than the Leica cloth shutter, allowing higher shutter speeds and enabling you to point the camera roughly in the direction of the sun without the internals of the camera bursting into flames.
The Contax 1 became the Contax 2 in 1936 and with the accompanying Zeiss lenses (which were also considered superior to Leica), Contax had the best rangefinder on the market.
And then came the war.
At the end of the war, Dresden was initially within the area controlled by the USA; but eventually the Contax factory came under Russian control. How to compensate for the 23 million Russians who died? We’ll have this factory for a start, thank you.
As a first step, a production line was set up at Saalfeld near Jena in East Germany and a limited production took place in 1946 and 1947. The camera was still called a Contax; but had Contax Jena on the top plate.
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With production issues resolved, the Russians loaded all the parts, blueprints, and manufacturing tools on to trains and, together with selected German personnel who were no doubt delighted at the prospect of a holiday, transported everything to the Arsenal factory in Kiev. After a late night and several vodkas, someone had a flash of inspiration and the brand was renamed Kiev. The Kiev II was the continued production of the Contax II, and early models used Contax parts left over from production in Germany. Very limited production took place in 1947 and cameras from this year fetch heady prices.
Full production started in 1949 and continued through to the 1980s. Over the years, the focus on the continuation of German precision engineering was overshadowed by the need to meet ever-increasing production targets and towards the end quality control went down the drain. There are stories of entire production runs being thrown on the dump because the cameras just didn’t work; so the trick is to get an earlier model.
Along with the cameras, the Russians took along finished lenses, glass and designs for the wonderful Zeiss lenses that came with the Contax. In the very early periods of production, the Kiev 2 came with Zeiss components inside a Russian-made lens housing and the lens was called the Zorki-ZK. These of course are very collectible and if I finally get my hands on the 1950 Kiev 2 with a Zorki-ZK lens that I am after; then I will keep it for ever and hand it down to The Son when I depart.
Meantime, I have this:
It’s a 1960 Kiev 4A with an F2 50mm Jupiter 8 lens. It’s a very tidy example which will look even better once I have cleaned it up a bit. Everything seems to work and I will be interested to see what sort of photos it produces. It’s a chunky beast with a pleasant heft; lots of metal doing clever things inside. I paid at the upper end of the $50-$100 these cameras are fetching on eBay; but it was worth it to get one that works and is in good condition.
When researching possibilities for a rangefinder, I rather fell in love with the Contax/Kiev story; and now I have this 52 year old beauty in my hands, I am even more taken. I expect I may be heading for a little collection. Pick up a few cheap models, working or otherwise, wield the screwdriver of doom and watch my aspiration of producing refurbished masterpieces dissolve into pitiful piles of scrap. Sounds like a plan.
Comments 🔗
2012-06-15| TT saysInteresting - when I was a pup and posted to Germany in the 70’s, I picked up a range finder that looked very like a Zorki but was named as a ‘QED’ or ‘OED’ - 32mm screw thread lens. Had a selenium cell on top of the body for setting exposure / aperture. Split new in the case and beautiful smooth engineering. Some shop in Berlin. Cost about 15 quid at 4.5 marks to the Pound. Wish I’d hung onto it.
2012-06-15| Spike saysFED perhaps? Going for $30 and up on eBay. I have a Kiev 4 on the way which has the exposure meter. Apparently they are wildly inaccurate if they work (which is rarely), but it looks cool. And just spent $18 on five non-working bodies so I can take them to pieces and figure out how they work without buggering up my lovely 4A.
2012-06-15| Spanky saysI do love the looks of the old rangefinders. The question is will you shoot in film with it considering the cost of film these days?
2012-06-16| Tic saysVery nice. Just walking around with it hanging from your neck will turn a few heads your away. Then you can press the shutter on your GX1 for a candid shot. Enjoy.
2012-06-16| Spike saysThat is the plan. One of the biggest film vendors on eBay just happens to be based in Bangkok.
2012-06-16| Fim saysKiev survival Site
2012-06-16| Spike saysThanks, yes that is a good site. I have my little screwdrivers poised….
2012-06-16| Grant saysAnd your little cheque-book…
2012-06-17| Spike saysEbay and Paypal are a dangerous combination.
2012-06-17| Grant saysOh very, especially when one’s natural caution is loosened by enthusiasm and Gin & Tonic…
2012-06-17| Spacefruit saysMy collectors eye swivels, hovers, but then swiftly passes. I like the idea of five bodies for practice. How did you get that past SWMBO? I did I read the post too quickly?
2012-06-17| Spike saysGlad you lost interest, I don’t want you interfering with the market I intend to dominate.
I took advantage the of the “I just bought an expensive handbag” cooling down period; she can’t complain about my carefully chosen investments having just purchased a pointless bag. Plus, she only knows about the camera that has arrived, not the seven more that are in the post….