This was my most “should I really?” purchase when I got the “back to film” bug: A Contax IIIa with a Zeiss Sonnar 1:1.5 50mm lens and leather case, all in near pristine condition. I had spotted it on Ebay after buying “Das Contax Buch”, a really old and really wonderful book, from which incidentally I learned more about photography than I could have imagined. Well, while reading that book, the craving for a Contax developed and proved irresistible. And once the bug bit me… at least it is not in the price range of a Leica, although it is said to have competed with Leica M3 at its time.
The Contax IIIa was introduced in 1955 and was one of the most advanced film cameras of its time. It features a built-in light meter, a fast shutter speed of 1/1000th of a second, and a Zeiss Sonnar 1.5 50mm lens. I was first attracted to the Contax IIIa because of its classic design. The camera is made of metal and leather, and it feels very solid and well-made, and the hard leather case is not just protective, but also quite stylish. So I love the way the camera looks, and I felt like I was taking a step back in time when I was using it.
I was able to download a user manual from the web for free, and so when I first tried the camera out in Tuscany this year, there should not have been a problem – except that I left the manual at home. Big mistake, because I was not yet familiar with all the buttons and ended up wasting an entire roll of film through overexposure, something I only found out when the photo lab informed me that the exposures were blank. But I realised what I had done, and I prepared for the next round then by re-reading the manual and bringing it with me on a weekend excursion to Waidhofen an der Ybbs.
Waidhofen an der Ybbs is a beautiful town in Lower Austria´s Mostviertel, not that far from Vienna. The town is known for its medieval architecture, its castle, a nature park and many hiking trails, and the Ybbs River. I loved wandering around the old town, enjoying the traditional architecture, some of which retaining the lettering of old shops that must long have ceased to exist, and some that are still operating. The soft hills that surround the town add to its beauty.
I shot all of my photos on Kodak Gold 200 film, and I am quite pleased with the results. The film produced warm, nostalgic tones, and it captured the old-fashioned look of Waidhofen an der Ybbs perfectly. The images have good, but not over the top, colour saturation and contrast. The colors tend to be a bit on the warm side, much as I remember from my childhood. The grain is fine enough, making this a versatile film that can be used for landscapes, portraits, and street photography, and a good choice for analogue beginners, as it is not that expensive.
Overall, I had a great time shooting with the Contax IIIa in Waidhofen an der Ybbs. I learned a lot about how to use this camera, and some of the resulting pictures surprised me. I also enjoyed the slowness of using a film camera that compelled me to double-check exposure times and with only 24 pictures on a film, to be a bit selective – this time my digital workhorse, the Olympus M5 Mark III, stayed comfortably in my backpack.
I will be using this camera again, trying it with another film next time. But next week I am going to an analogue workshop in Linz at Prager Fotoschule, and I expect to try out several other cameras there first.
ALL PHOTOGRAPHS © 2023 KARIN SVADLENAK-GOMEZ
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