Contax Cousins

The Soviet-era Kiev rangefinders were close copies of the German Contax cameras.  In fact, since the Russians had carted off the Contax factory to Ukraine as WWII war booty, the early model Kievs actually had many German-made parts.

When I acquired my Kiev IIa about twenty years ago it was not because of its Contax heritage but rather because of its modest price and its resemblance to another Contax copy, a Nikon S which I had foolishly disposed of twenty years earlier.  Having now put aside my reluctance to spend what it takes to own the Nikon, I'm pleased to have the opportunity to compare the two Zeiss-inspired designs.

 While both cameras clearly show their relation to the original Zeiss Contax, the Nikon exhibits an evolution toward post-war design trends including compactness.  The Nikkor 1.4/50mm lens is a stop faster than the Kiev's Jupiter 8, but both are coated Sonnar-type 7-element designs and are interchangeable between the two cameras.  The shutter in the Kiev II goes up to 1250/sec while the Nikon tops out at 1/500.

Top: Kiev IIa        Bottom: Nikon S

Both cameras have fully removable backs.  The Nikon features a fixed take-up spool and a Leica-style horizontal-travel cloth shutter.  The Kiev, like the Contax, has a vertical-travel metal slat shutter.  Both cameras have combined viewfinder-rangefinder windows.  While the front vf/rf widows on the Kiev are larger and wider spaced than those of the Nikon I see little difference in the clarity of the view or rangefinder accuracy.

The Kiev IIa Album

In looking at the pictures the two cameras have produced for me I can really see no great differences in the cameras' handling or in the quality of the images.  At the same time I have to admit that the two cameras have been used by me in very different ways. 

I've owned the Kiev IIa for about 20 years and it has been pointed at quite a large variety of subjects, sometimes with the Jupiter 8, but most often using the 35mm Jupiter 12 lens, a Zeiss Biogon copy, along with a brilliant wide-angle accessory finder.

 

The Nikon S Album

 My first Nikon S was used for only about a year in the late 1960s; I initially made a few portraits with it, but most of the pictures from it were hip shots on the streets of Brooklyn and lower Manhattan.  All those early pictures came from the standard 50mm Nikkor lens.

My goal now will be to give the Nikon S the chance to see a much broader view of the world than it got in the 1960s.

 

 

The Nikon-S in Old Town

 Early on Saturday morning Old Town was full of people who had come to see some singing and dancing as a lead-up to Mexican Independence Day on the 16th.  My Nikon S was loaded with Kodak Tri-X.

I did not get the exceptionally nice tonal qualities which I expect from Tri-X.  The highlights were washed out and the mid-tones were muddy.  The pictures made in shadow were better, so I think the lack of a lens hood was partially responsible for the problem.  However, it seems more likely that the HC-110b processing was somehow the main issue.

Sorting out the Nikon S

 When I first acquired and used a Nikon S in the mid-1960s I really had no idea about the development of Nikon's rangefinder line.

 For instance, I was unaware at that point that the dimensions of the negatives the camera made were slightly different from the standard of the time.

 

The film strip at the top of the above image is from the Nikon S.  Below that is a strip from my Leica IIIa showing the 24 x 36 dimension of the frame which was the standard for European and U.S. 35mm cameras.  The frames from the Nikon S are spaced slightly wider and are just 34mm across. That really makes no practical difference in image acquisition, though it does make cutting the strips into manageable sizes a little easier.

I shot a test roll of Kentmere 400 to verify the functioning of the camera.  I think the resolution and contrast from the 1.4/50mm lens look good.  I'll try to do something more creative in the next round.

I don't see a lot of pictures being posted online from the Nikon S, though the Nikon rangefinders are clearly popular with collectors judging by the sale prices.  The S-model is the most accessible economically, while prices for earlier and later models as well as lenses and accessories approach the stratospheric.  I'll likely settle for just the addition of a generic lens cover.

(Jason Schneider has posted a history of early Nikon lens development on Rangefinder Forum.)

Six Decades

 I bought a Nikon S about sixty years ago and used it briefly to do what I still consider my best street work in New York.  I regretted selling the camera and thought about replacing it ever since.  So, I bought one on ebay from a guy named Igor in Cleveland. 

The camera looked almost like new except for a couple bumps on the leather on the back.  The only functional issue was a very slight vertical misalignment of the rangefinder.  Fixing that requires taking off the front panel to get at the adjustment port.

The little oval hole next to the viewfinder window on the right contains the vertical adjustment mechanism which consists of a set screw to lock the adjustment and a a ridged wheel which is turned to move the image up or down.  The adjustment was accomplished easily.  The front panel went back on with just a little careful wiggling to get it in place over the rangefinder focusing wheel on the left.

As I expected, the Nikkor-S 1.4/50mm lens yielded nicely sharp results from the first roll of film I got through the camera.  

I won't be able to duplicate the kind of work I did with the camera in New York, as pounding the pavement for miles in a day is no longer an option for me.  However, I'm still looking forward to becoming reacquainted with an old friend.

From a few years ago...

Alejandro

Now a Phoenix police officer and the father of our latest great-granddaughter.

Hattie and her mom

 

Coffee and a Burrito

 We visited Bike In Coffee which is at an old farm west of downtown Albuquerque.  We drove there, but many people do get there along the bike trail that parallels I-40.  I shot most of a roll of Kentmere 400 in the Zorki 6 with the collapsible Industar 22.

The camera and lens performed fine, but I don't shoot the camera enough to be used to the unconventional location of the rewind button which is right next to the shutter release.  I managed to lose about a quarter of the shots by pressing the wrong button.

Still a nice morning outing and I always find a lot of picture opportunities at the place.

 

Margaret wants to go back on a Thursday when the bluecorn pancakes are featured, so I'll likely have some more pictures of the place soon.