IIa/IIIa Lens compatablity

[uhoh7]

I now have a sweet IIIa colordial which I like more and more all the time and 50/1.5 sonnar.

Forgive my ignorance but what are my other lens options which will mount and focus accurately?

I get the idea some pre-war wides will not work.

I don't need another 50, and can't afford really pricey stuff--which may rule out a bunch, i gather 🙁

Would consider third party lenses for sure. Am studying excellent cameraquest article now 🙂

Will all 85/2s work?

How about Jupiter 9?

TY in advance

Holy S! I can use CV wides, including 25? Would the CV 85/3.5 focus?

I also now have nikkor 105 in Nikon RF mount, but get the idea I need the "C" 🙁 Should also be true for the CV 85 above, no?

 

[dexdog]

The pre-WW2 Biogon, the post-war CZJ Biogon (and its clone, the J-12) will not mount on the IIIA or IIA because the rear element is too deep to fit, and will contact the shutter curtain. The rarer CZJ Biometar and Orthometar will fit on the post-WW2 Contax without any problems. Any of the pre-war or post-war Zeiss 85mm lenses will work, as will the J-9. The CV wides marked SC are made for the Contax/Nikon mount work great too. Lastly, for the Nikkor 105mm lens, you need the version marked with a 'C' on the barrel because the one you have won't focus properly, but would probably be OK if stopped down to f8 or so.

 

[Highway 61]

The pre-WW2 Biogon, the post-war CZJ Biogon (and its clone, the J-12) will not mount on the IIIA or IIA because the rear element is too deep to fit, and will contact the shutter curtain.

No. They won't fit of course, but their rear element just can't contact the shutter curtain, because the rear element just can't engage in the lens chamber, because the lens chamber of the IIa/IIIa is smaller than the II/III one, and there is a solid casting above it to house the second shutter curtains roller, which doesn't exist on the II/III.

From the lens mount bayonet to the film plane the optical register is of course the exact same on the postwar Contaxes as on the prewar Contaxes, and the aluminum curtains of the postwar cameras may be a little bit thicker by a tiny fraction of millimeter than the brass curtains of the prewar cameras (not too sure about this, yet) but even if you fitted a prewar Contax with the curtains of the postwar camera, the prewar Biogon would fit with no problem, so the problem is with the lens chamber size in height, not in depth.

 

[batterytypehah!]

I love using my IIIa with the Voigtlander 25mm f4 and the 15mm f4.5 : tiny lenses with external viewfinders are a neat package with the Barnacks.

This is about the Contax IIIa, not Leica.

 

[uhoh7]

TY so much for replies.

Well it seems to me an 85 will be more useful than a 105--much as I admire the latter. The J-9 is so tempting, but I'm hearing they usually have to be re-adjusted--shimmed to provide proper focusing--eventually they will work, but not without hassle.

I found a nice old one for 140USD, but am wary to pull the trigger because of the extra hassle.

I get the feeling there are enough contax mount nikon 85/2s that eventually one will come up for a reasonable price.

I found a CV 25 w/finder for 295 in decent shape---with those two and my 50/1,5 sonnar I'd be set 🙂

 

[dexdog]

The J-9s in Contax-Kiev mount have the reputation of being pretty reliable on the Contax; the same lens is LTM is the one with the problematic reputation. In any case, the Nikkor 85.cm/2 lens with 'C' marking on the barrel is a great lens, given that it was based on the Contax 8.5cm/2.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

My experience: a new old stock Jupiter-9, complete with the Datasheet- needed to be shimmed to be more precise on the Contax. I believe most of the Russian lenses were intended to be "fine-tuned" for a particular body when bought. The Nikkor 8.5cm F2 'C' was spot-on, used with the same camera.

The S-Mount wide-angle lenses are close enough on a contax, but also benefit from having the shim reduced by ~0.4mm. I did that once with a Nikkor 3.5cm F2.5. Yiu have to be careful when getting the click stops to re-align. It was not fun trying to figure out why it would not "click" after reassembling. Finally figured it out.

 

[uhoh7]

I found a clean looking J9 at Collectable Cameras for 115USD. Its 1958 🙂 So will interesting to see if it will focus properly.

I know it will look cool 🙂

Would love to have a Nikon 85/2, and someday hope to find one in "C". Untill then....dasvadanya.

I will say the contax/nikon external mount appears to have been designed by the Marques de sade.

Can you really turn those things with the little wheel? You must have to use the barrel, right?

 

[dexdog]

Can you really turn those things with the little wheel? You must have to use the barrel, right?

Yes, the little wheel is not particularly useful for larger lenses like the 85/2 Jupiter 9, you will have to use the lens barrel to focus. I typically prefer to focus all lenses on the Contax with the lens barrel, even the 5cm lenses that are thought to work best with the wheel. I think that the J-9 is worth the risk at 115; give it a try and see how well it performs. The Nikon 'C' lenses and the various CZ/ZO/CZJ 8.5cm/ 2 lenses are great, but will probably sell for $400 or more, at least on USA eBay.

 

[uhoh7]

Thanks to everyone here for kind help.

I found a '58 J8 and a 105 "C", they are coming.

Meantime admiring another 105 and a canon 100 finder attached to the camera. Looks SO cool 🙂

That's all the matters, right?

Now I just need a 35 of some sort. I should try to trade my CV LTM skopar for a nikon s-mount.

 

[uhoh7]

One last question:

What about the CV 50/1.5 in s mount? The modern one.

Cameraquest does not mention contax with this lens---it's external mount i think, but I guess just like the internal nikon 5cms, it will not focus.....or

TY

 

[sevo]

One last question:

What about the CV 50/1.5 in s mount? The modern one.

Cameraquest does not mention contax with this lens---it's external mount i think, but I guess just like the internal nikon 5cms, it will not focus.....

Well, it will focus, but due to the difference between Nikon and Contax mounts it will back- or front-focus for every distance but one. You can shim it to have the sweet spot at your preferred distance, but that won't fix the issue for any other distance.