Cosina lenses on a Contax IIa

[Ron (Netherlands)]

I was wondering whether some of you have experience in using Cosina Voigtländer lenses on a Contax IIa. I'll see hardly any original Zeiss lenses offered - at fair prices - at the internet, therefore I might take up some of the later Cosina lenses provided they work ok with this Zeiss body. Btw it is a color dial and not a black dial, but I guess that doesn't make a difference with respect to using lenses.

 

[JeffL]

I use a Voigt 21mm on my Contax IIa and Bessa R2C.
I like it a lot, and the viewfinders are good.

 

[sebastel]

the ones of 35mm focal length and wider work OK.
50mm and longer suffer from different focusing thread (comparing nikon to contax), and should not be used.

 

[jonmanjiro]

The Nikon S-mount Cosina lenses (the paperwork says they are designed for Nikon S-mount) designated "SC" (S for Nikon and C for Contax) can be used on both Contax and Nikon rangefinders because DOF covers any focus errors when used on Contax cameras. The Nikon S-mount Cosina lenses designated "S" (S for Nikon) can only be used on Nikon rangefinders. Of course these lenses will also mount on Contax rangefinders but DOF no longer covers the focus error at larger apertures and close focusing distances.

 

[D.O'K.]

I use the CV 25mm on my lla with excellent results and no mechanical problems. It works very well.

It has a very long focus turn. The only slight handling issue is that the aperture ring tends to be easily knocked off its stop when one focusses, but that's just an aspect of the lens design, not a problem caused by the camera.

Regards,
D.

 

[furcafe]

Ditto. As w/the original Nikon RF lenses, I would only use 35mm & wider on a Contax body (& vice versa w/regard to Zeiss lenses on a Nikon or S mount Bessa).

The Nikon S-mount Cosina lenses (the paperwork says they are designed for Nikon S-mount) designated "SC" (S for Nikon and C for Contax) can be used on both Contax and Nikon rangefinders because DOF covers any focus errors when used on Contax cameras. The Nikon S-mount Cosina lenses designated "S" (S for Nikon) can only be used on Nikon rangefinders. Of course these lenses will also mount on Contax rangefinders but DOF no longer covers the focus error at larger apertures and close focusing distances.