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johnnyrod · 03-01-23, 10:19 PM

Ah right, I did wonder! Checked my Contessa LKE, the one I took to Spain. The shutter speeds are slow, so 1/30 is more like 1/15, so my indoor pics have a lot of motion blur. The focus is miles off as well, the distance doesn't match the scale but the RF doesn't match the film plane so it's all gone to pot. I never serviced it but have used it before. The earlier pics on the roll are better, maybe it was jigged about too much on my bike on holiday, although I tried to pack it in my clothes. The RF is operated by a slope on the back of the focus ring so it's a bit of a fiddle to adjust both, and I can see how it could lose the plot if anything moves. The Contessa LBE uses the same focus and RF linkage as the Contessamat and is much better. TBH I'm wondering about keeping some of these and sticking with SLRs and maybe my trusty Konica S, although if an aperture blade pin shears I won't be saying that, I spent a year repairing it for that when I first got it!

03-01-23, 10:19 PM	#8234
johnnyrod Member Mega Poster Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Doncaster, oop norf Posts: 2,122	Re: Vintage film cameras Ah right, I did wonder! Checked my Contessa LKE, the one I took to Spain. The shutter speeds are slow, so 1/30 is more like 1/15, so my indoor pics have a lot of motion blur. The focus is miles off as well, the distance doesn't match the scale but the RF doesn't match the film plane so it's all gone to pot. I never serviced it but have used it before. The earlier pics on the roll are better, maybe it was jigged about too much on my bike on holiday, although I tried to pack it in my clothes. The RF is operated by a slope on the back of the focus ring so it's a bit of a fiddle to adjust both, and I can see how it could lose the plot if anything moves. The Contessa LBE uses the same focus and RF linkage as the Contessamat and is much better. TBH I'm wondering about keeping some of these and sticking with SLRs and maybe my trusty Konica S, although if an aperture blade pin shears I won't be saying that, I spent a year repairing it for that when I first got it!