Good source for Contax lenses?

Mudman

Mudman

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I've got a contax iia with 50mm f2 sonnar getting cleaned up at the moment, wondering what is a good source for other zeiss lenses? I know that you can get russian ones off the bay (and that the 35mm won't work with my camera), just curious if anyone has any other good sources for a 35 or 85mm zeiss lens. I'll probably end up going with a voigtlander from Cameraquest for the 35, but I'd love to try the 85mm.

Cheers,
Eric
 
Hi Eric, probably you already know: just a comment that Nikon made Contax lenses, too. They are labeled with a 'C' on the focus barrel. Really good lenses, and typically cheaper than original Sonnars. Check ebay "Nikkor Contax", for instance.

Roland.
 
Not sure what you refer to, Andy. There is Q.C. on the beauty ring of some lenses, which means "4 elements, coated", such as on older 13.5/3.5 lenses. The early coated 5cm/2 has H.C., the 5cm/1.4 S.C., the 8.5/2 P.C (for 6, 7, and 5 elements, respectively - from Latin: Quad, Penta, Hex, Sept, ...)

The Contax label is a quoted 'C' on the chrome focus ring, as for example in ebay auction #221278803242, 200923186011, etc. Auction www.ebay.com/itm/221278803242 shows the letter close to the center of the picture.
 
so is this the "c" you're speaking of on the front of the lens? I always thought the P.C. stood for P= number of elements and C = coating. I'm not very familiar with the contax/nikon rangefinder offerings. I've only shot leica in the past.

EDIT: Thanks for the two links. Makes sense now, and I know where to look. Cheers! Still would like a store rather than ebay to look through. Feels more reputable.
 
Thanks Roland. I'll wait until I get the camera back first, but good to know they do come up at B&H and other spots. I was just surprised at the lack of lenses, I didn't realize how abundant offerings are for Leica until I started hunting for a few for Contax.
 
Hi Sam,

Those are modern lenses. I'm looking for vintage ones that fit the contax rangefinder mount.
 
Eric - Igor's Camera Exchange at http://www.igorcamera.com/ often has a good selection of Nikkor and Contax RF gear and his prices are very reasonable, especially as some sellers on eBay are asking ridiculous prices these days. I bought a Nikkor 3.5cm/2.5 for my Contax IIA from him and it's in near-mint condition. Build quality puts the Russian lenses to shame.

Nikkor S mount RF lenses 35 and wider will work fine on your Contax. For 85mm and longer, Nikon made many lenses in LTM and Contax mount, which were marked with a 'C' on the underside of the focusing ring or lens barrel. I don't know if they made any of the 50mm lenses in Contax mount.

I also recently picked up the Nikkor 10.5cm/2.5 in Contax mount from National Camera Exchange at a very good price. That is one serious chunk of glass and metal, but I love the F-mount version so I was hoping to have one for my Contax as well.
 
Actually, Nikon also made many of the wides in screw-mount as well. Since the difference in the Nikon/Contax lens mounts was so small, the larger DOF of the wide lenses made a Contax version unnecessary.
 
Like many things, the situation was very different when I got my 1st Contax, a black dial IIa, back in 2000. The offerings for Leica mount have always been more abundant, but back then, KEH alone had a decent selection of not only Contax bodies & lenses, but also accessories (caps, VFs, etc.).

Mudman said:
I was just surprised at the lack of lenses, I didn't realize how abundant offerings are for Leica until I started hunting for a few for Contax.
Click to expand...
 
There seems to be both thin supply and demand for old Contax rangefinder stuff. I wonder whether the one influences the other.
 
Thanks for the leads. I got the camera back today, I'm going to get used to the 50 first and go from there. In terms of shooting experience it's a fun camera. In between my III and my m3 in terms of usability. Like it so far.
 
steveyork said:
There seems to be both thin supply and demand for old Contax rangefinder stuff. I wonder whether the one influences the other.
Click to expand...

The laws of supply and demand. Also one must not forget that a lot has been written about the difficulty of looking after theses camera and how few people work on them.

Would scare all away but the most committed...or those who need committing the most...
 
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