Contax Experts -- Does this IIa look legit?

[ColSebastianMoran]

Just received this IIa, very clean, working shutter, speeds seem good, focus a bit tough.

Context Experts, does this one look legit? Or does it have any of the markings of a forgery? Thanks in advance for any comments.

 

[shawn]

Certainly not an expert but I thought only the Contax II and not the Contax IIa were the models that had forgeries? Looks very similar to my black dial IIa with the film reminder being a little different as mine is marked Din instead of ASA.

Don't know how to check on the lens though.

Shawn

 

[ColSebastianMoran]

Thanks Shawn, for the comment and the photo. Yes, ASA vs. DIN is interesting.

 

[richardHaw]

not a contax expert but it seems legit to me

 

[Robert Lai]

It's a real Zeiss Contax IIa. The West German Zeiss post war resurrected cameras differ from the original pre-war ones most noticeably in the location of the rangefinder window. The pre-war cameras (and Kievs), have the RF window almost all the way out to the edge of the camera.
The redesigned Contax IIa and IIIa have the rangefinder window moved a little more inwards, so that the "Contax grip" isn't as mandatory in holding the camera.

Plus, you have the flash plug port and all the Zeiss knobs. I can't fathom why anyone would want to fake this - not economical.

 

[splitimageview]

What prompted this inquiry?

 

[richardHaw]

agree with Robert Lai. I dont think these were ever counterfeited by anyone

 

[Mr_Flibble]

I can't comment on the authenticity Sonnar, but the camera certainly is a true Zeiss Contax IIa. As others have mentioned, these aren't faked like the Contax II.

 

[johank]

Far too complex and costly to counterfeit, looks like mine export model with 1/4" screwhole in bottom and ASA on the Rewindscrew.
Your Sonnar seems to have hitted a doorframe or the floor. Can be corected. Weivefinder misses Plastic ring like most of its cousines.
Cigarette fluid to the helix in the camera will make focusing less stiff.
Load and go out and shoot!
Congratulations!

 

[Bill Jones]

Thanks Shawn, for the comment and the photo. Yes, ASA vs. DIN is interesting.

ASA vice DIN is what the export (to USA) models came with along with the 1/4-20 screw fittings and then distance scale in feet all present on this camera. The Sonnar looks like an early 50's CZJ one. Contax came with these both prior to Zeiss Opton starting production and later when US dealers wanted to sell Contaxes at less than the list price. Zeiss Ikon could not set the prices for cameras that were equipped with non- factory lenses (CZJ). The serial number (per Kuc) dates the camera to early 1953. So the camera did not come from the factory with that lens as only Zeiss Opton lens were issued then. Instead the lens was put on by a dealer who obtained a body only or by some previous owner. However it is still correct for the era of the camera.

Bill Jones

 

[Highway 61]

Everything is real. Yes, the Sonnar is an early postwar Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar with the T coatings. Chrome plated brass version (this model of early postwar Sonnar also was made of aluminum) with some parts made of red copper anodyzed black. Many of the early Contax IIa bodies made in Stuttgart were sold with those Sonnars made in Jena because the Oberkochen lenses plant didn't exist yet. You can read some articles about this on various serious sites. Later on (after the split between the two Germanies), the "Zeiss Opton" Sonnars came out of the Oberkochen factory and the production of those postwar Jena Sonnars ceased.

 

[ColSebastianMoran]

What prompted this inquiry?

What prompted my inquiry? It's my first plunge into Contax-land after a brief fling with one with stuck shutter. Feeling like a neophyte, I wanted some corroboration before I close-out the deal by sending positive feedback.

 

[ColSebastianMoran]

Thank you all for your help. I am delighted to have a legit camera, and I will certainly use it.

Thanks, and best regards to all.

 

[Arbitrarium]

Nice catch. First job: stick a bit of black rubber in the infinity lock slot. What a godawful 'feature' that thing is.

I love my Kiev 4a. I have a vague long term goal of learning how to strip and repair Kievs so that when I find a Contax in my price range I can fix it up myself.

 

[Dralowid]

It certainly has genuine 'Zeiss bumps'...

Hope it all works out OK!

 

[Fjäll]

Nice catch. First job: stick a bit of black rubber in the infinity lock slot. What a godawful 'feature' that thing is.

Now I remember why I haven't touched my IIa in over a year.

 

[ColSebastianMoran]

Nice catch. First job: stick a bit of black rubber in the infinity lock slot. What a godawful 'feature' that thing is.

I love my Kiev 4a. ... snip ...

I also have a Kiev 4a, bought cheap, and I'm pleasantly surprised at the apparent quality and how well it keeps working without service.

Kill the infinity lock? You mean here?

 

[nukecoke]

Unlike Leica M, there is no known Contax IIa copy/forgery/unauthorized production, so I guess it's real!

 

[xayraa33]

It would have been kind of cool if some other nation made copies or replicas of the Contax IIa

 

[farlymac]

Nikon did.

Nikon S2 by P F McFarland, on Flickr

And Yashica borrowed heavily from the design on their early rangefinder models

Yashica YK Front by P F McFarland, on Flickr

PF