Topic: Labor Day Weekend - August 30 to September 1, 2025

[Bryan]

Took my Contax T to the Mojave Desert in California.  Ilford HP5+ developed in beer.  Unfortunately I think this is the end for my Contax T.  All kinds of problems are popping up with it, winding issues and light leaks.  I seems nobody works on these which is a shame, it has a great Sonnar lens.  I'll probably tinker with it but I'm not holding out hope.  You can see some mild light leaks in these shots.  I only paid a few dollars for the camera years ago so I got my moneys worth out of it. 

Dress Display by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

Jawbone Canyon Gas by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

Abandoned Buildiings by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

[Indofunk]

Took my Contax T to the Mojave Desert in California.  Ilford HP5+ developed in beer.  Unfortunately I think this is the end for my Contax T.  All kinds of problems are popping up with it, winding issues and light leaks.  I seems nobody works on these which is a shame, it has a great Sonnar lens.  I'll probably tinker with it but I'm not holding out hope.  You can see some mild light leaks in these shots.  I only paid a few dollars for the camera years ago so I got my moneys worth out of it. 

Ah, that's disappointing 😢 My Contax T is also acting up ... the shutter occasionally sticks, and the shutter speed indicator LED stopped working. My go-to shop (Lezot) refuses to fix it. Unfortunately, I paid a lot of money for mine just a few years ago so I'd like to get a few more years out of it if I can 😁

[Francois]

That's such a shame when these start acting-up.
If the light leaks are usually an easy fix, a worn-out film advance is another thing.

I have a Minox35 that gave-up the ghost before I put a single roll through it. When I muster-up the courage to open it up again, I'll probably end-up soldering the contacting springs that connect the electronic board to the body in the hope to start it again.

[Kai-san]

I sold my Contax T as a repair object, film transport failing. I've burnt myself on the Nikon 35Ti as well, shutter contact issues. If I buy any compact cameras now it's cheapo stuff, wouldn't shed a tear if I backed over it with the car. Right now I'm headed out with a very compact rangefinder, the Zeiss Werra 3. Well, I have mounted a Zeiss Cardinar 100mm on it which makes it somewhat less compact, but still it's quite handy. I'm not planning to back over the Werra, it's far too nice. 

[Bryan]

Took my Contax T to the Mojave Desert in California.  Ilford HP5+ developed in beer.  Unfortunately I think this is the end for my Contax T.  All kinds of problems are popping up with it, winding issues and light leaks.  I seems nobody works on these which is a shame, it has a great Sonnar lens.  I'll probably tinker with it but I'm not holding out hope.  You can see some mild light leaks in these shots.  I only paid a few dollars for the camera years ago so I got my moneys worth out of it. 

Ah, that's disappointing 😢 My Contax T is also acting up ... the shutter occasionally sticks, and the shutter speed indicator LED stopped working. My go-to shop (Lezot) refuses to fix it. Unfortunately, I paid a lot of money for mine just a few years ago so I'd like to get a few more years out of it if I can 😁

Maybe between the two we can make one that works.  Unfortunately the plastic gears for the film advance tend to wear out, sounds like we're both having that problem.  I think I found the light leak problem, two of the three screws holding the top on are missing. 

[Kai-san]

Two shots from the Werra 3, it's not the easiest rangefinder to focus. The Cardinar is not a bad lens, I even took a chance on shooting it against the sun.

Zeiss Werra 3 / Zeiss Cardinar 4/100 / Rollei Superpan in Jobo Alpha developer

[Francois]

Two shots from the Werra 3, it's not the easiest rangefinder to focus. The Cardinar is not a bad lens, I even took a chance on shooting it against the sun.

And the sheep thinking: What's that twisty camera? 

[Indofunk]

Someone on this forum (I believe) gifted me a roll of Rollei Redbird 800 in 120 a while back. I just shot it in my Yashica Mat, but I neglected to compensate for age and shot it at 800ASA. The first photo shows how much I should have compensated 😁 the second one I probably metered for the shadows which is why the highlights came out ok...

[Kai-san]

Two shots from the Werra 3, it's not the easiest rangefinder to focus. The Cardinar is not a bad lens, I even took a chance on shooting it against the sun.

And the sheep thinking: What's that twisty camera? 

Or rather: "Why is he pointing that thing at us, surely the season for lamb casserole has not started already?"

[Kai-san]

Someone on this forum (I believe) gifted me a roll of Rollei Redbird 800 in 120 a while back. I just shot it in my Yashica Mat, but I neglected to compensate for age and shot it at 800ASA. The first photo shows how much I should have compensated 😁 the second one I probably metered for the shadows which is why the highlights came out ok...

Wow Satish, that second shot is really good! It's worth wasting a whole roll of film to get a shot like that.

[Francois]

I must admit that while the first one looks like it was taken in the darkroom, the second one has such a "nuclear" vibe to it!
Really cool how it came out.