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on Oct 21, 2018 4:19:13 GMT
Posted: Oct 21, 2018 4:19:13 GMT
Good evening, I am new to the forum, just got myself a nice Contax 139Q. The camera is fully functional even though it shows a few war scars which I think adds to its personality.  My question is if it's possible to find a battery cover replacement for it? The plastic is almost flat, very hard to make it move with a coin. Generic or not is ok. If you have some suggestions so I can make the most of my camera it would be great. My last 35mm film body was a Nikon F3HP back on the 90's, so I am new to film again. Anyway, thanks in advance, Ricardo |
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on Oct 21, 2018 20:02:41 GMT
Posted: Oct 21, 2018 20:02:41 GMT
Welcome Ricardo...
I think you'll easily find a match with many of those used on several Yashica models. The same battery cap/holder is also on the later FX series - specifically the FX-103 Program, FX-D, FX-Dse, and the FX-3 cameras. I just looked at all 5 bodies I have, and they are all interchangeable. Earlier FX models may also match, but I have my doubts.
How you acquire a replacement might be the harder part. It's unlikely you'll find any new ones (as old stock ), so that leaves you with finding a used cap for one of those models - or - buying a parts camera to pull one from. I've seen the caps alone listed at ridiculous prices, so it might take some time to find something reasonable money-wise.
If you're up for a DIY project, you could try to reshape the small hole at the bottom of the current coin slot into a rectangular slot that a small straight-blade screwdriver could fit into, and create a new way to remove it. Since these are plastic they aren't difficult to modify, they just need a bit of patience and finesse.
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on Oct 21, 2018 22:30:05 GMT
Posted: Oct 21, 2018 22:30:05 GMT
Thanks for your response, seems the easiest way is to simply buy a "for-parts" Yashica with a good battery cover for replacement, I think I will do it now. I read somewhere that the Ricoh KR-5 also fits and that cover is metal, but I am not sure that info is correct or not. I will also try to find adequate materials to do the DIY project, two covers are never enough I guess! |
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on Oct 22, 2018 9:38:28 GMT
Last Edit: Oct 22, 2018 9:40:31 GMT by lumiworx
I looked for a Ricoh K-5 on ebay and I doubt it's a match, but there are 2 of its siblings that might... the Ricoh K-5 sV, and the KR-5 Super II. An online manual for the sV shows an out-of-camera pic on pg. 10, and it holds 2 LR44's/SR44's inside a split-side holder like the Yashica's and the 139.: www.cameramanuals.org/ricoh_pdf/ricoh_kr-5sv.pdfI was curious if there might be others that use a similar 2 LR44/SR44 setup. Among the bodies I have, I found a few with the same type of metal cap as the Ricoh KR-5 - a Minolta XD-11, plus the early Yashica FR and FR II. They don't come close to fitting, and I suspect the same reason they don't might apply to the metal Ricoh caps as well. Yashica/Contax models using the plastic cap/holder, have a female threaded plastic battery canister below their bottom plates. The cap/holder needs more than twice the amount of male threads, and has twice the thread height as the metal caps - to go deep enough to grab the matching female canister threads. The metal versions all screw directly into the base plate instead, and only need 2-3 full thread runs to attach. I do have a Konica T4 packed away that also uses stacked 44's, and it looks like (photo-wise) that it's the same plastic cap/holder as the Ricoh's and the later C/Y bodies use, but I'd need to dig it out to be sure. |
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