Hey! In this video, I'm shooting my 1938 Zeiss-Ikon Contax II rangefinder camera. As you know, this is the first version of the Kiev rangefinder cameras that were made until 1987! So let's find out how it works and how good it is!

0:00 Intro & first samples
0:59 About the revolutionary Contax II features
2:35 Loading film
4:25 Holding the camera & some more samples
5:13 The car with wings
5:52 Contax & Kiev models
8:13 Close focus: The disadvantage of all rangefinders
8:42 Last sample gallery
9:18 Verdict
11:00 Outro

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My complete Ukrainian cameras / Kiev rangefinder mini series:
Part I
Ukraine: My message to the photography community
   • Ukraine: My message to the photograph...  

Part II
Kiev 4 – A Zeiss camera's second life in Ukraine
   • Kiev 4 – A Zeiss camera's second life...  

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All photos shown here were taken on Agfa APX 100 black&white film and were scanned using a digital camera and macro lens.

Whenever it says "... zoomed in" in the video, that's a 100% crop (if you watch the video in 4k!) of these 24 MP scans.

Thanks to Takahiro Oda for filming this video! VIsit his channel here:
   / takahirooda  

Many thanks to Flints Auctions for granting me permission to use their product photos in my video:
https://www.flintsauctions.com

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Here's where I develop my film:
http://www.kontrastlab.de​
(This is no affiliate link or anything like that. I'm just very happy there's still a dedicated analog development & printing service in Cologne!)

My instagram:
  / ​  

My photo & camera gear blog:
https://tomscameras.wordpress.com​

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Music score:
Morning Stroll – Josh Kirsch_Media Right Productions
Ratatouille's Kitchen – Carmen María and Edu Espinal
(available via YouTube Audio)